This is a great time to list what the past 25 years of cricket have meant for me. That too Indian cricket.
1. TV coverage that helps me to understand and enjoy the game like never before. They even have computerized analysis these days.
2. Australia's dominance through the '90s and till say 2007 or so. What batting, what bowling, what fielding, what aggression, and what appetite for wins. They brushed aside all competition and even officials like the way Ponting pushed Pawar away when he took the trophy in Mumbai some years back.
3. India's gutsy batsmen who worked on technique, and temperament, and stayed away from controversies to defend totals and make impossible scores to win matches. Sachin, Dravid, and less so Ganguly and Laxman come to mind. And worldwide, many short-lived stars (Flintoff eg.)
4. No Indian bowlers of the class or impact of a Kapil Dev or the great spin trio -Kumble was good but not that all time great type of bowler. But worldwide, there were some like the great Glen McGrath and the immortal Shane Warne. And some Pakistanis and that SA Wonder Dale Steyn.
5. A big economic engine called Indian TV viewership that propelled many people and things to immense wealth. The concomitant TV ads for Chyavanprash, eggs and now even whitening creams.
6. The new phenomenon called Indian cricket. Dhoni, Yuvi, Virat, Rohit, Dhawan. All batsmen, who play great innings ever so often. And win a World Cup too.
7. Greatly improved fielding in all forms of the game.
8. Some memorable TV coverage of cricket, the Ashes being the best in class. Even on days when the game was not all that great a treat. During the recent months, I saw some wonderful documentaries on Warne and even a better one on Lara.
9. A number of tamashas around cricket, especially IPL. And attached scandals.
10. The one and only Bharat Ratna about whom I think I can make a mental reconstruct of what he was and how he achieved greatness, Sachin Tendulkar.
