Since we are in the final lap of 2008, I thought I might just set the ball rolling for the pick of the best of Cricket in 2008. The good, the bad and the not so good….whatever it was, 2008 was a watershed year. It saw the crumbling of the mighty Australian empire, at least the aura of it…. The rise of new power order of world cricket both financially and professsionally! Here’s my pick of the top from the lot.
1. Perth : SA chase down 414
The most incredible chase in the history. Sheer audacity of will and skill overpowering the champions in their “fortress”. And who better to do it but, Graeme Smith the man with steel nerves who has come back well after being so horrendously exposed last time when he opened his big mouth more than he could deliver. This time, he let his bat do the talking and the results are for all to see!
Stars: AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith. Essentially a team victory though.
2. CB Series : India finally “do it” down under
It took Sachin an incredible almost 3 dozen matches to break the voodoo of not scoring a century in Australia. It also shut some trash about him not performing in finals when he single handedly won the finals to start a still continuing free fall of Aussies.
Stars: Captain Cool MS Dhoni, the veteran Sachin tendulkar and the inspired youth of Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma
3. Mendis Phenomenon
He came, he tweaked and he conquered. Arguably, the most bizarre talent to emerge in last decade or so. His performance against an Indian side that’s prided itself in playing spin as good as any side certainly helped his reputation of brilliance! He is destined for big things unless people learn to play his unique style of tweak!
4. The IPL thing
It came almost like an after-thought to the pioneering yet much maligned work of Subhash Chandra’s ICL circus. But it made some real grown-ups behave like kids fighting for lolly. A full monty for the commercial side of cricket. Unashamed, unabashed in displaying “what sells” and what they see as future of cricket. The enfant terrible of cricket, Shane Warne writing the script of the Rajasthan Royals was a moment for the romantics! Sir Neville Cardus must have loved to write something on that, for sure… It just added to the glamour quotient, as much as the first day 158 blitz by Mc Cullum was the dreamer’s delight. Lalit Modi couldn’t have asked for more…
5. Perth : India beat Australia
The proverbial Phoenix was what comes nearest in imagery of one of India’s best triumphs in recent times. That it came after the worst nightmare ended in Sydney and that it came at a place where no Asian team has ever come close was what makes it even sweeter.
6. Kevin Pietersen’s switch hits
This is probably the one thing that split the cricket world longitudinally like nothing in recent past. The sheer confidende of a man cocking a snook at the lawmakers in the Mecca of cricket, was only matched by MS Dhoni’s field placings in Nagpur, in terms of treading the fine line between illegal and incredible. This is something that will make KP stand out in a game dominated by batsmen for quite some time.
7. Pakistan’s isolation
It’s a sad state of affairs when the geo-politics of a country devoid its people of one thing that could provide them succor…Sports. Cricket is Pakistan’s life line. One of the few things that binds the people in a confused country unable to decide between Hardline Islam and Modern Moderation, between a megalomaniac dictator and a whimsical ‘democratically’ elected president. Whatever be the reason, Pakistan suffered incredibly in cricketing terms, with not a single test being played by the country in a calendar year. An unimaginable scenario in even the worst of times….and worse still, not much hope of things improving in foreseeable future.
8. New Zealand and West Indies
Its really hard to see the chasm widening between the big boys and the rear end of test table. NZL and WI have had proud history but the way they have gone down the drain is a real foreboding ( I so wish, they prove it wrong sooner rather than later). They along with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have not been the best of opposition in recent times. Take Pakistan out as it hardly plays..and all you are left with is 5 countries, effectively making it a 2 tier league(which incidentally is a good proposal).
9. Australia’s free fall from the top
It’s the sheer pace at which things have come apart from the Aussie juggernaut that amazes the mind. If #1 and #2 were the specifics, even the general look of things doesn’t appear too good for Aussies.They cannot afford anymore to rest on past, which is well and truly behind them. They need a rebuild in the mould of Kim Hughes and Alan Border in the 80′s, and fast! But realization is the first step to redemption. Unless they realize things are going awry, there’s hardly anything they can do to put them right. Getting a dose of fresh youth both in batting, bowling and leadership might not be such a bad idea!
….and finally the most emotional one, 10. Remembering the Titans
2008 saw 3 of the modern day legends bowing out. Adam Gilchrist, Saurav Ganguly and Anil Kumble are 3 of the most revered names in modern cricket. It would be foolish on my part to try and describe the emotional component of their departure in words. The world of cricket will never see any of these three unique cricketers again or any like them!
Bonus: Sehwag’s return and resurrection was something that is as incredible as it gets! A triple, a double and a generous dose of cameos, including the match winning one at Chennai for 83. As good as it gets…
