Brabourne Stadium Mumbai

The Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai was established in 1930 and named after the then Governor of Mumbai, Lord Brabourne. The stadium was home to the Cricket Club of India. However, there were constant disputes between the club and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), which eventually led to the MCA constructing its own ground, the Wankhede Stadium a little away from the Brabourne Stadium. Wankhede was a better stadium in terms of facilities and had floodlights, which Brabourne did not. As a result of this the Brabourne Stadium gradually began to lose out to the Wankhede in securing international matches. However, domestic matches continue to be played here and most of the times the visiting international teams play a first class warm up match at this ground.

Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium

Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium was formerly known as Visakha International Stadium. It is an exclusive cricket stadium in Hyderabad and is the home ground of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.


Seating capacity: 55,000
Location: Uppal, Hyderabad

It is located in Uppal, an eastern suburb of the Hyderabad city. It has a capacity of 55,000 spectators and extends across 16 acres of land. It has two ends - Pavilion End and North End.

On 16th November, 2005 it hosted its first ODI match between India and South Africa. Till date it has only hosted two One-Day International match, the other being India versus Australia on 5th October, 2007. It is not one of the good hunting ground for India as India was comprehensively beaten in both the ODI matches.

Cricket Stadiums in INDIA

Eden Garden

Eden Gardens is the oldest cricket ground in India and has been called the Lord's of Asia. The first ever first-class match to be played here was in 1917-18, while the first Test match was against Douglas Jardine's MCC in January 1934. Since then the ground has hosted 34 Test matches- the maximum at any venue in India.

As part of the renovation drive of the stadium during the 1987 World Cup, where the final match was held, covered stands were built all around, with a modern Club House and pavilion. The Club House now houses the offices of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). Floodlights were installed in the stadium on the eve of the five-nation tournament held to celebrate the CAB Diamond Jubilee.

Eden Gardens holds the distinction of being the largest cricketing facility in the world. On the flip side, crowd violence has marred some of the key matches played in this ground.

Ground Facts and Figures

Name: Eden Gardens
Location: Dr. B. C. Roy Club House, Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Established: 1864
Seating Capacity: 100,000
Floodlights: Yes
End Names: High Court End, Pavilion End
Home Team: Bengal
Owner: The Cricket Association of Bengal
First Test: India vs. England - Jan 5-8, 1934
First ODI: India vs. Pakistan - Feb 18, 1987

Milestones at Eden Gardens:

* India holds the record for the highest Test score on the ground so far when they made 657-7 against Australia during the Series in 2000-01.
* Indian also has the ignominy of scoring the lowest total at the ground when the West Indies restricted them to just 90.
* Harbhajan Singh became the first Indian to take a Test hat trick when he achieved the feat against Australia in 2000-01.
* VVS Laxman's historic 281 against the Australians in 2000/01 is the highest score at the ground.
* Anil Kumble's 12/6 vs. the West Indies in the finals of the Hero Cup is the best bowling figures in one dayers by an Indian.

Famous Cricket Grounds in India

It would be a superfluous statement that troubles itself to say that passion for cricket in India is unrivalled anywhere else in the world. Whether it is a one-day match or a test, stadiums in India are teeming with lively spectators- cheering and hooting with the same enthusiasm.

There are many famous cricket grounds in India, flung over the different parts of the subcontinent. These grounds vary in sizes and facilities they proffer, but what bind them all are the large turnouts, ubiquitous banners of cricket heroes and their ability to resound the entire ground with their cheering. Almost every cricketer who visits India to play matches has admitted that those moments of electrifying atmosphere in the Indian grounds are one of the most memorable moments in their cricketing careers.

Here is a list of some of the famous cricket grounds in India-

• Sector 16 Stadium Chandigarh
  
  
• University Ground Lucknow
  
  
• Nehru Stadium Madras
  
  
• Green Park Stadium Kanpur
  
  
• Bombay Gymkhana Ground Mumbai
  
  
• Eden Gardens Kolkata
  
  
• M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) Chennai
  
  
• Feroz Shah Kotla New Delhi
  
  
• Brabourne Stadium Mumbai
  
  
• Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium Hyderabad
  
  
• Vidharba Cricket Association Ground (VCA Ground) Nagpur
  
  
• M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Chinnaswamy Stadium) Bangalore
  
  
• Wankhede Stadium Mumbai
  
  
• Gandhi Stadium Jalandhar
  
  
• Sardar Patel Stadium (Motera) Ahmedabad
  
  
• Barabati Stadium Cuttack
  
  
• Sawai Mansingh Stadium Jaipur
  
  
• K.D. Singh Babu Stadium Lucknow
  
  
• Punjab Cricket Association Stadium Mohali
  

Wankhede Cricket Stadium Mumbai

The Wankhede stadium is one of the two major cricket grounds in the city of Mumbai, the other being the Brabourne stadium. Even though Brabourne used to host the Test matches allocated to Mumbai, the Bombay Cricket Association decided to build its own cricket stadium following a dispute with the Brabourne owners, the Cricket Club of India.

The stadium staged its first Test in the 1974-75 season when the West Indies toured India and since then, it has taken over from Brabourne as the main cricketing venue in the city. In 1995 Wankhade stadium underwent an upgradation drive and floodlights were installed to host day and night games.

By virtue of its proximity to the sea, the Wankhede generally offers assistance to swing bowlers during the early part of each day. But by day five, the stadium might become a vicious turner, making a fourth innings run-chase extremely difficult.

Ground Facts and Figures:

Name: Wankhede Stadium
Location: Mumbai Cricket Association, Wankhede Stadium, D Road, Churchgate, Mumbai
Established: 1974
Seating Capacity: 45,000
Floodlights: Yes
End Names: Garware Pavilion End, Tata End
Home Team: Mumbai
Owner: Mumbai Cricket Association
First Test: India vs. West Indies - Jan 23-29, 1975
First ODI: India vs. Sri Lanka - Jan 17, 1987

Swapnil Asnodkar

An attacking, diminutive opener, Swapnil Asnodkar has been one of Goa's leading run-getters. The 2007-08 Ranji season was his best - he scored 640 runs at 71.11 with a personal best of 254 not out, against Railways. However, his feats went largely unrecognised, with Goa featuring regularly in the Plate League. He shot to prominence in the IPL, where his fearless style evoked memories of Sri Lanka's Romesh Kaluwitharana and won the praise of his captain Shane Warne.

Harbhajan Singh

A player of passion, with talent to match, Harbhajan Singh is India's most successful offspin bowler. Bowling with a windmilling, whiplash action, remodelled after he was reported for throwing, he exercises great command over the ball, has the ability to vary his length and pace, and can turn it the other way too. His main wicket-taking ball, however, is the one that climbs wickedly on the unsuspecting batsman from a good length, forcing him to alter his stroke at the last second. In March 2001, it proved too much for the all-conquering Australians, as Harbhajan collected 32 wickets in three Tests, including the first Test hat-trick by an Indian, while none of his team-mates managed more than three. He has never quite managed to reach those heights again, but he remains an irresistible force on home pitches where he can be unplayable once he manages an opening. Purists might mutter about a lack of loop and flight, but he is very much a product of his times where short boundaries and heavy bats afford little latitude to slow bowlers. His overseas record, despite two five-fors against West Indies in India's last tour there in 2006, remains a worry: he averages nearly 40 per wicket outside India, while at home he averages just over 25. He can be occasionally explosive with the bat and has scored 1000 runs. At 27, he remains the prime candidate to carry on India's rich legacy in spin after the the retirement of Anil Kumble. Harbhajan's rivalry with the Australians resulted in an on-field spat during Australia's tour of India in October 2007 but things boiled over in Sydney in January 2008 when Harbhajan was charged with racially abusing Andrew Symonds. He was given a three-Test ban but the charge was reduced, on appeal, to abuse and insult not amounting to racism and the ban was turned into a fine. In April that year, Harbhajan was involved in another controversy - this time with an Indian team-mate - when video evidence showed him slapping Sreesanth without any provocation after an IPL game in Mohali. He pleaded guilty at a hearing and was banned for 11 IPL matches.

Sandeep Patil

A dashing batsman and a useful medium-pace bowler, Sandip Patil was a tower of strength to the Indian middle order for many years. His good looks (he was a pop singer and a film actor), aggressive batsmanship and a penchant for big hits made Patil a natural crowd puller. An instant success after making his Test debut and on his first tour, he took 174 off Dennis Lillee and Len Pascoe at Adelaide. It was a remarkable innings given that in the previous Test he was concussed by a bouncer from Pascoe after scoring 65. After a moderate series against England in 1981-82 he was dropped but was back for the tour of there in 1982. And at Old Trafford he came up with another memorable display, hitting an undefeated 129, in the process taking 24 runs (4440444) off an over from Bob Willis - the third delivery being a no ball. He did reasonably well on the tour of Pakistan in 1982-83 but because of personal problems he dropped out of the team to tour West Indies in 1983. Back for the World Cup in 1983, Patil was one of the heroes of that triumph. But in the Tests against Pakistan and West Indies in 1983-84, his aggressive batting was laced with a bit of indiscipline and he could not maintain his place in the side. And though he did reasonably well against England the following season, he was dropped after two games and was never considered for Tests again, though he was picked for the tour of England in 1986 when he played only in the one-day games.

A stalwart for Bombay for several years, Patil in the last few seasons of his first-class career captained Madhya Pradesh with much success. After retirement, Patil served first as India A coach, then coach of the Indian team, before moving on to take charge of Kenya. He resigned after taking them to the semi-final of the 2003 Worl Cup, and returned to India for the next 18 months, but an uncertain future with India A meant that he went back to a minnow, Oman this time, in the Intercontinental Cup and helped them qualify for the ICC Trophy after some strong performances in the ACC Trophy. A man of many talents, Patil has also edited a Marathi sports magazine, Ekach Shatkar, and wrote Sandy Storm, his autobiography.

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev was the greatest pace bowler India has produced, and their greatest fast-bowling allrounder. If he had played at any other time - not when Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee were contemporaries - he would surely have been recognised as the best allrounder in the world. In any case he did enough to be voted India's Cricketer of the Century during 2002, ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. His greatest feats were to lead India almost jauntily, and by his allround example, to the 1983 World Cup, and to take the world-record aggregate of Test wickets from Hadlee. It was the stamina of the marathon runner that took him finally to 431 wickets and only a yard beyond. He might not have been quite the bowling equal of Imran, Hadlee or Botham at his best, and his strike rate was less than four wickets per Test. But he was still outstanding in his accuracy and ability to swing the ball, usually away from right-handers. And he could hit a ball even more brilliantly than he bowled it, with uncomplicated flair. Kapil had a rather ordinary stint as India's coach for ten months between October 1999 and August 2000. Att the height of the match fixing allegation by Manoj Prabhakar -- a charge that was subsequently dismissed - Kapil resigned as coach. Hurt by the betting controversy, he announced that he was leaving the game. However, he returned from a significantly quiet period when Wisden named him as one of 16 finalists for the Indian Cricketer of the Century award. He won, and then returned to cricket as a bowling consultant and served as chairman of National Cricket Academy for two years. In May 2007, Kapil joined the breakaway Indian Cricket League, which led to his removal from the NCA.

VVS Laxman

At his sublime best, VVS Laxman is a sight for the gods. Wristy, willowy and sinuous, he can match - sometimes even better - Tendulkar for strokeplay. His on-side game is comparable to his idol Azharuddin's, and yet he is decidedly more assured on the off side, and has the rare gift of being able to hit the same ball to either side. The Australians, who have suffered more than most, paid the highest compliment after India's 2003-04 tour Down Under by admitting they did not know where to bowl to him. Laxman, a one-time medical student, finally showed signs of coming to terms with his considerable gifts in March 2001, as he tormented Steve Waugh's thought-to-be-invincible Australians with a majestic 281 to stand the Kolkata Test on its head. But even though he had another wonderful series against the Australians in 2003-04 with two centuries, one of them involving back-from-the-dead, match-winning, 300-plus partnership with Kolkata ally Rahul Dravid at Adelaide, he hasn't quite managed the consistency that could have turned him into a batting great. Between dazzling and sometimes workmanlike hundreds, he has suffered frustrations of numerous twenties and thirties, and has struggled to hold his place in the one-day side. He has never made a secret of his acute disappointment at missing out on the World Cup in 2003, but has now reconciled to his confinement to the five-day arena, where he is no longer an automatic choice when India decide to play five batsmen. A match-saving century at St Kitts, his tenth, should help though.

Zaheer Khan

Like Waqar Younis a decade before, Zaheer Khan yorked his way into the collective consciousness of the cricket world: his performances at the ICC Knockout Trophy in Kenya in September 2000 announced the arrival of an all-too-rare star in the Indian fast-bowling firmament. He might just as easily have come from the Pakistani pace stable: well-built, quick and unfazed by a batsman's reputation, Zaheer could move the ball both ways off the wicket and swing the old ball at some pace. After initially struggling to establish himself as a new-ball bowler, he came of age on the 2002 tour of the West Indies, when he led the line with great heart. His subsequent displays in England and New Zealand - not to mention some eye-catching moments at the World Cup - established him at the forefront of India's new pace generation, but a hamstring injury saw him relegated to bit-part performer as Indian cricket scripted some of its finest moments away in Australia and Pakistan. After that, his pace has dropped and his attitude was questioned, as a new breed of pace bowlers pushed him aside to move to the front of the queue. Zaheer's response was to head to Worcestershire and take 78 wickets in the 2006 county season, a performance that earned him a recall for the tour of South Africa. He was the perfect foil for Sreesanth there, and he then regained his status as leader of the pack with a matchwinning display at Trent Bridge, as India won only their fifth Test on English soil.

Suresh Raina

An aggressive young batsman who has dismantled bowling attacks across the country, the prodigious Raina puts people in mind of Yuvraj Singh. A string of fine performances at the junior levels - where he frequently bullied his way to double-hundreds - landed him a spot in the India Under-19 squad. His 620 runs in six games, in the 2005-06 season, propelled Uttar Pradesh to Ranji Trophy glory and a couple of composed knocks, when given the opportunity in one-dayers, got Rahul Dravid to gush: "Raina has shown what a phenomenal player he can turn into." His electric fielding added zing to the one-day side and it came as no surprise when, even before getting an ODI fifty, he was fast-tracked into the Test side against England in March 2006, and on the subsequent tour to the West Indies. However, his early promise turned into a false dawn - he couldn't manage a half-century in 15 innings - and lost his place in the one-day side on the South African tour. He played two ODIs in January 2007 but was not recalled until a year later, when India named their 16-man squad for the CB Series in Australia.

Irfan Pathan

Irfan Khan Pathan was considered by many, with reason, as the most talented swing and seam bowler to emerge from India since Kapil Dev. Within a couple of years in international cricket, he was thought of as a possible successor for Kapil in the allround department. When he made his Test debut in Australia in 2003-04, it was with the energy of a 19-year-old, but a composed nous that was striking even for one who had been specifically readied for the purpose via the A-team and age-group channels. His instinct is not merely what to bowl to who and when, but also to keep learning new tricks. He played a big part in India's one-day and the Test series wins on their revival tour of Pakistan. His batting soon took off and he was regularly pushed up the order - his first stint at No.3 resulted in a spectacular 83 against Sri Lanka at Nagpur - and he often bailed India out of strife in the Test arena as well. His bowling form, though, nosedived in 2006, and he struggled to make it to both the Test and ODI teams when the year ended, becoming the first Indian player to be sent back from a tour (South Africa) to concentrate on domestic cricket. He did make it to the World Cup squad but didn't figure in a single game during India's disappointing campaign, after which he was dropped from both the Test and one-day sides. Recalled to the side for the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa in September 2007, Pathan did not disappoint, snapping up 10 wickets at 14.90. His crucial spell of 3 for 16 in the final against Pakistan earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.

Pathan returned to the ODI side for the home series against Australia and Pakistan, and showed he had rediscovered his bowling rhythm, based on which he was handed a recall in the third Test against Pakistan in Bangalore. His celebrated his comeback to the Test team after 19 months by making his first Test hundred. Pathan was subsequently picked for the Test series in Australia, but was benched for the first two matches. He was brought in for the Perth Test, where he played a crucial part in India's famous win - with scores of 28 and 46 and five wickets to claim the Man-of-the-Match award.

Anil Kumble

No bowler in history has won India more Test matches than Anil Kumble, and there probably hasn't been a harder trier either. Like the great tall wristspinners Bill O'Reilly and his own idol BS Chandrasekhar, Kumble trades the legspinner's proverbial yo-yo for a spear, as the ball hacks through the air rather than hanging in it and comes off the pitch with a kick rather than a kink. It is a method that has provided him stunning success, particularly on Indian soil, where his deliveries burst like packets of water upon the feeblest hint of a crack, and more than one modern-day batsman has remarked that there is no more difficult challenge in cricket than handling Kumble on a wearing surface.

Kumble's prodigious capacity to bear pain was proved in Antigua in 2002 when he bandaged his fractured jaw to deliver a stirring spell, and that to continuously learn when, in the mid-2000s, after a decade of middling away performances, he influenced memorable wins in Headingley, Adelaide, Multan and Kingston, using an improved googly, bigger sidespin and more variation in flight and on the crease.

In a brilliant though always downplayed career Kumble has claimed virtually every Indian record. In 1999 in Delhi he swallowed all ten wickets in an innings against Pakistan. In December 2001, on home turf in Bangalore, he became the India's first spinner to take 300 Test wickets. A year later, almost to the day, he became the first to do so in one-dayers. In August 2007 at The Oval he went past Glenn McGrath's 563 wickets and in January 2008 he broke the 600 barrier, to stand behind only Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan, emphasising his contribution to spin's golden era. And at The Oval he chalked up what, judging by the pure ecstasy of his reaction and the dressing room's, was perhaps his most cherished feat of all - a Test century that had been 17 years and 118 matches in the coming.

Less than a month after his 37th birthday, though, he received the ultimate honour when he was named India's Test captain for the home series against Pakistan. He went on to win the series, the first home triumph against Pakistan in 27 years, before playing a big role in holding the side together during the controversial series in Australia.

MS Dhoni

The spectacular arrival of Virender Sehwag was bound to inspire others to bat with the same mindset. But the odds of a clone emerging from the backwaters of Jharkhand, whose state side has consistently scraped the bottom, was highly remote. That was until Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived.

He can be swashbuckling with the bat and secure with the wicketkeeping gloves. His neck-length hair adds to his dash. Though Dhoni made his first-class debut in the 1999-2000 season, it was only in 2004 that he became a serious contender for national selection with some stirring performances when the occasion demanded. With his two centuries against Pakistan A, in the triangular tournament in Kenya, that he established himself as a clinical destroyer of bowling attacks.

In just his fifth one-dayer, against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam, he cracked a dazzling 148 - putting even Sehwag in the shade - and followed that up with a colossal 183 not out at Jaipur against Sri Lanka in November, when he broke Adam Gilchrist's record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs. He made an instant impact on the Test level too, pounding 148 at Faisalabad, in only his fifth Test.

He was elevated to the vice-captaincy of the one-day squad for the tour of England and Ireland in 2007 and, soon after, was appointed captain of the Twenty20 squad for the World Championship in South Africa. A heady title triumph marked him out as a leader for the future and was handed over the reins of the one-day side in September 2007 after Rahul Dravid decided to step down as captain. It didn't take too long for him to enhance his reputation, claiming India's first tri-series triumph in Australia.

Gautam Gambhir

As a 17-year-old stripling in 2000, Gautam Gambhir's attacking strokeplay at the top of the order for Delhi set tongues wagging in India, not least in the ranks of the opposition. Fast-bowler bullies have paid the price for mistaking Gambhir's slight build and shy demeanour for signs of meekness. His compact footwork, high bat-speed and a brashly youthful approach befuddled bowlers more than once as cautious defence was replaced by the aerial route over point. His success took him close to the Indian side when Zimbabwe toured early in 2002. He had pasted successive double-centuries ­ one for Delhi and another for the Board Presidents' XI against the tourists ­ and seemed to be a shoo-in as Shiv Sunder Das's opening partner. But the selectors persisted instead with the band-aid solution of Deep Dasgupta.

Gutted but determined, Gambhir soldiered on, pressing his case with particular urgency in the West Indies with the Indian A side early in 2003. When several senior players asked to be rested after the World Cup, Gambhir was summoned from the wings into the national squad for the TVS Cup in Dhaka. And then, the biggest reward: a call-up into India's Test squad for the fourth Test against Australia at Mumbai, in 2004-05. He has had a stop-start career so far, unable to cement his spot in either Test or ODI team, but got another chance after India's poor showing in the 2007 World Cup, being picked for the one-day series in Bangladesh. A century on that tour, and a run of success over the summer in Ireland and India, culminated in a stellar performance during the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa. Gambhir was the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament, scoring four half-centuries, including a brilliant 75 against Pakistan in the final. Then came the slide - he managed just one fifty in eight ODIs against Australia and Pakistan at home, and was ruled out of India's Test series in Australia with a shoulder injury. But a strong Ranji Trophy campaign, which ended in Gambhir leading Delhi to the title with another hundred, and he was back in India's one-day squad for the CB Series in Australia.

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid, a cricketer who seamlessly blends an old-world classicism with a new-age professionalism, is the best No. 3 batsman to play for India - and might even be considered one of the best ever by the time his career is done. He already averages around 60 at that position, more than any regular No. 3 batsman in the game's history, barring Don Bradman. Unusually for an Indian batsman, he also averages more overseas - around 60, again - than at home. But impressive as his statistics are, they cannot represent the extent of his importance to India, or the beauty of his batsmanship.

When Dravid began playing Test cricket, he was quickly stereotyped as a technically correct player capable of stonewalling against the best attacks - his early nickname was 'The Wall' - but of little else. As the years went by, though, Dravid, a sincere batsman who brought humility and a deep intelligence to his study of the game, grew in stature, finally reaching full blossom under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy. As a New India emerged, so did a new Dravid: first, he put on the wicketkeeping gloves in one-dayers, and transformed himself into an astute finisher in the middle-order; then, he strung together a series of awe-inspiring performances in Test matches, as India crept closer and closer to their quest of an overseas series win.

Dravid's golden phase began, arguably, in Kolkata 2001, with a supporting act, when he made 180 to supplement VVS Laxman's classic effort of 281 against Australia. But from then on, Dravid became India's most valuable player, saving them Tests at Port Elizabeth, Georgetown and Trent Bridge, winning them Tests at Headlingley, Adelaide, Kandy and Rawalpindi. At one point during this run, he carved up four centuries in successive innings, and hit four double-centuries in the space of 15 Tests, including in historic away-wins at Adelaide and Rawalpindi. As India finished off the 2004 Pakistan tour on a winning note, on the back of Dravid's epic 270, his average crept past Sachin Tendulkar's - and it seemed no aberration.

Dravid's amazing run was no triumph of substance over style, though, for he has plenty of both. A classical strokeplayer who plays every shot in the book, he often outscores team-mates like Tendulkar and Laxman in the course of partnerships with them, and while his pulling and cover-driving is especially breathtaking, he has every other shot in the book as well. He is both an artist and a craftsman, repeatedly constructing innings that stand out not merely for the beauty of their execution, but for the context in which they come. By the time he entered his 30s, Dravid was already in the pantheon of great Indian batsmen, alongside Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar.

In October 2005, he was appointed captain the one-day side, began with a thumping 6-1 hammering of Sri Lanka in a home series, and was soon given responsibility of the Test side as well, taking over from the controversy-shrouded Sourav Ganguly. While his captaincy stint started encouragingly with ODI victories against Pakistan and England, it soon nosedived with an embarrassing defeat against Bangladesh which led to an early exit from the 2007 World Cup. As a Test team, though, India had plenty to celebrate under Dravid, winning their first Test in South Africa and achieving two historic away series wins in the West Indies and England. Dravid stepped down from the captaincy after the 2007 England tour. A poor run in a one-day series at home against Australia saw Dravid dropped from the subsequent series against Pakistan. As he waited for the Tests to begin, Dravid notched up two centuries, one a double, in consecutive Ranji Trophy games for his state side, Karnataka.
Amit Varma November 2007

Robin Venu Uthappa

Born November 11, 1985, Coorg, Karnataka
Current age 21 years 313 days
Major teams India, India Under-19s, Karnataka, Reebok XI
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Fielding position Wicketkeeper

Aiyudda Robin Uthappa born 11 November 1985 in Kodagu, Karnataka) is an Indian cricketer. A son of an international hockey referee, he made his one-day international debut in the seventh and final match of the English tour of India in April 2006. He had a successful debut, making 86 as an opening batsman before being run out. It was the highest score for any Indian debutant in a limited overs match.

Uthappa first came to the public's attention when he made 66 for India B against India A in the Challenger Trophy in 2005. The following year, in the same tournament, Uthappa made matchwinning 93-ball 100 against the same team which propelled him in the big league. Previously, he had been a member of the India under-19 team that won the Asia Cup. Once a wicketkeeper-batsman, his List A batting average of near 40 with a strike rate of approximately 90 has made him regarded as something of a limited overs cricket specialist.

He was recalled to the ODI side in January 2007 for the series against the West Indies where he smashed a 70 from just 41 balls.

Tall and robust Robin Uthappa, the son of Venu, an international hockey referee, scored heavily in the Ranji Trophy till he could not be kept out of the Indian one-day team any longer. Although his initial record in domestic cricket - a first-class average of 32 from 20 matches with just one hundred - was modest he plundered 854 runs in 7 Ranji matches in 2006-07 to top the batting charts. At one time a wicketkeeper-batsman, Uthappa has since given up the big gloves to concentrate on batting, and now occasionally bowls mediumpace.

Uthappa first came to the public's attention when he made 66 for India B against India A in the Challenger Trophy in 2005. The following year, in the same tournament, Uthappa made matchwinning 93-ball 100 against the same team which propelled him in the big league. Previously, he had been a member of the India under-19 team that won the Asia Cup. Once a wicketkeeper-batsman, his List A batting average of near 40 with a strike rate of approximately 90 has made him regarded as something of a limited overs cricket specialist.

As a batsman he has always been attractive to watch, hard-hitting, with every shot in the book, unafraid to hit the ball in the air. A useful member of the India under-19 team that won the Asia Cup, Uthappa first caught the eye when he made a brilliant 66 in a losing cause for India B against India A in the Challenger Trophy in Mumbai in 2005 against an attack that included Zaheer Khan, Murali Kartik and RP Singh. But it was in the subsequent edition of the same tournament, in Mohali in 2006, where he cracked a matchwinning 93-ball 100 for India B against an India A team that had seen a ton from VVS Laxman, that Uthappa really arrived in the big league. It won him a place instead of Virender Sehwag in the final one-dayer against England early in 2006, and he capitalised with a well-paced 86 at Indore. His next two outings were less spectacular, but time is on his side. After a spell out of the team Uthappa got a chance in the sixth ODI against England at The Oval. A nerveless unbeaten 47 off only 33 balls helped India seal a rousing win, and, for the moment, his place in the Indian team.

Sachin Ramesh Tendular

Born: 24 April 1973, Bombay
Major Teams: Mumbai, Yorkshire, India.
Known As: Sachin Tendulkar
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Off Break,
Leg Break, Right Arm Medium

By popular vote, the greatest batsman in the world today, Sachin Tendulkar has the cricketing world at his feet. The adulation he commands world over is unsurpassed, perhaps since the days of Don Bradman, to whom of course he has been compared, by no less than the great man himself. While he may not end with a Test career average of 99.94, there is little doubt that based on his vigorous style of batsmanship and his insatiable appetite for runs and big scores, he is the most complete batsman since Vivian Richards. In many ways though he has surpassed even that outstanding West Indian batsman.

When Tendulkar is on song, there is no more majestic sight in the cricketing world. The spectators at the stadium are on their feet cheering while all over the world, TV audiences are glued to the screen. He has scored heavily on all kinds of wickets the world over, in conditions which lesser mortals have not been able to master and against bowlers whom other batsmen have found it difficult to score off. Immensely gifted and blessed with an impeccable technique, Tendulkar's batting is a dream, combining timing, elegance and power. Mentally very strong, Tendulkar is best when confronted by a challenge - as he showed when mowing down Shane Warne in India in 1998. Captain during two short stints, Tendulkar has made it clear that he would prefer to concentrate on his batting and indeed, he seems to be getting better with every passing year. Scoring two double centuries in successive seasons and being the first to cross the 10,000 run barrier in ODIs is clear proof of this. The best thing from the fans' point of view - if not the bowler's - is that the entertainment, courtesy Tendulkar, is still at the intermission stage. Long may
`The King' continue to regale his willing subjects!

While his batting ranks him among the best in the world, he is also a part-time bowler and has played a crucial role as a leg spinner or a medium pace bowler who tends to break partnerships. He has more than a hundred wickets in ODIs and 35 in tests, though his bowling averages are above 40. He continues to perform well under the massive weight of expectation of hundreds of millions of cricket followers, in India and around the world, and most recently was named Player Of The Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.Incidentally, Sachin is the first batsman to be declared run out by third umpire in 1992 in South Africa.