Shoaib gets the Eden Chanting!
"Shoaib! Shoaib! Shoaib!"That's what the 70,000 at the Eden Gardens were chanting.
Who would have thought that one day Shoaib Akhtar would be bowling to Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the INDIAN openers, and the entire Eden would be chanting "Shoaib Shoaib Shoaib".
1. Gautam Gambhir c Hussey b Shoaib Akhtar
2. Virender Sehwag c Saha b Shoaib Akhtar
3. AB De Villiers c Taibu b Shoaib Akhtar
4. Manoj Tiwary lbw b Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar ripped through the Daredevils' top order in only 18 deliveries which went for a mere 11 runs.
3-0-11-4. That's what Shoaib's figures read after his 1st spell.
Back in 1999 Shoaib was on a hatrick on this very ground as he uprooted Dravid's and Sachin's stumps of consecutive deliveries.
At that time the entire Eden was stunned into silence.
Today, Shoaib was on a hatrick again.
Only this time, the entire Eden was chanting "Shoaib Shoaib Shoaib" !!!
Whatever the result of this on going game between the Riders and the Daredevils, Shoaib Akhtar is back and he is back with a bang.
Welcome back Shoaib. We hope you stay.
Shoaib! Shoaib! Shoaib!
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great performance... let's hope he keeps going at this pace!
Sure was man.
Lets hope so.
Shoaib did made a strong statement,
I wonder what his critics will have to say now.
I can make a few predictions:
He will not perform well in the second match.
The success of this match will go in his head.
He didn’t bowled his full quota of four.
Two more matches and he will get unfit.
People love to hate Shoaib, its just criticism for the sake of it and mostly jingoistic bullshit.
The guy is still the fastest bowler in the world and its time that we should show him some respect.
And use our energies to attack those who make a mockery of our heroes.I mean DNA & co.
@wasim: "The guy is still the fastest bowler in the world and its time that we should show him some respect.
And use our energies to attack those who make a mockery of our heroes.I mean DNA & co."
True, he is a great bowler. And I loved following his performance today. But what's also true is that he didn't give his all for Pakistan in recent years, and it is he should have shown respect for his supporters and his obligations. Using drugs, assaulting team mates, lackluster effort, etc.
While I have absolutely no love for DNA & Co, you can't ignore the fact that Shoaib himself has a huge part to play in his own downfall. PCB are certified incompetents, so why feed that fire?
Regardless, Shoaib is very comfortable where he is: lights, camera, action. Hopefully he can keep entertaining everyone like he did today.
Sledgehammer
I beg to differ, last year in India Shoaib gave his 100% he was the only Pakistani bowler who was taking any wickets, Other bowlers were also unfit or injured but Shoaib's injury got extra publicity.Even the captain Malik got unfit and sat out during most of the series,but no body talks about other guys.
Has anybody noticed any commentator or media person talking about Asif's Injury and long lay off. Why the frequent breakdowns of Gul and Asif are not discussed in equal length.
Shoaib is the fastest bowler and getting injured is a Job hazard for him. The recent five year ban was just an effort to get rid of him.The reason we haven't seen more of him in recent times is because of these stupid bans and punishments,he could have won us a few more matches if the punishments were not so severe.
Yes drugs issue was a disgrace and he should have served the punishment, hitting Asif we all know Asif and Afridi instigated the incident, he still paid the price.
I seriously think there are other players on the team who perform far worse than him, and violate discipline more often than him, its just that the media and PCB have made Shoaib the Public enemy #1.
We lost the T20 WC bcz of bone headed plays by Younis and Afridi, Younis gives so many bad statements but always gets away, WHY?
I have even lost the count how many times Younis and Afridi threw away their wicket since the last champion's trophy,Pakistan would have won the ODI series in India if Afridi had not played that stupid shot and thrown away his wicket.
Yet I am amazed a large group of people consider these players as the true and deserving candidates for captaincy.
There are players in the team who wear a beard just to look pious, but let me tell you except for a few players everybody else goes to clubs and indulges in all those activities for which Shoaib is so infamous.
Why do we have a different set of rules for him?
Q, I think the Eden Gardens atmosphere was simply breathtaking. Just imagine 65K plus people chanting your name, the adrenalin rushing through... it was simply what every showman would dream of and Shoaib indeed announced his arrival with a bang.
Som , I agree man. I wish i was there. Shoaib truly came back with a bang. He rocked and ripped them apart.
I hope he maintains this.
I agree with Wasim here.
SB u need to realise that ur judgements of Shoaib come from what the Indian media, or for that matter the general media, portray about him.
Sure he has made mistakes. He has been indisciplined. He has no regard for authority. And a whole lot of other things.
But as Wasim pointed out there are others who do the same as well and being in Pakistan u will realise what these other cricketers actually get up to.
Shoaib's issues are highlighted and others ignored.
e.g. the latest blame on Shoaib was about how he criticized the PCB.
Yousuf, Younis, Afridi have all done the same in the recent past. Did anyone take action against them?
I have always maintained that the PCB / team management could not handle Shoaib.
Wasim and Waqar handled him perfectly.
Excuse my ignorance, but what does DNA stand for?
DNA = Daily News & Analysis.
LB, its an Indian web portal. Not trustworthy, I don't think.
www.dnaindia.com
Q - recall interviews re his earlier tryst with Eden; Shoaib Shoaib Shoaib said said said he felt like a rockstar, rockstar, rockstar!!!
Also re the one that knocked SRT over, says he saw it coming in his mind's eye or something like that.
The prodigal has returned for a 3 over spell. Would've like the 4th just for the hurrahs.
I think Shoaib would have bowled the 19th or the 20th - DDD were giving them a fight and it culd have been close.I'm sure Ganguly didnt expect Shukla to pick up 3 in 1 over.
Yeah I remember those comments NC.
I remember what Osman Samiuddin said back then. It was something like
"When Shoaib bowled Dravid, the entire crowd erupted into a frenzy. The cheers were not for the wicket but for the man who was walking out. It was Sachin Tendulkar. Shoaib silenced the 100,000 in 1 delivery."
Magic ;-)
Q, I have an explanation of why every act by Shoaib gets attention, while others, despite committing equal or even more follies, get scot-free. We have to accept the fact that Shoaib is a true star, miles ahead of his teammates. It's not exclusively about only performance. Rather it's about unpredictibility, that X-factor, that dark, negative streak. It's about your ability to evoke response. Naturally, Shoaib draws and I fear would continue to draw more attention that any of his teammates. It's beyond just stats. He is maverick, temperamenmtal, often self-destructive, a complete package. he is a multi-dimensional player among a bunch of one-dimensional cricketers. Come on, he is not yet another mundane, dime-a-dozen guy in flannell.
Thats true Som. Everything he does will be in the limelight..
I just wish the PCB had supported him and managed him properly. The way CA stands by its cricketers, the way CA stood by Shane Warne after everything he did.
Not that Warne was as indisciplined as Shoaib but he was the bad boy of Aussie cricket. CA massaged and managed his ego.
PCB failed big time. They let things out of hand.
this T20 format serves him just prefect...bowl 4 overs of full throttle...that too in two spell...
what more shoaib can as for...?
I was wondering what this DNA was about... thxs :)... its a crap news portal anyway.
For me fingers crossed on Shoaib, while I hail his performance yesterday I really did feel it was a good acting performance in the India series. If you are not fit don't play... am sure rao ifthikar or someone else could have done better at that series.
Rao Iftikhar? How can u even take his name? Rao Iftikhar?
Please.
Anyone but him.
Come on.
Seriously?
Rao Iftikhar?
BTW, I thought DNA & Co stood for Doctor Nasim Ashraf and Company. I have no idea what that portal you are talking about is.
In any case, I think Shoaib is a great bowler, but he has some serious commitment, camaraderie, and discipline issues. A five year ban was unnecessary perhaps, but at some point enough is enough.
And it's not under one captain, or one PCB administration, or one coach that he has been reported. It's been very consistent. And while I place a huge amount of blame on PCB for mishandling, Shoaib was given enough chances and is also very much responsible for his own career demise.
Still, I really wish he could play for Pakistan since he's one of only two real strike bowlers we have. For now, we'll just have to enjoy him in the IPL.
Dr Nasim Ashraf & Co.? Hahaha that could very well be what Wasim meant actually but it could also be the Indian website www.dnaindia.com which does nothing but bash Pakistan.
Actually here Nasim Ashraf looks more apt.
Shoaib Akhtars career and what he did or did not do it is a never ending debate. The bottom line though is that we love watching him and we love it when he gets wickets.
There is a certain level of excitement associated to him as well as entertainment value.
You just have to watch what happened last night to see what I mean.
By DNA & CO I meant Dr Nasim Ashraf & Co.
I agree with Q Wasim & Waqar handled him well, he had a rift with Inzamam & Woolmer because they made the flatest wickets just to make Inzi and his cronies look good,Inzi handled him poorly.
Shoaib you are simply a rockstar!!!
I remember the first time I saw Shoaib Play, It was on TV, a test match against Australia in Peshawar 98. I was eager to watch this game because I actually wanted to See Mohammed Zahid who had impressed me the year before when he made Brian Lara Jump at the Wacca. Funnily enough Mark taylor Scored 334 in this game so you would think thats what i remember of this game. But I cant remember one stroke of mark Taylor, all i can remember is Seeing this Demon Quick Run in from a few metres from the boundary, hair flowing, heel marks on brushing his hamstring and rushing both taylor and langer who were lucky to survive early shouts.
Another memory that Sticks to mind is waiting to see Shoib's first ball of world cup 1999.It Went for Six, a short pitched missile that Sherwin Campbell was hurried into playing an awkward top edge pull that went over the ropes of thirdman. It was exhilarating, the same feeling I had seeing Shoaib in person in a Melbourne night Club with Two Drinks in his hand and a couple of Blondies all over him.
Som is right in saying Its not the wickets and stats that makes this guy aluring. It's his Aura, his reckless abadonment that makes him a true Rockstar.
All of which was present in the Delhi KKK game. What statement,it was like he was saying you guys have the top two openers in the League, Gambir I dont give a rats about your orange cap, watch me glide on the big screen on your way back to the pavillion.
Well Done Shoaib the game needs you
It sure does DeSilva, it sure does!
It saddens me to think he will never play for Pakistan again.
He belongs...undeniably, cricket is Shoaib's only play and theater.
I hope things work out for him with PCB as well. The man climbed down and apologized publicly...not the time to beat up a man who has given you that honor by going down on his knees.
I think PCB wants to just reinforce his enlightenment and will and should cut short the sentence after observing if the change is for good.
Akhtar should be playing.
He definitely belongs SB :-)