The fastest bowler in the history of cricket, Shoaib Akhtar retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup. The former Pakistani pacer bowled the officially recorded fastest delivery against England, which clocked in at 161.3 km/h (100.2 mph) in speed. Controversy and Akhtar always walked hand-in-hand during his entire international career as cricketer. Akhtar made his Test debut against West Indies in front of home crowd at Rawalpindi in 1997 and made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1998. In his controversy-laden career, he has been ban numerous times and was always accused of not being a team player. In his on and off career, he took 178 wickets in 46 Test matches and 247 wickets in 163 ODIs. With his flamboyant attitude and off the field demeanour, the 'Rawalpindi Express' will always be remembered as one of the most popular face of the contemporary cricket.

On April 27, 2002, Shoaib Akhtar became the first man in the history of international cricket to cross the 100-mile barrier, but the International Cricket Council refused to recognise the feat, stating it wasn’t picked off a standard measuring tool. Karthik Parimal takes a trip down memory lane to see what the decision meant to Shoaib and how he repeated the insanity an year later.

SpEeD sTaR

A decade ago, Shoaib and Brett Lee were the only two speedsters who were touted to break the 100 mph barrier; or at least to hover around the speed with which West Indies and the English pacers of the 1970s and ’80s consistently bowled at. Yet, the previous fastest delivery that was recorded, albeit not during an international or a domestic fixture, was that of Jeff Thomson’s — 99.8 mph in 1976. In his book, The Art of Fast Bowling, Dennis Lillee states that, in 1975, Thomson bowled at 160.45 kph, which amounts to 99.7 mph. However, “very accurate high speed cameras” and a close study of the best fast bowlers in the world — Lillee, Michael Holding, Wayne Daniel, Bob Willis, John Snow and Andy Roberts, to name a few — had revealed that none ever recorded a speed of 100 mph or over.

In the April of 2002, in the bustling city of Lahore, New Zealand met Pakistan for the third and final One-Day International (ODI) — although it was inconsequential, for the hosts had already lapped up the first two matches — of the abridged series. Having elected to bat, Pakistan scored 278 in their 50 overs, thereby setting a formidable total for the Kiwis to chase (this was before Twenty20 had become rampant). The new-ball bowlers were Waqar and Shoaib, and while the former was meticulously working away at the openers, the latter was wayward but, without a shadow of doubt, quick. Any delivery directed at the body had the batsman hopping at the crease like a cat on a hot tin roof.

Despite the hullabaloo that followed, the verdict from the head honchos wasn’t ruled in Shoaib's favour. Nonetheless, one year later, during the 2003 World Cup, on February 22 against England at Cape Town, he bowled at 161.3 kph (100.23 mph) and, ostensibly, signalled to the powers that be that he had now done it twice. “The media has highlighted my 'exploits' both on and off the field, ensuring that my personal life was well documented, even if not always accurately. But I was the first to cross the 100-mile barrier, twice, and am still the fastest bowler in the world, having set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery ever, clocking in at 161.3 kmph (100.2 mph),” recalls Shoaib in his autobiography Controversially Yours.

They said he didn’t have the temperament to shine on the big stage.

They said he was good enough just to play in the IPL. 

They said he was callous. They said he didn’t deserve a longer rope. Why, they even said he was all promise, no performance. Over the past couple of weeks, Rohit Sharma has silenced his critics with a few shut-your-mouth knocks.

On Saturday, he did what only two other men had in the history of ODI cricket. Actually, his monumental 209 off 158 balls wasn’t murderous. Yes, it was a cracking knock alright (Happy Diwali!), but it had all the qualities of a typical Rohit innings. Elegant drives, wristy flicks and, of course, clean hits.

Hits! Well, there were plenty of them. Sixteen sixes (a world record) and 12 fours came off his broad bat as India powered their way to an epic 383/6. But if you thought the Aussies would be blown away, you were wrong. 

Yes, the visitors lost by some distance — 57 runs to be precise — to hand India the rain-affected seven-match series 3-2, but there were many thousand tense faces at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium when James Faulkner made a mockery of the Indian attack under lights.

Rohit, who emulated Sachin Tendulkar (200* vs South Africa at Gwalior in 2010) and Virender Sehwag (219 vs the West Indies at Indore in 2011) by scoring an ODI double hundred, paced his innings beautifully. His first 50 took him 71 balls and he scored 24 ones, three fours and just one six. He was clearly playing second fiddle to Shikhar Dhawan (60, 57 balls, 9x4) who just took off from where he left in Nagpur. Thereon, Rohit batted like a man possessed. His second 50 took 43 balls, and the third a mere 26. His journey from 151 to 203 (he got there with his 15th six) seemed like a blur — 16 deliveries.

Rohit was guilty of running Virat Kohli out for nought and the joke doing the rounds was that he was too scared to face his mate in the dressing room. So he just chose to bat on and on and on.

Rohit came out of his slumber to smash a six during his 112-run stand with Dhawan, but it wasn’t until later that he really sprang to life. That he was in the mood for hitting sixes became apparent 

Doherty in four overs, this after a 28-minute rain delay.

The powerplay overs (36-40) produced only 22. The last 10 overs produced a scarcely believable 151, the last five alone fetching 101 to leave Australia shell-shocked and the large crowd with sore throats and soaring hearts. Dhoni struck two sixes and seven fours in a ‘helicoptered’ 38-ball 62, but he was clearly second-best on the day.

Muttiah Muralitharan became the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets on the final day of his Test career in Galle.

The Sri Lanka off-spinner, 38, who made his Test debut in 1992, began his final match against India on 792 wickets.

The next highest figure, posted by Shane Warne, is 708.

In the bigger picture of the match India are down to their last specialist batsman, VVS Laxman, as they face a desperate fight for survival. But few will remember the result in any case. The timing of Muralitharan’s imminent retirement, which he announced this month, has ensured that this Test was always going to be about him and him alone.

Having come into the match with 792 Test wickets to his name, Muralitharan moved to 793 on Tuesday when he had Sachin Tendulkar lbw. 

sPiN tHRiLLs

Held back until the second hour of the morning, Muralitharan entered the fray with a trademark booming off-break that rushed through the defences of the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

He then followed up with another deadly doodlebug that kissed the edge of Yuvraj Singh’s bat. Once a couple of tailenders had been added to the pot, he finished the innings with figures of five for 63.

Last pair Ojha and Ishant Sharma resisted for 15 overs, but the safe hands of Jayawardene, one of the most reliable slip fielders of the modern era, fell to his left and pouched his 157th Test catch to begin the Sri Lankan celebrations.

Brian Lara has set the highest score ever in Test cricket, hitting 400 not out in the fourth Test against England.Lara passed the previous best of 380 by Matthew Hayden and then declared after reaching the quadruple century.

The Trinidadian left-hander faced 582 deliveries, hitting 43 fours and four sixes, setting a new mark just over two hours into the third day in Antigua.The feat came on the same ground where he hit a then record 375, also against England, in 1994.

Lara, who resumed the day 313 not out, shared an unbroken partnership of 282 with Ridley Jacobs, who hit a century himself to leave the home side 751-5 at the post-lunch declaration.Lara equalled Hayden's score by lofting Batty over long-on for six and then topped the mark with a swept four past fine leg.

FoRtReSs 400*

During the day Lara passed Australian legend Sir Donald Bradman's personal best 334 and the English record 364 set by Sir Leonard Hutton in 1938.He did survive a possible chance on 359 when what appeared to be a nick down the leg side was dropped by debutant wicket-keeper Geraint Jones.

Across the Caribbean, in Lara's home village of Cantaro, Trinidad, 52-year-old Freddie Gordon was watching the action on TV in the Valley Bar.

"The man was a perfect cricketer from when he was a baby," said the local car mechanic

India paceman Irfan Pathan made cricket history by becoming the first bowler to take a hat trick in the opening over of a test match before Pakistan's Kamran Akmal hit back with a century.

Leftarm bowler Pathan struck with his fourth, fifth and sixth deliveries to leave Pakistan reeling at 0-3 on a lively wicket.

WkTs InSwInGs

Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan said he wasn't sure of being able to perform a hat-trick before he accomplished the feat against Pakistan in the first over of the third and decisive cricket test.

"Twice in international cricket I came close to it so I thought it didn't happen before, it might not happen today," Pathan said.

Pathan, the 21-year-old left-arm paceman, removed Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf off his fourth, fifth and sixth deliveries and became the first bowler in test history to perform a hat-trick in the first over of a test …

At 36, Tendulkar hasn't shown signs of ageing, and his sparkling touch in both forms of the game has ruled out all possibilities of him checking out anytime soon. Fatigue, cramps and paucity of time have stood in the way of batsmen going that extra mile to get to the 200-mark. Tendulkar did cramp up after crossing 150, but he didn't opt for a runner. His experience of 20 years at the international level came into play in this historic innings, staying at the crease from the first ball to the last, never once losing focus. There were no chances offered, no dropped catches, making his innings absolutely flawless.

A swirl of emotions must have run through his mind as he approached one record after another but he ensured he was never lost in the moment. His running between the wickets remained just as swift as it had been at the start of the innings. The humidity in Gwalior was bound to test him but he stood above it all and played like he owned the game, toying with the bowling with a mix of nonchalance and brute power.

DoUbLe ToN

It was Tendulkar’s 46th century in one-day cricket for India and continues a remarkable recent run of form for a player who, at the age of 36, is showing no sign of slowing down with hundreds in each of his last four Tests.

The speed of Tendulkar’s innings was breathtaking. He faced just 147 balls hitting 25 fours and three sixes. His strike rate of 136.05 was higher than any of the other innings on the list of top ten scores one-day international scores.

Tendulkar reached his double hundred with a single of Charl Langeveldt in the final over of India’s 401 for three.

The Australia national cricket team toured South Africa from 13 October to 21 November 2011. The tour consisted of twoTwenty20 Internationals (T20I), three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Tests.

Australia were bowled out for their lowest total against South Africa as 23 wickets fell on an enthralling second day in the first Test at Cape Town on Thursday. Australia crumbled to 47 all out in their second innings, handing the initiative back to South Africa after the hosts had been skittle for 96 earlier in the day.South Africa won the toss and elected to field. At the end of the first day, Australia had made 214 for the loss of 8 wickets, with South African bowler Dale Steyn picking up 4 wickets for 31 runs. 

HuNgRy FoR WkTs

On the second day, Australia were eventually dismissed for 284, with Michael Clarke equaling his third highest Test score with 151. Batting second, South Africa were dismissed for just 96 runs, with Australian all-rounder Shane Watson taking five wickets for 17 runs in five overs. In their second innings, Australia were reduced to 13-3 by tea on the second day. After tea they went from 21-6 to 21-9, before being bowled out for 47 runs. This was their fourth lowest Test score and their lowest total for 109 years. Debutant Vernon Philander finished with figures of 5-15 from seven overs. On the third day, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla both reached centuries to help South Africa to a 8-wicket victory.