The time has come to induct another class of cricketers into the most meaningless hall of fame of them all. I was planning to postpone this induction to the new year but South Africa's epic blockathon a few weeks ago triggered some painful memories. So without any further ado here are certain performances which will definitely up your BP levels and go down in the history of cricket as some of the most disgusting sporting fails.
Kris Sricant: Before Sanath Jayasuriya and Virender Sehwag destroyed bowlers, Kris Srikkanth walloped them with the sort of a brutality that was never seen before. So complete was his mastery that even the most fearsome bowlers didn't escape the brunt of his bat. Who can forget the six he hooked of Andy Roberts in the most important final of them all. But even greatness can wane with time, come 1992 the hero of 1983 was a pale shadow of himself. The confidence was absent, the technique was inconsistent and the reflexes were non-existent. Srikkanth's dismal form was exploited by Pakistan's pacers on a green Sydney pitch. Srikkanth in all fairness tried hard (maybe too hard). He really tried to get behind the ball and play himself in but nothing seemed to work and the pressure just piled on with each delivery he blocked. After 40 something minutes and 39 excruciatingly painful deliveries Srikkanth did the right thing, he edged one to Moin Khan and walked back for 5 monumental runs. Srikkanth's innings was the 17th slowest ever recorded for a ODI innings of 35 balls or more and was in fact marginally faster (in terms of Strike Rate) than the 4(33) he scored off West Indies a few months before this match (well at least Srikanth deserves kudos for maintaining his dreadful form).
The Aftermath: India actually went on to win the match thanks to some late order heroics from Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev but the result would do more for Pakistan than for India. The defeat galvanized Pakistan into world beaters whereas India would suffer an early exit from the tournament. Srikkanth for his part would continue as an opener despite this performance and was finally dropped forever after a wretched world cup which included three ducks.
Pain Level: About as painful as watching a daily soap in slow motion.
Amay Khurasia stumbles: Before Yuvraj Singh grabbed national headlines Amay Khurasia engaged the cricketing hopes of the nation for a short while. Khurasia burst onto the scene with a quick fire half century against Sri Lanka in the Pepsi Triangular Series. Khurasia's innings gained him mainstream attention and many expected him to be the answer for India's middle order woes considering how deftly he took on the Sri Lankan bowling attack in his very first match. However all of that changed with two consecutive failures against Pakistan. While the entire Indian batting line up was troubled by the Pakistani pace attack, no top order batsman seemed as much at sea as Khurasiya did. This discomfort was most apparent in the final of the Pepsi Triangular when Khurasia who was elevated up the order found Shoaib Akhtar's pace too hot to handle. Shoaib Akhtar rattled Khurasia and had him plumb before the wicket for only 3 runs. That night Khurasiya lost not only his wicket but also his stardom.
The Aftermath: No prizes for guessing India lost that final. As for Khurasia, he quickly faded out of the limelight after few other opportunities.
Pain Level: About as painful as burning a hole into your new shirt while ironing it.
Manoj Prabhakar plummets: Picture this, you are on your home ground, you are given a chance to bat you fail, your fast bowling is thrashed (courtesy Sanath Jayasuriya), your off spin is squashed (courtesy every other Sri Lankan bastman who could bat) and you are booed off the field by your own home town fans. This was the loony script (believe it or not) which played out live in front of a sold out Feroz Shah Kotla crowd when India took on Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup. The central protagonist of this script was our was very own two time hall of famer Manoj Prabhakar. Like Srikkanth in 92, Prabhakar was way over the hill in 96. He was the second oldest player in the team and played like the oldest player on the face of the earth. His abysmal form was not helped by the fact that he was made to bat all over the order and made to bowl off spin on a pitch where India was playing one spinner short. Ultimately Prabhakar bowled lesser deliveries than he faced while batting and conceded more runs than he ever made throughout the entire tournament, that was the sort of a day he was having.
The Aftermath: India were soundly beaten but even this defeat would be nothing compared to what would happen a few weeks down the line. To see what happened to India after this match click here. Prabhakar on the other hand moved on. I meant he moved on from cricket and retired rather unceremoniously. Not the sort of a send-off you would imagine for someone who terrorized batsmen with his toe crushing yorkers.
Pain Level: About as painful as falling down a flight of stairs.
So that's it my friends. We close out another edition of this legendary hall of fame which has been setting new levels for pain all over the cricketing world. If you have some painful performances of your own which have churned your life inside out please do share by leaving a comment.
Until Next Time,
Yours Painfully,
J.J. Chaitanya
Kris Sricant: Before Sanath Jayasuriya and Virender Sehwag destroyed bowlers, Kris Srikkanth walloped them with the sort of a brutality that was never seen before. So complete was his mastery that even the most fearsome bowlers didn't escape the brunt of his bat. Who can forget the six he hooked of Andy Roberts in the most important final of them all. But even greatness can wane with time, come 1992 the hero of 1983 was a pale shadow of himself. The confidence was absent, the technique was inconsistent and the reflexes were non-existent. Srikkanth's dismal form was exploited by Pakistan's pacers on a green Sydney pitch. Srikkanth in all fairness tried hard (maybe too hard). He really tried to get behind the ball and play himself in but nothing seemed to work and the pressure just piled on with each delivery he blocked. After 40 something minutes and 39 excruciatingly painful deliveries Srikkanth did the right thing, he edged one to Moin Khan and walked back for 5 monumental runs. Srikkanth's innings was the 17th slowest ever recorded for a ODI innings of 35 balls or more and was in fact marginally faster (in terms of Strike Rate) than the 4(33) he scored off West Indies a few months before this match (well at least Srikanth deserves kudos for maintaining his dreadful form).
The Aftermath: India actually went on to win the match thanks to some late order heroics from Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev but the result would do more for Pakistan than for India. The defeat galvanized Pakistan into world beaters whereas India would suffer an early exit from the tournament. Srikkanth for his part would continue as an opener despite this performance and was finally dropped forever after a wretched world cup which included three ducks.
Pain Level: About as painful as watching a daily soap in slow motion.
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Yeah Miandad! Srikkanth's innings definitely got to you (The Asian Age)
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The Aftermath: No prizes for guessing India lost that final. As for Khurasia, he quickly faded out of the limelight after few other opportunities.
Pain Level: About as painful as burning a hole into your new shirt while ironing it.
 |
| Amay Khurasiya: Definitely looks like the Transporter |
Manoj Prabhakar plummets: Picture this, you are on your home ground, you are given a chance to bat you fail, your fast bowling is thrashed (courtesy Sanath Jayasuriya), your off spin is squashed (courtesy every other Sri Lankan bastman who could bat) and you are booed off the field by your own home town fans. This was the loony script (believe it or not) which played out live in front of a sold out Feroz Shah Kotla crowd when India took on Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup. The central protagonist of this script was our was very own two time hall of famer Manoj Prabhakar. Like Srikkanth in 92, Prabhakar was way over the hill in 96. He was the second oldest player in the team and played like the oldest player on the face of the earth. His abysmal form was not helped by the fact that he was made to bat all over the order and made to bowl off spin on a pitch where India was playing one spinner short. Ultimately Prabhakar bowled lesser deliveries than he faced while batting and conceded more runs than he ever made throughout the entire tournament, that was the sort of a day he was having.
The Aftermath: India were soundly beaten but even this defeat would be nothing compared to what would happen a few weeks down the line. To see what happened to India after this match click here. Prabhakar on the other hand moved on. I meant he moved on from cricket and retired rather unceremoniously. Not the sort of a send-off you would imagine for someone who terrorized batsmen with his toe crushing yorkers.
Pain Level: About as painful as falling down a flight of stairs.
 |
| Too fast for an off spinner |
So that's it my friends. We close out another edition of this legendary hall of fame which has been setting new levels for pain all over the cricketing world. If you have some painful performances of your own which have churned your life inside out please do share by leaving a comment.
Until Next Time,
Yours Painfully,
J.J. Chaitanya
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