Reading…

….Ian O’Brien’s blog. Interesting blog by a young quickie who is sharing his thoughts on the game.

I actually found this little piece to be really hilarious (especially the last part). Here Ian is describing what it felt like after he dropped a catch off captain Vettori’s bowling.

I was at mid-on to Gambhir and Dan got him to hit one, pretty comfortably, to me about waist height just to my right. I saw it early, felt like I moved well to get in a good position, but I grassed it. I can’t tell you why, it hit my left thumb, which was strange, never really went in and bumped out. I almost picked it up as it bounced out, but it was just out of my reach. This is about the worst feeling there is, dropping a catch of the skippers bowling! I spoke to Baz [Brendon McCullum] about it later and got his thoughts on what happened from his view. He watched it all the way to me and said that it actually ’swung’ on the way to me really late. This would make sense as to why it hit my thumb as opposed to the middle of my hands. It’s not an excuse, just something I have to watch for harder. More work I have to do to be better. I really wanted the ground to open, swallow me up and transport me to a different place. I even gave the earth a chance to by scratching a long line in the grass so that there was already an opening it could open up and take me away.

It is easy to blame cricketers for dropping those ’simple’ catches while we are comfortably sitting in our living rooms watching the game on TV.  Quite another thing to actually be out there on the cricket field trying to figure out which way the ball is going to swing while you are trying to catch it.

Apres Lahore

The biggest news over the past few days has been that of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers right outside the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. I have been following the entire story on Cricinfo and reading the first-person account as provided by the Sri-Lankan cricket team vice-captain Kumar Sangarkkara. The incident is shocking and really scary.

To be honest though, no one is sure as to what the Sri Lankan team was doing in Pakistan in the first place. The message that PCB wanted to get across by hosting this series in Pakistan was to indicate to both New Zealand cricket and Cricket Australia (and also BCCI indirectly) that it is safe to play cricket in Pakistan. That is why the timing of this attack is that much more significant.

Logically speaking, if CA and NZC consider a tour to Pakistan sometime in the future, they will be sending a security team to Pakistan to assess the security situation. But can they really go by the security team’s suggestions? The bigger question is, can they trust PCB and the Pakistani government that security will be guaranteed ? Will the players’ associations agree? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be a big NO at least as of now.

I really doubt if cricket in the other parts of the sub-continent is going to be affected atleast as long as BCCI is acting as the financial powerhouse of the sport. Highly unlikely that the 2011 World Cup is going to be shifted out of India. For all you know, BCCI given its sheer power, will host the World Cup without giving a f*&k as to what ICC & the other boards are saying and the only other teams that will be participating will be Bangladesh, UAE, Malaysia and Kenya.

Back to the subject : If anyone had any doubts, this now proves that no one has a frigging idea as to who is calling the shots in Pakistan. That is really disturbing news for people here in India and also the other neighbors of Pakistan. My friend was speculating that this might happen and although he was kidding, it turns out that he is right. IMO, if the Pakistan government was smart and wanted itself to be taken seriously at the world stage, it would have refrained from making any such statements without any substantial proof.

Before I end, read Prem Panicker’s article on the same subject.

PS: It feels weird to actually tag this article with both ‘terrorism’ and ‘cricket’.

In case you’re wondering…

…I am still alive and well.  Just been so busy with work and applicating that I’ve hardly found time to write something out here. Few updates….

[rant]

I am being downright honest when I am saying this, the process of writing your tests ( GRE and TOEFL) and then creating a list of universities you would like to apply to and then eventually applying to them is one pain in the arse job. Why so? Well firstly, you spend an unbelievable amount of moolah.  You probably will not realize the amount you have spent until you see your credit card bill statement soon after.

Then there is the pain of actually writing two extremely stupid tests, GRE and TOEFL. This from a guy who has already given CAT once, the mother of all stupid tests, and screwed it up royally.

But the real ‘fun’ is when you are applying to universities. Going through each university’s web page, mailing some arbit lecturers, begging profs from your college and maybe even your manager at work for a recommendation and then the actual process of sending the application packets and sending queries to the university as to whether your application is complete only to find out that the person answering your queries is a dodo.

[/rant]

The ‘applicating’ part seems to be drawing to a close ( relief ! ). And I just hope that I get ONE admit somehow!

Meanwhile, I was following Sachin’s century on cricinfo on the final day of the recently concluded Chennai test between India and England. What a wonderful knock ! And I felt happy for Sachin because it was on the same ground that he was criticized for not guiding India to victory against Pakistan. Fools still hold that against him without even considering the fact that not one in the Indian batting line up stood up to the likes of Akram, Waqar and Saqlain Mushtaq except Sachin on that day. Also read this gem of an article by Peter Roebuck. Brillaintly worded and emphasizing the importance of sport in a way that I have never known it before.

Work is boring and very uneventful. Nothing much to write there. Just a big yaaaaaawwwn!

I finished reading this book  called ‘Business Stripped Bare‘ by Richard Branson.  Im sure people who know me well will know for a fact that I am not someone who shows keen interest in books on business strategies or the likes. I am not sure why I picked up this book on a dull Sunday afternoon at a Crosswords store. But I couldnt let go off it once I started reading and managed to finish it in one go.  Branson’s approach to explaining things is simple and easy to follow. But his ideas are very unique and interesting.  It is amazing how he is able to draw the same picture that you would probably see at your work place day-in and day-out, problems with the picture, and the solutions that he has learned through his experiences.  Worth a read!

I am currently reading ‘Shantaram‘. I have heard a lot about this book from my brother and some friends.

Ok thats about it for now.  Planning to go home and spending new years with folks! Wishing my readers a merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance!

More later…

The best catch I have seen on TV

Open Letter to Matthew Hayden

Matthew,

We in India understand and appreciate the Aussie culture. We understand what Adam Gilchrist is trying to say in his book titled True Colors. We are obviously not blind in noticing that while you and your team are on the field playing some tough cricket, you also don’t mind hurling ugly abuses at the opposition with an uncontrolled use of the four letter word. But we also understand that all that cussing is forgotten with a simple hand shake and a beer after the game. It is as simple as that and there is nothing personal ! Fine! Accepted !

Even you wouldn’t deny the fact that some of your best performances have come in India. We adore you and love to watch you bat out here.

But when you take cheap shots like this or like this, we lose all that respect that we have for you as a player and as a person.

Please Grow Up! Your team was beaten comprehensively.  Admit it like a good sportsman and start focusing on what went wrong instead.

Your fan

Vivek Tulsidas

Jumbo

I would be lying if I told you that I was not surprised when Anil Kumble announced his retirement. In fact, I was pretty sure that he would play for atleast another season. Guess I was wrong.

It is a touch disappointing though that he decided to quit when the media and the experts were raising question marks on his bowling form and his captaincy. For Kumble, this is nothing new. He has faced the wrath of media,selectors captains and public right throughout his cricketing career. It is also unfortunate that he gets to lead his team in an era where liking and praising Dhoni for any small achievement seems to be the ‘in-thing’.

Cheers to India’s most potent match-winning bowler!

Down memory lane

The big day was here: India V Australia , the finals of the Coca-Cola Cup and me and my friends were all ready. We were entering the Sharjah Cricket Stadium from the east gate and to our suprise, we caught the indian team practising and doing their round of warm-ups before the match right infront of our stand! There was no time to waste. We scampered down to the fence and I jumped to occupy the position in line with the man himself…Sachin Tendulkar! I was at loss for words, as I am even today when I sit down to describe the feeling. It was sheer joy bordering on silly euphoria. And after that, nothing that happened in the match mattered. shouted to him the standard Sachin chant – Sachiiiiiinnnnn…Sachin at the top of my voice, taking the wind out of my lungs. And voila! He looked! No sign of any emotion though. Which is understandable, given the number of people who wudve done that earlier.

As for the match, Sachin scored 134 and creamed the Aussie attack to all parts of the park!

For those of you who are wondering, I am talking about this match between India and Australia.

My post comes at a time when Tendulkar has managed to break Brian Lara’s record and become the leading run scorer in Test cricket. And while cricket pundits all around the world are debating on ‘Who is  the better batsman ? Sachin or Lara’ , I believe that anyone who truly understands and appreciates the game will know that in all likelihood , no one will hold the records for the highest aggregate of runs and highest number of centuries in both forms of the game at the same time for a long time to come.

Cheers to Sachin!

PS : Die hard fans of Sachin should check out the photo gallery setup on cricinfo. Nice pics

Dada

From the ’shirt removing and dancing on the balcony’ incident at Lords to being the ‘God of Offside’.

We are going to miss you Dada!

PS: Bisi could not have framed it better!

That unforgettable match!

I was switching between channels while having dinner tonight and managed to catch the 1999 world cup semifinal match between Australia v/s South Africa. A lot of you might be thinking, ‘Oh God! Here we have another one of those cricket fanatics’.

Believe me, I have almost stopped following cricket now. But there are certain matches that just stick in your memory and dont go away that easily. How can I forget that moment when I, like everyone else at the Chinnaswamy stadium, witnessed that incident involving Venkatesh Prasad and Aamir Sohail ? How can I forget how Tendulkar decimated the Australians right in front of my own eyes at Sharjah ? These moments just stick with you because they are special.

This semifinal between Australia and South Africa was one of those matches. You did not have to be a South African to feel what a South African might have felt that day. It was heart-shattering and probably an exhibition of the sport at its best!

Who the hell are you man?!

Yuvraj Singh was recently involved in handing over the man of the match trophy to Swiss forward Hakan Yakin.  I was wondering about how the conversation between Yuvraj and Hakan would have gone on. Here is a possibility:

Yuvraj : Hey Hakan! Brilliant game! Enjoyed watching the match. It was a real treat to the eye.

Hakan : Thanks. But who the hell are you?!

Source: Cyrus Broacha on ‘The Week that Was’ (Cnn-Ibn)