What a batsman, sirji!

200 runs in an ODI match - that's what teams used to score... and not just in a 50-over match, in the earlier avatar of the ODI, which was 60 overs long. And at times it was good enough to win the match. Why, India won the 1983 World Cup Final against West Indies scoring just 183, before being all out in 54.4 overs (of the allotted 60 overs), and just when everyone and their mother believed that the Windies were going to do a hattrick of world cup victories, bowled them out for 140 in 52 overs.

So, when a batsman scores 200* in a 50-overs a side match, it is a moment to stand up and applaud. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, and as only he could, becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a double hundred in an ODI match. This man has so many records to his name that he possibly also holds the record for holding maximum records, and he still has the hunger in him to keep going on and on and on. And when other around his age (and even much younger than him) are hanging their boots, this man keeps mellowing with every passing day. At almost 37 years, he has today achieved what 17 or 27 year olds have not been able to ever.

I am one big critic of the man, and was specially harsh towards him in the past couple of years, when I thought that his body was tiring and he was no more capable of leading India to victory. My criticism of Sachin became even more sharp after Sourav Ganguly (in my opinion the world's second best ODI player after Sachin) was forced to announce his retirement, despite being in a decent form (and not in any way worse than Sachin) at that juncture. I genuinely believed that having achieved so much, he should have gracefully made way for the others in the team (after all, who can dare tell Sachin to retire).

My friend and co-blogger, Varun, always felt that I was far too impatient with Sachin and a disbeliever (atheist would probably be his chosen word, for the God Sachin is), who did not understand the greatness of the man.

Today, I partly agree with Varun (I still believe that even Sourav should be playing for the team, which he does not), and humbly bow my head to Sachin.

Afghanistan - the new cricketing force of Asia!

The highest 4th innings total by a team winning a test match is 418/7 by West Indies against Australia at Saint John’s in 2003. There are only 3 more instances of teams scoring 400 plus runs in the 4th innings to win the match. South Africa’s 414/4 against Australia at Perth in 2008, India’s 406/4 against West Indies at Port of Spain in 1976, and Australia’s 404/3 against England at Leeds in 1948.

I checked up the record books for all kinds of International matches, where 2 nations played in a two-innings-a-side game, and found not a single team raking up over 500 to win in the 4th innings. Afghanistan – yes, Afghanistan – did that yesterday, when they chased 494 against much more fancied (at least against them) Canada, to hit 494/4, after trailing by over 300 runs in the first innings, and after Canada declared their second innings at 191/4, setting Afghanistan an almost unachievable target of around 500 runs.

All I can say is that it is extremely heartening to notice such big scores being chased down. But I’d also like to add that probably Canada played it too safe by not enforcing a follow-on and resultantly lost the game that they should’ve won.

For Afghanistan, this is a day of reckoning where everyone stands up and applauds them for their heroics. For a country tormented by war and terrorists, this is a shining example of the glory the youth can achieve for their nation by treading the right path.