Cricket Harsh

Why Stuart Broad required an inhaler during the Day 1 of second Test against Pakistan?

2020-08-15T12:40:00.004+05:30

During the first day of second Test, 34-year-old Stuart Broad was in some sort of discomfort on the field. In his fourth over he called for an inhaler and was struggling a little.

Why he called for an inhaler?

Broad, in fact, has been suffering from asthma and he even had revealed it in 2015.

Broad was born 3 months premature and as a result he was born with only 1 and a half lungs.(WHAT??😮).

Yes,you heard it. One of his lungs never fully developed. He was at death's door when he was born but luckily he survived.(Thank God).

That is the reason he is asthmatic and carry an inhaler. He says "It has never affected me as a sportsman, but the idea that I've played my entire career with half a lung less than everybody else is quite amazing when you think about it."

The Match:

Despite the struggles, Broad bowled an excellent spell of 13-4-31-1 on the opening day of the test.

THE MILESTONE

In the previous test against West Indies, Stuart Broad had touched milestone of 500 Test Wickets.

Representing England in 141 Tests, 121 ODIs and 56 T20Is, Broad has been playing international cricket for 14 years with his half lung.

AT THE END I WANT TO ONLY SAY THAT MY RESPECT FOR STUART BROAD HAS INCREASED MORE THAN EVER BEFORE. PLAYING INTERNATIONAL CRICKET FOR 14 YEARS WITH HIS HALF LUNG IS A KIND OF A BIG DEAL.💜

He also kept this Asthma hidden for many years and only revealed it few years back. HATS OFF BROAD.

His dedication towards cricket is just at another level.🏏

The Rise Of Rohit Sharma

2020-04-30T01:52:00.002+05:30

The so called HitMan turns 33 today. No Journey is without struggle and hardwork and dedication too.
So lets take a quick dig today on his great journey towards the Legends game CRICKET.

Also its always enjoyable watching him strike the ball over the covers.🏏 RIGHT? Anyway Lets begin

Lets us start this by talking about his early life struggle:

His father worked as a caretaker of a transport firm storehouse. And like how in most of the movies they show struggle by showing low income family background, Rohit's father too had very low income. So guess what? Rohit was raised by his grandparents and uncles in Borivali(Mumbai) [even I was born there.Out of the topic. SORRY😅]. So anyways, Sharma would visit his parents only during weekends who lived in single room house.

His cricketing journey began when he joined a cricket camp in 1999 with help of his Uncle's money. His coach at the camp was Dinesh Lad. Heard Lad somewhere? Yes, he is the father of Siddhesh Lad who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket.

Rohit With his childhood coach

Anyways, Dinesh told Rohit to change the school where he was the coach which had better cricket facilities.
Rohit recollects, "I told him I could'nt afford it, but he got me scholarship. So for 4 years I didnt pay a penny and did well in my cricket."
[Siddhesh should be proud of his father.]
Here's something only few people knows, Rohit started cricket as an off spinner who could bat a bit. But then Lad noticed his batting ability and promoted him from number 8 to open the innings.(Phew, thank God he noticed)

Rohit is the guy who seizes every opportunity he gets and so on a debut as an opener he scored a century in Harris and Giles Shield school cricket tournament.

Lets talk About his Debuts:

Domestic Career

Rohit Sharma made his List A debut for West Zone against Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy in March 2005. He came to bat at number 8 scoring 31* off 47 balls to help West Zone win by 3 wickets.

Riding on high confidence, Sharma scored 142* off 123 balls against North Zone in the same tournament. This performance of Sharma caught eyes of selectors for the first time.

Based on his performances, Sharma was called up for India A’s visit to Abu Dubai and Australia. He was also included in the 30-member probable list for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Sharma scored 57 and 22 during his first-class debut for India A against New Zealand A in July 2006. He made his Ranji Trophy debut with Mumbai in the 2006-07 season. After a rusty start, Sharma scored 205 against Gujrat and 57 against Bengal in the finals to help Mumbai lift the Ranji trophy.

Beginning of ODI Career:

Rohit Sharma received his first ODI call-up against Ireland on 23 June 2007. Although he did not get to bat, India won the match by 8 wickets.At this point of time, Rohit Sharma used to bat in the middle-order.
When he finally got a chance bat against South Africa, Sharma was unable to play well as he got out at 8.
Sharma scored his 1st half-century against Pakistan in November 2007 followed by a 39* against Australia and 70* against Sri Lanka in February 2008. His triple century in Ranji in 2009 ensured he returned to the ODI squad in 2010.
This time Sharma took his chance as he scored his first ODI century (114) against Zimbabwe followed by another century against Sri Lanka (101*).

When and how he finally played as an opener?

However, Sharma was unable to show consistent performances leading him to miss out the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. Post WC, Sharma’s career got a revival when MS Dhoni recalled him and promoted him as an opener in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma never turned back then. (Dhoni, you are always the right choice to make. Isn't it?😉)
Sharma scored 177 runs in 5 innings at an average of 35.40 with two half-centuries, as India went on to lift its second Champions Trophy.
The next year, Rohit scored 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, and in doing so surpassed Virender Sehwag’s 219 to become the highest-scoring batsman in an ODI. The record still stands, as nobody has been able to cross it.💓

By 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan were the Men in Blue’s newest openers. The duo have opened for India in 105 innings, scoring 4708 runs at an average of 45.26.

The achieved personal highest opening partnership of 210 runs was achieved against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2018.

Leading out as Captain of Indian Team

In 2017, Rohit Sharma was named the Indian captain for the first time in his career. India won the ODI series 2-1 under his leadership. He again led India in the 2018 Asia Cup after Virat Kohli was rested after the England tour. India won the tournament after beating Bangladesh in the final.(Remember those Naagin Dance?)

The hitman finished as the batsman with the most ODI runs in 2019. He scored 1490 runs in 27 innings with an average of 57.30 and strike rate of 89.92.

Test Career Entry

Rohit Sharma has performed decently when called upon despite not being the first choice openers for India in test cricket. He made his entry into the Indian test team relatively late.

He scored 177 on his debut against West Indies to join a small group of Indians to score a century on his debut.

Sharma went on to score 111* at the Wankhede and became the third Indian to score consecutive centuries in the first two tests. Only Sourav Ganguly (1996) and Mohammad Azharuddin (1984) achieved the feat before this.

His high score of 212 runs came against South Africa in October 2019. After the innings, David Warner said that he believes that Rohit Sharma could be the one to break Brian Lara’s 400* record.

T20 Career Entry

Rohit made his T20 debut for India against England in 2007 ICC World T20 Championships but did not get an opportunity to bat. However, he did get an opportunity against South Africa in his second match and took it with both hands.

Rohit played and scored an unbeaten 50 as India won by 37 runs. In the semi-finals against Australia, Sharma made a small cameo at the end of the innings and scored 8* off 5 balls as India won by 15 runs.

In the finals, Rohit made another late cameo and made a crucial contribution of 30* from 15 balls. India won the final by 5 runs. In 2007, Sharma was used predominately as a middle-order batsman coming at number 7 or 8.

However, under MS Dhoni’s captainship, he has promoted up the order to open the innings. This change affected not only his T20 career but ODI career as well.

Sharma shares the honour with his fellow teammate and captain Virat Kohli. While their race to the top spot will be the talk of the town, Rohit can be relieved with the fact that he is the only player to hit four T20 international centuries while also leading the list of the batsmen with most sixes in T20.

And You all know about his IPL career so won't go deep into that.

Rohit Sharma is the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League. He has won the IPL trophy four times, three times as the captain of the Mumbai Indians.(Well I am a Mumbai Indians supporter😬)

Rohit Sharma's Records

Sharma holds the highest individual score of 264 in the ODIs.
Rohit Sharma has scored 28 centuries in ODIs. Only two Indians ahead of him are Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
He is the only batsmen to score 5 centuries in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Rohit holds the unique record of scoring a century with a six in all three formats.
Sharma has hit the highest number of fours (33) in an ODI match.
He has broken the record of most runs from fours and sixes in an ODI. He has scored 186 runs via boundaries. Earlier this record was held by Shane Watson.
Rohit holds the second-highest number of sixes in an ODI- 16.
Sharma is the only player to score 8 150 plus scores in ODI.
He is the second-fastest opener in the world as well as the fastest Indian opener to reach 4,000 ODI runs. He took 83 innings.
Rohit Sharma is the second-fastest opener in the world as well as the fastest Indian opener to reach 5000 ODI runs. He took 102 innings.
Rohit is the 2nd player to hit 3 consecutive centuries in a World Cup.
He, along with Sachin holds the records for most centuries in the World Cup- 6.
Sharma is the joint highest T20I run-scorer- 8944.
Rohit is the only player to have scored 4 T20I centuries.
Sharma has hit the most sixes in T20’s- 120.
He is the 2nd Indian after Suresh Raina to have scored at least a century in all 3 international formats.
Rohit Sharma is the only Indian to score a T20I century as a captain.
He also holds the record for having the most number of half-centuries among openers in T20- 19.
Rohit scored 2442 runs in International cricket in 2019. He went past Sanath Jayasuriya’s 2387 runs for Sri Lanka in 1997.
He is the second player overall and first Indian to feature in 100 T20 internationals.
Third Indian to score Two consecutive centuries in his first two test matches.

Nothing more left to say. You all know him as HitMan . Just one final thing. Rohit and his wife Ritika make a very cute couple💓😉

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Cheers.......

World Cup 1992 semi-final: One of the most controversial exits in World Cup history

2020-03-24T16:46:00.000+05:30

How will you take it when you feel like you have been robbed from a victory you knew you will most likely win it. You obviously would feel heartbroken and in disbelief of what happened with you and your team. This is what happened in the Semi-Final of World Cup 1992 with South African cricket team against England.

The huge scorecard at SCG placed between Coke and Foster's bannersread SOUTH AFRICA TO WIN NEED 22 RUNS OFF 1 BALL

What Actually Happened?
The second semi-final of the 1992 World Cup, between England and South Africa – playing their first World Cup since the end of their 21-year Apartheid-induced isolation.(Apartheid induced isolation is covered later in this blog).

England managed a competitive 252/6 thanks to a worthy knock of 92 from Graeme Hick. The first innings were stopped at 45 overs as South Africa had bowled their overs slowly. In reply, the Keppler Wessels-led side were trudging on as they lost their way after a decent start. Jonty Rhodes did the repair job in the middle order bringing South Africa back into the game with some sharp running and occasional boundaries. Needing 47 off five overs then was a big task; but then this side was up for any cricketing challenge. That’s when the drama began:

The brooding Sydney skies opened up for a moment and the target was then reduced to 22 off 13, still achievable. The rain only grew heavier and that’s when umpires Steve Randell and Brian Aldridge decided to consult the players. England was adamant to leave the field finding it difficult to grip the ball and play on a soaking outfield. The Proteas obviously wanted to continue.

The umpires found the English argument to be valid and called the players off the field.

NOW, a new rule introduced for that World Cup meant the target was reduced only by the amount of runs scored in least productive two overs(Team batting first) with the bat.

Proteas had bowled two maiden overs when England were batting. This meant that with 2.1 overs remaining any time lost would not result in a reduction in the target but would mean the debutants would have lesser balls to complete the target.

The skies closed and the shower stopped. About 12 minutes of total time was lost. The new equation said that one over was deducted and South Africa had to score 22 off 7 deliveries. Confusion reigned further. Before the South Africans could come to terms with the new equation, they got a further jolt getting to know that the six balls reduction was incorrect. The gloomy shade of Sydney skies was now visible on the faces of South African players.The worst part of the whole situation was that neither the players nor the crowd were aware of the actual equation. Till the time they entered the ground the new equation sky rocketed to 22 runs from 1 ball thanks to the new Rain Rule framed by 'God knows who'.

AdGraham Gooch shakes hands with Brian McMillan
after England’s controversial wind caption

THE AFTERMATH

The Proteas felt humiliated and were obviously upset. Still they came out to the field after the match, shook hands with the visibly embarrassed English players and also did a lap of honor as one and all including English supporters cheered the unlucky heroes.

England lost to Pakistan in the Final.

The rain rule was replaced for ODI matches in Australia after the World Cup as a result of this incident, and it was eventually superseded by the Duck-worth-Lewis method for the 1999 World Cup on wards.

Though everyone raised a stink about the farcical rain rule, nobody questioned the broadcasters’ (Channel Nine) insistence on finishing the match the same day despite their being a reserve day for the semifinals. YEAH you read it right. There was a reserve day.

Probably that was South Africa’s best chance to lay their hands on the World Cup ever or even come close to winning it or even be runners up to that matter. The 1992 team, which was just two years old into international fold, exhibited daredevilry throughout the tournament. They beat defending champs Australia, West Indies, Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe en route the semifinal.

They had lost a chance to get into the World Cup final, having just got back into cricket after being banned when their government brought in apartheid.

What was Apartheid-induced isolation

In 1970, the ICC voted to suspend South Africa from international Cricket indefinitely because of its government's policy of apartheid, an overtly racist policy, which led them to play only against the white nations (England, Australia, New Zealand), and field only white players.

This decision brought an abrupt end to the Test careers of hugely talented players such as Graeme Pollock, Peter Pollock, Barry Richards, Mike Procter and Eddie Barlow. It would also cause the emigration of future stars like Tony Greig, Allan Lamb and Robin Smith, who all played for England, and Kepler Wessels, who initially played for Australia, before returning to South Africa.

The ICC reinstated South Africa as a Test nation in 1991 after the deconstruction of apartheid, and the team played its first sanctioned match since 1970 (and its first ever One-Day International) against India in Calcutta on 10 November 1991.

Debutants South Africa were on their way to seal a fairy-tale semifinal win over then favorites, England. Their performance showed that a vivacious nation was born again with the apartheid establishment dying a slow death. But then that one moment of nature’s unpredictability combined with ridiculous set of laws ensured that all fairy tales don’t have a happy ending.😀

That's all from today's blog. Hope you liked this article💓. We would really appreciate you to be part of our blog by suggesting about our next article and we welcome any suggestions you like to improve the blog..

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CHEERS.........

Is AB de Villiers coming back to International cricket?

2020-03-19T13:48:00.000+05:30

With the cash-rich league (Indian Premier League) being postponed till April 15, RCB player opened up on the possibility of an international comeback.

“Let’s wait and see what happens. My focus is on the Indian Premier League at the moment and helping Royal Challengers Bangalore realize our full potential. Then we will sit down and have a look at the rest of the year and see what is possible,” De Villiers said as quoted by Sportstar.

The 36-year-old had retired from international cricket in 2018. He did try to get into the South African squad before the World Cup 2019. However, the team management didn’t let him. In the end, the World Cup turned out to be disastrous for South Africa cricket team.
Talking about his decision of retiring, he said,
“Each player must consider his own circumstances and make his own decision. I reached a point where I wanted to see more of my wife and two young sons and seek a reasonable balance between family and cricket. The mental and physical demands on the leading players are massive these days, but each player must decide what he can and can’t do.”

The South African cricket team is going through a bit of transition period. The situation had risen after the retirement of some key individuals who had carried the Proteas. Imran Tahir, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy are some of the players who have retired from international cricket. But, the early retirement of the South African batsman AB de Villiers has definitely impacted the side heavily.

Recently, while playing in the Big Bash League 2019-20, the right-handed batsman had said that there have been talks of his comeback to international cricket. The comeback would see him primarily focusing on winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 for the South African side.

Mark boucher the head coach expressed his desire to have ABD back in the side and so did former captain of the team Faf du Plessis.

SO YEAH WE CAN HOPE THE COMEBACK OF THE LEGEND TO INTERNATIONAL CRICKET AND SEE HIM IN ACTION FOR THE UPCOMING ICC CRICKET T20 WORLD CUP 2020 FOR THE SOUTH AFRICA.

Let us know what do you think of his comeback to side
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CHEERS.....

The Test: A New Era for Australia’s Team

2020-03-09T23:51:00.001+05:30

The Scandal:-

The 2018 Australian ball-tampering scandal, also known as the Sandpaper-gate scandal, was a cricket scandal surrounding the Australian national cricket team. In March 2018, during the third Test match against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town, Cameron Bancroft was caught by television cameras trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing in flight. Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were found to be involved and all three received unprecedented sanctions from Cricket Australia. Although he was found not to have been directly involved, Australia's coach, Darren Lehmann, announced he would step down from his role following the scandal. Smith was replaced by Tim Paine as Test captain, and Aaron Finch as T20I and ODI captain.

About The Documentary:

The Test: A New Era for Australia’s Team is a new documentary from Amazon Prime Video that will show fly-on-the-wall coverage of the Australia men’s cricket team in the wake of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
Superstar duo Steve Smith and David Warner were banned from cricket for a year while Cameron Bancroft was ruled out for nine months as punishment.
The Test will pick up in the immediate aftermath of the scandal and follow the team through two years of action including the Cricket World Cup and The 2019 Ashes series including the return of the infamous trio.
The Test begins with the appointment of Justin Langer as a coach and follows the Australian Men’s Cricket Team around the world. With unprecedented access, The Test gives viewers an inside look into the highs and lows of the long road back in the team’s fight to regain the respect of world cricket.
From a tough run in the short-form of the game to their first-ever Test series loss to India on Australian soil, the fans journey with the team as they rally and rise to a successful World Cup campaign and battle against England for the 2019 Ashes series.

When will The Test be released on Amazon Prime Video?

Amazon Prime Video‘s original documentary ‘The Test: A New Era for Australia’s Team’ will premiere on Amazon Prime Video in Australia and around the world in more than 200 countries and territories on 12th March.

Number of episodes :- There will be a total of eight episodes in The Test: A New Era for Australia’s Team.

Director/Writer:- The series is directed by Adrian Brown and produced by CA Films in partnership with Australian production company Whooshka Media.

Have a look at all the trailers and teasers below:

The trailer opens with the Australian team going through a tough time. Footage of The Ashes and clips of the team's highs and lows are documented. Of notable interest was the shot of the Jofra Archer-bouncer that floored Steven Smith.

Other clips and sneak peeks: