On the Front foot !

In the last blog I talked about how coronavirus postponed my boards. Unfortunately it is not the only important thing in my life that has been postponed. All cricket matches since then have been cancelled and IPL has been postponed indefinitely . So, since cricket has a lot of things that have been going on and it has gone on a little break where i can catch up on everything that has happened and write about a few things. Don't worry I am not going to write about how Rohit Sharma is the greatest player ever but rather I am going to talk about India's run in the women's T20 world cup and Cricket docuseries.

Well Played, Girls ! We are proud of you. 

First , Women's T20 world cup final, India VS Australia, Unfortunately India lost pretty bad but we have to acknowledge the fact that they played exceptionally well and had a great run in the tournament. The fact that the final was the only match they lost in the whole tournament was incredible and also a little disappointing, but still their efforts definitely need to be applauded. The Indian side had the youngest player who caught everyone's eye. Shafali Verma was my favourite to watch and what she did to other teams reminded me of an explosive Virendra Sehwag. Getting off the mark with a boundary, aggressively taking on the bowler and getting out in the forties as she doesn't change her batting style even when she is nearing a milestone, the carefree batting which made Sehwag successful.She sees the ball, she pounces on it like a lioness pouncing on a prey. The more impressive part is that she is only 16 but unlike most 16 year olds (including me) she is playing for her country and is currently the world's best T20 batsman and on her way to becoming a sensation ! People also said that India got lucky in the washed out semi-finale but if we actually look at it they won all their matches with pure skill and they should be credited for that.All in all, Indian women's cricket looks like it is in a great place right now with a lot of young girls taking up the challenge to break stereotypes and dominate international cricket. Having taken the reins from Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami the team just keeps getting better and better.I can only wonder how amazingly well, they would do with more support !

News reports tell us the outside scoop but documentaries are the one that help you dig deeper into an incident, person, place or a thing. Documentaries give you insights and exclusive scenes which are not usually in the public eye. Cricket being a hugely followed game especially in India, Australia and England where cricket player are treated as superstars so everyone wants to know about their personal lives, behind the scenes, atmosphere in the dressing room, basically any type of gossip material they can scoop. So a documentary on cricket is something that caught the eye of a cricket lover like me.

Trailer for "The Test" now streaming on Amazon Prime

Since everyone is on streaming apps catching up on different TV shows and movies I decided to watch a new cricket documentary series called “The Test”.It is based on how the Australian cricket team redeemed themselves after the sandpaper gate incident or as most people call it “the ball tampering controversy “. Australian captain Steve smith and Australian vice captain David Warner were banned for an year each and the opening batsman Cameron Bancroft for 6 months are being caught guilty. This infamous incident in Cape Town shocked the world but worse the Australian Cricket team let down their fans including the Australian Prime Minister

This is about their life after the incident and how they brought back their winning ways with their top 2 batsman and an opening batsman gone. The series starts with the appointment of Justin Langer as the coach who wants to make a team of great people that play with the aggression and intensity for which the Australians are known for. Tim Paine is appointed as the “test” skipper. The story is about how the new team suffered from the rough patch for the first 8-9 months and how they took up the challenge to try and clear the bad image of the Australians. Throughout the series the cameras have captured the emotional atmosphere in the dressing room after a loss, the happiness and celebrations when they won, the disappointment of a batsman after getting out and the relief of a player after playing well. The players take us through their emotions in their interviews where they relive these moments again. Before any tour, the team is taken for a vacation to a spot where Australian Army has sacrificed their lives for the sake of their country. It is used to remind them that they can’t give up in these tough situations without a fight and also help to build their individual characters by imbibing patriotism. They also show the return of the banned players after their term. How they directly played the world cup games even with the amount of pressure on them, booing and heckling of the crowds. I felt bad watching and can't imagine how it felt for them. It ends with the Ashes victory. They of course had to end it on a happy note. It showed that they had overcome the difficulties and were ready to take down any team the Aussie way !

The Test is a must watch for all cricket fans. It is available on Amazon Prime.