Ajinkya Rahane sets a world record - latches on to eight catches in the slips

The slip position in any form of cricket is a vital one and fielders in that position have to be super swift, agile and be able to anticipate and coordinate the motions of the bowlers, the batsman and the ball – all in one split second.
And, kudos to Ajnkya Rahane for latching on to eight catches in the first test match at Galle between India and Sri Lanka as reported in zeenews.india.com dated 14 August 2015.

The match would be remembered for the contribution of Ajinkya Rahane and the world record that he has set. He is now a safe bet in the position after his impressive performance.
Ever since the retirement of former India's most successful catcher Rahul Dravid, it is now Rahane who has shown his ability to take that position. This has been acknowledged by former India batsman Sanjay Manjerekar.
By taking eight catches in a test match, Rahane has overtaken the likes of Greg Chappell, Hasan Tillakaratne, Stephen Fleming and Mathew Hayden who all had seven catches. In India Yajuvendra Singh held the record with seven catches in 76/77 vs England.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Virat Kohli has arrived but India lose 1st test match of the series in Adelaide

Virat Kohli has arrived in the test cricket scene with a bang – with a hundred plus in each innings, he matched Greg Chappell's feat of scoring twin hundreds in a Test in his first match as captain. The Australian had achieved it against the West Indies in 1975-76 at Brisbane.
Kohli became only the second player in Test history to score a century in both innings on his debut as captain but his effort went in vain because of the shocking display of inept performance by his other batting colleagues, who seemed bent on committing suicide.
India could have won the 1st test match of the current series in Adelaide, but the Gods willed otherwise – it was Aussie off-spinner Nathan Lyon who upset the applecart and spoiled the show for India.
Lyon was, undoubtedly, the pick of the Australian bowler as he kept on exploiting the rough on the track to good effect to finish with figures for 7/152 for an overall haul of 12 wickets in the match. He was adjudged Man of the Match for his superlative effort.
It was a match that went on till the last day and, if only the tail enders had kept their cool, the result would have been in India’s favor.

‘Playing it my way’ - master blaster Sachin Tendulkar reveals some dark secrets of Indian cricket

Sachin Tendulkar, the master blaster of India cricket who holds every conceivable batting record in cricket along with a century of centuries, has penned his autobiography and named it ‘Playing it my way’ - in this book, he has revealed plenty of dark secrets, especially with regard to Greg Chappell, the Indian coach of the time.
These revelations have stirred up a hornet’s nest even before ‘Playing it my way’ is officially launched.
Through his book, touted as a tell-all autobiography, he has branded the former India coach Greg Chappell as a "ringmaster" who imposed his ideas on players. It seems Tendulkar has got the backing of his contemporaries like Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.
The most startling revelation is about Chappell approaching Tendulkar with a shocking’ suggestion that Tendulkar take over India's captaincy from Rahul Dravid months before the 2007 World Cup in West Indies. The suggestion was made by Chappell in Tendulkar’s house and in the presence of his wife Anjali.
Chappell even went to the extent of suggesting that both of them could join up, take over reins on Indian cricket and control it for the year.
However, Chappell has disputed the claims of Tendulkar – he has clarified that he had gone to visit him only once – that too, 12 months before the incident was supposed to have taken place. In his clarification, Chappell has said that he had gone to Tendulkar's home with a physio and assistant coach during the Indian master's rehabilitation from injury. He went on to add that they had enjoyed a pleasant afternoon together but the subject of captaincy was never raised.
Incidentally, Chappell had been appointed coach of the Indian national cricket team for a two-year term until the World Cup 2007 and the difference of opinion between him and Sourav Ganguly is well known.