Rodney’s big fight

Rodney Marsh. Pic/Getty Images

It's been a real shocker. Two giants of not just Australian cricket, but also world cricket passed away within hours of each other. Rodney Marsh had suffered a sudden heart attack last week and his heart had actually stopped beating for a few minutes. He was miraculously revived, but because of the heart having stopped for few minutes, he was put in an induced coma. Survival after such an attack is extremely tough and age was probably not on Marsh's side and he passed away after fighting for his life for a week. Even as the cricketing world was coming to terms with this loss came the news of Shane Warne passing away with a suspected heart attack. This was even more shocking for Warne, who loved life was only 52 years old.

A terrible day for Oz cricket

The Australian cricket team who were playing their first Test match in Pakistan this century had a terrible first day when they picked up only one wicket as the home team batted confidently to reach 245. So March 4 really was a terrible day for Australian cricket.

The author with the late Rodney Marsh during the 1980-81 Australia v India series. Pic Courtesy/Australian Cricket Magazine

In Mohali, there was plenty to celebrate as it was going to be Virat Kohli's 100th Test match and Rohit Sharma's first match as Test captain. It was also the 300th Test match that Sri Lanka were playing so it was triple celebration. Lanka have never won a Test match in India since they first came as a Test-playing nation way back in 1982. I had the privilege of captaining India in that game and saw a century in each innings from Duleep Mendis. It was a blistering knock both times and there was nothing our bowlers could do to stop him. The following year Mendis almost got a century in each innings at Lords where Sri Lanka were playing their first Test match in England. Unfortunately, he was caught on the boundary rope trying to hit a bouncer from Ian Botham for the six that would have got him the hundred in the second innings. That hammering from him and the stylish Roy Dias in Chennai against us was perhaps a precursor of what was to follow. For, when we went to Pakistan a couple of months later, our attack was taken to the sword by Mudassar Nazar who plundered over 700 runs and Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad helping themselves to a double century each in the series. Imran Khan who was captaining the Pakistan team ran through our batting line-up to pick up 40 wickets in the six-Test match series. Mohinder Amarnath played a lone hand getting almost 600 runs in that series and continued the rich vein of form on the tour to West Indies that followed barely two weeks after the ill-fated tour of Pakistan. There also, he almost got 600 runs in the series and in doing that, showed how fast bowling could be played. It was a masterly exhibition of technique, temperament and sheer guts.

Pant packs a punch

In Mohali, though the Lankans had to contend with another pocket-sized dynamo called Rishabh Pant, who smashed a brilliant 96 before he got out to the second new ball. Pant is also built like Mendis and packs an awesome punch in the shots that he plays. Even his one-handed shots where his bottom hand comes off the handle, have enough thrust in them to take them over the boundary.

No praise can be too high at Kohli's achievement of playing his 100th Test match during which he also reached the landmark of 8,000 runs in Test cricket. He has been the opposition's most prized wicket over the last seven to eight years as they know that he has been the heart and soul of the Indian batting. In the last couple of years, Rohit Sharma who was pushed up the order to open the batting, has also been a much sought-after wicket because of his ability to take the game away from the opposition in a session. With both these stalwarts now over 30 and though they still have many more years left at the top, the mantle of being the impact player for India seems to be falling on the shoulders of Pant.

If what was seen in the first innings at Mohali is evidence of how the young man is tackling it, then Indian cricket lovers can breathe easy. The way Rishabh is batting he makes you pant for more.

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