Twenty20 World Cup

So India won. Won because they simply refused to lose.
There's something about M S Dhoni …I think Dhoni is the first fully grown-up skipper we've had in decades. Cool headed and aggressive. Oh, when I said that while watching the match yesterday, I was told those two adjectives don’t go together. I defy.

Oh well, I am not here to analyze the match. Many people have done that.

To me this match will remain memorable for more than one reason. Some of them besides the general ones are:-

0. Someone I know skipped his exam to watch the finals.
1. Brothers Pathan (Yusuf & Irfan) playing for the country in a World Cup final. Before them only 2 sets of brothers have played together in international matches. Brothers Chappell (Ian & Greg) and brothers Waugh (Steve & Mark).
2. A scene of celebration where an older brother carried his younger brother on his back.
3. Last over of the match. It sure had much more capabilities of causing heart-attacks than the last over of India-Australia match. With Misbah-ul-Haq, at strike, Pakistan had full chances of taking away the cup; yet he, who had made it possible till then, played a “cute” lappu shot to Shreesanth at fine leg. Highest levels of tension do kill our capability of thinking coolly.
4. Dhoni’s reasoning why he gave the final over to J Sharma. His words are sure going to make the difference in Indian Cricket sphere.. to his experienced seniors, to his young team-mates. "Bhajji wasn't sure, he wasn't getting his yorkers 100% right. I thought I'd give the over to a bowler who wanted to make a mark at the international level. It really didn't matter to me if we didn't win, because we'd given it our best."
5. Dhoni giving away his shirt to a young fan and helping him wear it.

Now the reason for writing this post... The difference in giving thanks by the two captains.

Where Indian captain Dhoni was all praise and full of confidence for his young and talented side..
Some of his dialogues..

"I'd like to thank my young team, which has been amazing. No one expected us to win, and now we deserve a big celebration."
“I don’t have bowlers to match the experiences of Bret Lee or Shane Watson, still they did not let us down”.
“Ravi, last evening when I read in Cricinfo that Aussies are your favourites for this semi-final, I thought let us prove you wrong”.

On the other hand Pakistani captain Shoaib Malik’s first two sentences were ..

“First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world.”

I fully understand that Islamic sentiments are thoroughly stuffed in their mindsets but heyy.. be careful dude !! Not all the Muslims ! Don’t ever say that. The Indian team had two Muslims playing for the country and they were just as happy as any other Indian Muslim all over the world at India’s victory. Don’t ever think all the Muslims in the world are supporting you. I hope you know that there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan, and probably more Muslims praying for India than for Pakistan.

Have you ever thought how that statement of yours might have hurt the feelings of Danish Kaneria, your Hindu team-mate ? And what about that Hindu chap in team Pakistan’s uniform on the ground (I am not aware of his credentials) who continuously prayed by folding hands for your team’s victory ? Yes, the same man who did somersault after you defeated New Zealand in semis.

Mr. Malik, please note that in my country we often admire people for what they have achieved and not for which religion they belong to. Even a fellow Muslim, named Shah Rukh Khan hugged his countrymen and not you guys.

So, don’t bring your religion above the game. The Indian team has players from all the four major religions of the country, yet they played as Indians, not as Hindu, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.

For now, Bye-Bye, Tata, fir milenge.

Current Song:- Chak De, Chak de India - Sukhvinder Singh
Technorati Tags: India Sports Cricket

Cricket - Game of Chance

For a change, some of my predictions in this game of chance is coming out correct. At the start of Super 8, I had predicted for Aus, SA, NZ and SL to be four semi-finalists. And I was right !!

Now, tell me which team is going to challenge Australia in the finals ? New Zealand or Sri Lanka ? What do you say ?
Don’t ask me silly questions like why am I not asking about South Africa.

Earlier, I had my finalists as Australia and South Africa but Proteas let me down. :(
So, now my money is on Sri Lanka.

I know Australia is the best team, my all time favourites and they are going to win the cup but we must appreciate the efforts of Sri Lankans and how they have come up to this stage.
Yesterday was Maharoof’s day and he came out with an impressive figure of 10-3-25-4 at an economy rate of 2.50 plus one run-out as well.

I am supporting Sri Lankans for being the only Asian team in the race.

Hail Tigers !

P.S.- Heyy if you are reading this post, you got to comment. Ok ?

Current song- Piya Baawree – Ajay Pohankar

Technorati Tags: Cricket Sports World Cup

Kissa Cup Ka

This time I have not written anything about cricket on my blog. That doesn’t mean I am not following it. Cricket, the most beloved and hated game of this nation is being religiously followed by me and millions of others (Ah, not sure though) so much so that I should call it stalking.
And the poor Indian team got so worried by this stalking that they thought it better to come in the safe hands of home sweet home rather than to stay there in an unknown country of islands facing wrath of seven other teams.

I think the Indians believed in the saying “Love thy Neighbour”. They loved Sri Lanka & Bangla Desh and could not see them losing. Good that we didn’t have Pakistan in that group. It would have been an enormous love affair.

But heyyy,, WAIT !!! Where have you gone now ? I am still here in West Indies following the game. There are other teams to get my attention till this most coveted cup is given to one of them. I love the game more than any one team but yes, I had hopes. Hopes from my Indian team to get into at least Super 8. I never expected them to win the cup though.

Australia was always my favourite and the way they are playing, there is no doubt the cup is theirs. Off late, the game has become quite boring, not because Indians aren’t there but because we are getting the expected results. It is no more unpredictable. Australians are just too perfect in all the departments. It is amazing to see their professionalism, their killer instinct and never say die attitude. No wonder I have more Australian players as my favourites than Indians.

And yesterday’s match ?? What a match it was ! SA vs Sri Lanka. Surely Lankans are determined to show the world they are not "bheegi billi" (?? wet cats ?..no no it gives a wrong meaning) but Asian tigers hungry for the Cup. And that Malinga ?? Four wickets in four balls ! An all time record for ODI cricket ?? Oh man, I always wonder how he bowls with that throwing action.

Well, at home front there is a lot to think and analyze to come to conclusion of what and how. But I don’t expect a drastic changeover in Indian scenario. Probably the coach will head for his home and one or two players will get a mild warning. Preparing new pitches, picking & training young ones, improving infrastructure, bringing more professionalism into the game.. all this will take a back seat.

The saddest thing of this world cup was Bob Woolmer’s tragic death. A huge loss to world of Cricket.

Anyway, the World Cup is on and my spirits are still high. Two finalists are South Africa & Australia. So boring !! Nothing is unpredictable. But I am ready to be proved wrong. :))

Good Luck Australia !!

Current song- Hothon se Choo lo Tum, Mera Geet Amar Kar Do – Jagjit Singh

It's Cricket Again !

When I said I was happy to see Virender Sehwag out of the team, I was not wrong. Today I enjoyed the 1^st ODI between West-Indies and India and not even once I missed Sehwag.

All of them … Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin, Dhoni and Dravid kept the score card moving by playing brilliant shots (Sachin’s strike rate of 81.57% being the lowest of the lot) and as per the commentator, today’s score 338 for 3 was India’s highest against West-Indies.

It was a great comeback for Ganguly (unfortunate run out at 98) but here, I would like to mention Gambhir’s effort. He made excellent 69 runs at a strike rate of 92%. If he continues like this then there is very little chance of Sehwag making a re-entry. Gambhir has talent and any day a better fielder than Sehwag. He confidently played shots and it was a delight to watch two left-handers in action. The first over itself produced 16 runs. Only one thing disappointed me about Gambhir ... his ‘laddu’ catch to Samuels on the bowling of Chris Gayle.

Something about Dhoni. Today also, his number of sixes overshot his fours. Like Sehwag he is a powerful player and likes to send the ball across the boundary. But one added advantage to Dhoni is his defensive shots. Yes, at times when the team needs to retain wickets, this young lad from Jharkhand has shown his capabilities as a defensive player very unlike Sehwag who would have touched a ball outside the off stump in a suicidal manner.
Dravid again played good shots (strike rate 154%) including a four off a yorker, which to me is a very difficult task. Dwayne Smith tried a similar shot off Agrakar’s bowling but was clean bowled. Both Dhoni and Dravid made 30 runs in 2 overs and in the last 5 overs they collected as many as 70 runs.

So, today both the umpires Suresh Shastri and Billy Bowden (I like watching him signaling for a six) :)) had to do a lot of hands up (total 16 sixes). Also, poor Suresh Shastri kept falling down ‘Dhammm’ on the ground.
Today was not Sreesanth’s day though he took a wicket and ran Bradshaw out on his own bowling. Sreesanth is a bowler with aggression, confidence, passion and a different attitude. At least 25 times I must have seen his on the field dance after hitting Nel for a six. When other bowlers cut their shoes at the front, he has different sized shoes for both his feet and for a very valid reason.

Lara had started playing a big game but intelligent bowling by Sachin saw Brian Lara stumped out. Lara had come out of the crease to hit the ball, seeing this Sachin bowled at a wider angle which Lara couldn’t even touch and so was stumped.
Man of the match was Chandrapaul for his excellent 149 runs. Have you ever noticed the stickers below his eyes ? Oh he earns through those eye catching stickers. They have become so much a part of his personality that I think I’ll have difficulty in recognizing him if he comes without them. :))

Current song- Chandni re jhoom – Kishore

Sehwag is out !!

So the Indian cricket team is announced with Sachin as deputy to Dravid. Some expected & unexpected moves. While some big names are left out, unexpected ones have joined the team.

For one thing I am happy that Virender Sehwag is out of the team. In spite of his non-performance for quite long, he was sitting prettily (yeah, that’s a word) in the team. According to me he should have been shown the door even before the start of South Africa series. We repeated the same mistake as we did in the past with Laxman & Ganguly, we had kept them for too long just because they were seniors/captain of the team.
Sehwag has to realize that he was not with the team just to fill up a vacant place. Being one of the seniors he should try to become ideal for youngsters and instead he led the youngsters in ransacking the dressing room after India’s win over South Africa for which board has to foot the bill now.

Kaif is always the most unfortunate one in spite of being one of the best fielders. I sympathize with him. When he is out of form, he is out anyways & when in form, some other seniors are also in form making him sit out of the team.His flying catch (almost snatching from the hands of Hemang Badani) is still fresh in my mind. Everyone including Badani had wondered where the ball, his sunglasses & cap had gone. :))
Though currently Jaffer is in form (better than Veeru), he had to make way for Robin Uthappa/ Gambhir, probably selectors thought he would not be good in ODIs. Laxman had to go out, not made for ODIs (It’s another thing that I think he’s not even made for test matches. ;) )
Spin department is not at its best with Kumble taking rest. Romesh Powar is the new ‘passenger’ accompanying the team and Harbhajan is not as brilliant and assertive as Kumble. The board has to find out a replacement for Kumble for long run.

Also, it is good if young bright ones like Ishant Sharma are not in final 15 players. In team India they have very little to do other than carrying water & bats to the field where in U-19 they at least have a chance to play and perform.

All in all, a good selection. Let us wish Indian team a very Good Luck.

Current song- Duggi pe Duggi ho ya Satte pe Satta

Pawn of Dirty Game

On December 9, Santhi Soudarajan won a silver for India in the women’s 800m run at the Doha Asian Games. On Sunday, the very next day, it was revealed that Santhi is not a woman.

The 25-year-old runner failed a gender test, which was conducted in Doha after the race was over and the test report was sent to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) by the organizers. Till now the organizers have denied receiving the reports (but till when ?? ).

The report mentions that "Santhi does not possess the sexual characteristics of a women".

This is all the more shocking since the Athletic Federation of India (AFI), which selected ‘Santhi’ (I’ll not mention her or him) for Doha, was aware of the issue. Santhi has been denied employment in Railways on the same ground.

Nevertheless, Santhi continued to manage to find a berth in the Indian contingent for several international events as also for Doha. 'Santhi' had first made headlines after winning a gold in 800m at the inaugural Asian Indoor Games at Pattaya last year.
I am not here to speak about how she rose to this phenomenal success despite of her extreme poverty or how many medals she has won till now. I am not even bothered whether Santhi is a ‘she’ or ‘he’.

Santhi is an unemployed graduate in Business Administration and a MCA. Why is it that Santhi’s classmates or other fellow athletes never raised any doubts about ‘her’ gender ?? In fact, one of the classmates is full of praise for Santhi. And as far as my knowledge of south India (especially rural Tamil Nadu) goes, they are NOT very open with the idea of mixing up with a classmate of opposite sex.

The most baffling aspect is that now people are unaware of Santhi's whereabouts. When contacted, Santhi’s state coach Nagarajan or her fellow athletes said 'Santhi' had not contacted anyone after winning the medal. Nagarajan said, "The news comes as a shock. Santhi has been training with me for the past two and a half years. I never felt that 'Santhi' was a man and such things are very scientific for me to comment on."

Apparently Santhi had “left” Doha before the closure ceremony, stating some family problems. Or was Santhi asked to leave ??
One sports official who was part of the contingent to Doha said, "In Doha everything went off well. But I believe someone leaked the information to the organisers, who then got the athlete tested.".

Now that is another shocking piece of news. What exactly he wanted to convey ?? That if the leakage of such a disastrous information had not taken place they would have continued to field Santhi as a woman ??

That we are part of such a hopeless country of 1,000,000,000 plus where it is hard to find a genuine man or a woman who can represent the country with dignity ??
What were we trying to achieve by sending Santhi as a woman ?? One or two medals ?? Is that all we want ? Don’t we have any dignity, self respect left in us ? How many times more ? How many times ?

Compared to the bigger game being played by our so called saviors of rules and regulations, I don’t blame Santhi at all. The extreme poverty has forced that person to accept some morally wrong things.

Santhi is just a pawn of this entire dirty filthy game.

The whole affair is very shameful, scandalous and immoral.

P.S. – Have lots to blurt out. Expect one more post. If I get time, I’ll definitely write it. :))

Current song- Bahaaron Phool Barsaao, Mera Mehboob Aaya Hai – Md Rafi

World cup and Zizou

Finally the world cup has come to end. Good-bye sleepless nights. Good-bye junk food. Good-bye Luis Figo, Hernan Crespo, Oliver Kahn. And oh yes, good-bye Zinedine Zidane.

This World Cup had a funny way of choosing its winner. Eliminate the cream and crown the icing. The debutants had come with conviction. First down was Czech Rep., beaten back by Ghana. Then came USA. Ghana was having the time of their lives. The next big teams to bow out were Brazil and Argentina. Hmmm.. How can I forget England?
So then, France, Italy, Germany and not so convincing Portugal marched ahead. As someone said rightly, it was bound to become a European World Cup.

Then at this stage, I figured that it was high time to change my favorite team, Brazil. So then, France got all my support. And in the finals… it all went topsy-turvy (including me;)). From 1-1 in the allotted and extra time, Les Bleus went down unbelievably. I was quite confident of France’s triumph over the cup though there was no doubt about Italy’s solid defense. But but but … But no, unlike others I don’t blame Zizou, the hero. He’s still one of my heroes like before, let people say what they want to. He is after all a human before a footballer. No sensible man can ever tolerate maa-behen ki gaali.

Before also he had shown his emotions while playing and had once incurred a 5-match ban, the time he head-butted Jochen Keintz in 2000. It had been said that he can “erupt into shocking violence that is as sudden as it is inexplicable”.

Zidane said once, “It’s hard to get me over the top. But when I’m over it, you’re over.”

Sometimes I feel that it was a high level politics played by Materazzi to oust Zidane from the game at that crucial stage. How cheap, if that was so!! What a way to say good-bye to a fellow sportsperson. Zizou, I am with you.

Current song- Badi nazuk hai ye manzil mohabbat ka safar hai – Jagjit Singh