Cricket in 2010 – Part 2
Shoania
Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza got married after ‘batting’ through scandals and confusions. It was highly unlikely marriage as it was cross border love, and both the stars belong to different sporting arenas. Shoaib is former captain of Pakistan cricket team
and Sania is super star in tennis for India. Couple got married on April 12, as they surprised many with their decision. The things got bad when a random girl came into the scene and said that she is engaged to Shoaib Malik. The scandal kept in the news for
weeks before eventually “true” love succeeded. The couple is residing in Dubai after they got married.
Ashes
This year England visited Australia for the Ashes series and regained after they won Melbourne Cricket Ground. There is still one match to be played and Australia can draw the series with 2-2 however, the Ashes is lost for the home team. England played exceptionally
well right from the start of the series. They had one bad game at WACA in Perth, that levelled the series 1-1 but England thrashed Australia in the fourth test match. The first match got draw, England had a magical five days spell in the second test match
to secure 1-0 lead. England had a great cricketing year, they won the Twenty20 world cup, Ashes and comfortable series win against Pakistan.
Dravid’s 200th catch
Over the years Rahul Dravid remains the back bone for Team India’s batting line up. It is not only his batting that he is famous for; he is an exceptional fielder in the slips. In the last test match of the year, he pouched his 200th test catch
against South Africa. It was a great grab as he moved towards his left to catch the outside edge off the bowling of Harbhajan Singh. In his career he has caught 67 catches off the bowling of the pacers and 133 off the bowling of the spinners. The first catch
was in his debut match of Nasser Hussain off the bowling of Javagal Srinath.
Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi is a star player for Pakistan for many years. He has seen highs and lows in his fairly long career. Shahid Afridi was the first player to claim fifty wickets in Twenty20 format. He is famous for his brutal batting and quick spin deliveries.
Apart from that he is also famous for unique acts on the cricketing ground. Earlier this year against Australia in an one day international he was seen eating the ball. He was literally biting the ball to change the condition of it to get some reverse swing.
It was a lunatic way to make the ball rough and was caught by the cameramen and was fined for this obnoxious act.
Team India
Team India played 14 test matches this year and won eight and lost three, while remaining were drawn. Team India played some exceptional cricket under the captaincy of MS Dhoni and were ranked number in ICC Test Ranking for the very first time. Gary Kirsten,
the coach of the team played a major role to shape up the Indian team. His understanding with the captain and the team worked as a charm. India did brilliantly in their home conditions and away from home. The most memorable series was against Australia in
India, where Team India won two matches and claimed the series 2-0.
Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja is geared to play against England in the last test match in the absence of Ricky Ponting at Sydney Cricket Ground. He is been in the hunt for an international call however he did not got any chance to play. He travelled with Australia to England
for a home series against Pakistan. He was unlucky not to get a chance even after some great performances with his local team. Usman Khawaja plays for New South Wales and is a prolific batsman after accumulating 698 runs in this season. Left hander opener
will be the first Muslim player for Australia in their long cricketing history and will earn 151st baggy green cap in Sydney.