IND vs NZ: Sports Technology Advancements Provoked Sarfaraz To Appeal For DRS
The day one of the second test match between India and New Zealand witnessed timely intervention from India’s Sarfaraz Khan to convince his captain, Rohit Sharma to go for the review at the Decision Review System (DRS) that actually proved to be vital for the Indian Cricket Team. The dismissal, overturned from not out, of Will Young against New Zealand was the turning point of the day. That this has been the game-changer wherein Ravichandran Ashwin claimed his second scalp of the morning speaks largely to just how DRS has reshaped modern-day cricket. How is DRS technology changing the landscape of contemporary cricket? The integration of DRS in modern cricket alters the way teams strategize their decisions on the field. Just a few years back, decisions provided by umpires were final and often became controversial. With DRS, there is an improvisation that allows players and teams to challenge close calls. The change in the game now has made players play an active role concerning decision-making. DRS gives fair play and adds to the level of transparency in places of decision in the game. How technology in cricket has benefitted Players, Umpires and Match Referees? For players like Sarfaraz Khan, the DRS system meant they could influence the game directly, providing information to their captain. That this was in fact an example where wicketkeepers like Rishabh Pant were not solely responsible for calls. Technological advancements in cricket are not limited only to DRS. All of them have been game-changers for players, umpires and match referees. For instance, ultra-edge, ball-tracking systems and Hawk-Eye can help the umpires make tough decisions. Snickometer and HotSpot proved to be very useful tools in checking minor edges or bat-pad touches that one may miss with his naked eyes. Thus, not only do these innovations decrease errors but also they ease a bit of burden from umpires who can now make decisions based on technological support. Snickometer Invented by English computer scientist Allan Plaskett in the mid-1990s, the Snickometer was first broadcast on UK Channel 4 in 1999, accompanied by such technologies as Hawk-Eye and the Red Zone. The Snickometer helps umpires decide whether or not the ball has made contact with the bat by measuring differences in magnitude of sound waves. Renamed “Ultra Edge” after its premiere, it eventually lost first position to the more advanced Real-Time Snicko in 2013. Hawk-Eye Hawk-Eye is ball-tracking technology which predicts whether a delivery would have hit the stumps had it not been obstructed by the batsman, most of the times his pad. It is really crucial in making LBW decisions. It was developed by British computer scientist Paul Hawkins and launched in 2001. Ten years later, the Sony company bought the technology, so it plays a leading role in making modern sports officiating more high-tech. Hot Spot Hot Spot is a television imaging technology which employs infrared cameras to detect whether or not the batsman has made contact with the ball. The first part of this technology was invented by French scientist Nicholas Bion. A Melbourne-based company BBG Sports introduced Hot Spot into cricket. Data Analytics The ICC employs analytics software such as SAP HANA Cloud Platform and SAP Lumira to analyze scorecard statistics, player performances, profiles and other key data. Techniques in data mining are also applied to determine dynamic rankings for players. The main idea is to enable real-time, engaging statistics for the fans through the ICC app and website. How is sports technology taking the game of cricket forward? The match referees and analysts also gain from technological integration. This allows them to carefully watch the incidents that occur in the field and assess the players’ adherence to the rules before disciplining them when necessary. Detailed data analytics assist teams in planning. Coaches and players can then study the strengths and weaknesses or patterns of the opponents as an edge in competition. Technology advancements are changing the way fans experience the game. Slow-motion replays, tracking of the ball, virtual reality just make the viewing experience far more immersive and gives fans access to a whole new perspective in action and cricket becomes widely appealing across borders. In other words, cricket would just adapt new equipment to include more as a sure and fair principle of the game, thus raising the enjoyment quotient for a player who plays the game today. To Sarfaraz Khan and all those like him, DRS and all the technological assistance means he will be able to tap instinct, analytic ability and above everything else, bring the balance in which to propel the game on. On the first day of the second test match in Pune, for example, we observed changes in cricket that surely is going to take the game forward. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
IND vs NZ: Sarfaraz Khan’s Story From Maidans Of Mumbai To Maiden Test 100
Batting almost 10 hours at Mumbai’s Cross Maidan, Sarfaraz Khan first drew national attention as a 12-year-old schoolboy in 2009. This young lad re-wrote history at this fabled ground in the city of legendary batters. Playing in the big-time Harris Shield tournament, held in reverence as the Holy Grail of school cricket in Mumbai, Sarfaraz set a new record that catapulted him to instant stardom. Sarfaraz Khan’s Record-Breaking Feat Dressed in cricket whites – loose-fitting white shirt and track pants – the Kurla boy from the lower-middle class of eastern Mumbai made headlines with an astonishing 439 runs. This came for Rizvi Springfield in the Under-16 category, where Sarfaraz smashed 56 fours and 12 sixes. His score shattered the 46-year-old record of 427 not out, previously held by Ramesh Nagdev. In the process, Sarfaraz also broke the fabled score of 346 runs that none other than Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar had bagged way back in 1988. Dubbed the “Next Tendulkar” Sarfaraz’s phenomenal performance made local newspapers and national media speculate whether he would turn out to be the “next Tendulkar”. Yet, gradually, despite bright starts, the prodigy remained nowhere in public view. For years, Sarfaraz strained every sinew on the maidans of Mumbai, making his mark in first-class cricket while awaiting a call from the national selectors. As each season rolled into the next, there seemed to be no lead at all. All around him, peers such as Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, and Yashasvi Jaiswal stepped up on to the big stage, and Sarfaraz quietly waited in the wings. Sarfaraz Khan’s Test Debut After more than a decade of perseverance and unrelenting effort, Sarfaraz Khan finally reaped his rewards. Almost 14 years after his historic schoolboy innings, he got his Test cap for India. He made his test debut against England in Rajkot, Gujarat. The boy who was ready to wait for his moment was now part of the national test team, long in the making. A Maiden Test Century Here is a performance that showed his tenacity and mental strength, as Sarfaraz Khan, reached his maiden test match century. At the 56.3rd over of the game against New Zealand, as the ball came from Tim Southee, Sarfaraz responded by sending it to the boundary for four. That shot sealed his maiden test match hundred, a moment that undeniably made his father, Naushad Khan, the proudest man on earth. A Moment Worth The Wait What made Sarfaraz Khan’s century special was the context. The Indian Cricket Team needed someone from their middle order to stand up and Sarfaraz had to play out the innings from a difficult situation. His temperament under pressure was simply brilliant and clarity of mind at crunch time was fully in evidence. For all who watched it was clockwork as the ball sailed past the infield boundary, with Sarfaraz running in celebration, raising both his arms in the air and holding up his bat for everyone to see. He took off his helmet, acknowledged the dressing room, the crowd and even the skies, just delighting in every moment of his triumph. His shots and composure really told us that this is a man of great character who had waited patiently and fought hard for his place at the top level. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye