“They say Eve was made from Adam’s rib, and now Australia’s Mike Hussey may get a chance in the national team…(significant pause)…thanks to a rib.”
-- from an NDTV report about Hussey replacing Justin Langer, who has a rib injury.
(And viewer has sudden, horrific vision of Mike and Justin on the Eden Gardens pitch, clad only in fig leaves.)
I lol'ed when I heard it too. You weren't waiting for the post-match presentation, were you? I hope you didn't hear Mohinder Amarnath sing his Dhoni version of kala shah kala.
ReplyDeleteHilarious.
ReplyDeletehmm...they have Siddhu on their expert panel. There must be a connection. Has to be.
ReplyDeleteHappy Diwali, :)
Nikhil: around the same time, I heard Sidhu say the Dhoni innings was the best he had ever seen (not even the best ODI innings - just the best, period) Oh well.
ReplyDeleteSiddhu can probably be excused (ignored?) because he's Siddhu.
ReplyDeleteWhat is inexcusible is Dravid saying that it was as good as Sachin's innings at Sharjah, though he didn't mention which of the two he was referring to. Initially thought he'd been misquoted, but then I heard him say it on NDTV. There's no clear basis for such a comparison, especially given the kind of pressure that was on Sachin then, with the team not performing.
The next thing you'll hear is Dhoni claiming, ala Sehwag, that he'll be the first to make a double century in ODI's.
Not that it wasn't an excellent exhibition of hitting, of course.
I saw both guys making the statements on TV and the difference is, while Sidhu declaims everything in this annoying Brigadier General-speaking-the-Gospel voice ("I have spoken and thence no dog may bark"), Dravid at least says it in a measured, this-is-what-I-feel tone. The tone does make a difference. Also, Dravid said Dhoni's knock was the best after the Sharjah one.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Sehwag didn't exactly claim he would make a double-hundred - he just took the bait offered by some quote-seeking journo at a press conference, and next thing it was splashed all over the papers the next day.
P.S. Sidhu can never be excused - or, alas, ignored.
It's quite easy to ignore Siddhu. Do try it sometime.
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected. Everyone's definition of greatness is likely to be different. For me, the circumstances are important. Sehwag's innings at Auckland before the WC would be among my "greatest since Sharjah". In fact, that tour made me take Sehwag seriously as a batsman, though the fighting hundred in England was also a treat. Before those innings, I thought him just a pinch hitter. Dhoni's still a pinch hitter.
I guess I'm a little old-fashioned when it comes to cricket: I prefer test matches to ODI's, a tough maiden-over by Warne to a slogfest. I like the mindgames. :D
Let's see Dhoni come up with, to use a cliche - an innings of character.