Best Cricket matches that I have seen

Some matches which I liked the most and will always remember are:

Chennai Test - Tie match between India and Australia (1986)

Was a gem of a match, full of aggression and one of the great run chases in last day. Also remembered for a short aggressive hitting by Srikanth on 4^th day (some 50-60 runs he scored run a ball). The last day of test match was also remembered the way Ravi shastri instead of keeping the stike, gave the last man Maninder singh to bat the deadly greg mathews…

India England at Natwest trophy final (Run chase by Yuvraj and Kaif) - 2002

Never ever though of Indian batting line up down 4 wickets will dream of coming even close to 250 or 260, leave 300, but the unbelievable thing happened and that too in final, also remembered for that shirt wagging of Ganguly.

Australia - South Africa semi final at England 2000 world cup

South Africa will never ever will forget the way in which the match ended, some powerful hitting by klusner not once by twice in that over, 2 runs in 3 balls and that last run out of Donald, unimaginable....



India - Pakistan game at Australia 1992 world cup

Remembered for Javed Miadad hopping and then his stumps approoted by srinath. India won the match and which was like winning world cup then.




India - Pakistan game at Bangalore 1996 world cup

Again Remembered for Aamir Sohail and Prasad row.... Aaamir showing his bat after hitting a boundary and the very next balll his stumps routed, also astonishing batting by Ajay Jadeja where he hit some 40 odd runs in just last 3 overs


Australia - South Africa - 870 runs in 50 overs

How can a team firstly score 436 runs in 50 overs and how can a team dare to chase it and win. This impossible task was done by South Africa, always remembered by flurry of runs scored by Smith and Gibbs, almost like murdering the bowling


India Pakistan, Channai test - Final Day

Though India lost it, will be always remembered for patient batting by Sachin and then loosing his concentration when just 16 runs were required to win and 4 wickets were left. This test proved to the cricketing world that how much well you bat, you will be rewarded only if you finish it in style. Some great bowling by Saqlain Mushtaq and great pressure applied and aggression by the pakistan (sadly which it lacks nowadays).


Laxman special in Eden Garden vs Australia - test match
Eventually this was not only a match winning 280 runs but also raised the tempo to win series against Australia in India..... Also remembered for some exceptional bowling by bhajji



Lastly

India - Pakistan clash in 20-20 Finals and the league match

These 2 matches were always special to all cricketing lovers, You will feel for Misbah-ul-haq, who had not once but twice brought close to victory, but what a bowling performance from both teams, and who said 20-20 is regarded as batsman's paradise..... these 2 matches proved wrong and big bashers of the ball Sehwag, Afridi, Yuvraj, Dhoni all failed..... These 2

matches brought life to the newly emerging game 20-20, making test matches and one day matches a boring watch.

There are many more which can be cherished again and again....

I always had this passion of collecting and memorizing the cricket matches right from 1987 reliance world cup, I always loved to keep the records of one day game and also test cricket till, there where times during my schooling days I even used to keep up puotos of VIV Richards, Krish Srikanth (who was the like SEHWAG of India those days). Used to do all crazy stuff, playing statistics game within myself, wring down the scorecards and net run rates…. Even though I was poor in mathematics, my cricketing stats was always powerful.

Working after 6pm….

I don’t know why people take pride in saying “I was working till 12 since last 2 weeks…..”. Is it because they love working or they are in-efficient, maybe because they are used to it. According to me mix of all these 3 factors.

I was working in Patni in Bombay and was always lucky enough to move out of office at 6 pm….. rarely had I ever sat beyond 7, so one of my co worker asked me “How come you always leave by 6? Don’t you have enough work ?”. For a moment it hurt me not because he said I don’t have work, but because people still think (especially these so called emerging new Management Trainees and Engineering trainees) that you are a good efficient employee only if you sit out after 6 and go home only at 9 or 10.

This is not only with the IT people, I have seen one of my cousin in Pune who is a business person and has some 20-30 staff working under him. He always says “ aree yaar, There is not a single day that I have come home before 11 pm”, crazy stuff, if you are so cribbing about your late hours then why can’t you complete your task before time. In India this has become a norm that people who stretch their selves beyond working hours are regarded as hard workers, sad really sad.

Rightly sad in a way by Narayan Moorthi that “In IT If you can’t complete your task withing the stipulated period, then you are not fit to be in IT Industry”, maybe a very common notion which you guys may have heard from chain mails, but is very true. Even I work beyond 6 at times but inside I ask myself that why I stretched myself, shouldn’t I have completed the task on time.

So people who say that person leaving that by 6 or 6:30 an ALARM BELL or tease him, better look to yourself…. You are the one who is in-efficient not him, so better complete your task and go home, ENJOY LIFE…..