Taslim Arif

Taslim Arif, a right-handed wicket-keeper, represented Pakistan in six Test matches and two One-day Internationals. He was immensely talented and could have played many more matches for Pakistan than those meagre 6 tests and 2 ODIs. But unfortunately he played in the same era as that of the great Pakistani wicket keeper Wasim Bari. Taslimm Arif's chance of luck came in the year 1980 when the national selectors chose to test a new face after growing frustrated with Wasim Bari's deteriorating form. During Pakistan's 1979–80 tour of India, Taslim replaced star batsman Zaheer Abbas in the test match at Kolkata. In the series, Pakistan had previously lost two tests, and Zaheer Abbas was in the most awful form of his cricketing career.

On January 29, 1980, at Calcutta, in the penultimate Test of the 6-match series against India, Taslim started the batting alongside Sadiq Mohammad. He instantly had a significant impact on the drew match with scores of 90 and 46 in the two innings, while Sadiq Muhammad, the other opener, was dismissed after making only 5 and 8 in both innings.

Taslim topped all scorers in both innings. Four boundaries were part of his 90 in the first inning, which he attained off 268 balls. With four fours, his 46 in the second inning consumed 92 balls. Taslim was successful in getting the selectors' attention, and they decided to play Taslim Arif as both an opening batsman and wicket-keeper for the 1979–80 home series against Australia in place of Wasim Bari.

Taslim opened the innings of the first Test at Karachi with Haroon Rasheed. In addition to taking two catches and stumping two batsmen behind the wicket, he scored 58 and 8 himself. The following six days were the most important of Taslim's brief international career.

Taslim Arif achieved the rare feat of being on playing for the whole second Test match in Faisalabad. On each of the four playing days, this amounted to 20 hours and 8 minutes. The match's opening day was completely rained out, and subsequent days had intermittent inclement weather. For 773 minutes (211 overs), he held the wicket as Australia amassed a first-innings score of 617. Taslim then hit an unbroken 210 as Pakistan's reply of 382 for two in 435 minutes (126 overs) before the Test concluded in a dull draw. He batted for a total of seven and a quarter hours, faced 379 deliveries, and smashed 20 fours after Haroon (21) helped him get off to an 87-run start.

His association for the second wicket with Zaheer Abbas (19) was good 72 runs, while his unbeaten third wicket partnership with captain Javed Miandad (106 not out) was around another 223 runs. In the three Tests versus Australia, Taslim featured. When the third game in Lahore was about to end in a draw by the way, Taslim entered the field to bowl his right-arm medium-pace. He dismissed Graeme Beard giving him bowling stats of 5-0-28-1. Javed Miandad kept wickets while Taslim showcased his talents with the ball.

He was kept on as the opening batsman and wicket-keeper for the four-test home series against the West Indies. He was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the hand by fast bowler Sylvester Clarke in the second innings of the first Test, which ended in a draw, in Lahore. In the second game in Faisalabad, he took the field and was out LBW to Clarke for a third-ball duck. He also performed poorly as a wicketkeeper as Pakistan was defeated by the West Indies by 156 runs.

Later it was discovered that he had been playing the Test while suffering from a finger multifaceted fracture. 

Taslim's international career came to an end at that point. In the third game of the 1980–81 series, Wasim Bari rejoined the Pakistani squad. He then participated in 25 of Pakistan's last 28 Test matches before declaring his retirement in 1983–84.

In his six Test matches, Taslim Arif amassed 501 runs at an average of 62.62, including 102 half-centuries. As a wicket-keeper, he caused 9 dismissals including 6 catches and 3 stumpings, while as a bowler, he had 1-28. He scored a total of 28 runs (an average of 14.00) in his two One-Day International matches against the West Indies in 1980–1981; his highest score was 24, and he also caught and stumped two balls. For more than 20 years, until Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara shattered the record, his 210* for Pakistan against Australia was the highest score by a wicket-keeper in a Test match. Before making his debut for Pakistan in international cricket in September 1978, Arif became the first Pakistani wicketkeeper to cause 10 dismissals in a first-class match when starring for National Bank versus Punjab in Lahore. Wasim Yousoufi subsequently surpassed his record in 1997.

 

 

 

 

Dhruv Pandove

 

A 13-year-old player for Punjab made his first-class cricket debut in the month of November 1987. The 13-year old's debut innings against Himachal Pradesh included 94 runs, which astonished many Indian cricket fans. He then excelled for Punjab in the Under-15 and Under-17 competitions. When Dhruv Pandove scored 137 runs in his third first-class encounter against Jammu and Kashmir at Srinagar in October 1988 at the age of 14 years and 294 days, he set a record as the youngest Indian cricketer to score a first-class century. Pandove established himself as a rising star in domestic cricket at a very young age with a double century of 206 runs against Central Zone in the tournament's semifinals. Pandove led the North Zone U-15 team in the 1987–88 Vijay Merchant Trophy. The 17-year-old Pandove recorded his highest first-class score of 170 in a Ranji Trophy match for Punjab versus Services in December 1991, and with that innings, he became the youngest player to accumulate 1000 runs in the Ranji Trophy. Pandove initially batted with his right hand but eventually switched to his left. He learned some cricket techniques from his father and received little official instructions in the sport.

                                                                         Dhruv Pandove 

In the quarterfinals of the Deodhar Trophy at Sambalpur on January 28, 1992, Pandove anchored the North Zone with 73 against a South Zone bowling attack that included Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Ashish Kapoor, and Arshad Ayub. He was named player of the match for his performance. North Zone, however, lost the game. Nobody, however, anticipated that this would mark the dawn's end.

In the evening of January 31, 1992, Pandove got off the train at Ambala Cantt and grabbed a cab to Patiala after losing the Deodhar Trophy. Pandove was travelling from Sambalpur to his hometown of Patiala at the time. Pandove was killed in an accident involving the taxi he was riding in on the Grand Trunk Road. 31 years have passed since Dhruva Pandove passed away. Nobody anticipated that God would take the genius' life back so quickly after rewarding him abundantly at the start of his career. A million bouquets for the talent Indian cricket has lost.

In 1994, the Pandove family established the Dhruv Pandove Trust in order  to promote the game, nurture fresh talent, and also organise blood donation camps to remember the loss of Dhruv.

Big Hitters of 90s

Cricket has witnessed a surge in the strike rates of the batsmen with the advent of T20s.  The batsmen continue the mindset in the 50 over game too. The teams crossed the 400 runs frontiers multiple times in recent years. Batsmen too crossed the 200 runs milestone in ODI. But these were not the scenario in the 90s. The teams struggled to cross the 300 mark. 250 runs were an average team score. But even during those times, some batsmen managed to entertain the cricket lovers with their big hits. So in this article we are going to discuss about some of the big hitters of 90s.

Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya is one the most explosive batsmen who donned the Srilankan jersey in the 90s. He along with Romesh Kaluwitharna changed the way of playing cricket in the first 15 overs when there were fielding restrictions. He was a great all-rounder. The left-arm spin of Jayasuriya was as good as any other spinner. he is the only player who has scored more than 10,000 runs and got more than 300 wickets in ODI. It is interesting to note that Matara Marauder started his international career as a spinner. In ODI he scored 13,430 runs at a strike rate of  91.2.

                                             

                                                                       Sanath Jayasuriya

Adam Gilchrist

In the 90s, when the wicket-keepers were not judged much on the basis of their batting skills, Adam Gilchrist was an exception. He was equally good behind and in front off the wicket. Gilchrist was known for his hard hitting skills. the Australian wicket-keeper scored 9619 runs in the ODI, at a strike rate of 96.95. He didn't changed his style of batting even in Test cricket. In the longer format of the game, he scored 5570 runs at a strike rate of 81.96. Gilchrist hold the record for being the first player to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket.

                                                                 Adam Gilchrist

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is regarded by cricket pundits as one of the best-ever batsmen to have played cricket. Often compared to the likes of Don Bradman and Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar was the backbone of Indian cricket for more than a decade. He is the only Indian batsman who scored above 80 strike rate in the 90s (among batsmen who have scored more than 1000 runs). Sachin is the first batsman to score 100 centuries in international cricket. He is the first to score 10000 ODI runs and the first batsman to score 200 runs in an ODI match. Wisden ranks the Indian batsman second behind Don Bradman in the list of the top 5 Test batsmen. Again Sachin is ranked second behind Vivian Richards in the list of best ODI batsmen.

                                                                    Sachin Tendulkar

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi was a big sensation in Pakistan cricket. He was known for his big hits. Afridi came into the scene with a big statement when he scored a 37-ball century against Srilanka in his second match. His innings comprised 11 huge sixes, and it was a world record at that time. Afridi scored 8064 runs from 398 ODIs at an average of 23.57. He scored his runs in ODI at a strike rate of 117 , and at a strike rate of 86.9 in Test cricket. The batting average seems to be on the lower side, and he could have done better in terms of consistency. He failed to adjust his batting style according to the needs of his team and situations. Shahid Afridi scalped 395 ODI wickets with his leg spin.

                                                                      Shahid Afridi

Chris Cairns

The former New Zealand cricketer has considered one of the best all-rounders to have played. He scored 4950 ODI runs at an average just below 30 at a strike rate of 84. He is the only kiwi batsman to score a century in the 100th ODI for a winning cause. Cairns has played some of the most famous innings in New Zealand cricket history with the willow, notably his unbeaten 102 to help New Zealand defeat India in the ICC KnockOut Trophy final in 2000 and his 158 from just 172 balls in a Test match against South Africa in 2004. 

                                                                          Chris Cairns

Lance Klusener

Lance Klusener, the former South Africa all-rounder is known for his big hitting and swing bowling. The aggressive all-rounder played 171 ODIs for South Africa scoring 3576 runs at an impressive average of 41. He also took 192 ODI wickets at an average of 29.9. Klusener remains etched in the minds of cricket lovers for his heroics in the 1999 cricket world cup held in England. In the tournament, he scored 281 runs from 8 innings at an average of 140. He scored those runs at a strike rate of 122. in the tournament he topped the list of six hitters, with a tally of 10 sixes. Klusener is recognized for his exploits to One Day Internationals when he established himself as a formidable batsman and won the 1999 World Cup's Man of the Tournament award. In the years coming up to the 1999 World Cup, he displayed hints of his power hitting. His baseball-style backlift and powerful hitting lit up the competition, and South Africa almost reached the title game thanks to his heroics. Moreover, he received the Wisden Cricketer of the Year award in 2000.

                                                                     Lance Klusener

India vs Bangladesh Test

 After an unexpected 2-1 loss to Bangladesh in the ODI series, India came back strongly to register a 2-0 victory in the test series. India won the first test in Chattogram by 188 runs and the second test in Mirpur by 3 wickets. Bangladesh too had their moment in the series, especially in the second match of the series. With the victories India has managed to move into the second position of World Test Championship. 

India Vs Bangladesh, First Test 2022

In the first test Indians managed a more than decent score of 404 in their firs innings. At one stage India were 112/4. But Chetheshwar Pujara and Shreyas Iyer managed to score half centuries and pulled India out of the tricky situation. But both missed their centuries and were out for 90 and 86 respectively. Down the order there were strong contributions from Rishabh Pant(46), Ashwin(58) and Kuldeep Yaday(40). Bangladeshi spinners Mehidy Hasan and Taijul Islam picked up 4 wickets each. Mehidy Hasan as a batsman has been a thorn in Indian flesh in the ODIs and he continued to challenge the Indian batsmen with the ball as well in the test series. But he failed to repeat his heroics with the bat in the test series. In reply Bangladesh could only manage 150 runs with Mushfiqur Rahim being the top scorer with 28. Bangladeshi batsmen were clueless to the left arm wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav. The Indian spinner managed to pick up 5 wickets for just 40 runs.

                                                

                                                                        Kuldeep Yadav

In the second innings India declared at 268/2. Chetheshwar Pujara scored an uncharacteristic century. The Indian middle order batsman scored 102 off 130 balls, with the second part of 50 runs coming at a strike rate of more than 100. Bangladesh had a whooping target of 513 runs. But Bangladesh put up a better fight in their second innings. They managed to score 324 runs, but lost the match by a huge margin of 188 runs. The debutant Zakir Hasan scored a gritty century. The youngster showed great application and composure during the innings. Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain also scored half centuries. Had the Bangladeshi batsmen showed the same intent and quality in the first innings too, it wouldn't have been a one sided affair. Shakib Al Hasan also seemed to be not cent percent fit, as he was not bowling much in the match.

             Cheteshwar Pujara

India Vs Bangladesh, Second Test 2022

The second test match was played at Mirpur and Bangladesh had better hopes this time coming from a fine second innings show in the first test. Having missed out the first test due to  injury, the Indian captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the second test too. But the surprise move came in from the Indian stand in captain KL Rahul, when he dropped the hero of the first test Kuldeep Yadav. India went in with 3 pacers. Jayadev Unadkat was chosen ahead of Kuldeep Yadav. The Indian think-tank considered the pitch to be more helpful to pacers than the spinners. Batting first Bangladesh managed to score only 227 in their first innings. Mominul Haque who was making a comeback to the test team scored 84. Jayadev Unadkat managed to pick 2 wickets, while Umesh Yadav and Ashwin picked 4 wickets each. Jayadev Unadkat had made his debut against South Africa in 2010. He had to wait all these 12 years to play his second test match. In reply to Bangladesh's first innings, Indians managed to score 314. At one stage India were 94/4. But once gain Bangladesh let the Indians off the hook. Rishabh Pant (93) and Shreyas Iyer (87) scored half centuries to take a lead of 87 runs in the first innings. Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam picked up 4 wickets each. Bangladesh's first innings failure was going to hurt them for a second time. In the second innings, Bangladesh had a poor start, and at one stage they reached 113/6, with the lead being only 26. So effectively they were at 26/6. But once again Bangladesh were reluctant to go down without a fight. Litton Das scored a fluent 73 which included 7 fours. There was ample support from the lower order batsmen . Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed scored quickfire 31 runs each and their lead had reached 144. India had to score 145 runs. The target was only a small one, but the pitch was deteriorating at each moment. Bangladesh smelled the chance. Bangladesh removed the Indian captain KL Rahul when the Indian scoreboard was at 3 runs. The Bangladeshi spinners picked regular Indian wickets and at he end of day 3 India has lost 4 top order batmen for just 45 runs. Axar Patel who was sent ahead of Virat Kohli and night watchman Jayadev Unadkat were at the crease. India needed another 100 runs on day 4, with 6 wickets in hand.  The Bangladeshi spinners, especially Mehdi Hasan were giving the Indian batsmen a tough time. Some balls were turning and others were skidding through, with the odd ones keeping low. Axar Patel contributed a valuable 34 with the bat. Bangladeshi bowlers were making things worse for India, when they restricted them to 74/7. India needed another 71 runs and had 3 wickets in hand. Shreyas Iyer and Ashwin were at the crease. Ashwin has showed multiple times, even in Australia how he can handle these pressure situations. Shreyas Iyer and Ashwin managed to overcome some tense situation and took India over the line. Shreyas scored 29, and Ashwin scored 42. India managed a 3 wicket victory. 

                                                                             Zakir Hasan

The omission of Kuldeep Yadav was a flawed decision and could have been fatal, had India lost the match. The form of KL Rahul and Virat Kohli is a matter of concern for the Indian team management. As far as Bangladesh is concerned, their low first innings score hurt their chances in the match. The need to put up a better show in the first innings. Zakir Hasan has been a bright spot for Bangladesh. The youngster showed great maturity and application and has the talent to reach great heights. 

Interesting Facts About Cricket

*Andrew Strauss, Tony Greig, Kevin Pietersen and Allan Lamb are South African born England Cricket captains.

*Mark Butcher played 71 tests for England, but never got to play an ODI.

* Until 2008,VVS Laxman was the only cricketer to score two "300" in Ranji trophy. Laxman has never played in a WC match.

*Sunil Gavaskar has hit more number of sixes in tests than in ODIs!

*Shanta Rangaswamy is the first woman cricketer to receive Arjuna award.

*Keppler Wessels first played for Aus and then shifted to SA team, becoming the first cricketer to play for two national sides.

* Rodney Redmond of NZ played in just one test and scored century on debut. He could not continue in cricket because he could not adjust with the contact lenses! 

*  The English cricketer, Wilfred Rhodes holds the world records both for the most appearances made in first-class cricket and for the most wickets taken. He has played in 1,110 matches and taken 4,204 wickets.

*  The first ODI in history of cricket was played between England and Australia in 1971 at MCG. Australia won the match by 5 wickets. John Edrich was the player of the match.

*  Mohammed Irfan of Pakistan is the tallest cricketer in the world. His height is 2.16m.  

Indian Players Waiting for Debut in 2023

The Indian cricket squad is moving in a new direction. The amount of people who come to the national team's door has risen with each passing season. As a result, very few people can be said to have a spot in the team locked up. While seniority should be taken into account, it is unethical to ignore how young players are performing. As a result, commencing in 2023, the Indian team may undergo radical changes.

The BCC may make a number of significant choices, including appointing Hardik Pandya as the new T20 captain in place of Rohit Sharma. India intends to confine Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Rohit Sharma to ODIs while developing the next generation in T20. Let's have a look at the five players that are now waiting to join the Indian team in 2023.

Abhimanyu Easwaran

 One player who need to be taken into consideration for India's Test opening line is Abhimanyu Easwaran. India is contemplating Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill for the opening position among foreign pitches. But given the likelihood that Rohit Sharma will soon retire, Abhimanyu Iswaran is the player that India might take into consideration. Abhimanyu has been involved with India's A squad actively, but he hasn't been able to join the senior Indian team. Eshwar has a distinguished first-class cricket resume. In 76 games, Abhimanyu amassed 5278 runs at an average of 43.61. The 27-year-old star may get the opportunity to make his debut in the following year.

 

KS Bharat

 An Andhra Pradesh native who bats as the wicket keeper is KS Bharat. Along with Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, Bharath is most likely to serve as India's backup keeper in Test matches. Bharath was able to replace the original wicketkeeper earlier, but he was not able to make the starting 11. Bharat amassed 4425 runs at an average of 37 in 82 appearances of first-class cricket. has 282 catches to go along with 82 stumpings. Bharat is a player that provides India optimism in both ODIs and Test matches.

Yaswasi Jaiswal

Yaswasi Jaiswal is a celebrity who excelled in under-19 cricket as she grew up. At such a young age, the left-handed opener has everyone's attention. In seven matches of first-class cricket, Jaiswal scored 1015 runs. In List A, Jaiswal has scored 1511 runs in 32 games. Jaiswal excels for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL as well. In all three formats, Jaiswal is a valuable asset for India. India doesn't have many left-handers, so Jaiswal's success offers optimism.

Sarfaraz Khan

For India's Test team, a capable middle-order batter is important. Sarfaraz Khan is a player who can be considered for middle order, especially in a situation where some of the players are getting into their late 30s and are out of form. The left-handed batsman's recent form has been excellent. Sarfaraz Khan shone at an average of 81.33 in first-class cricket. This will include 10 centuries and eight fifties. Looking ahead to the future of Indian cricket, there is a high possibility that India will consider Sarfaraz Khan in the team next year.

Yash Dubey

Yash Dubey is a right handed batsman who plays for Madhya Pradesh. The 23 year old promising player had a wonderful Ranji Trophy in 2022. The promising youngster scored 614 runs at an average of 76.75. He had scored two centuries in the tournament which included a double century (289) against Kerala and 133 against Mumbai in the finals. 

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