Tension, Anger and Hope

[Rajiv]

..just watching this mickey mouse 20/20 between India and Pakistani; it's nothing but another channel on my TV Rewind 9 years back, when Sadgoppan comfortably played Wasims first ball of the tour, the political tension, that bitter feeling and offcourse the rivalry I remember being glued to every single ball and the anxiety which came forward. I don't think any Indian series can ever match that type of mood and scenario besides having high class players that time The sorrow: Driving to a Naserrudin Shah play and hearing Cyrus barucha talking about Sachins valiant effort in that chennai game, the evening was dull and the beer tasted so flat The Joy: I was at McDowells derby and about to smile when the filly almost made it to the finish line, but from nowhere a horse called "deuce" pulled in from the outside and took the round A few minutes later, a loud announcement on the radio " Match Update: Anil Kumble has cleaned up the whole Pakistani Line-Up", now the loud roar but I was like " did he say, all wickets " ..I did win n the main derby race It's just not the same watching cricket here, confined to your Widescreen TV and sharing your excitement on the net. I watch the game in ffwd mode now, see the wicket ,see the boundary..yipee we won!

[graphic23]

Truly, it is not the same anymore. Though I still watch India vs. Pakistan matches with more intensity than the other matches, the tension between the players has considerably reduced. They look like friends playing on the field. No more is there a call to sack the captain who lost against Pakistan. No more is there that special rivalry that said I choose death before losing to you. Perhaps, some of it for the better (the relations between the two countries has been better than it ever has been. Obviously it will never friendly because of several issues). But cricket is no longer so emotionally draining and mentally intensive as it was... I liked it that way to be honest. Another aspect is that we play them every other year or even every year now. They have also lost some of their fiercest competitors against India. Almost all of them visit India for fun now. India vs. Pakistan will never be what it was. India vs. Australia will never become what India vs. Pakistan was.

[Guest Hiten.]

Test matches were a BIG BORE to me back then. But as you mentioned due to the 'rivalry' and political tensions, I was somehow glued to television for all 5 days during that 2 match test series. If there ever was a mind boggling see-saw battle in test matches, then India vs Pakistan (1st test, chennai) is right up there. This game at no point looked in one team's pocket. Both the teams fought hardly and fairly to get the upper hand. In the 2nd Innings, Pakistan were just running away with show UNTIL that tea break. I don't know what exactly did Prasad have during the tea break, but he came and wiped Pakistan with a 6-fer. And on the Other hand, Afridi was going nuts. He 'compiled' a very gritty 141 runs. In our 2nd Innings, we never actually looked like chasing the target. I have no idea why was I still glued to TV, even though we were 82-5. But I am so glad that I witnessed an amazing match, gritty partnership and terrific fightback innings from Tendlu. I still stop the game when Nayan mongia gets out, because there is no way in hell I can watch tendulkar play that rash shot which cost India a victory. I don't need to talk about 2nd test match, do I ? Pakistan in 2nd Innings, again started in a confident manner. 102/0 at the brink of lunch. Post-Lunch, Kumble ran through them single handedly. I had to pinch myself, when the scorecard read Kumble's figures as 74-10. Since then for me test match was the real deal. And thanks to VVS-RD partnership it made more sense for me to root for test cricket over any other format of the game :D Those days are irreplaceable.Only series that can run parallel to this series can be a series win in down under :D

[Rajiv]

I, silly prayed at Siddhi Vinayak Temple :haha: ..think it was Kolkata chase but apna Gangul fell to Wasim ..and those deliveries, aha *can't find em now* Sachin hits Wasims In-Swinging yorker for a 4..and besides the rivalry, I loved watching Wasim

[Holysmoke]

World cup '03. India Pak game. Bombay was dead. I remember going to the local grocery store in the innings break, only to find it closed. Ind Aus '01, I had a tv tuner card on my PC, and was watching the game while browsing the net.. I ended up recording Bhajji's hattrick. That was the first time I had ever seen a hattrick live. What emotions. I also loved the Jeet lo dil series. Balaji will always remain special.. he was awesome in that series. Sehwag, what can I say.

[Guest Hiten.]

Funny thing is, I was in gr.10 during the Ind-Aus 2001 Series. We had board exams and I had 3-4 days break to study for history exam. But i ended up watching India mauling Aussies' thanks to Laxi's heroics and Bhajjis unplayable spells:D

[Holysmoke]

Funny thing is' date=' I was in gr.10 during the Ind-Aus 2001 Series. We had board exams and I had 3-4 days break to study for history exam. But i ended up watching India mauling Aussies' thanks to Laxi's heroics and Bhajjis unplayable spells:D[/quote'] WC03 was during my XI grade finals. I barely passed :hysterical:

[Rajiv]

I was in Toronto when I saw that Ind/Aus on dd.now.com twas awesome

[nospam]

World cup '03. India Pak game. Bombay was dead. I remember going to the local grocery store in the innings break' date=' only to find it closed.[/quote'] march 1st was the game and march 3rd/4th was my first board(10-th) exam.

[Guest Hiten.]

I was in Toronto when I saw that Ind/Aus on dd.now.com twas awesome

That website does not even exist anymore :omg:

[Holysmoke]

I remember dd.now.com from the adverts that they put on the scorecard on tv. :haha:

[chamatkar]

I remember the 314 chase by India where Kanitkar scored the winning runs. I remember seeing it in engg college, in a room full of college guys.

• There were a couple of guys slid under the TV.
• There were a few guys sitting on the ledge created by an open door.
• It was winter in north India. But that room was sweating bullets.
• I remember folks staying in convoluted positions, because they got superstitious when a 4 was hit in that awkward position.
• Everyone missed lunch because we didn't want to give up our seats.

Today, 10 years later in the US, I wake up in the morning to see the final score or fight with the wife to stay awake a little late in the night to watch a few hours. I have to look around for crap sopcast links to get a few glimpses of the action. I have to attend a gazillion meetings the next morning, without a soul to share the excitement over the marvellous victory or the depressing loss we just had. Yup, I get nostalgic.

[Ram]

I remember posting on this topic some time ago. Here is my post again.

I would take an India-Australia match any day of the week, over an India-Pakistan match. The India-Australia rivalry has come to define the sport in the last few years. It is by far the single most talked about test series and produces the most entertaining cricket of all. With regards to the other two test series that are mentioned, namely Ind-Aus and Aus-Eng, well, we know that history has got to do a lot with all the hype and controversy. ANY India-Pakistan encounter will have some amount of needle to it, given the historical tensions between the two nations. Cricket, played between these two sides, with the backdrop of political tensions, is always going to evoke increased interest. I vivdly remember, the WC 1999 match was right in the middle of the Kargil war. It was almost like the match was another forefront in the battle. I even remember our soldiers, who were fighting the war then, coming on TV and celebrating the Indian victory. And who can forget the first ball of the first test played between India and Pakistan in chennai in 1999 ? That was the FIRST test match played the two teams in a LONG time. As Javagal Srinath ran into the bowl his first ball to Afridi, one could almost sense that history is being made here. But from then on, relations between the two countries have considerably thawed. There is no explicit political tension anymore. Consequently, the intensity surrounding the matches have also considerably dropped. With regards the Ashes, it has got its own historical significance too. The Ashes will ALWAYS manage to attract a lot of media attention because the mainstream cricket media is still dominated by the English. However, because of the one-sided nature of the contests so far, the Ashes is losing its place as the most talked bout bilateral series. In 2005, things changed a bit when England won, but the fortunes and media space of the Ashes will rise and fall with the performance of the English team. For now though, its India-Australia all the way. Not in just in terms of the quality of cricket, but also in terms of controversies and media attention, it has far surpassed any of it contemporary cricket series.

[Dhondy]

I remember the 314 chase by India where Kanitkar scored the winning runs. I remember seeing it in engg college, in a room full of college guys.

• There were a couple of guys slid under the TV.
• There were a few guys sitting on the ledge created by an open door.
• It was winter in north India. But that room was sweating bullets.
• I remember folks staying in convoluted positions, because they got superstitious when a 4 was hit in that awkward position.
• Everyone missed lunch because we didn't want to give up our seats.

Today, 10 years later in the US, I wake up in the morning to see the final score or fight with the wife to stay awake a little late in the night to watch a few hours. I have to look around for crap sopcast links to get a few glimpses of the action. I have to attend a gazillion meetings the next morning, without a soul to share the excitement over the marvellous victory or the depressing loss we just had. Yup, I get nostalgic.

Very nice indeed. The baton has passed to Chamatkar and Sriram, to THX and Cochise and Graphic and My two cent. The board is in good hands. More power to you guys. Take this place forward and make it the best bloody read there is under the sun. You guys write fantastically well.

[Rajiv]

..so u retiring Dhondy?

[Dhondy]

..so u retiring Dhondy?

Not yet.:D I feel a bit like Anil Kumble, observing Dhoni level the series from the sidelines might have, watching these guys express themselves. Top drawer stuff. Always wished we'd have a batch of younger 'uns to compliment the collective genius of the likes of Shwetabh, Bumps, Gambo, Lurker, Pred, Thal and Ravi. Time for old farts to be given their 50 dollar wristwatch.

[Rajiv]

LOL, made it sound like a Government Office

[The Outsider]

Time for old farts to be given their 50 dollar wristwatch.

Where is mine? I'll quit posting instantly for 50 bucks.