Hello Friends,
I am back with the regular dose of sporting action across the globe in the first month of 2024. World of sports was buzzing with plenty of cricketing action as usual along with some exciting tennis action concluding the month. Let's have a quick look at the top sporting results for the month from different parts of the world.
- Indian men's cricket team yet again failing to fulfill their long time dream of winning a test series in South African soil as they drew the series 1-1 this time around.
- Dream of a perfect home test summer for the Australian men's team shattered after their disappointing loss to a spirited West Indies side in the second match of the series. Earlier they won four consecutive test matches including three against Pakistan and one against West Indies.
- New Zealand getting a perfect preparation for the upcoming T20 world cup by emerging victorious against Pakistan in the 5 match T20I series. This also marked the beginning of Shaheen Shah Afridi's tenure as Pakistan's T20I captain.
- U19 ODI World Cup kickstarted in South Africa.
- Franchisee T20 leagues continued as per their annual schedules as we saw SA20 in South Africa & ILT20 in Dubai kickstarting a new season whereas Big Bash League concluding with yet another action packed season.
- End of the month saw a blockbuster beginning to the much anticipated test series between India & England which saw the Ben Stokes led team making a historical comeback to win the first match.
- Tennis world witnessed the emergence of a new star in 22 year year old Jannik Sinner who won the Australian open men's singles final.
But this edition of Sports Talk Of The Month features stories of inspirational achievements from two generations. Let's dive deep into that.
End Of The Journey For Two Contrasting Batting Styles
Beginning of 2024 saw two cricketing stalwarts who have been serving their respective nations for more than a decade bringing an end to their international career. David Warner bid goodbye to test & ODI cricket but will continue to play T20I cricket for his country whereas Dean Elgar put an end to his international career after being a pillar for South African test team for a fair amount of time. Both of them had their own style of playing that made them greats of the game.
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| Warner in a test match against Bangladesh Image credit:https://www.flickr.com/photos/dohastadiumplusqatar/37141838421 |
David Warner is a name that generates some sort of panic among opposition bowlers irrespective of the format. He loves to attack from the word go and that is what made him so successful at the top of the order for such a long period. Starting his career as a T20 batter he himself wouldn't have thought to end his test career with 26 hundreds. What a player! A career full of ups and downs on and off the field, but one to be remembered for ages. Over the years we have seen an extraordinary transformation of Warner the T20 dasher to Warner an all format performer. Though he will continue to play in the shortest format of the game, it is fair to say that he will end up as Australia's greatest multi format batter.
Throughout his career he has been the favorite child of controversies. Sandpaper gate scandal of 2018 being the major one that saw him missing out on any future leadership opportunities in Australian cricket. But he has been a fighter all through his life. His performance post ban in 2018 is phenomenal. He let his bat do all the talking. Nobody can forget his performance in 2019 ODI World Cup . On the field he has been that character who creates that spark of energy to inspire his teammates. He had a memorable ODI World Cup last year too where he was one of the chief architects of Australia's victory.
Warner is one of the prime examples of how one can improve his skills to achieve greater heights in any field. His transformation to an accomplished batter across formats is a story in the same lines that of Virender Sehwag or Sanath Jayasuriya who too transformed into fearsome openers across formats. Termed as a pocket size dynamo Warner has achieved several milestones in his international career. But it's not about the runs he scored or centuries he made, it's the impact he used to create with his aggressive style of batting is something that is going to be very difficult for anyone in future to repeat. These are certainly big shoes to fill in. With the kind of talent Australian cricket possesses it might not be difficult to fill the opener slot but whether the replacement will be as swashbuckling as Warner was time only will tell.
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| Dean Elgar playing in a county match Image credit: flickr.com/Dave Morton |
Dean Elgar has had a long lasting impact on South African redball set up. He was never an aggressive dasher who would change the course of the game in a session or two. Rather it's his role as the crisis man post retirements of Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla brought him accolades. Known as a perfect team man he always kept the team first be it as a player or a captain. Being the leader of the batting unit consisting of younger players who look upto him he always ensured that his bat does all the talking. A calm composed character on the field has been the savior of his team on many occasions.
An orthodox style of batting tailor made for test cricket and keeping it simple approach were Elgar's trademark. He is definitely one of the best opening test batters that South Africa has ever produced. His brilliant hundred in his penultimate test against India earlier this month was a testament to his hunger for runs. In the age of T20s he continued to be the torch bearer of traditional test cricket style batting. Also not to forget that he held the test team together as a leader in the recent past when South African cricket was going through a real turmoil. May not be for tons of runs or milestones, Dean Elgar will surely be remembered for being purely a test batter in the T20 era.
Caribbean Firework in Gabba
The story of Shamar Joseph, new West Indies fast bowling sensation is truly inspirational. Working as a security guard prior to pursuing his cricketing aspirations he helped his country winning a memorable test match in Australia after 27 years. His spell in Brisbane that saw him taking seven wickets in Australia's second innings reminded many of the old days when the Caribbean fast bowlers used to rule the batters. Extreme pace, a zeal to do the improbable and most importantly a fighting spirit made this youngster an overnight hero.
Kind of phase West Indies cricket has been going through players like Joseph provide that much needed ray of hope. Playing in a team which is termed as underdogs in any format in the recent time he proved what a strong will power can do. Getting injured the previous day and then coming on the day with still experiencing some pain he delivered a spell that rattled a strong Aussie batting line up. How inspirational those words of him to his captain were that he would continue to bowl until the last wicket falls. World of sports needs many more stories like these.
That's all for now. Stay tuned for more at this space.
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