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From the
Cricket Journal
"Whatever may be the real reason, the fact of
the matter is that Shoaib Akhtar literally
exposed Sachin's present-day ability against
quality fast bowling during a spell that will
certainly be remembered for long."
My first reaction to this statement : Utter
Crap.
Analysis : Remember Moin Khan ?? The chap who
Sachin got on the third day of the Multan test
with a googly he'd remember all his life ?? Yes
folks, he is the same beleaguered wicketkeeper
from Pakistan who now knows what it feels like
to be dumped. And who is he talking about ?
Another character from Pakistan who presents
himself as a case of mood swings (let alone
reverse swings). I do not know how much this
spell of Shoaib Akhtar will be remembered for
him grabbing Sachin's wicket. Shoaib's spell in
the Indian first innings would only be regarded
by many for bringing some life into a rather
dead contest - Nothing else. Period. But, rather
than the wicket, what this article has done is
exposed Moin Khan's naked analytical skills,
filled with a sense of prejudice and bias -
totally uncalled for as a writer.
This beginning-of-the-end theory
has been posed by many in the recent past, and
seems to conveniently pop up, as soon as Sachin
fails ! Give him a break guys. After all he's
the proud custodian of many a record, few would
come close to shatter. Yes, he is indeed
beginning to age, and it is showing in his
performances, but that does not signal or hint
towards any decline. The hunger, the humility
and the desire to score runs is still within
him, and a hundred sooner than later should be
good enough to bay these looneys off. This lame
article by Moin has brought the walking debate
into question again. Gilchrist found a way out
to clear his conscience by walking, and it was
not something new. Greats like Sachin and Lara
have always carried themselves with the highest
integrity and pointing fingers at someone who
upholds it, itself is a baseless venture.
Although personally, I am not in agreement with
players walking by themselves, what it brings
about is an honest assessment of one's own
integrity. As they say, if the player is
sheepish enough to grin after he survives the
umpire's call, another decision comes soon
enough to haunt him. India still won't forgive
Steve Bucknor for the call he made against the
Little Master at Kolkata, when he was going all
guns blazing. Where was Moin then? Searching for
the tunnel path towards the Pakistani team?
Sachin is as good a player of fast bowling as he
was way back in 1989, and someone who himself
was a joke against pacers has no right to
comment over the issue. Such comments are to be
respected no doubt, but with the same sense of
judgment, only to be rubbished.
The second character involved in
this printed drama is Shoaib Akhtar ! Oh Moin,
what has he done for Pakistan over the years, so
much so that this spell of his will be
remembered for a long time ? He has played 30
odd test matches in about 7 years, an appalling
record by itself and all we see is an injury
sidelining him for at least a test in every
series, except England (2005) and Bangladesh
(2003). I still cant notice the change in Shoaib,
that the whole of Pakistan is raving about. It's
just that the English batting was too brittle to
withstand his pace on flat-beds and now, see his
performance against a better batting side -
virtually anything to show. I think every
cricket fan - Indian or Pakistani will rather
choose to remember the three fours hit by Dhoni
off Shoaib than the wicket of Sachin. It had the
birth of an emerging star in International
Cricket written all over it. Three brutal
strikes, and the bowler gave in. Those 18 runs
off Shoaib were more precious to India than the
14 by Sachin. Shoaib needs to prove and pass the
litmus test. Apart from 4-5 Test Matches, I cant
remember any being won single-handedly by Shoaib.
So, its time for his "supporters" to zip their
mouths and let the boy doing what he is good at.
And Moin bhai, a piece of advice for you !
Please be objective in your analysis of any
player, not emotional. The time has come, when
we need some genuine cricket experts like Wasim
Akram to run the show and not emotional fools,
if I may say, like Moin Khan.
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