A Very Very Special goodbye!

Numbers tell a very good story, but often leave out the most important bits. While a Test match batting average pushing 46 over a 134 match career is indeed impressive, VVS Laxman's story will never be about numbers. In the quartet that is much talked about, Laxman was the last to be anointed with greatness, almost grudgingly, as if only because a quartet would sound much cooler than a triumvirate. Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman, as he would have very very rarely been called, is looking to call it a day. It wont evoke as much emotion as probably an announcement from Sachin would. It certainly wont have the drama of Saurav's. But,   it will mark the end of a remarkable career in which he has served the Indian team with distinction.

If a career is defined only by a highlights reel, VVS would have very few peers. He has enough blockbuster innings to warrant a blog entry each and this post is not about those. It would be criminal to leave out mention of a certain 281 though. Played along with his trusted lieutenant Rahul Dravid, their backs to the wall, it was a stretched out display of lazy elegance and belligerent stroke play. Following on with a huge deficit and standing in the way of an imposing world record, it would have required talent, temperament and grit to stonewall the rampaging Australians. Did we mention the Aussies there? Aussies were his Zimbabwe. Steve Waugh would easily trade his wicket for Sachin's. However, the fact that he required Australia and strife to summon his best performances will stand in way of him being considered an all time great. So, he will end his career as a breathtakingly good batsman, just that.

VVS is from Hyderabad. He was good at studies and pulled off a juggling act, enrolling in medical college. But there came a point when he had to make a choice and he chose to follow in the footsteps of his idol Md. Azharuddin. He had the same wrists and the leg side play, if anything he was not as hurried as Azhar which added to the charm. How he manages to deposit balls well outside off to the midwicket boundary beggars belief. The nonchalance that dripped off those shots was regal. But this unbelievable leg side play came at a cost - he would never thrust his front foot down to meet the line of the ball outside off. He would end up playing back when the pundits would rather have him playing forward and would get out bowled or lbw often looking very ungainly. He would look equally ungainly anywhere in the outfield (To his credit, he grew into a very safe and one of India's most prolific slip catchers) and this along with his super lazy running between the wickets were often held against him when discussing teams for the limited over versions of the game. He will be in a rare minority of people to have played over a 100 tests and not have featured in a World cup, not even in 2003 when he was hitting something of a purple patch in ODIs. The performance of his replacement - Dinesh Mongia - did no justice to the selection.


Nothing matters more than the team for VVS. He has batted everywhere from 1 through 7. And unlike Dravid who was shuffled around because the team needed him somewhere, Laxman was shuffled around because he was the easiest to shuffle. In the epochal DLF IPL 2008, he was named an icon player of the Deccan Chargers who by way of classification was assured a hefty amount in the bank. He relinquished the position so his team would have a bigger purse for the auction. How cool! Add the Indian subtext of ego and selfishness. How amazingly cool! Naysayers might opine that he was being realistic about his worth. But then, that should have been even more reason for him to make the most while he could. The same passion for team excellence could be seen when the usually calm and reserved VVS was seen brandishing a bat and hurling abuses at Pragyan Ojha, anxious to secure what would be a nail biting victory over the Aussies at Mohali. He had a very bad back to boot.

Another retirement and slowly one of the last players that I grew up watching before realizing that cricket was just a sport after all, is leaving the scene. Along with Kumble, Dravid and Sachin, Laxman brought a gentlemanly touch to the sport. Very few people would have had such long careers with the sword always hanging on their necks. He was the least indispensable of India's batting heroes. But he was unique. His style of play or even his temperament. When in a hole, Sachin digs himself deeper, Dravid holds an end up, but Laxman counterattacks and with some style. As he leaves, he wont be missed - at least not as badly as a Dravid or a Sachin and therein lies the beauty. He did extraordinary things without promising them. Goodbye Padma Shri VVS!

The li'l master

A player is as good as he is against the best team of his era. Ask Australia, ask Sharjah, ask Perth. A player is as good as he scraps when out of form. Ask Sydney, ask the then shunned cover drive. Longevity separates, they say, the theres and the almost theres. Agreed, ask 1989, ask 2009. Performance at the world stage? ask 1996, ask 2003, ask me again on the 2nd of April, 2011.

When did I start liking him from? I dont know. When did I start liking cricket from? I dont know. All I know, is that the latter happened due to the former and both happened before 1993. I was what, four years old, and I remember very little of me out then. Rooting for a curly haired 'uncle' contributing to the Proteas' chokers tag, I certainly do, surreally though. I didn't know then, that he would be my hero and that sixteen years later, I would be sweating about the moment he would choose, to be his sunset. Time would stall. At the least, IST will, when that will happen. I love Sehwag, I adore Yuvraj, I tolerate Dhoni. But, I only worship Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

There have been many articles in the last week, in praise of the 'lil master' - a title that had greats like Hanif Mohammed and Sunil Gavaskar in occupancy before him - which extol his many virtues. People write about his longevity, his humility, his ability to sustain his hunger. Yes, thats how articles about 20 year long careers are supposed to be. But, there was something far more simple than all this that made me his fan back then; that caught the imagination of a nation and made it cricket crazy. His batting was as uncluttered as things could get. He always did the right thing off every ball. Other great batsman try to flick a ball on leg, and flick it. Sachin just flicks it.

That brings me to his batting. Poetry, it is. Rare is a player as solid as him. Rarer are those that can tear an attack apart like he does. Equally sparse are the ones who can look so assured and flowing, when batting. Combine them all and there is no one else. His batting is never brute force. I think he is incapable of slogging. A batter only slogs when he wants to hit into an area he cant otherwise. This guy can. A former player/umpire once said- 'They say Bradman is the best batsman that ever played the game. Watching this bloke bat makes me wonder- how can any one be better than this?' I couldn't agree more. I do not know Bradman. I know 99.94. I know 29 centuries in 52 matches. I know uncovered pitches. I respect him. But, in my humble opinion, it is a futile exercise to compare people across eras. Dare I say, Bradman would have been found out in the extensive video analysis that is prevalent today. Sachin, on the other hand, is the most scrutinized cricketer in the history of the game. His technique is an open book, now, after 20 years. And, he still decimates attacks.

The beauty of Sachin's batting is in how ready he seems to be for the delivery. He always seems to have more than a couple of shots for a delivery (I agree with Kapil Dev, only in the part where he says that Sachin played within himself, more on this later). In slightly more cricketing terms, he judges the length of a ball to perfection which allows him to get into the best positions to play the ball. This, most players, the greats, do. Frighteningly, for the bowlers, this man does it before the ball is released. Nothing else can explain the six off Caddick, that now requires no further reference. When you talk about offside, you talk about Ganguly, for two reasons- his off side play and his leg side play. Sachin is so complete that he can never be labelled as the best player to do something particular.

I started off watching cricket when this willow-wielder was only intent on marauding his opponents. He is now the perfect batsman, even more complete, but may be a touch slower. He has mellowed down over the years to suit the needs of his team. He has curbed his natural instincts for the benefit of his team. A Kapil Dev can go on record saying that Sachin could have been a better player. Wrong. May be Sachin could have been a better batsman. But, not without being a selfish player. He did not have the luxury of knowing that Steve Waugh was to come in next to stem the rot if things didn't go right. Nor did he feel reassured that a Gilly would come in at 7 and blast a century. Equally important, he did not certainly have the luxury of knowing that there is a McGrath in the team who would be landing all the 48 balls of his first spell in the corridor, just short of length. Even Lara did not. Sachin and Lara played the situations differently. And the results are for all to see. So, Kapil, thanks for taking that catch of Viv running backwards and thanks for winning the cup, but beyond that, sorry to say, you suck harder than your ICL. There is also another criticism of Sachin not being a match winner. I find it too childish to even talk about it.


Sachin is slowly getting into buh-bye mode, but is still an integral part of the Indian batting order. Heck, he is still our best batsman. He is the man in a bunch of boys. He is the face of Indian cricket. His integrity is what held together, the nation's interest in the game in the face of the fixing saga. The respect that the cricketing fraternity has for him is beyond compare. He gets standing ovations wherever he plays and no, its not only the expats showering their most beloved son with praise. He is such a superb cricketer and an equally wonderful gentleman. The Australians love him, the English adore him. But, to us Indians, he is something much more. For my generation, even more. There used to be those days when we ran out of school to the nearest general store and shout-asked the shopkeeper from a distance if Sachin was still there. The run rate required and the score were secondary. Sachin would take care of all that. Our neighbors had a different paper-wallah, who would come half an hour before ours. Next to match days, they would almost invariably read a soiled newspaper. I am sure that almost every one of my generation will have many nostalgic memories of Sachin. He has been a constant in our lives which have seen lots of changes. He has been our unifying factor. He has been a source of inspiration, a source of identity and the first universal icon of this emerging nation. He means a lot to this nation and when he does hang his boots, it will be a moment when many of us will unknowingly reflect on our lives. He has been an integral part of my life. I have lived almost my entire life adoring him, so, when he says good bye, it will be a poignant moment, when all these memories, both involving him and not, will come rushing through. I rode my first bicycle when I loved Sachin, I wrote my last blog entry when I loved Sachin, and everything between. My life, as lived by him.

no better ... than..(the batting part)

Only contemporaries. Mostly Indian, as I dont watch much of others- though it wouldnt have made much of a difference. Any glaring misses can be pointed out.

A Sachin straight drive.. the simplicity that drips off this delicious sight belies the "untouchability"of the stroke. People end up playing careers without looking as graceful even once, the manner in which Sachin holds his elbow high after the bang straight follow through. As Kaspro-witch once famously said, "Dont bowl this guy bad balls.. he hits the good ones for fours"

A dance down the track by Dada..For a person with, admittedly, two left feet- epitomized in none better than the hero honda ad with Hrithik- this dance has been sending fans into raptures for well over a decade. In his heydays, spinners were kept out of teams because of him - ask poor Boje- such was his authority against them. When he steps out, the result is barely in doubt. But, now that he is into sunset mode, we can only relive the memories by watching Irfan Pathan resemble him vaguely.

The Dada cover drive. Offside.God.Ganguly.Period.

A Lax flick..  He meets 'em a mere two feet outside off, and renders the fielders in the deep useless. On the legside, that is. Those are not wrists. If they are, mine are not. Neither are yours. Its a pity , though, that he required the Oz to bring out his prowess, all the time- something that stood in way of his transition from a breathtakingly good, to a great batsman.

The Ponting pull.. Ishant Sharma may have his number. But even he would think twice before attempting a short delivery to Ponting. When on song, the result is a foregone conclusion. For a man with such glaring problems with the in dipper, Ponting seems to have remarkable time to play the pulls and the hooks. Brilliant.

The Lara cut.. If you ever need to defend batting as an art, look no further. Lara was an artist. Exaggerated follow throughs, dancing on the crease. There has never been a batsman more busy at the point of delivery- shuffling across or doing whatever. There have been very few better too. The cut shot stood out. Remarkable.

The Hansie 'slog' sweep.. The much maligned-now forgotten- once upon a time hero had a wonderful slog sweep. So much so, that it pained to call it a "slog" sweep. He combined the forceful and the delicate into one stroke of brilliance, belligerence and what not. A few stories are always filled with ifs and buts and if nots and had nots.

The Kallis cover drive.. The burly right hander has a picturesque cover drive. The head still and elbow perfectly in line, its a sight to behold. And, as is often the case with great people, he seems to know that he rocks. For, he seems to hold the pose till the bowler is back to his mark.

The Sachin/Sehwag upper cut.. I daresay no other mortal in the cricketing world attempts this shot with as much regularity as Sehwag or as much precision as Sachin. If Sachin's off Shoaib was one for the ages, Sehwag's in the very next of Waqar was as much a statement of intent as any could get. Two amazing shots in two overs. Match won. You know which.

The Sachin late cut.. The slow bowler has bowled a tight ball, round about off stump. He has seen the ball go into the keeper's gloves- well almost. He is about to turn to get back, happy as hell, having bowled a dot ball to the greatest batsman of his era. But then, he is shown that not for nothing was that batsman the best. Respect.

The Sanath cut.. Any batsman who can send the ball across the boundary, throughout at a catchable height is a special talent.  He has got quick silver hands and amazing coordination. Whatta playa.

The flowery reverse.. Rarely have I seen him miss out, Andy Flower, on the reverse sweep. How he managed to do that to Kumble and Harbhajan on Indian tracks, conjuring up centuries and doubles, I do not know. Had Andy played for Oz or SA, he would have been remembered as one of the greats. 

The Yuvraj front foot pull.. 'Bowler:Captain, I want three men patrolling the legside boundary front of square. Captain:lol.. its Yuvraj, doesnt matter.' When he gets his eye in, there is no ODI batsman that can match him for his dazzling brilliance. He checks his shots off 140+ Flintoff deliveries, perfectly respectable ones, over the boundary. He has many wonderful shots in his array, none better than his front foot pull shot, for its sheer rarity. He can pull the ball any where, with precision, nay, PRECISION, in the arc from long on to square leg. Amazing.

Honorary mention:

The Azhar flick

The Gibbs shimmy

The Mark Waugh/Ian bell cover drive

The Sachin backfoot coverdrive(excluded only because too many Sachin shots were making the grade)

The Inzy pull

The Mccullum shimmy

The Sangakkara cover drive

The Sachin-Warne shot

The KP short arm pull

The Sachin- Caddick shot(Thats it.. no more Sachin.)

The Dravid on drive

The KP switch

The Gilly cut

The Md. Yousuf cut

The AB de Villiers lofted cover drive

The Haydos walk down

The Gayle slog

The Dhoni helicopter (Pardon, included for eeriness quotient)

P.S. I am sure that Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina- both are among the best timers of the ball in today's cricket- will fill in with entries more than one, shortly. So will AB de Villiers, also a wonderful player.

soidA

That title was supposed to mean a Hi.  Well, blogs.iitk was giving a few troubles. So, here I am, this is me. Back in a new avatar to test your patience. Will import that blog soon. Cheez.