Hello Friends,
Sporting world was once again dominated by cricketing actions this month though the month brought a lot of cheer for the Indian sports lovers due to our impressive performances in Paris Paralympics, Men's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament & Chess Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary. Such occasions are rare when the success of any other sport than cricket is celebrated in our country. Performance in the 45th Chess Olympiad concluded earlier this month was exceptional as we won gold in both the open & women's section which was a rare instance. As far as Paralympic Games are concerned this year India achieved their best ever performance by winning 29 medals including 7 gold, 9 silver & 13 bronze. This performance was a much needed one after not so impressive performance in the Olympic Games last month. Our men's hockey team also made us proud by winning Asian Champions Trophy by beating China in the final.
Coming back to cricketing world we had a plethora of international cricket tournaments across the globe this month. It was a good month for the Asian teams. Starting with India as usual they were unstoppable during their win against Bangladesh in the first test match held in Chennai making their position strong enough to reach a third straight WTC final next year. It was a disappointing performance from the visitors though after their impressive maiden test series victory against Pakistan earlier this month. It would be interesting to see how they bounce back against a high flying Indian side. Another Asian team Afghanistan continued their juggernaut in white ball cricket when they won their maiden ODI series against South Africa. Afghans would have been disappointed though as their only test scheduled against New Zealand in Noida got abandoned due to bad weather. Sri Lanka continued their good show in red ball cricket by winning back to back tests against England & New Zealand. Though they lost the test series against England but their win in the last test match of that series gave them that much needed momentum to beat a strong New Zealand side in spin friendly home conditions.
In another world ODI world champions Australia continued their dominance in white ball cricket with impressive show against arch rivals England. In the world of franchise cricket we witnessed another season of exciting cricket from the Caribbean islands in CPL which is about to conclude in early October. Today's edition of Sports Talk Of The Month features stories of two different cricketers who made memorable comebacks under different circumstances.
Root Factor In English Success
Joe Root the star English batter has been grabbing the headlines for a while now for his outstanding form in test cricket. Post Covid pandemic he has been a completely different batter altogether piling up runs as if he is running a crazy race. Earlier this month he surpassed the all time England men's record for highest number of test hundreds(33) by Sir Alastair Cook & also closing in on cook for the highest test runs aggregate. He also became the first English cricketer to hit 50 international hundreds (34 in tests & 16 in ODIS). When talks are rife whether Root will be able to surpass Tendulkar's record run tally in test cricket considering his age & recent form, Root himself prefers to be in the present and focus on each game at a time.
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| Root in a county game Image credit: Dave Morton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
In recent times lot has been written in media on Fab Four of world cricket consisting of Kohli, Smith Root & Williamson. Root has really gone ahead of his counterparts by a fair margin in last 3-4 years solely based on his performances in red ball cricket. Not to forget Root was the test captain not so long ago but had to let it go considering the poor performance of the team & his willingness to contribute towards English cricket's success purely as a batter. Since then he has made his bat doing all the talking. Being one of the most stylish batters of the current generation he has thrived even in modern era of Bazball cricket where longest format of the game was also reinvented with a touch of T20 flare. Adaptability is one of the most underrated qualities of a leader. But Root's success is a testament to the fact that a quality player is always up for new challenges & can adapt to the best of his abilities as and when needed.
Not to forget his equally impressive stats in white ball cricket too where he was one of the chief architects of England men's maiden ODI World cup winning campaign back in 2019. Root has been a complete team man who always keeps his team first and does what is in the best interest of the group. We are living at a time when cricketers with stellar performances in T20 format are being praised across the globe. In another world there is someone like Joe Root who has taken the age old test cricket to another level and marching towards the greatness achieved by a few ones.
The Miracle Man In Whites Again
Rishabh Pant's comeback to the cricket ground after that horrifying accident was no less than a miracle. With time he is regaining his old confidence across formats with some match winning performances. He made his much awaited comeback into test cricket earlier this month against Bangladesh. A match winning century in the second innings of the first test was all he could have asked for. Seeing him batting with the same intent and aggression was a treat for every Indian cricket fan. His comeback story is going to be remembered as once in a generation . He showed extreme grit to be where he is today after a life changing experience.
It was always known that he has that X factor in his batting that can turn a match on its head. It becomes even more special when such kind of performances come in the longest format of the game. His ability to take on the game irrespective of the situation makes him a special talent. At such a young age kind of maturity he has already shown is commendable. Team management has always insisted that he is an integral part of the core leadership group too. It's just a matter of time before he earns a formal designation too in that regard. We have already witnessed glimpses of his inspiring leadership in IPL. Before a challenging season ahead including away test series against Australia, Champions trophy & a possible third straight WTC final Rishabh's comeback is definitely a good news for India but not so good for his opponents.
That's all for this month. Will be back next month with some more exciting sporting updates.
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