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Plays of the day
Imitating the left hand of God?
Cricinfo staff
May 26, 2008
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Much hyped, the rerun of Warne v Tendulkar was a rather cagey affair (file photo)
© AFP
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Wag the dog
Just because you're on TV, does it necessarily mean you have to lie through your teeth? With almost half an hour to go to the start of play, one of the presenters stands in front of one of the few full stands and waxes eloquent about how the stadium is jampacked. The two main stands facing the press box were practically empty at the time. These guys can spin it more than Shane Warne.
The waiting is the hardest part
It took 45 minutes and nine overs for the moment to arrive. Shane Warne to Sachin Tendulkar, just over ten years on from the epic contests in India and Sharjah. The first ball was pitched wide of leg stump and paddled away for two, and the next tucked away neatly for a single. It was a cagey reunion that didn't scale great heights, and the highlight of Warne's evening was the stumping of Robin Uthappa.
Slow hand Sid
The two most prolific openers in the history of ODIs. Two slower balls, and two wickets. It just couldn't get any better for Siddharth Trivedi. First, Sanath Jayasuriya tamely bunted one to midwicket, and then Tendulkar got the leading edge to one that stopped on the two-paced pitch.
Imitating the left hand of God?
The action may be very different, but Sohail Tanvir's leg-stump yorkers from round the wicket are a throwback to the days when Wasim Akram skittled them for fun. Debabrata Das of the Kolkata Knight Riders had his leg stump uprooted in an earlier game, and on Monday night it was Manish Pandey's turn. He certainly won't be the last.
Forgetting the basics
What is it about cricketers from the subcontinent, and the inability to ground the bat properly when running? A few months ago, Misbah-ul-Haq was run out in the Delhi Test trying to evade a throw from point. This time, it was Kamran Akmal, leaping in the air instead of trying to run his bat into the crease. Pathetic.
Catches don't always win matches
Had Shane Watson stayed at the crease another couple of overs, this match might have been a cakewalk. Instead, when he miscued one high in the direction of mid-on, Tendulkar hared across from midwicket to take the chance on the dive inches off the turf. Desperation can make Supermen of even 35-year-old legends. Sadly for Mumbai, all that effort was to no avail.
© Cricinfo
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