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First question...why didn't you fly from Bangalore to Delhi and then take a train to Chandigarh? If you book in advance the flights are almost as cheap as the train yet take 2.5 hours instead of 30 hours so you can only blame yourself for missing one of the greatest moments in test cricket history! I suspect you think you need to take the train as part of the "Indian experience." Those days are in the past, it is not just the elite Indians that fly these days!
I agree with you with regards to advertising in India. It is simply too annoying and it goes a step too far. When I watched the coverage of SLv Ind in India, every time the batsman hit the ball towards the boundary, the screen seemed to shrink and there were adverts on the side and bottom of the screen. In addition, there are adverts after every single over. At least, so far anyway, India has not succumbed to the American football model where TV dictates the game.

Sachin is an absolute legend and has been a wonderful ambassador for the game and for India. For such a great man, he is so humble and comes across as very approachable for a man who is hero worshipped by hundreds of million. I hope he continues for another 2-3 years and ends up with 15,000 test runs and 100 international (test + ODI) centuries.

India were maginificent at Mohali but the key is whether they can keep up that level of intensity for the rest of the series and also against England. That is the test of a great team. The Aussies will be wounded and I fully expect them to come out fighting in Delhi. The toss has been crucial so far in this series so in many ways I hope the Aussies win the toss in Delhi yet India go on to win the match to prove to any detractors that India are capable of becoming the no 1 team. It would be a very fitting end to a glistening career if India are no 1 in the rankings when Sachin hangs up his boots!

PHIL, WHAT NICE READING !
ITS GREAT THAY YOU ENJOY INDIA AS MUCH AS YOU DO.
A QUESTION THOUGH........ DO YOU EVER THINK YOU'LL SEE A SIR TENDULKAR ? OR A SIR GAVASKAR ? LIKE WE HAVE SIR GARFIELD SOBERS AND SIR VIV RICHARGDS ?

I've never been to India, but the advertising you describe sounds very similar to what they have in Australia. I watched the Ind v Aus series on TV in Adelaide early this year and was subjected to the most inane, psychosis inducing advertising between overs. The most memorable crimes against sanity (sadly) were ridiculous ads for the colonel's special chicken and an infamous (in Adelaide at least) Metropolitan - "drip" - Plumbing "drip" advert "drip" - (South Aussies will share my pain!). It makes me almost grateful that the capitalist pigs in the UK have stolen our free televised cricket, rather than corrupted it in this way. TMS is a godsend, and with the likes of Blowers painting the picture for us, probably much more aesthetically pleasing than Punter's angry mug...

PS - to state the obvious, all this excitement amongst us English over the last Indian result is downright foolish. a) The poms would have fared little better in Mohali than Australia and their coming tour there is probably their biggest challenge of the next 12 months; b) Australia remain champions and will still be outstanding favourites to win the Ashes next year; and c) If (b) is incorrect, there's no longer any excitement is there? Would a boxer rather fight Ali in his prime, or in his current state?

How long before Ponting goes past Tendulkars record, his century record and of course continues to have a superior averge to Tendulkar?

Tendulkar is a great player but no better than Lara or Ponting.

Steviehullyyy

Would you be able to explain ?
Not that I am keen on Tendulkar being the greatest (I think he got sidetracked from 2003), but I have a problem when people talk about Lara and Ponting..

Tendulkar is surely one of the great batsmen we have seen but Lara is a genius. It was so so true when Sobers said, He is the only person at this time who plays the game as it should be played. It was simply a treat to watch him on the pitch. We salute you Brian for giving us such a joy. My top 3 batsmen of all time:

Lara, ViV and Sobers no order plz.

Stop comparing Tendulkar or Ponting with Lara.

hi
every one i just want to express something what I feel don't want to frustrate any one

i think Don Bradman is no where near sachin n LARA....

here is why...

Bradman mostly playe against one OPPOSITION.. and mostly on the same ground...
there wasnt any discovery of swing deliveries yet, NO reverse swing either....No doosra or no such leg spinners as Warne... No Run-Out... No third Umpire....No public pressure..... and only one game to concentrate on and that is TEST matches... played like 2 test matches a month...

now lets take sachins and laras.... more then 10 opposiotn.. with new players constantly coming in... different ground, different pith, different country, different continent.... all types of swing... THIRD umpire, Yes - to Run out.... bowlers like lee and aktar.... TV to find weaknesses of batsman... have to concentrate on 2 types of matces.... plays like 10 odi and 2 tests a month...

the MAJOR one is TV... As u know sachin got out cagut by symonds...cuz they know sachin will air it when he goes for that drive... so they placed a fielder there and thats exactly what happened.....
i dont think bradman IS the best....

ok he was good.. his Avg is good too.. but that was when there wasnt much cricket being played..

Hey u r trying to commit suicide here :) watch out for those boomerangs coming from AUS !!!

faiz,

you are entitled to your opnion, bit its wrong.

bradman nearly averaged 100 on green green wickets with an old plank of a bat. his career was at its pealk when it was interupted by a war

Against India he averaged 178 over 5 tests. which is ridiculous. this after he had been diagnosed with poor eyesight and had lost feeling in his right hand.

Sachin is good, its true, but the best is still reserved for the don

er.. wasn't it Nasser's decision NOT to bat at the Gabba in 2002?

... and Allan Donald's decision NOT to run?

(Donald initially turned back when Klusener called for the run as the ball was going near to the bowler. When he eventually ran he hadn't a hope of getting there)

hi
In my opinion Sachin is greatest batsman at present cricketing bcoz his 19 yrs careers shows that he play only cricket . In india where there over 100 crore of peopls like cricket he became god of cricket just show that how much he take and do his responsibilities. if we compare sachin with lara and pointing i think sachin is far great among them bcoz his records says in ony day and test career . In one day over 15000 runs, 40th centuries, in test match 13000 runs, 39 centuries. all shows that his is genius. whenever he take retirement he leaves a big landmark records to others upcoming cricketers to achieve his records.

lol, this is really funny ...

In one day over 15000 runs, 40th centuries, in test match 13000 runs, 39 centuries. all shows that his is genius.


ViV Richards not have many records, you dont have to have records to be a genius first of all.

Ponting will probably break sachines test record, is he a genius NO, he has 2 world cup under is belt, is he a better captain than Imran Khan hell NO.

Plus its 12000 runs in test and not 13000, this is a similar way kapil dev keep playing to break Hadlees record of test wickets now Sachin is doing same thing, I dont blame him, it is a good thing to have targets but dont compare him with Lara.

Amazing how people try to deny somebodys genius only because Sachin is your countrymen.

Be real ...

If things were so easy for batsmen in Bradman's day why didn't his contemporaries score more heavily?

hinnavaru

What's your problem with people talking about Lara and Ponting?

RE: Test cricket. Ponting's average is better, his centuries per Tests is better, surely in time he will overtake Tendulkar.

What's wrong with stating the obvious?

What will Indian fans say when Ponting surpasses the Little Master with a superior average and superior century record? The very stats used to 'justify' Tendulkar as the best a few years ago will suddenly be irrelevant I bet.

mhaseeb just because you are from pakistan doesn't make imran khan better than any other player.
records are made to be broken so there is nothing new in it. good luck to ponting if he breaks the record of sachin but there is not a humble cricketer in this present day other than sachin.

get it??

steve hullyyy

ponting will break the record of sachin but will always be known as childish, arrogant, selfish little so and so.

while sachin is adored througout the world ponting is despised and that is the difference.

ponting will never get the respect and that is the difference

get it old boy???

ponting/Viv ooops sorry sir Viv/Sir sobers/Sir Bradman/Lara/sir Tendulkar ooops just good old Sachin are all greats and cricket is vastly covered with many other greats. I would pay my last £ to watch lara bat and ask Sachin to bat for me if my life depened on it.

bipinbhatt ...

:)

I agree with you on Pontings on field behavior as well as tactics not that honorable.

and since I am from Pakistan I wont say anything about Imran :) world knows him how good he was on the field.

Mr Phil, it is very dissapointing that you did not go to the match. Sitting in a drinking den in Banglaore is not really the place to watch cricket if you can help it in my opinion. Sort your life out mr Phil and get to the cricket.

mhaseeb77, so you agree that Tendulkar is far better than anyone else including Imran Khan

I only know Imran Khan due to:

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan admitted in 1994 that he had "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam". (³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ)

I wouldn't like to say which is the best of Lara, Ponting and Tendulkar. However, to those who insist it's Ponting, bear in mind that he didn't face probably the two best bowlers of modern times, Warne and McGrath, in test cricket. I wonder how he'd have coped with them.

Nice stuff Phil.

I think you should have been at Mohali to watch our mighty Sachin Tendulkar who in the company of Saurav Ganguly smashed the record of Brian Lara. Or you could have been atleast in Mumbai or Kolkata where Sachin and Saurav Ganguly have a vast fan following.

Kerala, Karnataka and Goa are nice places for watching Indian football.



Dr. Cajetan Coelho

Mr Phil Long,

Where is your next blog? is it that because you didnot go to the game in Delhi that you have got the sack? This is a shame but would be your fault as when the cricket is on you should be there, no question

Clown-Man

PS you never seem to reply to any of the posts. does this mean you dont read them? A shame. Clown-Man.