Adios Anil and Farewell Dada

Anil Kumble's century at The Oval and Sourav Ganguly's occasional spell of medium pace are not exactly things which come to mind as soon as we mention their names, but that's where their true greatness lies.
They've achieved so much in such a long career that one tends to forget may of their heroics. Few mention Anil Kumble's magical spell of 6-12 against the West Indies in the Hero Cup final; fewer remember Sourav's exceptional ODI batting and the masterclass of an opening pair that he and Sachin formed.

Sourav Ganguly should also be credited with having discovered the entire next generation of cricketers, be it Sehwag, Irfan, Zaheer, Dhoni or the Turbanator aka Bhajji.

Anil Kumble, what can one say about him. Yeah the news channels will harp on his 10 wickets in an innings, but the true cricket fan will also remember how Azhaar would turn to him match after match, when all other bowlers would get thrashed... Anil would mark his run up as early as in the 9th over of the game. What's more, he would get the break through. The quicker one, the batsman would try to cut it, he'd miss and an easy LBW for Anil. Also I won't ever forget that final match in B'lore when Anil and Srinath had an awesome partnership and tonked the ball in the final few overs to give India an unlikey victory. Their mothers were watching with glee after each boundary was hit.

I still remember the final IPL match of Kolkata Knightriders, they were in dire straits. My bro and I were watching and Sourav was still there; the required rate was a near impossible 20 something. Hardly any wickets in hand, and I just said "If Sourav is there till the last ball, there's no way he'll let his team lose"! No prizes for guessing what happened, he whacked the ball all over the park and won the game for his team.

That was just an IPL game, but such is the greatness of these players, as long as they are on the field, one can hope that no matter what we will win.

In time Rahul Dravid will also go, people won't expect to feel his abscence, but they will. Here's a man who at his prime could almost never be dismissed by the opposition [therefore the nick 'Wall']. Laxman, the master of wristwork. No one notices the number of matches that he has saved for us. And every Sachin fan dreads the day the great man decides to hang up his boots, which is why, people like me make it a point to watch every innings he plays.

So here's a final appeal to people who yell "Retirement" each time these greats have a bad inning, just shut up and enjoy the few performances left. The Big 3 aren't there anymore, neither is Anil Kumble! It's just Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar.

P.S. : All those retards who have ever said shit like "Sachin never scores a century when India needs it", just get some mental treatment! He scored a 100 against Aus in the final match of the Test series which India won and in ODI's he made a 100 in the final against Aus in Aus; so please zip it!


Adios Anil.

Farewell Dada!