Super Sports Sunday Jan 28th 2024 -- Cricket , Tennis and others

 

To a sports lover , this  entire  day could have been spent just following some intense but exciting sports action in the field of Cricket and Tennis.

First , West Indies Cricket team did the unthinkable in the second test being played in Australia—In the first test  , West Indies were outplayed  and that was expected . But there was some light .. An unknown Shamar Joseph emerged . He bowled well , picked up a test wicket of the first ball he bowled and ended with five wickets in the first innings he bowled.. Nothing to be excited  but Shamar let everyone know he existed.

 The second test turned on its head for the Aussies. And everyone knows the Pink Ball does its bit in the way the entire match goes. It  was a low scoring match ( I am sure we all remember the 36 India made ) and  the Aussies had  just 215 to chase down to win the series 2-0 . However Shamar Joseph with a sensational spell of fast bowling  ( Consistently upwards of 140 Km speed ) broke the back of the Aussies. Still with Steven Smith at the crease , the bet was on Aussie to pull it off. However  , Shamar denied them with his seven wicket haul , helping the West Indies tie the series 1-1 .. A remarkable turnaround for the West Indies and is this the tide turning in their favour after a very long stretch of poor performances ?

 

The second one was the India England Test match – India took a lead of 190 runs in the first innings and with the ball spinning and turning , England was expected to collapse to a innings defeat .  However the  Baz ball approach totally turned the match around in England s favour . England attacked the Indian spinners at all times , never gave them a chance to settle down. England batted around Olle Pope’s exceptional 196 . Pope swept , reverse swept , did the switch hit and threw the spinners off balance. The Indian spinner simply did not know where to bowl. England set up a  231 target for India to chase and everyone knows how India bats when the pressure is ON.  Hartley the debutant  England spinner who took a seven fer , just bowled to a length and allowed the pitch to do the rest. Indian batters who just prodded , tried to defend were a bunny to him. Traditional method did not work and England won by  28 runs.. This win is an amazing story of how to adopt to change and modernize your game . England did that wonderfully.  India got caught out on a true home pitch and have a lot to climb if they have to get back to winning ways. Ben Stokes was an outstanding leader in this England side which has so much belief in its tactics and just goes about executing it …

 

The last match that held so much intensity  was the AO ( Tennis ) final between Medvedev and Sinner a first time Grand Slam Finalist. Medvedev swept Sinner off in the first two sets and for most part of the third set till Sinner found his range and won the 3rd set. Then in the next two it was unbelievable hitting by both the players – the match went in to  the four hour mark and both players held their energy levels with great athleticism covering the court and trading shots and may be Medvedev was fading a little . Sinner served with pace till the end and his first serves helped him stay out of trouble. Finally Sinner prevailed in a tense five setter  and there was new deserving Grand slam champion . Sinner beat defending champion  Djokovic in the semis, while Medvedev spent maximum time on court in previous matches  as he got to the finals.

Sinner looks very  calm, assured and has the overall game –  He is just 22 years old and has a great future ahead of him. You see lot of calmness in him all the time.

Looks like the era of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer is getting to end .. It may be the turn of Carlos Alcaraz , Jannik Sinner , Danil Medvedev to dominate ( and may be Sasha Zverev , if he gets rid of his non tennis concerns )  Big thing these players  need to build in to their game and tennis are Consistency and the hunger to win for long periods of time… Till then , we cannot write of Djokovic and Rafa

Toggling  between Channels and looking at WhatsApp chats and chatting was the way this Sunday went !

 

BTW—The Indian U 19 team won their World cup match easily against a Indian US 19 side 😊 ( Check the team out and you know why it is an Indian US team ) and that too happened on this Sunday!

Comments

Siva said…
True Sri, it was an awesome day for sports. Nicely summarized 👍
12:43 AM
Prasanna said…
Indeed action packed day with twists 1) Watched highlight are the West Indians are back in action on pace , great spell and I saw Lara in tears at the Gabba Commentary box 2) England - India disappointing given spin , we should have pulled it off . 3) Boopana at that age sensational and energetic !!
2:40 PM
Sri said…
Yes Prasanna -- I missed the Lara in tears scence-- I heard him on the commentary and his voice was all shaken up -- Shows how much the victory meant for him -- And Rohan Boopana -- He played so well in tandem with Mathew Ebden -- He proved age is just a number
9:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A chance reconnect -- Heartfulness of Abundant Joy

  This Sunday ( 3/2/24 ) , I was at a Federation that supports the needs of People with Disabilities ( Diverse abilities ). It was their District conference and I went there to make connections for my organization and leverage their federation .  While the meeting went on desired lines   and as it was about to close formally , a young man who had lost both his hands got up on stage – He insisted that he had to speak – I did not recognize him instantly but as I stared at him . a little more intently , i told myself—Wow – I know this   person.   I rushed up on to stage and gave him a tight hug .           now   wind back seven or eight years back ……. ------------------------------------------------ Flash back but no music as in movies--------------- Venkatesan the person who lost both his hands in an accident was the person on stage. I got to know him through a Rotary event.   I took an instant liking for him ....
Read more

40 Years of Employment -- Gratitude Series 1

  I completed 40 years of being employed  continously recently - That was a long period of time and many others  like me would have crossed this milestone in their careers. I wanted to use this milestone to thank so many people who have helped, provided me with opportunities, supported me, trusted me and wholeheartedly wanted me to do well.  My first thanks of course goes to the Almighty for his abundant blessings. My first full time employment started in Aug 1984 enrolling myself as a Articled Assistant to pursue my Chartered Accountancy (CA). Before getting to this point, my whole career was shaped up by one of my mother’s cousins who I took as a role model  and got in to  Commerce Stream - V S Kumar or Kumar Anna to me was the guiding force for me to get into the commerce stream. He spoke to me a lot in my younger days, in deciding what one wants to be and what your liking was and was fierce in advising me to make decisions on my own. ...
Read more

Alert Awards - - A humbling experience always The 7th edition

  The Amenity Lifeline Emergency Response Team   popularly known as Alert   has instituted   The   Alert Awards   honouring Unsung heroes with   Alert Being Award – I get excited to go to this award function every year ( This edition is the 7the edition   ). Reasons for me wanting to be present are : You get to watch and hear about simple people who do extraordinary acts of selfless service These heroes have no or limited access to resources – be it people or money or material—they simply excel in adversity Through the award function as you hear the   heroic deeds, the eyes are always moist and the emotions that   one goes are hard to describe. But it is positive . The award function is conducted in the most efficient way and so you know it will start and end on time ( some delays but does not lag ) The process of selection   -- calling for nominations including self nominations , an eminent jury evaluating each nomination...
Read more