Tag: Sanjay Dutt

Astounding Facts of Virat Kohli

Hello fantasy cricket fans! Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli, the captain of test matches, ODI and Royal Challengers Bangalore for IPL matches, is someone who became one of the biggest names and has achieved so much in short span of time. 

When you create your fantasy cricket leagues, you might have seen this cricketer to be in the upper limits of points. If you are just planning to make one fantast league for the next contest at 11Wickets, know him.

Just know some amazing facts about this young and great player

Kohli played a key Ranji match in 2006. In spite of the fact that his father passed away the same day. He made 90 runs in that match against Karnataka. 

Virat Kohli was U-19 cricket team captain led the U-19 Indian team to glory of World Cup in 2008. 

Virat Kohli is one amongst the 8 cricketers who have made 20 centuries in one day international matches. In addition, Kohli is the fastest cricketer to reach this 20 ODI centuries taking just 133 innings for it. This is contrast to 197 innings of Sachin Tendulkar for the same. 

Another laurel in Virat’s bag is that he’s the fourth cricketer to score 1000 runs or more in ODI cricket for three consecutive years. 

Virat Kohli has been a fruitful run scorer from the beginning and is the fastest to reach the 10th, 15th, 18th and 19th centuries in one day international, with the last milestone made against Bangladesh where he scored 136 runs. 

Virat Kohli shares a record with Sir Vivian Richards for being the fastest to reach 5000 ODI runs. 

Virat’s tattoo

Virat sports a dragon tattoo on his arm; it seems that the tattoo brings him good luck. 

He’s the first Indian to make a century on World Cup debut. 

Virat Kohli has been one amongst the 10 best dressed men in the world in 2012. 

Virat Kohli has been the one who scored the most number of ODI and test runs in 2012, earning him ICC’s Cricketer of the Year award. He was just 23 at the time. 

In 2014, Virat Kohli has been ranked as the 2nd most profitable athlete around the globe. 

Sir Vivian Richards honoured Virat Kohli by making a remark that Kohli reminded him of himself. 

Now, when selecting Virat Kohli in your fantasy team, you can consider these facts apart from his latest performance in any match and see whether he score any points for you and make your team win at contest you have entered. 

Enjoy fantasy sports!

Early Days of Cricket Helmet

“Necessity is the mother of invention” – Plato (the ancient Greek philosopher)

Cricket is no different!!

We play fantasy cricket games today where we need no protective gears! But years ago, batsmen had to face the fast bowlers without any protection. Since there were no bouncer limits then, it was really a ‘do or die’ situation for the batsmen. And then there were scenarios where tail-enders was always greeted at the crease with fast bouncers going past their chin or missing their ear by a whisker. Batsmen nowadays are indeed lucky.

Helmets were first used in baseball. In 1905, Frank Mogridge created the first crude protective head gear.” In cricket, there are instances where players used towels, scarves and padded caps to protect themselves from the hard cricket ball. In the 1930s, the first player to use a protective hat was Patsy Hendren. He designed it himself. However, it took 40 more years for helmets to be used on a more regular basis. In the 1970s, helmets were seen in World Series Cricket to be used by a lot of players. The first player to use helmet consistently was Dennis Amiss.

Former English captain Mike Brearly also used helmets of his own design. However, another former English batsman Tony Greig had the opinion that they would make cricket more dangerous by encouraging bowlers to bounce the batsmen. Those days, rules of cricket were not biased towards batsmen like they are now. So bowlers were allowed to bowl as many bouncers as they wanted.

First to wear helmet

The first player to wear a helmet in a Test match was Graham Yallop of Australia on 17 March, 1978, when playing against West Indies at Bridgetown. One the reasons could have been the four lethal fast bowlers that West Indies had in the 1970s. But it was English batsman Dennis Amiss who made it popular in Test cricket.

In the early days, the helmets did not have protective grills. So although the head was safe, players were always in risk to get injured in the face. Modern helmets have strong protective grills to prevent balls from hitting the face. In modern cricket, all batsman wear helmets against fast bowlers. Sometimes few players select not to wear them while facing spin bowlers.

To protect the young players, in Under-19 cricket it is compulsory for all batsmen and any fielder within 15 yards (14 m) of the bat to wear helmets. Recently, in the fourth test between India and England, Stuart Broad suffered a broken nose when the ball went past the grill and hit him. He was seen batting with double protective grill in the next match.

Play fantasy cricket leagues online and win matches!

History of Cricket Bats

Hello cricket crazy fans! Yes we know that online fantasy cricket game doesn’t have any use of the real cricket bats.  But when you are a cricket fan, you must know about all its history. Don’t you believe so? What will happen when a kid who is just developing a keen interest in cricket and ask you where the cricket bats came originated.  

While making your fantasy league, read the history of cricket bat and know about it. 

Ours is a cricket obsessed nation. What can we say about cricket? It would not be wrong if we say that cricket is a religion in India. Rightly so, isn’t it? You might have been a part of the mass hysteria that occurs when a cricket match is played. How many of you have gone crazy when your favourite cricketer has wielded the bat and smashed the ball to hit a six? How many have held the desire to hold the bat and play for the nation? With online fantasy cricket games, you can play the game now though.  

History and Some Interesting Facts about Cricket Bats 

  • Cricket bats were originally shaped like hockey sticks. But some changes in the game of cricket prompted changes in the shape and size of cricket bat. 
  • Australian cricketer, Dennis Lillee, used an aluminum bat in a match in 1979. But the timely intervention of the umpires forced him to change to a wooden bat. Thus was born the rule that, only made of wood is to be used in a match. 
  • Kookaburra, an Australian sports equipment manufacturing company came out with a fiber-reinforced strip along the spine of the bat for its durability. Australian cricketer, Ricky Ponting, used this for the first time in 2005 against the English team. But such type of bat was subsequently banned by the ICC because it felt that the bat gave undue advantage to the batsman and not all players could afford such bats. 

Numerous such slight variations in the bats have followed since and some were for pure marketing gimmicks. Some alterations have been implemented though. 

Some FAQs while Buying Cricket Bats 

  • What should the size of the bat be? According to the rules of the cricket law, the bat’s height should not be more than 38 inches and width shouldn’t be more than 4.25 inches. 
  • What should be the weight of a cricket bat? Bats should weigh around 1.2 to 1.4 kilos, though there is no specific rule which states the ideal weight of a cricket bat. Some cricketers are comfortable using heavy bats. 
  • What type of wood is used in a cricket bat? Bats are typically made of two types of wood. One is the English willow and the other is the Kashmir willow. Bats made from Kashmir willow needs hours of knocking so that the fibres of the wood compress and come together to get the perfect knock. And then is the oiling process which is done to ensure that the bats become durable. Kashmir willow bats are in demand in India and South Asian countries, whereas the English willow bat is famous worldwide. 

Happy reading!