Ishant Sharma resurgence

[akshayxyz]

http://sidveeblogs.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/javagal-srinath-and-the-bridging-of-a-gap/

At some point on the third day, when the rain relented in Bridgetown, Ishant Sharma got his 100th Test wicket. He angled one into Darren Sammy’s body, saw the ball thud against the pads and squealed an appeal. Ian Gould agreed. This is his 33rd Test. Just as he was threatening to fade away, Ishant has come back much stronger. Long may he bowl. He’s the fifth Indian medium-pacer to reach 100 Test wickets. Kapil, Srinath, Zaheer and Irfan went before him (I’m leaving out Karsan Ghavri only because I’m not sure how many of his 109 wickets were achieved with left-arm spin). Manoj Prabhakar and Venky Prasad both finished with 96 wickets. Almost but not quite. The next medium-pacer on the list with 79 wickets is Sreesanth, who may well go on to get a 100 wickets if he keeps his head. Or maybe not, considering how some of his best spells have come when he’s actually lost it. Kapil started this. Kapil started many things. He dared to bowl quick on dustbowls and dared to shred the batting textbook. He dared to defend 183 against the cricketing gods. When I see Dhoni’s earthiness and charisma, I imagine what an immense force Kapil must have been. If you’re drawing up an all time India Test XI, leave that No.7 spot alone. Opening the bowling alongside Kapil (in my all-time India XI) would be Zaheer. Since that evening in Trent Bridge, when England’s fielders pissed him off with jelly-beans, he averages 26.04. He’s played a part in series wins against England and New Zealand away and Sri Lanka and Australia at home (twice). He’s helped India tie both their home and away series against South Africa. And he’s played a big part in the World Cup win. Kapil finished in ’94. Actually he was finished earlier but the full stop was in ’94. Zaheer arrived in 2000. In between stood the bridge that connected them, a bridge that’s gradually fading from our collective memories. The secretary of the KSCA occasionally shows up on TV. You may spot a newspaper column here, an interview there. If you go to Mysore, you’ll see a roundabout named after him. If you’re around JP Nagar in Bangalore, you may see him exercising at a gym. He’s unlikely to be mobbed. And he is rarely missed. Javagal Srinath wasn’t a torchbearer. He wasn’t a great matchwinner. For many years he was a vegetarian. He waited for many years before he could cement his spot (sitting on the sidelines as Kapil chased Hadlee). He didn’t have a poetic action. He rarely bowled a yorker. Heck he took so many years to pitch it up. He didn’t trademark a celebration. Javagal Srinath apologised to Ponting after bowling him a bouncer, only to be told to beep off. He often batted clownishly, his head looking at Mysore, the bat swinging at Bangalore. He appealed as if pleading with the umpires for some respite. He watched as fielders in the slips spilt catch after catch after catch. He bowed his head, cussed loudly and went back to bowl. Javagal Srinath didn’t even have a proper nickname. Sri, it seems. How unimaginative! In Karnataka he was Babu. How prosaic, as if he was a clerk in the British Raj. Mysore Express. Oh please. I’m sure many young kids tried to bowl like him but the big boys were elsewhere. Sure Srinath was a nice hardworking guy but Waz, Waq, Curtly, Courtney, Donald and Polly … Now they were the real deal, people said. Javagal Srinath often did well in India’s losses. In one of the first matches I watched live, he dented the English battling line-up, only for Paul Jarvis to flatten India during their chase. Both shared the man-of-the-match award. Srinath was on the losing side. His career-best spell – a 13-wicket haul, 13 wickets! – was in Kolkata. Here too he shared the man of the match. But the match was lost. Azhar dropped Saeed Anwar on 2 (he would go on to make 188) and later mumbled a most ridiculous: ‘I went for someone else’s catch’. Javagal Srinath contributed two five-wicket hauls to Indian wins at home. Two! He was the opening act. The concert was reserved for Kumble and Co. Occasionally he enjoyed the limelight. Like that afternoon in ’96, on the rubble that was the Motera pitch, when he razed the South African batting line-up. 6 for 21. Javagal Srinath spent vast portions of his career watching India’s batting line-ups collapse. Whatever he did in England and South Africa in ’96 would never be enough simply because batsman after batsman was falling to pace and bounce. He rarely had the luxury of bowling with more than 350 runs on the board in an away Test. Javagal Srinath won four Test matches away from home. Four! One was in Dhaka and one in Bulawayo. The third was in Colombo. The fourth in Port of Spain, one of his last Tests. He never won a World Cup – he got close once and Ponting told him to beep off again, this time with the bat. He spent a large part of his career losing. But Javagal Srinath was anything but a loser. He was speedy – yes really quick, especially in the early years. After the deluge of military medium in the late ’80s and early ’90s (remember Bharat Arun? Or Bhupinder Singh Sr?) he was a godsend. With little guidance and almost no coaching, he turned himself into a serious contender. I still remember the ball that castled Javed Miandad in the ’92 World Cup. Middle stump. Match in the bag. Such promise! But when I think of Javagal Srinath, I think of ’97. India v Sri Lanka in Mumbai. Final Test. India pushing for a win, trying to wrap up the Sri Lankan first innings when Srinath ran in and smashed the wicketkeeper Lanka de Silva in the face. The bouncer sneaking through the helmet grille, pummeling his left cheek and sending him to the hospital where he would need ten stitches. That was the first time I saw an Indian bowler do anything remotely violent. I felt bad for Lanka de Silva but I was perversely thrilled. An Indian fast bowler was smelling blood. Srinath probably apologized. I didn’t notice. But there was reason to hope. A few overs later, Srinath would go on to bowl Pramodaya Wickramasinghe. It was his 100th Test wicket in his 30th Test. Some commentator acknowledged it. Tendulkar climbed on him like a baby koala hugging its mother. The Hindu carried a few paragraphs the next day. I remember reading ‘yeoman service’ (or maybe not but that was a phrase often applied to Srinath). A few months later, someone gifted me Sanjay Manjrekar’s album, Rest Day. Here different players talk about their favourite songs before Manjrekar sings them. Javagal Srinath says he’s choosing a song that’s inspired him through his life. He says he listens to it almost every evening. He says it keeps him going. The song follows: ruk jaanaa naheen too kahee haar ke kaanto pe chal ke milenge saaye bahaar ke o raahee, o raahee Listen to the song. Think of Srinath. Think of his career. Remember how crucial he was to the Indian fast bowling story. Never forget how he nurtured young fast bowlers, understanding how difficult it is to be young and receive no guidance. Kapil opened the tap. Zaheer triggered the flood. Srinath bridged the gap.

[Prakat]

nice article. great song.

[rkt.india]

Great article:two_thumbs_up:

[rkt.india]

This is an emotional article

[DomainK]

What a player he was!! When he came in, he didn't have too many to guide him and tell him how he could improve. He worked hard and learned through experience - the hard way. But he made sure that ZAK did not suffer from the same problem.

[Holysmoke]

We owe Srinath so much! He came out of retirement and guided the youngsters like Zaheer, Nehra, etc. Along with Kumble, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly, and Tendulkar, he made sure that the dark days of match fixing were over and done with, and that with the new millenium, came a new ethos.

[kabira]

>But when I think of Javagal Srinath, I think of ’97. India v Sri Lanka in Mumbai. Final Test. India pushing for a win, trying to wrap up the Sri Lankan first innings when Srinath ran in and smashed the wicketkeeper Lanka de Silva in the face. The bouncer sneaking through the helmet grille, pummeling his left cheek and sending him to the hospital where he would need ten stitches. That was the first time I saw an Indian bowler do anything remotely violent. I felt bad for Lanka de Silva but I was perversely thrilled. An Indian fast bowler was smelling blood. Srinath probably apologized. I didn’t notice. But there was reason to hope. Writer missed Pringle Incident in SA, Srinath gave him bruises with a bouncer, he too was carried to hospital.

[Sidhoni]

:hatsoff: :hatsoff:

[Chandan]

100 wickets and Indian seamers - Javagal Srinath and the bridging of a gap Javagal Srinath and the bridging of a gap Posted on July 1, 2011 by sidvee At some point on the third day, when the rain relented in Bridgetown, Ishant Sharma got his 100th Test wicket. He angled one into Darren Sammy’s body, saw the ball thud against the pads and squealed an appeal. Ian Gould agreed. This is his 33rd Test. Just as he was threatening to fade away, Ishant has come back much stronger. Long may he bowl. He’s the fifth Indian medium-pacer to reach 100 Test wickets. Kapil, Srinath, Zaheer and Irfan went before him (I’m leaving out Karsan Ghavri only because I’m not sure how many of his 109 wickets were achieved with left-arm spin). Manoj Prabhakar and Venky Prasad both finished with 96 wickets. Almost but not quite. The next medium-pacer on the list with 79 wickets is Sreesanth, who may well go on to get a 100 wickets if he keeps his head. Or maybe not, considering how some of his best spells have come when he’s actually lost it. Kapil started this. Kapil started many things. He dared to bowl quick on dustbowls and dared to shred the batting textbook. He dared to defend 183 against the cricketing gods. When I see Dhoni’s earthiness and charisma, I imagine what an immense force Kapil must have been. If you’re drawing up an all time India Test XI, leave that No.7 spot alone. Opening the bowling alongside Kapil (in my all-time India XI) would be Zaheer. Since that evening in Trent Bridge, when England’s fielders pissed him off with jelly-beans, he averages 26.04. He’s played a part in series wins against England and New Zealand away and Sri Lanka and Australia at home (twice). He’s helped India tie both their home and away series against South Africa. And he’s played a big part in the World Cup win. Kapil finished in ’94. Actually he was finished earlier but the full stop was in ’94. Zaheer arrived in 2000. In between stood the bridge that connected them, a bridge that’s gradually fading from our collective memories. The secretary of the KSCA occasionally shows up on TV. You may spot a newspaper column here, an interview there. If you go to Mysore, you’ll see a roundabout named after him. If you’re around JP Nagar in Bangalore, you may see him exercising at a gym. He’s unlikely to be mobbed. And he is rarely missed. Javagal Srinath wasn’t a torchbearer. He wasn’t a great matchwinner. For many years he was a vegetarian. He waited for many years before he could cement his spot (sitting on the sidelines as Kapil chased Hadlee). He didn’t have a poetic action. He rarely bowled a yorker. Heck he took so many years to pitch it up. He didn’t trademark a celebration. Javagal Srinath apologised to Ponting after bowling him a bouncer, only to be told to beep off. He often batted clownishly, his head looking at Mysore, the bat swinging at Bangalore. He appealed as if pleading with the umpires for some respite. He watched as fielders in the slips spilt catch after catch after catch. He bowed his head, cussed loudly and went back to bowl. Javagal Srinath didn’t even have a proper nickname. Sri, it seems. How unimaginative! In Karnataka he was Babu. How prosaic, as if he was a clerk in the British Raj. Mysore Express. Oh please. I’m sure many young kids tried to bowl like him but the big boys were elsewhere. Sure Srinath was a nice hardworking guy but Waz, Waq, Curtly, Courtney, Donald and Polly … Now they were the real deal, people said. Javagal Srinath often did well in India’s losses. In one of the first matches I watched live, he dented the English battling line-up, only for Paul Jarvis to flatten India during their chase. Both shared the man-of-the-match award. Srinath was on the losing side. His career-best spell – a 13-wicket haul, 13 wickets! – was in Kolkata. Here too he shared the man of the match. But the match was lost. Azhar dropped Saeed Anwar on 2 (he would go on to make 188) and later mumbled a most ridiculous: ‘I went for someone else’s catch’. Javagal Srinath contributed two five-wicket hauls to Indian wins at home. Two! He was the opening act. The concert was reserved for Kumble and Co. Occasionally he enjoyed the limelight. Like that afternoon in ’96, on the rubble that was the Motera pitch, when he razed the South African batting line-up. 6 for 21. Javagal Srinath spent vast portions of his career watching India’s batting line-ups collapse. Whatever he did in England and South Africa in ’96 would never be enough simply because batsman after batsman was falling to pace and bounce. He rarely had the luxury of bowling with more than 350 runs on the board in an away Test. Javagal Srinath won four Test matches away from home. Four! One was in Dhaka and one in Bulawayo. The third was in Colombo. The fourth in Port of Spain, one of his last Tests. He never won a World Cup – he got close once and Ponting told him to beep off again, this time with the bat. He spent a large part of his career losing. But Javagal Srinath was anything but a loser. He was speedy – yes really quick, especially in the early years. After the deluge of military medium in the late ’80s and early ’90s (remember Bharat Arun? Or Bhupinder Singh Sr?) he was a godsend. With little guidance and almost no coaching, he turned himself into a serious contender. I still remember the ball that castled Javed Miandad in the ’92 World Cup. Middle stump. Match in the bag. Such promise! But when I think of Javagal Srinath, I think of ’97. India v Sri Lanka in Mumbai. Final Test. India pushing for a win, trying to wrap up the Sri Lankan first innings when Srinath ran in and smashed the wicketkeeper Lanka de Silva in the face. The bouncer sneaking through the helmet grille, pummeling his left cheek and sending him to the hospital where he would need ten stitches. That was the first time I saw an Indian bowler do anything remotely violent. I felt bad for Lanka de Silva but I was perversely thrilled. An Indian fast bowler was smelling blood. Srinath probably apologized. I didn’t notice. But there was reason to hope. A few overs later, Srinath would go on to bowl Pramodaya Wickramasinghe. It was his 100th Test wicket in his 30th Test. Some commentator acknowledged it. Tendulkar climbed on him like a baby koala hugging its mother. The Hindu carried a few paragraphs the next day. I remember reading ‘yeoman service’ (or maybe not but that was a phrase often applied to Srinath). A few months later, someone gifted me Sanjay Manjrekar’s album, Rest Day. Here different players talk about their favourite songs before Manjrekar sings them. Javagal Srinath says he’s choosing a song that’s inspired him through his life. He says he listens to it almost every evening. He says it keeps him going. The song follows: ruk jaanaa naheen too kahee haar ke kaanto pe chal ke milenge saaye bahaar ke o raahee, o raahee Listen to [ame=

the song[/ame]. Think of Srinath. Think of his career. Remember how crucial he was to the Indian fast bowling story. Never forget how he nurtured young fast bowlers, understanding how difficult it is to be young and receive no guidance. Kapil opened the tap. Zaheer triggered the flood. Srinath bridged the gap.

[akshayxyz]

@Chandan - are you the author?

[The Outsider]

Beautifully shot as well in the movie : PzPJYU2I-gw&feature=related 6L94EuT1yHE

[maniac]

Whatta Player Srinath was :hail: What a douchebag Ponting is....

[Sachin=GOD]

:hatsoff: to the article. Srinath was massively under rated.

[Chandan]

@Chandan - are you the author?

No Akshay. It is the former assistant editor of cricinfo Siddarth Vaidyanathan. You'll find a number of gems written by him there too.

[akshayxyz]

No Akshay. It is the former assistant editor of cricinfo Siddarth Vaidyanathan. You'll find a number of gems written by him there too.

Thanks. And thanks for enriching the original article with appropriate references/links. However, I have a humble request - when posting someone else's work, please quote the source. Not that it is my work, but I hope you understand what it means to the author and to integrity of ICF & its posters. P.S - I see that your post does mention "posted by sidvee", but I guess you would understand it is easy to miss and misinterpret.

[Sehwag1830]

Ishant Sharma climbs to no.7 in ICC rankings Harbhajan drops to no.8. http://www.relianceiccrankings.com/ranking/test/bowling/

[Mystique_Myth]

he deserves it.. acc. to the current form of bhaji.. he don't even deserve to be in Top 20

[deepak_sach]

So who is youngest bowler in the top ten rankings?

[Stuge]

wow.. ish:) deserves the applause and rankings jump

[deepak_sach]

Some were talking of Mohammed "match Fixer" amir as some messiah to carry pakistan bowling tradition ,but his career best ranking was 8th and now ishu's 7th..... Shows ishant is the best young fast bowler today