Sport in general is moving towards a culture which despises defensive attributes.Cricket is no different. In a nut-shell, the India-Sri Lanka series will be a clash between two teams struggling to NEGOTIATE THEIR SPACE in the broader cricketing universe. But there is a thin line between bravado and foolhardiness, defensiveness and pragmatism.Only the best can draw the line.
Transitions in sport are always dicey affairs. No athlete's’s or team’s ca-reer is a smooth curve from the beginning to the end. As much as an athlete or a team, when asked how his or her or the team’s development has shaped up over the years, tends to describe it in terms of specific moments of glory, the stories that lie between those moments and how those phases are managed is vital.
AN ATHLETE OR A TEAM can look jaded, get trapped in troughs or sink into the abyss. The transition upward from each of these situations is perhaps the biggest of challenges. In recent years, the Indian cricket team has had plenty of exposure to such scenarios. The World Cup win in 2011 was followed by whitewashes in England and Australia. In the days after the Champions Trophy win in 2013, India has lost four of the five Test series it has played.
HOWEVER, IN THE PRESENT era that we are in, teams are forever in transition. Careers are short, longevity is at a premium. As a result, teams seem to be in a rebuild mode all the time. Before the end seems nigh a new process is kickstarted. Definitive markers are tough to come by. Every format bleeds into the other. Every series bleeds into the other.
Yet, when India takes on Sri Lanka in a three-Test series those very markers of transition which are otherwise tough to spot, stand up stark. It will be Virat Kohli’s first full-fledged series as India’s Test captain, signalling the end of the M. S. Dhoni era. For Sri Lanka, the period after the second Test will be its first brush with the post Kumar Sangakkara era.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 8, 2015-Ausgabe von Sportstar.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 8, 2015-Ausgabe von Sportstar.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Tokyo Marathon Cancelled For Amateurs On Coronavirus Fears
Organisers in Japan cancelled the amateur portion of the Tokyo marathon, affecting around 38,000 runners, on fears about the spread of the new coronavirus in Japan.
Right Criteria To Pick The Tennis GOAT
What should the criteria be? What weight should be attached to each criterion? And what should not be considered as valid criteria?
The making of a batting behemoth
If Steve Smith dominated the Ashes in England in a dramatic, blockbuster fashion then his like for like a replacement, Marnus Labuschagne, is the Next Big Thing after an exciting summer of run-glut.
WHEN ACES WERE REWARDED...
It was an evening of nostalgia and celebration when the Sportstar Aces awards were given away in Mumbai.
A question of recognition
After a week of awards, one wonders if it’s only a departed player that one will be named after.
Thinking straight, thinking right!
“A lot depends on when I am bowling and what is required from me. That’s something I do when I play for India and I try to follow the same thing in the domestic circuit,” says Yuzvendra Chahal.
The Big Three and the Next Gen
Though the Big Three are very unlikely to retire during the same year, Judy Murray, mother of Andy, echoed the sentiments of many fans worried about the impact of their departures.
WAKING UP TO MENTAL HEALTH
Sport at large and cricket specifically has taken an inordinately long time to address the elephant in the room — the dark abyss of depression.
Like sunshine in a gloomy dressing room
Bangladesh quick Abu Jayed Rahi is new in the red-ball arena, but his swing brings back old memories — of James Anderson on green tops.
The league of the masses
With traditional clubs locking horns with the hard-working nurseries of the game, the I-League will continue to keep the beating heart of Indian football alive despite official apathy.