ICC - Ignorant Cricket Councillors...

Hi friends

"Sorry lads, you've to wait 8 more years
to celebrate like this once more" (c) AFP

Yes, India won the "World Cup". Congrats Team India, for managing to defeat 13 Cricket-playing nations to the top prize in the sport. And in 2015, you will have even a better chance, as you would be competing against just 9 other countries. No more having to deal with the Irish (and risk losing to an underdog), or the Canadians. 

Just 10 countries will be allowed to participate in the next World Cup of India's favourite sport. Ok, that seems to be a fair number for a game that is not played my many countries, one might say. But there is a catch - only the 10 test playing nations will be participating in it !!! Ten cricket-playing countries? Are you kidding me? It's like calling only former Football World Champions and Runners-Up teams to participate in the next world cup, and shun the rest of the teams, saying that they are not worthy of playing at the World Cup. 

So what gives Bangladesh the right to play the World Cup? It's the Test-status conferred upon the team after their historic win against Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup, after which they have managed to win three tests, (all against then-depleted sides Zimbabwe and West Indies). 34 of their 59 losses (out of 68 test matches) are by more than an innings.

What did the Irish team give to this World Cup? They managed to defeat Pakistan in the 2007 WC, but they bettered that feat by beating the English and the Dutch in the 2011 WC, and also gave a stiff fight to Bangladesh, West Indies, and India. They were professional, and more importantly, added colour to the game - the Irish did it literally, with their colourful hairstyles in support of the Irish Cancer Society.

What did the Bangladeshi team give to this World Cup? They managed to be bowled out for their lowest ever ODI total of 58, on their home-ground (Mirpur), against a team that barely managed to qualify for the QF (The West Indies). Adding salt to their wounds were the angry fans who pelted the West Indies team bus  with stones on their way back to the team hotel, bringing into question the security of the players, and also ridiculous justifications by officials saying that even the Bangladeshi team bus was pelted (so its ok according to Bangladeshi Law to pelt players with stones if they lose the match?). And in their crunch game against South Africa, they gave another stellar performance, scoring 78 runs in total, and sharing the record for most team scores below 100 with Canada, Namibia and Ireland. (all non-test playing nations), and managing to lose by more than 200 runs, their 2nd largest defeat.

As Graeme Swann put it right - they have removed the "world" from the "World Cup". This decision is a disgrace to the sport, which is supposed to be the pseudo-national sport of the country with the 2nd largest population in the world. How will this decision help for the development of the sport? What is the ICC trying to do by shunting the presence of teams that would showcase the sport to the world, to regions which watch the sport possibly once in every 4 years? And what incentive do these countries have to play the sport, if they are not given a chance to showcase their talent in front of the world? Perhaps we will never have a chance to see another Kevin O'Brien innings, or another devastating stroke-making by John Davison.

Hiral Patel's classic shot will not be seen at the next
World Cup in 2015 (c) Associated Press

I don't need to point out to the reasons why the BCCI, oops I meant the ICC, has decided on such a format, which gives the sporting body more advertising revenues for more evenly-matched games. And perhaps the next World Cup will be more evenly contested, with the ten test-playing nations possibly playing each other at-least once before the knock-outs (similar to the 1992 format). And perhaps the winner would be a true winner.

But without playing any quality cricket with the top-sides in the world, which was at-least possible in the World Cups (until recently), how does the ICC expect the Associate teams to build credible teams for the longer formats of the game? By playing 20-20 cricket - something which is not even considered as cricket my most cricket purists? The decision is ridiculous at its very least.

The worst thing about this decision - it was floated and almost agreed to in the middle of the ongoing tournament! Imagine the plight of the Irish, or the Dutch players, who found out in the middle of the tournament that this World Cup could probably be their last one ever. What would have gone on in their minds? When the players lashed out at the ICC for this decision, they were totally justified in doing so. How would you feel if you are told, in the middle of an important project, that this is your last project and that your services would no longer be required after that? That's exactly how the Irish and the other Associate teams felt. And they were very vocally critical of this decision.

Anyways, I have no stake in the ICC, or in the BCCI. I personally find cricket time-consuming as a sport. But then, it is a sport, and like every other sport, it can thrive and become a true-global sport only when every country is given a chance to improve itself and prove its mettle in front of the world.

You can follow all news related to "Axeing the Associates" at this LINK.

Ciao for now.

Cricket is never going to be the same again...

Hi friends

This statement is perhaps one of the most repeated statements of the top-commentators of cricket after they have seen something that they have never seen before. I can tell you that at sometime or the other, someone must have seen the following events happen and felt a reaction as mentioned.

1) Greg Chappell asking his brother to bowl underarm to the New Zealand batsman to prevent a six from being hit, in the 1991 tri-series finals. People must have felt – “This shows the level to which players can actually fall too, in order to win”

2) Kapil Dev's amazing knock against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World cup, an amazing 175 runs of a mere 183 balls. Those who saw this knock must have thought - “Never think that the game is over until it is over, never”

3) Pakistan's win in the 1992World cup, making it the second Asian Team to win the World Cup. “After India, now Pakistan. The Asians are surely taking the world by storm in Cricket” would have been the reaction.

4) The outburst at Eden Gardens during the India-SL semi-finals at the 1996 World Cup. “The crowd, especially from the sub-continent, is going to play a major role in shaping world cricket and shifting the balance of powers”, someone must have commented.

5) Sri Lanka winning the 1996 World Cup, and introducing the ploy of attacking during the first 15 overs of the game. “Wow! With batsmen like Jayasuriya opening the innings, the new bowl bowlers will face a new challenge” an expert must have thought.

6) India defeating Australia at the Kolkata test in 2001 thanks to Harbhajan’s and Laxman’s efforts. “Even the giants can be slayed mercilessly by Tigers in their own backyard. Australia is not invincible, no more” someone must have rejoiced.

7) England defeating Australia in the 2005 Ashes series, following some great English efforts. “No team can dominate the sport for long.” This defeat started the slow, but painful slide for the Australian team in all forms of cricket.

May be there are many more such events in Cricketing history that could have warranted a comment as such as this: “Cricket is never going to be the same again”. I have been following the sport on-and-off, so I do not have much idea.

But then the last ODI (4^th ODI between India and Sri Lanka at Kolkata in 2009) was something that made my head turn and notice. I noticed a stark change in the attitudes of the players while chasing what was once considered a once-huge score, of 316. The ease with which the runs were scored, the confidence of Gambhir and Kohli to take up the responsibility and make sure India wins the match, the way in which the bowlers were content in giving “just 6 runs per over” – all these signaled to me the very same words, that the sport is changing and changing fast. 300 is the new 200. 400 is the new 300. And it has been just 7-8 years in the making.

Truly, Cricket is never going to be the same again... At least, not for me…

My first full IPL Match (on TV)

Hi friends

Although I am writing this a bit late, this is about the first ever IPL match that I happened to see on TV the whole 40 overs it was played. It was the match between the Deccan Chargers and the Chennai Super Kings in this IPL-2 on Monday, 27th April, 2009. And it was the best "opening" match I could have ever imagined!

Since I was rooting for the Chargers, I was not disappointed that day! First it was the controlled bowling of the spinner Ojha and the great bowling of Fidel Edwards, coupled with excelling fielding, that restricted the Super Kings to just 165 in 20 overs. Through sheer tactic, Ojha managed to get both Hayden and Dhoni in the same over, something which restricted the total of the CSK team, which looked like reaching atleast 180. But Gilly has been a great captain and used his bowlers effectively. Infact, Ojha, who is perhaps the main DC bowler, was used for just 2 overs! Although he admitted it was a mistake, I feel it was a good move not to use Ojha much, and test the abilities of the other players. Who knows what can happen in the later stages of the tournament. Perhaps he could have contained Oram, whose last-minute hitting actually helped CSK to a respectable total. But he would have hit anyone, so the decision was good.

Then Gilchrist and Gibbs came to bat, and I have to say, this pair went berserk! From the very first ball Gilchrist made his intentions clear: "The ball is there to be hit; And I shall hit it!t was raining only 4s and 6s! The cheerleaders must have been cursing this explosive start, as they has to come on the stage every 2 balls! By the way, the cheerleaders make for a special viewing in this form of the game. I liked the way they work so hard just to entertain the spectators, and they were more than just "eye-candy". More on them later.

Well I was privileged to see the fastest ever 50 in the entire IPL history (scored of just 3.3 overs) and Gilchrist rattled the scoring with 44 from just 19 balls! After he was out, the scoring rate fell to such an extent that at the end of 10 overs, the Chargers were scoring at a rate slower than that of the CSK! But Gibbs held his nerves and stayed till the end of the innings. Rohit sharma and Dwayne Smith had their cameo innings to support him, but Gibbs played well for his runs. In the end, Bilakhia scored the winning boundary for the Chargers! Their 4th consecutive win! And currently they are the only team to be unbeaten in the tournament yet! YIPEE!

The game was so exciting till the end that I was barely able to sit on my seat at home. I was jumping and walking ans shouting, as if I was in the stadium itself. Next year, I will go and see one IPL match for sure! 

The current DC team has won matches both playing first as well as chasing under lights. They have played full matches and hence they have an advantage going into today's match against Delhi. But the DD team is raring for a comeback after their shock loss to Jaipur on Tuesday. I just hope that even my second IPL match turns out to be a golden win for the Chargers!

My next post will be on the current Election Drama in India, and I will write it on the lines of the Fake IPL Player style of writing, with nicknames and stuff. It will take sometime to write it though as I am not good at these things... But I will make an attempt!

Ciao till the next time!

Links:

Deccan Chargers register their 4th win!

Scorecard of the DC vs. CSK IPL2 match

Unlucky 13 for Federer? We miss Schumacher...

Hi

When I am writing this post, I am doing so with a very heavy heart. At home, with nothing else to do, I was flooded by all my so-called-old memories. Well, staying at home gives me the feeling of retirement in some way - me, my laptop and my Internet. But there is a limit to everything and I knew that.

But I never realized that limits apply to even the greatest of the greats. There comes a time when even the greatest have to acknowledge that they are mortal, that they too can be defeated.

When at the peak of his career, even the great Schumacher once said "I don't think I can count myself in this battle any more. It was like trying to fight with a blunted weapon.... If your weapons are weak you don't have a chance." He was referring to the new rules and regulations that were being made by the FIA. Schumacher was a racer, a true racer. There will always be critics of his racing, but those who have seen him race know that he does not race for points or for glory - he races to win! I cannot count how many times I have seen him start so far behind and work his way to the front. In one race, he started in the 13th position and worked all his way to end just 0.2 seconds behind the winner Alonso in 2nd place. In his very last race, he started from the 10th place, fell to the 19th position and still managed to come 4th in the race when it ended! Such was his greatness.

F1 is not just a drivers sport, but a sport where each and every small detail matters. One-tenth of a second is like eternity and gaining an advantage of even that time is a major boost. Schumi had the best car, but his spirit kept him running. If he was not the best, his teammate could have overtaken him easily, but it was nearly next to impossible to overtake this man! Schumacher showed that the race was still won by the driver, and that nothing else mattered. He was brash, but he had every right to do so.

In spite of his greatness, Schumacher was defeated twice by Alonso in his final two years. He conceded defeat to Alonso even before the final race of his career. Why? Because he knew himself and his own limitations. He had faith in himself and knew what would happen. Every champion has his day and Schumacher realized that. He retired with his head held high, a proud Ferrari Driver. I started seeing Formula 1 from 2004 and I was indeed privileged to see Schumacher come 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 3 seasons he was a part of. 

Roger Federer - he was the one and only reason why I started watching tennis. I was not particularly interested to see the Williams sisters, who by then were dominating the sport. but when I heard that some male human being had managed to win 3 tournaments in a single year (2004), I was indeed very much surprised. Thankfullly, Roder repeated his feat the very next year (2005) and I watched each and every final of his with the same passion. He was indeed a God, his play was unmatchable! Opponents were clueless as to how to stop the Federer Express. He was more dominating than even the great Schumacher. 

But something was wrong. The greatest player was missing a trophy - The French Open. A young kid was rising fast with his game fast improving. Two years in a row, same opponent, same result. This was disturbing. But then people thought "Oh well, Nadal is a French Open Specialist and a Clay court God, but the Fedex is the Wimbledon and U.S. Open hero, the hero we have been waiting for since the retirement of Sampras. He is unbeatable on the Grass Courts and his style of play is tough to match on the hard-courts too."

But then Nadal started to get better and better. In fact, had Federer not been there, Nadal would have mostly had a 4-man showdown with him, Djokovic, Roddick and Murray fighting out each tournament. Nadal would have won the clay-court games and the rest of the slams would have been shared among them. But then, the real challenge was Federer and Nadal rose up to the challenge.

Federer had dominated Tennis, perhaps like no other man had ever before. But his time was limited, and we can see in his current streak, that his time is slowly coming to go. He still has it in him to get that Sampras-tying slam, and he can also cross it. But then, he would need some luck and patience too. Nadal plays a lot and critics say that he may get injured because of his excessive playing. But he is young, and at 5 years younger than Federer, he holds the advantage. Federer has it in him, but needs a lot of patience for that.

What I wanted to say is, I am happy to witness a generation of greats in the two sports that I love to watch. I can proudly say that I belong to the generation that has seen the legendary Schumacher and is impeccable racing skills and the best of the Federer-Nadal rivalry. I really miss Schumacher and wish that he comes back to racing sometime. I really miss seeing the cool Federer and hope that he remains patient and wait for his 14th Grand Slam, something which will silence his critics who say that his time has come already.

Let us, for now, enjoy the emergence of two new-faces - The Brawn Team in F1 and Nadal, the unstoppable wall in Tennis. 

Chak De Shah Rukh!!!

Friends,

As much as I love seeing movies, I also despise Bollywood stuff – All that jhatak-matak really puts me off. But once in a blue-moon comes a movie really worth seeing, a movie that inspires you, a movie that brings tears of joy to your eyes. One such movie was “Chak De! India”.

A Bollywood movie that talks about sport is not new. We have seen Cricket (umpteen faltoo movies, especially close to the 2007 World Cup), Boxing (one Amir Khan one was inspired by the Hollywood Flick “Raging Bull”), Football (inspired by a Bengali flick) and one on track and field athletics too – It was a Telugu movie but I remember seeing even the Hindi-dubbed version of that movie whose name I fail to recall. One uncharted territory was that of the forgotten game – Hockey. And Yash Chopra finally laid his hands on it!

And boy, he did it beautifully – a super-cast of unknown actors who showed that they can play hockey as well as they can act. Where else can one get to see a line-up of 16 girls ready to kick some ass? And Shah Rukh “coach” Khan completed the team beautifully. It was so perfect that I was dumbstruck. All major states covered (including Andhra Pradesh and my adopted state for 4 years – Haryana – a cute little girl played that role!) and all sentiments echoed, especially the ones of our North-Eastern counterparts when one of them said that “Ab apne desh mein mehmaan bankar kush rahenge?” translated as “Do you expect us to be happy being welcomed as guests in our own country?” It’s subtle dialogues like these that spice up the movie even more!

All in all, the movie went on the expected lines to a large extent. I didn’t expect the women’s’ team to lose to the men’s team. I did expect the match to go into penalties. I didn’t expect India to be on a roll from the very second game. I did expect them to face in the final a team with whom they lost their first match – Australia. Strange, but it was scheduled just like the Cricket 2003 WC, the major difference being that the girls bought home the trophy.

The movie has two major points of which I have always been an ardent supporter – Girls are equal to boys in almost every aspect and that “the country” is above everything. It’s true that girls get some leverage and that some of them act so dumb that it’s hard to stick to this statement, but it can be made generic that if they want to, they can defeat us by hook or by crook. I have seen it in my 4 years as a engineer that girls are both smart and stupid at the same time. Hard to imagine – well, they are girls!

The next point is very much relevant for all of us trying to make it big in life – Keep your country’s interests above everything else. The nation comes first – India is our first priority. It’s very easy for us to sit back and blame the Government for everything. But remember that it is you and me who elects the party to come to power, if anyone of us ever voted. You and me are to blame for this situation, not the Government.

Why? Because all we care for is ourselves. Then what is it that makes us different from them, those blood-sucking MPs and MLAs, many of whom come to power just to satisfy their own greed? What is it that makes you “you” and me “me”? It’s what we are – the youth, the nation of tomorrow. What do we want – a nation handed over by some senseless bureaucrats or a nation of your dreams? That I leave for you to decide.

Most of you must have already seen this movie and must have been really thrilled. But did the message hit you where it matters? I hope it did.

Kabir Khan, you are a true inspiration. Thank you giving the “King Khan” something worth remembering a lifetime and something worth cherishing for all of us. After all, this was for me the best Shah Rukh movie in the last 5 years. Chak De India rocks!

Ciao.

Justine - The Nadal with a differrence!!!

Hiya folks,

Some of you may start to get the feeling that I am getting suddenly interested in women!!! Well the interest has always been there... But more than that, it's the time for the French Open and the only two names that come to my mind when I think about this Slam are "Rafael Nadal" and "Justine Henin" (I really miss her surname "Hardenne"... Why oh why did you have to get separated???)

More than women, this season has been an athletic season for a lazy fella like me!! After a trip to Velankinni which involved almost 4 days of travel, I fell I have done enough work!!!! But when I see players like Justine and Jelena play, I get a sudden inferiority complex that these women are really very athletic and I am here, sitting like a couch potato seeing them in action!!

Women's Tennis has seen the exact opposite of what Mens' tennis has seen in the last 4 years in terms of the variety of the winners. Consider this - In the last 4 years (not counting this year), Women's tennis has seen 8 different winners and 11 different finalists in the Grand Slams. On the contrary, Men's Tennis has seen 7 different winners ( a big figure considering the fact that 2003 was the stating season for Federer's domination!!!) and 13 different finalists! So there are better chances for a surprise entry into the finals from the Men's side, but the chances of a new-face winning is more in Women's Tennis compared to Men's Tennis.

Women's Tennis has gone through many eras in the last 4 years - The 2003 era continued the Williams' sisters dominance and it also showcased the rise of the Belgian fire-power. 2o04 saw the rise of the Russian Brigade with three of the four slams being won by Russians lasses. 2005 saw 4 different winners - something not seen in Men's Tennis for a long time!!! 2006 marked the rise of Justine as she made it to the finals of all the four Grand-Slams, winning her favourite - The French Open. Amelie Mauresmo also had a great year, taking the Australian Open and the Wimbledon.

On the contrary, 2003 was the last year in Mens' Tennis which had 4 different winners - Agassi being one of them. 2004 saw a Federer dominance, him wining 3 of the 4 slams that year, Gaston Gaudio taking the French Open. 2005 saw Federer a bit shaky than last year, but he still managed two slams, Nadal making his entry with a win in the French Open, defeating Federer in the semi-finals. 2006 saw the return of the Federer-Express, winning all but the elusive French Open.

So what makes the French Open special??? Well, if you consider the last 6 years, this tournament has seen 5 differrent winners from the Men's side and and 4 from the Women's side. Also, there have been 10 different Mens' finalists and 9 Women's finalists!!! Now that is a huge variety!!! That's why the French Open has been the hub of many rising stars to show their dominance!!! This year, many stars (including our own Sania!) made their presence felt here!!! The Serbian brigade with Jelena Jankovic, her boy-friend Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic really made their mark in this French Open!!! Ana has even reached the final by routing Sharapova (I think now it's high time that Maria stops the noise she makes on-court while playing and hitting her shots!)

I know I have diverted from the main person of this post - Justine!!! She has won this tournament 3 times in the last 4 years... She has been dominating on this surface just like Nadal in clay. But she and Nadal have a difference - she has won the US Open and the Australian Open as well - something not yet seen by Nadal... I know it may sound sexist that I am comparing the experienced Justine with a relatively new-comer Nadal, but Nadal's dominance has been huge and one cannot overlook the fact that there is no such Federer-equivalent in Women's tennis right now....

All I hope is that the person who deserve to win this fantastic tournament do win it!!! May the power of the clay be with you!!!

My choices to win:

Justine Henin (80%) and Ana Ivanovic (20%)

Roger federer (40%) and Rafael Nadal (60%) - inspite of the fact that I'll be supporting Federer in the finals!!!!

Next post when the final shot is played!!!

Ciao...

Read it... It's very funny!!!

Hi fellas,

One of my friends Sai Rahul (a student of IIT Madras; Final Year; B.Tech) drew my attention to this web-page... Read it and enjoy!!

http://www.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/mar/27sriram.htm

The title of that piece is: ICCB post-mortem of the World Cup (flop) show by Sriram Ranganathan

The author of this piece operates a cricket blog at http://beerchipsandcricket.blogspot.com/ can be contacted at Sriram_ranga@hotmail.com

So what??? Is Cricket everything??

Hi fellas,

This is too much yaar... These Pakistanis have proved that they are really the worst kind of people ever created (I cannot believe that these are the descendants of the very people who were once a part of India!). I know you must be thinking - What happened now??

Well, in today's newspaper, there was a mention about Muhammad Yousuf returning to Pakistan and the others following him soon enough. Even the media is not being told about the exact dates of their return as they are not sure what will be the public reaction at the airport. But it is reported that one Pakistani player mentioned (his name was not quoted) that "Since arch-rivals India have also been knocked out of the World Cup, it was the source of satisfaction for many people in the country (Pakistan)" . This is not the exact quote... You can check it out in TOI if you like too...

This just shows that there is no use of making peace with those b****rds!! They will never improve at all... And I don't know when will the Indian sub-continent will start making peace, realizing that these petty (and I mean petty) issues like Cricket, border issues e.t.c. are doing more harm than good to their economies! It's high time that we move on to other sports and think about other issues.

Any why all this hullabaloo over not having an Indo-Pak match for the first time in 15 years in the WC? And all that big trash about the revenue loss?? Dear advertisers, I have an idea - Since both India and Pakistan are out of the WC, why don't you arrange a series of "friendly" matches, kinda like a "Healing Wounds" series between the two sides, so as to earn back the money you might have lost.. That way, the ICC will realise the importance of the Indian fan in the development of Cricket...

Till my next post...

Ciao...

Indian Ashes...

Hi fellas,

These are sad moments for cricket - Indian Cricket in particular. My room-mate is such a big fan of Dravid that he refuses to believe that it is his fault! Well, if the captain is responsible for the success of a team, he is also responsible for its failures. Hope Anda understands it!

Continuing with cricket, I was a bit fortunate with regards to the schedules of our matches in the WC - On 17th (India vs Bangladesh) I had IIT Bombay interview; On 19th (India vs Bermuda) I had IIM Ahmedabad interview and on 23rd (India vs Sri Lanka) I had IIM Lucknow interview. The reults of these interviews, if in sync with our teams performance, guarantees me a seat in IIMA (Please God, for once let this not be a co-incidence!! Please!!)

Read a very interesting (and light-hearted!) post by a good friend of mine - Karthik Narayan!

http://teacupcricket.blogspot.com/2007/03/wooly-mammoth-ed.html

Adding to it a 5th reason of his death as spread by SMSes:

5. A copy of the DVD of the movie "Veerasamy" was found in his room. Veerasamy is the worst south-Indian film ever made... Poor chap... Had he seen some stunts made by Rajinikant in his movies, he would have murdered the Pakistanis for their inefficient "fielding"...

Well, his death is a big blow to the Cricketing community. He will be remembered as the coach who was always innovative and was let down by a bunch of potatoes and beards... Mr. Woolmer, wherever you are, I wish to tell you that those who murdered you will not be spared at all... If not the courts, the Cricketing community will give those men/women (I am trying not to sound sexist!) its verdict - Death by hanging!

Ciao..