Doosras for 2008: the master and Ajantha

As we embark on a new year with Test cricket's changing of the guard complete, it's time for the Doosra to look back at the past 12 months and hand out its gongs. Some are beyond dispute, while others will be hotly contested. Do let us know what you think though, and please keep in mind that these concern only Asian cricket. So no irate emails about the exclusion of the excellent Dale Steyn and the inspirational GC Smith.

Best Test innings: Till the final month of the year, Virender Sehwag was in pole position, with a doughty match-saving effort at Adelaide, a blistering 278-ball triple-century in Chennai and an awe-inspiring 201 against Sri Lanka in Galle. Then came Chennai. Again, Sehwag set the tone for India's finest run chase in a generation, but it was his hero that finished the job. For most of his career, critics have carped about Sachin Tendulkar's lack of finishing skills. Well, it doesn't get any better than an unbeaten 103 when you're chasing 387 on a wearing pitch. And to bring up his century with the last stroke of the game ... that was straight out of Hans Christian Anderson.

Best ODI innings: Sanath Jayasuriya had a strong case with his 125 in the Asia Cup final against India, but once again it was Tendulkar that delivered the defining innings of the year. In the first CB Series final against Australia, he carried his bat for a sensational 117. India won, and finished off the job a couple of days later, with the master contributing 91. Not bad for an alleged choker, against the team that has won the last three World Cups.

Best T20 innings: Jayasuriya's evisceration of the Chennai Super Kings attack during the IPL wins this one easily. He took his time to find his IPL feet, but once he did, it was as though the time-machine had taken him back to the halcyon years of 1996. Just a shame that most of the other Mumbai Indians were so ordinary.

Best Test bowling: The figures (4 for 72) won't make you gasp, but you had to be at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo to really fathom the excitement generated by the debut of Ajantha Mendis. The carrom ball to Rahul Dravid was sensational, and by series end, he had taken 26 wickets to make one of the game's most celebrated batting line-ups look second-rate.

Best ODI bowling: A year ago, beating Australia in Australia was still the stuff of dreams for most touring sides. And as India sought to close out the CB Series finals in two games, the most unlikely hero emerged. Praveen Kumar is certainly no speed merchant, but he possesses a wicked slower ball and the ability to wobble it gently off the seam. Despite heroics from James Hopes, he was the difference as India held their nerve. The last man to dismiss Adam Gilchrist, he finished with 4 for 46. In any other year, he would have scooped the award. This though was no ordinary year. It was the year of Mendis. His 6 for 13 in the Asia Cup final made all debate redundant and left some Indian batsmen with nightmares that lasted months.

Best T20 bowling: Take a bow, Lakshmipathy Balaji. Many thought he'd been lost to the game after a series of crippling injuries, and he didn't get a regular stint with the Chennai Super Kings till the IPL season was well into May. On home turf at Chepauk, he responded with the league's first hat-trick, against the high-flying Kings XI Punjab. Truly special spells in the Ranji Trophy later in the year suggested that many had been too hasty in writing off his international chances.

Newcomer of the year: Ishant Sharma would have walked it simply for the way he tormented Ricky Ponting, but as we said earlier, 2008 was all about one new entry climbing straight to the top of the charts. Another bauble for Mendis, Moratuwa's finest.

Watch this space: Shakib Al Hasan took 7 for 36 against New Zealand, and managed several innings of substance in both forms of the game. The boy has immense talent. We can only hope he doesn't go the way of so many other Asian prodigies.

Mixed emotions: Harbhajan Singh slapping Sreesanth during the IPL. There would have been a fair queue of people with the desire to thwack Sreesanth, but if anything, Harbhajan evoked even stronger reactions. Especially in Australia.

Game of the year: Another no-brainer. The Chennai Test against England had everything, including a final-session finish.

Afterthought: Test cricket in Pakistan. For the first time in nearly four decades, there was no five-day cricket in the country that gave us Fazal Mahmood, Majid Khan, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram. World cricket needs a strong Pakistan side, now more than ever. Fingers crossed that the security situation improves over the next 12 months.

Comments

[mahindra persaud]

I totally agree with mr Premchandran. Sachin has had a fabulous year and seems to be getting better like good wine. The fact that he succeeded in Australia is testimony to his prowess.
I sincerely hope Sachin goes on to play until the 2011 world cup.World cricket needs this great batsman to continue his skilfull entertaining batting.Keep up the good work mr Premchandran.

[RamG]

I know the ratings are for an Asian audience. Come on in a sport, where you have barely four (and half) quality teams-Australia, South Africa, India, England and Sri Lanka (half), how can you have an Asian best? To top it all, you sound ridiculous raving about Shakib-ul-Hasan, who took some seven-for against a second-rate New Zealand lineup! Come on, where's the quality here? Dilip, I think it's one of those days, where you've churn out some words and you are not upto it! My sympathies are therefore with you!

[Khansahab]

Dear Dileep,

First of all I feel lucky and honoured to have stumbled upon your blog on The Times. I have read and appreciated much of your work on Indian cricket.

Please visit my site called Legslip which can be accessed at www.legslip.com, and let us know of your views on our threads.

I did not find any bias in your choices, by the way, just to counter the statement of Maroof.

[Arpan Desai]

Brendon 'The Mercenary' McCullum deserves a mention for his astonishing 158 of 73 balls. It was a true cricketing supernova, that one

[Punit]

Dileep, these gongs always seem a hiding onto nothing. I would have to say that your nominations are preety spot-on. From a purely cricketing perspective, I think Sehwag's second innings knock in Chennai was the winning basis, but for everything else that was wrapped up in Sachin's knock, he was carrying a far greater weight than usual and for that, it would be churlish to argue against it.

Oh, and I do wish you would stop with this pro-Mendis bias! Can't you see that Ishant Sharma is the stand-out bowling talent of the year?!

Happy new year, Dileep and the Doosra readership.

[Satish]

@Mikso, awesome comments!! HAHAHAHA!!

[Satish]

Good awards especially as Tendulkar won some of them;-) though coming from someone as wonderful a writer as DP, I'd have preferred World Awards.

[Mikso Mocha]

Maroof is correct.....Afterall India just managed to only defeat Aus in Perth(Big deal) and just managed to win CB cup against the thrice world champions in 2 finals(Big deal ,Pakistan can beat Aus anyday ,its just on that day Aus whips them...and most of the last 10 years they refuse to tour Pakistan).....India just managed to win a series with Eng and Aus ,which is again no big deal....But hey Pakistan defeated the best teams from WI.. Zim.. and Bang...now thats an achievement!!!!... even Aus and SA will accept it is impossible to defeat Zim and Ban and WI were two times WC champs...So how dare you be BIASED against Pakistan . ;););) LOL;);)

[Milind]

What about the winnig streak of Pakistan.? They beat top notch teams from Zimb and Bang....for some 12 odd continous wins...Maroof shah was probbly talking of that.Then perhaps he meant Mohd Asif and his drugs galore....So he is correct No Bias....Wonder which category these will go into...Besides for him anythnig Indian....is BAD and BIASED...normal denial mode of Pakistanis I guess....Well even now most Pakistanis still feel IPL stars were Pakistanis...when even their national team captain (Shoaib Malik) used to be on the benches for most of the games...Most of Pakistanis even feel if they boycott IPL...IPL will fail....Well now tell me ..if thats what they feel who can blame them ;) afterall they even beleive their economy is on par with India and they beleive a lot many thnigs which most world citizens laugh their....a...off.

[Dee]

Tayyab / Jacques

'and please keep in mind that these concern only Asian cricket. So no irate emails about the exclusion of...'

What part of the above quote at the beginning of the article do you not understand??

[Jacques]

Well, I don't think that after winning the test with a second highest run chase ever, being behind on runs and being the underdogs after a few days playing, can qualify as being one sided. (SA vs Aus at Perth)

[Tayyab]

Best Test Innings: Where is Smith? I thought that he would occupy the 1st and 2nd spot, with two of the best. And Duminy?
Best Game: It was Perth Aus-SA! or what about boxing day test down by 190+ with seven wickets down, and coming out of the tunnel with nine in hand!
Best T20 bowling: Sohail Tanvir.
[But aura wise Shoaib should also get some mention. Who would have ever thought that 100000 strong eden gardens crowd would be backing a pakistani bowler, against an Indian batsmen. Remember the roar Sehwag's dismissal generated!]

[Raj]

Maroof should be one of those delusional pakistanis living in denial land. Many Indians thought that pakistan could be counted as a friend, what a joke!

[Sumit Medard]

MAROOF,
So, what suggestions you have for better matches of last year?
Bangladesh-SA?
Aussies, NZ?
WI-NZ?
SL-Zim?
Ind-SL?

The only other contention (close to) for the best test match would be the Perth test between India Aussies again. The SA-Aus at Perth was good as well, but to be honest, it was 80% one sided!

[googlyman]

Dileep, good article as usual, given that its focusing on Asian cricket and cricketers. In a tangential vein, I would like to add that out of the 4 test playing nations that played Test cricket in India in the last one year (India, Aus, England and South Africa) the stand out visiting fast bowler on the Indian tracks was Andrew Flintoff. His ability to generate hostile spells on the dead tracks makes him a truly special talent in my opinion - and he along with Zaheer looked like the most lethal fast men on these tracks.

[Dileep Premachandran]

Well, Maroof, I don't see any alternate suggestions from you, so I'll just have to disregard your allegations of bias.
Which choices do you dispute, and why? And what would you nominate in their place?

[graeme]

sachin's innings wasn't even judged the best of the match let alone the whole year!! sehwag for the best innings, 2nd daylight

[maroof shah]

Well, it is the most disappointing summary of the last year's cricket that i have come across so far!!! It seems that the writer has only considered the matches that india played!!!! Well Mr. Premachandran a lot has happened outside india, far greater things!! open your eyes and take a look!!! AND PLEASE NO MORE BIAS!!!!!

[Sumit Medard]

Good piece of summary of the year that went past.

By the way, whats happening with Australia? Is Guru Greg still consulting them? What a celebrated joke it was when he played his game with Indian cricketers through the media! I really wish that he didn't disturb the Indian opening combo with tendulkar in the 2007 World cup. He (Greg) made a colossal mess to tell the truth.

He came as a consultant to Aussies when they toured India recently. Someone mentioned, the effect, when he took over and now here it is...