Friday, November 14, 2014

Rohit Sharma's 264 is meh!

Rohit Sharma scores 264 against Sri Lanka in ODI match. I repeat it is a 50 over One Day International. To be far to Rohit, he just capitalized on the toothless Sri Lankan attack without any quality international bowler in the league of Malingas or Vaas. 3 drop catches and the opportunity to play 50 overs is not something most batsman can dream, given each spot in the cricketing teams have become highly competitive.

It is only fitting that Rohit plays this blinder as a tribute to all the talk about his talent and prowess.  No one in the Indian cricket has got opportunities for 7 years on the trot to prove one’s mettle. Just that Rohit was born in the right age and the right time where the fab four of Indian cricket vacated their batting spots (Amol Mazumdar and S.Badrinath will be kicking themselves)

O Boy! What a knock. Is Rohit Sharma the greatest batsman of Indian cricket? No. Will this record stay forever? No. I remember when SaeedAnwar scored 194 at Chepauk, it remained a magical number etched in people’s minds. Only when something is unachievable for years and someone yearns for something (Ask Sachin on worldcup win), these joys and moments in the game extra special, both for players and viewers.

Superior willows, smaller grounds, ODI fielding restrictions and belter wickets have made the game heavily skewed in favour of the batsmen.  The aggressive T20 mindset from the batsmen has truly made ODI cricket high scoring lopsided games. This generation of Kohlis, ABDs, Amlas,etc. scoring runs at ease and at will. It has made the records look insignificant, not symbolizing anything as their previous generation records did. That Anwar 194, Sachin100s, Afridi 37 ball hundred and Jayasuriya’s 17 ball fifty are all meaningless to the next generation.

People save monthly salary to buy iPhone5s, only to realize that Apple has already launched iPhone6 and their phone is not in vogue anymore. Likewise Rohit can be a proud owner, till someone breaks his record.

PS: Even Sir Jadeja has three 300s in first class and is in the same league as Don Bradman, Walter Hammond, Mike Hussey, etc. Records are just numbers. It doesn’t signify quality or talent in this era.