At a time when the sport of cricket is simultaneously living out an existential nightmare where its past, present and future are co-happening, thereby baffling all of us that are intricately intertwined with its existence, we at DreamCricket.com have decided to add to the fun ... yes, F-U-N.
Admit it, at some level, short-lived as it might well turn out to be, all of this talk and speculation about which version of cricket will survive and which one will be archived makes for some very entertaining opportunities for thought exchange.
Along those lines, here's an ode to cricket and its vagaries, presented to you in the form of topical quizzes. A "Test" of your knowledge in cricket with a "T20" slant to it.
Starting on Wednesday, the 3rd of March 2010, we at DreamCricket.com will be bringing to you, our weekly - okay, let's call it a - quiz called "Think it Over". [This quiz will appear every Monday on
DreamCricket.com starting on Monday, the 22nd of March, 2010, US Eastern Standard Time].
Each of these quizzes shall contain 6 questions related to some recently relevant topic.
These would be the 6 "balls" of the "over".
Needless to say, there are bound to be bouncers, googlies and banana swingers in each over!
You can take a shot at each of these 6 balls in the over by emailing us your answers at: FRONTFOOT@DREAMCRICKET.COM.
The subject of the email should read "Think it Over - Enter the Quiz #, Enter the name of the quiz".
You will have exactly one week to do so. Entries will be closed by midnight of the Sunday after each quiz is announced.
Our 3rd umpire, Gokul, will decide how many runs - we like to call them "DreamRuns" - you score in each. The 3rd umpire's decisions will be final. This score would then go into your running tally of DreamRuns that would get added to from week to week. There would be 20 such quizzes or ... overs (remember?).
The prize, you ask? At the end of the 20th over, the quizzer with the most DreamRuns will be allowed to exchange her/ his DreamRuns for items from our PavilionShop online cricket store.
Then we move on to another ... you said it ... T20 match!
So, here comes the first over ... let's see if you can stay on your
two feet at the end of these overs and, if possible, maybe even score some DreamRuns!
Over #1: Grand Achievements
In spite of the cricket cliché “you need to take 20 wickets to win a Test match” having proved its worth in the recently concluded Test series between the top 2 Test teams in the world, it was also the case that there were some herculean batting feats that were also on show.
Hashim Amla played more than a 1000 balls, scored 3 centuries in 3 innings including a double-ton, amassed almost 500 run and was only dismissed once.
Alviro Petersen scored a century on debut and, that too, in his very first Test innings, a feat only two other South Africans have managed to accomplish before him.
Sachin Tendulkar scored a century in each of the 2 Tests, taking his streak to 4 tons in 4 Tests now.
Virender Sehwag also scored 100+ in both Tests.
Jacques Kallis and MS Dhoni scored centuries at their usual sing-song pace.
But VVS Laxman, in scoring 143* in Kolkata, his only ton of the series, achieved a rather unique feat, at least in the Indian context. He became only the 2nd Indian Test cricketer, after a certain Sunil Gavaskar, to score 1000+ runs at one venue. Gavaskar, in fact, had scored 1000+ runs in two venues: the Wankhede Stadium in Bombay and Chepauk in Madras (those were the names of both the grounds and the cities back when Gavaskar achieved those landmarks).
This brings us to a whole bunch of interesting questions relating to batsmen scoring runs on a certain venue.
Take a shot at the 6 balls in this over by emailing us your answers to: FRONTFOOT@DREAMCRICKET.COM
- First, let’s start with this India-South Africa series. The only 3 South Africans to have scored more than 1000 runs in one venue were both involved in this Test series. In fact, one of them holds the record in 4 different venues. Who are these 3 cricketers we are talking about?
- What unique achievement connects the following 4 photographs with respect to runs and venues?
- Almost all of the Test batsmen who have scored more than 1000 runs at one particular venue have done so on a ground within their own country ... except one legendary figure. Whenever Test batting records are spoken of in true earnest, he figures alongside the likes of Bradman, Tendulkar, Lara, Sobers and the like. Who is this batsman and where, outside his country, did he score more than 1000 runs?
- Before VVS Laxman, there were 41 different men who had scored more than 1000 Test runs on a single venue. Of these, half a dozen had done so on 2 grounds and five had done so on 3 different grounds. But only two of the best batsmen to have ever played Test cricket have made 1000+ runs at 4 different venues each. Who and where? Hint: Obviously, one of these two batsmen is also mentioned in the "first ball" (question) above.
- Now, let us look at it from the point of view of the grounds! There are 24 grounds across the world on which at least one batsman has scored 1000+ runs in Tests. On more than half of these, more than one batsman has scored more than 1000 runs. But one particular ground towers well above the rest in terms of the number of different batsmen it has allowed to plunder runs on its hallowed, lush fields. With as many as 8 different Test batsmen having scored 1000 runs or more in Tests, which ground are we talking about?
- The final ball of the over. Of all the Test batsmen who have ever scored more than 1000 runs on one venue, there is only one pair of brothers. Which one?