Rants

Hi friends

Once more cut off from the blogosphere.. it had to do more with the work pressure, lack of time, lethargy and the addiction to Facebook. However, afterall a blog is a blog! No social networking site can ever replace it. So, am back!

Much have happened in the interim! The IPL saga and the T20 disaster have literally put a stop on any cricketing interest that I may have had till date. Not sure whether it would be resurrected. To say bluntly, the BCCI and Mr Modi have ensured that our boys do not have any energy left when it comes to playing international cricket. Its amazing to note how money and politics can ruin a fabulous game. People who do not know anything about cricket are at the helm of affairs, making matters worse!

On my personal front, its been like a breeze. Routine work mostly and many ad-hoc tasks. Nothing more to share really. Searching for stories do not help. So, let me stop right here.

Until next time...

T-20 World Cup - India's chances

The Games have begun. Yes, I am speaking about the T-20 World Cup. Tonight at 10:20 PM Indian Time, the men-in-blue would clash with Bangladesh.

Talking about the expectations from the Indian team, well, they are huge. Not only because they are the defending champions, but simply because the team is in great shape with probably 6-7 match winners. Take a look at the stats below.

Let me give a brief about whom I am talking about in this edition of the T20 World Cup:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The born leader. A natural attacker. Most importantly, a fearless captain. With a strike rate of 103.85, he can demolish any bowling attack on a given day.

STRENGTHS:

Sharp captain, great wicket keeper and batsman, enjoys the respect of the team, a big hitter and a match winner.
WEAKNESS:

Seems to be a bit vulnerable against quality spin attack.

Yuvraj Singh:

A whooping 164.77 is his strike rate. The day he gets going, it's curtains for the opposition. A terrific player on his day. More dangerous than Dhoni. Can take a game in favor of you in just a few overs.
STRENGTHS:

One of the biggest hitters of the modern game, Yuvi rocks! Fluent against pace attacks. Add to that his credentials on the field and his part-time spin!

WEAKNESS:

Doesn't play spin that well.

Virender Sehwag:

Explosive. A strike rate of 144.8. Never seen a batsman bat with such authority (apart from Tendulkar) and hitting bowlers all around the park with disdain. I put my money on him. If he is fit and on song, it could create a crisis for the opposition. The day Viru fires, we have a match on our hands. Never mind who the opposition is. [And never mind all those fishy controversies surrounding him and Dhoni about having an ego clash]

STRENGTHS:

Hand eye coordination. Fabulous strike rate. A power player.

WEAKNESS:

Poor footwork and temperament at times.

Gautam Gambhir:

This guy has silently won our hearts. A fabulous left hander. Probably the best Indian lefty after our very own dada (in his golden days) and Yuvi. Good player of pace and spin as well. And a great fielder in the 30 yards circle.

STRENGTHS:

Temperament, cool head on his shoulders and a great player of spin.

WEAKNESS:

Nothing really.

Rohit Sharma:

This is the guy we have to watch. The recent IPL showed ample proof of his credibility. Can anchor the ship, as well as attack with equal ease. Add to that his fielding and part time bowling. Remember him taking a hattrick in this edition of the IPL?

STRENGTHS: Can anchor the innings once the top 3 are down, bowling prowess

WEAKNESS: Needs to mature

Zaheer Khan:

If he is fit, he is the spearhead of the Indian pace attack. His experience would be essential if India has to make an impact in this edition of the T20 World Cup. Give him a bowl - at the start or the death. He will deliver the goods. Be it yorkers or bouncers or slowers or cutters, he has it all. And with an impeccable line and length, the batsmen will find him hard to play.

STRENGTHS:

Lethal yorkers and bouncers. Experience.
WEAKNESS:

Fitness issues

Only concern is: Is he fit enough?

And after these fab 6, we have the Pathan brothers, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Raina and Uthappa. R.Jadeja and Murali Karthik could also play vital roles. Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan are my dark horses. So, all in all, Indians are in with a big chance. If the guys fire, there is hardly a team that can stop Team India from bagging the trophy.

Only worry: After the recently concluded IPL, are the players fresh enough?

What do you think, readers?

Image source: http://www.cricinfo.com/, Google

Statistics: http://www.cricinfo.com/

End of IPL 2

Yesterday marked the end of IPL season 2 - a tournament marked by intense action over a one month duration. Full credits to Mr. Lalit Modi for organizing it, the way he did. And South Africa played a lovely host. As said by Mr Jacob Zumi, the honorable president, "If there are requirements, we would host such tournaments again." And he also mentioned how benefited South Africa had been, in terms of the attention and limelight and potential boost to tourism and sports among others. He, for sure, was correct. The closing ceremony was fantastic with power packed performances by the Phoenix fire dancers, Akon, (our very own) Katrina Kaif and the legendary Eddy Grunt. I specially liked the phase where the musical rendering of "Raghupati raghava raja ram..." was done, beautifully, probably as a sort of a tribute to Gandhiji and reiterating the historical relationship that India has had with South Africa.

Looking back, IPL saw quite a few revelations this year:

1) At the top is the emergence of a blog "Fake IPL Player". The blogger fooled almost everyone with his insane comments and (fictitious) accounts of what happened in the KKR dressing room, day in and day out. It is not clear as to his motive of maligning the team and its owner, but one, for sure, enjoyed his sarcastic comments and nicknames given to players, starting from Bhookha Nan to Appam Chutiya. The blog showed a meteoric rise in viewership within a duration of 1 and a half months. The blogger apparently was NOT a player, NOT a support staff and NOT even remotely associated with cricket, but he shared the limelight in his own way, basking in the "reflected glory".
2) Next came the unimaginable minuscule performance of the KKR - a team which showed itself as a tiger before and played like a rat. No team spirit, failed 4-captaincy theory, no unity and no urge to win. One was left wondering if match fixing is back, big time! Whatever be it, some of the midas touch was back in the last two matches, if only......
3) Yes, the Deccan Chargers have done it! I knew it from the time they played their first match against the KKR and I had mentioned that here. Full marks to Gilly not only for the batting that only he can do, but also for the way he inspired ordinary players into performing like superstars. Take the case of Harmeet Singh and you would know what I mean. My only concern like many others is, why the hell did he retire? It happens only in Australia!!!

From my perspective, these three were the main highlights of this edition and yes, I am waiting for the Champions League T20 scheduled for October' 09. Boy, that's gonna be some fun! ...not to mention the T20 World Cup coming up!

So, all you cricket lovers out there, fasten your seat belts, we are gonna have a crazy ride this year!

Image courtesy: http://www.iplt20.com/

Selection time

Election time this is. There are many 'leaders' who have swapped places and parties. And I think, it is selection time for me. Do not get the idea that this is gonna be yet another post on Indian elections. Rather, this is yet another post on "IPL"!
I had a dream - a dream that the Knights would do something remarkable for us, the die-hard fans, but that has been squashed! Now, I don't mind that much. If you notice the logo, the word 'Kolkata' has been taken out from the team name, making it more generic and the home base would not be Kolkata in the next edition. And, also with 'dada' scheduled to a receive a kick in the a** next year, I don't mind supporting other teams. Remember? I said it is 'selection' time for me! I shall shut my mouth till the time it is ascertained that the Knights are out of the tournament. Till then, the Knight Advertising and Showbiz Company can breathe a sigh of relief! Happy dancing, Shahrukh, Buchanan, Mc-cullum and Co.!!! You have the beautiful cheerleaders for company!!!

Is this the beginning?

Ya ya ya... I see I see I see...
People are peeping in to see if I have posted something new. **proud look**
Afterall, finally the KKR have won and what more! Our beloved Ganguly dada returned the best bowling figures scalping two in an over!!! Good. I am happy. One small regret, though! The rain played the 12th man's role for KKR.

And, tough luck, Yuvi!

ps. I am very unlucky to have missed the action. All the above info is courtesy: cricinfo.com

Harbo harbo harbo re??? :'(

Disgusting
Degenerating
Boring
Sadistic
Poor
5 quick words that came to my mind as soon as I thought about yesterday's much-hyped match between the KKR and the DC. Mark my words: The Deccan Chargers are going to be a force to reckon with in this second edition of the IPL. The charge of the Chargers was just too much to handle for Mc-Cullum and company. And oh my - Fidel Edwards is his name! What a bowler he is! Many (myself included) did not have too much expectations out of him. But he just zipped through the defences of the batsmen with finesse. Though it is just a premature stage to guess anything. Even the KKR can bounce back! But one thing for sure: The Deccan Chargers are not gonna be last in the league table this time around!

And one final comment: I support Gavaskar. Mr John Buchanan tried too many things on the Knights and it seems to have boomeranged. The team is in tatters. No team spirit. No batting. No bowling. No fielding. Everyone seemed to be going through the motions, as if defeat was destiny! And the players were tense, as if it was a case of life and death. The natural game was missing from everyone. And yes, it was a WRONG selection to bat first! Well, I am no one to suggest all these. But it is the sentiment of a die-hard cricket fan that is probably coming through all of these! I have the right to see our team perform well. And I also have the right to say, isn't it? Mr Buchanan?

Korbo lorbo jitbo re!

IPL or The Indian Premier League is here once more. Oops! Not here, in South Africa. What I meant was, IPL is here on our television sets once more. Yesterday saw the clash of the biggest teams of last year. And both the champions and the runners up were washed away by some fabulous cricket from the two maestros Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

Every time I see Sachin, I am awestruck at his talent and consistency. I wonder the day he leaves cricket he would be standing on a pile of runs which would be hard to achieve at any format of the game. I remember I had once wished him happy birthday in class 10. Those were the days, when I was just getting acclimatized to the Internet. There were many students and everyone wanted to wish something. I was lucky to get the opportunity first. So I wrote, "Sachin, may you get 100 centuries". Many laughed at that! Many giggled! I thought that may be that was wishing too much. But today, when I see him spanking 80+ centuries in both formats of the game, it seems not too impossible. Is it?

Dravid had a very tough time last year. So it was really nice to see him batting the way he did.

I have always been a huge fan of the trio: Sachin, Saurav, Rahul and I wish this year, in the IPL, each would be at his individual best.

All said, I am all for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Today they have the first match and I cannot wait to get hooked up to the television set at 8 in the evening today. Lets see what dada does this time around.

"Korbo lorbo jitbe re!!!" Are you with me? :D

Cricket under attack

Away from the blog for the last couple of days, I had been preoccupied with mundane tasks. However, the last few days had been no short of incidents, the most prominent being the attack on the Sri Lankan team by the terrorists. No act of contempt is enough to condemn the deed. Hitting out at innocent sports personalities who were also proud ambassadors of their own nation defies all sense of morality and principles. However, I am crazy to have even expected this out of them, who do not spare babies and children!

Straight talk: Pakistan needs to tighten up the screws on the fundamentalists, if at all they want to avert such incidents. We are all amazed at how all the miscreants could leave the scene unscathed. Invariably, comparisons with the Mumbai attack are being drawn, but the cops and security forces out here had acted far more efficiently by nabbing one alive and killing the rest.
Today they blame India for the whole act (without any proof!). How funny! And to think all the terrorist outfits have their roots in their own land! Clearly, their democratic (or pseudo democratic) Government is incapable of reigning in the extremist elements and the army! Since independence, how many times have they been under a democratic form of Government? Every time, the country has sought democracy, it has been overturned!

I read in the newspaper today that former Pakistan cricketers like Miandad and Butt are blaming Chris Broad for maligning their security forces, 6 of whom had laid down their lives. However, how can we ignore Broad's words! The ministers are provided 6 to 7 times security than what the Lankan team had been provided with. This, after all International teams had declined to play matches in Pakistan and the PCB was in dire need of money! Still, there was a time when the whole contingent was being fired at indiscriminately and none of the security forces were at sight. Khalil, the driver of the team bus had been able to drive till Gaddafi, but what about the other vehicle. It was left at the mercy of the terrorists! Younis Khan has reportedly commented and requested the whole world not to let Pakistan cricket die and not to alienate the cricket crazy nation. Yes, we are all with them! But when will they kill the root to all these? When will they stop blaming India and look at rectifying themselves? When will foreign teams and delegates be provided with top notch securities? When will their cops stop yelling things like,"Why don't you drive yourself?"(when requested to help out of a war zone)? When will enmity and hatred give way to peace and friendship? Do they have answers to all of these? I guess not!





Image source: www.timesonline.co.uk

The IPL fever

The Indian Premier League has arrived and it is here to stay. It all started with a bang, the Kolkata Knight Riders starting off in rollicking fashion and winning over the Bangalore Royal Challengers in an emphatic manner. However much has happened since then with the Knight riders looking down the wrong end of the barrel and the Royal Challengers already set for an early exit from the tournament. Readers must be thinking , "Oh come on, what bullshit ! All these are known !" However, the point of this post is not to criticise or appreciate teams but to appreciate the concept of IPL as a whole and why it is supposed to stay in the long run.
First and foremost, the other day, I found myself supporting Umar Gul while he was bowling to an Indian batsman. I doubt, whether I would have done it ever before. So, what IPL has done is it has brought forward the spirit of universal brotherhood and kinship which is rare by any standards. The quality of cricket is awesome with all the big guns firing on all cylinders (barring Sachin). It has brought to light some of the young talents of the country who were unheard of, at least for people like me. The competition is immense. And last but not the least the camaraderie shown by the players irrespective of race, religion, caste, creed, nationality is worth more than mere appreciation.