Apr 05, 2005 04:39 PM
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(Updated Apr 05, 2005 04:39 PM)
The game of cricket is needed to be played with a lot of courage, skill, stamina, endurance, and willingness to out-perform your opponents. It is a pure team game.
However, individual performances are kept in mind when it comes to rating the best in the game. According to me, the following cricketers deserve to be my 5 favourite ones:
1) Sachin Tendulkar: What more can I say about this great player! He is the genius in the game of cricket. The world's best batsman, a handy bowler, a good fielder, and a complete team-man sums up this great player. Over 10, 000 runs in both forms of the game just goes to show his greatness and prowess with the bat in hand. He has broken many records and will continue to break many more in future. He is every bowler and a captain's scourge.
2) Jacques Kallis: This strong all-rounder, is without doubt, the best all-rounder in the contemporary cricket world. He is the mainstay of South Africa's batting. He is aggressive, can play the long innings, technically correct, and a physical toughnut. He can attack the bowlers with power-strokes, hang in at the crease with comfort, and plays both spinners and pacers well. He is the man for all seasons and all kinds of pitches. He's a player who every captain in the world wants to have in their teams.
3) Adam Gilchrist: Surely, the most destructive batsman in the game of cricket closely followed by Virender Sehwag. His batting exploits are well-known all over the world. Also, he is the world's best wicket-keeper. In tests, he averages an astonishing 50+ and a strike rate in the 80s. And to top of it all, he bats at no.7. Extremely dangerous on his day! In ODI's, he is 1 opener who can dismantle bowling attacks of varying pedigree with great ease.
4) Glenn Mc Grath: He is the best fast bowler on view these days. A tough competitor, he is the guru of line and length bowling. About to reach 500 wkts in tests, and over 300 wkts in ODI's, he is truly a champion bowler. He had his own feuds(ON-FIELD) with Sachin, Lara, Sarwan, Jayasuriya and has been able to scalp their wickets on a regular basis. His 450th victim was Sachin himself. He's a descent fielder in the outfield.
5) Brian Lara: I had to tinker my grey cells and ponder hard as to who deserves this slot. In the end, Brian Lara got thru with tough competition from Muralitharan, Warne, and Dravid. A marathon batsman, he has massive scores to his name in tests that no one else has achieved so far. Scores of 400 not out, 375, and 277 just show the immense talent that he has, and to top of it the great determination and grit that he posseses. At times, a bit inconsistent, he has to be 1 of the top 5 batsmen in the world.
All the above-mentioned 5 cricketers are well worth their weight in gold. They will continue to serve the game well in future.
