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Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT)

@ovshake42

23 Mar

Michael Tissera turns 82.

His name features alongside Garry Sobers in the trophy an ongoing Test series is being played for.

That, we know.

What is rarely discussed is that he is the only man to have led Sri Lanka to a Test match win on Indian soil, albeit an unofficial one.
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Before going into that, a bit about Tissera, a stylish batsman, an efficient leg-spinner, and a superb fielder.

Only 30 of his matches were granted First-Class status.

In these, he had 1,394 runs at 28 and 27 wickets at 32.
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If one considers all 76 recorded matches the numbers read 2,930 runs at 32 and 66 wickets at 24.

But Tissera's legacy stretches beyond that.

He was part of the NCC that won the Sara Trophy in 1957/58 and 1960/61. He led them to the Saravanamuttu Trophy in 1969/70 and 1970/71.
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Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT)

@ovshake42

22 Mar

This happened on this day, 1992.

We all know the story of South Africa being robbed of a place in the final by a ridiculous rule.

But there were two ridiculous rules in the tournament.

In this match, South Africa benefitted from one and paid for the other.
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We know the story.

South Africa were chasing 253 in 45 overs.

It rained when they were 231/6 after 42.5 overs. They needed 22 in 13 balls.

As a result, two overs were deducted, but no run. The target now read 22 in 1 ball.
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Before getting into the other rule I mentioned, let us consider the DLS Method.

I had done some calculations in 2016 (it used to be DL then).

South Africa's target would have read 12 in 1 ball. Mathematically better but that is about it.
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Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT)

@ovshake42

17 Mar

On this day, 1974, Chinnaswamy Stadium witnessed one of the most significant moments in the history of Indian cricket.

It involved two mighty teams, and, in the opinion of some, a pair of shoes.

But first, some background.
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Bombay had won the Ranji Trophy for 15 consecutive seasons.

For perspective, that is roughly the same as Rahul Dravid's career.

Yes, that long.

They had not lost a single match since they *conceded* one against Baroda in December 1957.

This was March 1974.
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Karnataka (previously Mysore) had their stars.

Prasanna and Chandra were supported by left-arm spinner K Lakshman.

Kirmani lurked behind the stumps.

In Viswanath, there was a counter to Gavaskar. Two exciting batsman in Brijesh Patel and Sudhakar Rao.
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Read 22 tweets

Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT)

@ovshake42

15 Mar

Twenty-two men featured in the first ever Test match, which began on this day, 1877.

Of them, one – Bransby Cooper – was celebrating his birthday. He was born in 1844.

But the calendar date was not the only unusual aspect of Cooper's birth.
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He was the first Test cricketer to be born in the Indian subcontinent.

Bransby Cooper was born in Dacca (now Dhaka). His father was an officer in the East India Company.

Cooper Sr died in 1857, a very significant year in Indian history.
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The son came to England that year, moved to the USA in 1869, and eventually to Australia in 1871.

Not many people spend significant parts of their lives in four different continents.

He was one of two choices for Australian captain for the first ever Test match.

Quoting ACS:
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Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT)

@ovshake42

10 Mar

A historic Test match between India and Australia began in Kolkata on March 11, 2001.

Everyone knows everything about that Test match. I shall describe all that.

What happened just before that, however, is not as well documented. It involved these two.
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But for that, some back story.

Waugh's Australians were one of the greatest sides in history, but this phase was incredible even by their standards.

They set a new world record by winning 16 Test matches in a row.

It began in Zimbabwe.
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That tour is remembered mostly for this photograph, from the second ODI.

Just before the only Test match, Waugh and Langer visited an animal orphanage in Harare. There was a lion on show.

As they came close, the lion decided to urinate on them. Waugh was amused:
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Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT)

@ovshake42

8 Mar

This is about Indian Test captains.

It has always been very, very difficult for anyone to lead India if you are from

Outside major cities (Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore, Hyderabad)

AND

Outside royalty and/or royal patronage and/or armed forces
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Thirty-three men have led India until now. Here are the ones from major cities, in chronological order:

Ghulam Ahmed, Polly Umrigar, Pankaj Roy, GS Ramchand, Ajit Wadekar, S Venkataraghavan, Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Gundappa Viswanath, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri,
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Krish Srikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane.

Now, the other categories.

Royal families:
Vizzy, IAK Pataudi, Datta Gaekwad, MAK Pataudi.
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