Johnson Retires from International cricket

Mitchell Guy Johnson retires from international cricket. My hero, one of my favorite bowlers of all time calls it a day. The bowler, who brought back the fear of lethal bouncers. The one, who was unstoppable when in rhythm. Everyone saw what he did to Barmy Army in 2013-14. He ripped apart English batting single-handedly. Once described by Australian great Dennis Lilee as once is a generation cricketer, Mitchell presence with the ball in hand was enough to terrorize the batsmen. At his best, he used to break the

Judging by the numbers alone, he stands among one of the best fast bowlers to have ever played the game. 313 test wickets in 73 matches, 239 ODI wickets in 153 matches and 38 T20 International wickets in 30 matches. Among the Australian fast bowlers, his strike rate of 51.1 is the best in tests among those who have taken minimum of 150 test wickets. But, Johnson was beyond these numbers. What he brought with him on the field cannot be described by these stats. He was like a hurricane. A mayhem. A volcano ready to erupt. The english batsmen who had played the ashes of 2103-14 must be celebrating on the mere thought of not having to face him in future. I still remember the smile on England batsmen's faces, when they lost the Ashes 5-0 in Sydney. At least, it was over. The butchery. The humiliation etc. Those who played him at his best often didn't remain the same mentally. After all, how much a batsman can do? They already worry a lot about his wicket. Now, worry about health too?

He was a crowd-puller. People used to come to watch him bowl those fierce, hostile spells. When he used to run, spectators used to clap in tandem. No batsman used to be sure what missile was coming at him. Around the wicket, his action caused him to be even more lethal. Because of him, often tailenders used to choose a short quick innings instead of hanging around. He won the ICC cricketer of the year two times in 2009 and 2014 as well winning the test cricketer of the year in 2014. Who will forget that spell of 61-8 at WACA when he destroyed South Africa with pace, bounce and terror. He was one of the bowlers, batsmen used to run away from.

Johnson career was full of ups and downs. The intensity which he brought to the game often came at a price. He often struggled with injuries, rhythm. He was almost at his breaking point in 2009 before coming back with a bang rediscovering his love for cricket and annihilating South Africa. The death of Philip Hughes took a toil of him mentally. He was never the same after that. He tried to emulate his past successes, but it was merely a shadow of him at his best. Also, after the retirement of Ryan Harris, he was missing a doublet to bowl with. He used to work best with him. Also, the missing juice in the recently prepared tracks at Gabba and WACA against India and New Zealand took everything out of him. He sensed that there won't be a better moment to retire than with the decline of the WACA ground as he had so many fond memories of that place.

Apart from this, an amazing human being and always played to win. His intensity was contagious. He will retire as all time great cricketers. Personally, He was my favorite and I am going to miss him. He has left a lot of nice memories for all of us. #ThankYouMitch

Watching My First Test Match

It was November 14, 2015 when I finally got a chance to witness test cricket within 100 meters of distance. There was no barrier of satellite, camera etc. this time. It was me watching cricket, pure cricket. Test cricket. Test match number : 2188. India Vs South Africa. M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, the same place from where legends like Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge started their test careers. After watching test cricket on television for 15 years, here came a moment of redemption for me. I was going to watch a test match.

Let me tell you the tale of whole day. Firstly, I was getting goosebumps with the thought of watching my heroes in the whites for the first time. I got up early and went for walk, did some stretching as if I were going to play the match. I was thinking about the test match whole time. When I saw the ticket once again in my hand, It felt priceless. I was not going to exchange it for anything.

I took a cab to go to stadium. The driver didn't know hindi. Only Kannada or little English. But, It was easy to tell him the destination. Whole journey, He kept playing Kannada songs and I actually enjoyed it without comprehending a single word. It was magical. The game was to start at 09:30 IST. I reached 10 minutes late, courtesy to confusion in Gate number. When I reached there, players were already out in the middle. The stadium was half filled. The stadium was filled with very dim morning sunlight. Ishant Sharma was bowling. He was back in the playing XI after one match ban. South Africa were 9 without loss. I took my seat.

After 7 overs, South Africa were 14/0. Ashwin was handed over the ball. He didn't take much long to strike. Twin wickets in that over. India were on top. The crowd was on its feet. I was loving it. Ashwin-Ashwin was all I could hear that time. After second wicket fell, they were chanting ABD-ABD. But, to their disappointment, Amla came. He was looking comfortable before his off stump went for a walk on Varun Aaron's delivery. Now, here he was. The crowd's favorite. The best batsman in the world playing his 100th test match. He came to the middle. Kohli shook hands with him. South Africa were in trouble by now. 45/3. ABD did what he does best. Accessed the situation. Started slowly. No risks taken. Safely negotiated till lunch. Still the session belonged to India. 78/3. I didn't leave my seat for whole 40 minutes.

Session 2 started. Jadeja started the proceedings. Elgar was betrayed by the ball and its spin. Tried to sweep. Bowled. He kept looking at the ball. He didn't want to go. He stayed there as if he felt sorry of breaking the promise he made to ABD while walking to the ground. Keep it safe, wait for loose balls, blah blah. I felt sorry for him for few seconds before everyone moved on. Duminy came now. Although, he is a nice player, his test stats are way below impressive. Batting avg. of 35 in test cricket. Soon, Ashwin got him. Caught Rahane in the slips. I have watched million similar dismissals on television. Nothing new here to write. South Africa was struggling now. Five down. Dan Vilas(WK) came. His test stats were horrible. 2 matches, 8 runs. Highest score 7. When he hit his first boundary, I was actually wondering about Maybe he has sent the ball first time outside ropes in his test career. Jadeja took over now. He first got Vilas and then at the stroke of tea, got ABD with a beauty. Saha did the rest. He played beautifully and made as smooth 85 as you will ever see. He was gutted while walking back. No 100 in first innings in 100th test for him. But, I felt his innings was a true epitome of his character. He is miles ahead of other batsmen when it comes to anything. Even in a mighty team like South Africa, there is none close to him. South Africa were 177/7 at tea.

Cricket is a funny yet romantic game. When the batman is in flow, everything looks so easy and it is hard to imagine how someone ever gets out. But, when the chips are down, you cannot imagine a more difficult job in the world than to bat. It is as if the whole pitch is a giant ocean and batman has to sail across it in a very small boat. One tsunami and it is all  over. I pictured ABD as a giant titanic which took a big iceberg of Jadeja to sink while others were small boats getting knocked over by small currents.

I went for little snacks and came back to watch the third session. All front line batsmen had departed. It was just a matter of time before India would wrap up the tail. Although, Morkel and Abbott frustated India for a while and took South Africa over 200. Last two wicket fell in two balls. India managed to restrict Proteas to a paltry 214. There was no demon in the track. Just wrong shot selection by batters. Now, they were expecting something extraordinary from the bowlers to get back into this. Innings break now. The same routine stuff. Rolling the pitch, cleaning with broom, Line markers deepened etc.

It was Dhawan and Vijay. Dhawan had made a pair at Mohali. So, I wished him good luck. I wanted him to carry on. They played solid. Dhawan was outstandingly good today. He was timing with ease and leaving balls well. I have hardly seen him so disciplined in test cricket. India were off to a flying start. Dropping a dolly at square leg by Tahir didn't help South Africa's causes. I almost felt sorry for him. Faces of all South African players were so gloomy. They had created an opportunity at last and they blew it. All their bowlers: Rabada, Morkel, Abbott, Tahir felt helpless. Indians were too good today. When the play was about to be over with one over remaining, Amla brought back Rabada for one final venom of spell. Nothing happened. Safely negotiated. See you tomorrow. India were 80 without loss. I don't remember India being 80 without loss in test cricket against a major team for a long time. All three sessions belonged to India today. My mission almost accomplished.

For me, It all fell into place today. Went to watch test cricket for first time. Toss: won by India. One-nil. Got to watch best batsman of current generation : ABD compiling a well made 85 and yet not letting him run away with game. Two-nil. India starting solidly and Dhawan playing well after Mohali horrow. Three-nil. Finally, It was time to leave. I came outside. Everything looked so boring. I was still mentally inside the stadium. I gathered myself and came back. During whole journey, I kept thinking about tomorrow's day play. I also had to catch up the second test going on between Australia and New Zealand at WACA. Overall, It was an incredible day for me. Something I will remember for a very long time.