England - India: Review and Preview

Offline activities are simply not giving me enough time to blog! But I’m a strong believer in better late than never and so we go to the current series being played. In the quest for World Cup 2007, I think we are forgetting the real essence of the game, the lifeline, the highest form of the game. The real test of a cricketer, players would kill for to play atleast once in their lifetime on the international scene. Test Cricket!

In the last five years we were not a strong force in the ODIs but those losses never hurt( the final at WC 2003 did, but that’s an exception!) as were building ourselves into a potent force in test cricket. Right from 2001 we played some super games in all parts of the world and earned victories across continents, though a series victory outside the subcontinent remains elusive (I do not consider the one against Zimbabwe recently anything to brag about!) So why this sudden loss of form in test arena? The loss at Karachi was heartbreaking because we did not even have the patience to pull off a draw! And Nagpur seemed no different!

How do you allow a team that steps in demoralized, to climb upto 393 after having 7 wickets for 240 odd? How do you manage to get yourself in a position of 190/6 against a team without their best bowler in Indian conditions? Only the India team has answers to these! And who were you trying to fool when you go for a non-existent win at the end of day’s play when all day you were clearly playing for a draw! Although the dash at the end was good to lift the spirits and to scare away the Poms (I cannot believe Flintoff actually got scared by India’s late charge and decided to play safe. Half the team was on the boundary!!! Oh for heavens’ sake it’s not an ODI where 8 an over is a very manageable target! There is difference!)

Though I did not see the match in its entirety, one person who needs to do some serious thinking is Harbhajan Singh. His performance in the last few series is dismal and unless he starts getting wickets I don’t see him keeping his place in the side for long, what with Piyuh Chawla following him on close heels. The little I saw of that lad in the U-19 World Cup Final I feel he will give these blokes a serious run for their money. The guy can tease, and deceive the batsmen with his turn and flight!

England won the battle in Nagpur 3 out of 5 days with India taking the honors on day 1 and day 5. When I saw the target of 368 in 90 overs it seemed so tempting; but there was a very slim chance that India would go for a win from the word go. However they did think of it later but then it should have come an hour earlier (Dravid candidly admitted that) and definitely not at the expense of sending Sachin Tendulkar at no. 6! Did anyone see the shots he played in his 28! The guy was on a roll and I hope he captialises on this form at Mohali and Mumbai. A century in his home ground is long overdue! He got one here way back in 1997 Vs SL and came tantalizingly close Vs SA in 2000. I’m praying he gets one and praying even hard that I get to see it live!

As I end this, something unexpected has happened or was it waiting in the wings for sometime now. VVS Laxman hasn’t been in great form with bat or in the field and this did come as a bit of a shock! In the larger interests of the team the move looks worthwhile, but I’m not too sure of roping Yuvraj in immediately and not giving him time to adjust after his injury! Kaif will rue his luck but he must realise he was never the first choice and to become that, he needs more 3 figure scores on the test arena when presented with the opportunity! He blew away one in Nagpur. And yes can anyone please dare to hang a sword on Sehwag’s head now? Why do I get the feeling he is taking his place for granted! That attitude will help none and as a senior player now he needs to show some amount of patience and steadiness in his approach!
Let’s see how the 5 bowler strategy works out, having Dhoni in the team sure gives Rahul Dravid that extra option and it seems a good move to go ahead with the 5 –bowler option when the situation seems right.

England might have it to their liking at Mohali but definitely not at Wankhede. Although I’m praying hard they do not prepare a minefield of a pitch as they did the last time around! For heaven’s sake the last time a game of test cricket last a full 5 days was way back in 1994 against the WI. Sanjay Manjrekar and Sachin Tendulkar had demonstrated the art of batting on wickets that did not suit the batsman at all! If you were getting cricket coaching your coach would have definitely taken you to show those innings live! I was there and the two were among the best knocks I have witnessed at the ground for their sheer technique, patience and brilliance! I’m hoping we get better this time around, Mumbai has been starved for a long time now!

On the Occasion of Women's Day

A day to celebrate women worldwide! But how often do we give them their space in this world and let them be.

Two must reads today, real eye-openers. I'm terribly sad about having missed blogging on the issues and will try to plug in a delayed response( no promise but will try to pull in my two cents). Terrible workload!

But all you readers do read these

1. From one of my favourite bloggers Uma:Carnival of Feminists
2. The BlankNoise Project

Happy Women's Day to all the wonderful women I know!

Once upon a Furore: Lost Pages of Indian cricket- Boria Majumdar

History for cricket often chronicles matches played, batting and bowling records and a few tit-bits, anecdotes and trivia associated with cricketers. Cricket was brought to India by the British. Though the game is today more Indian than British we take a backseat when it comes to writing about the game. We do not have much documentation on the early rise and development of the game; about events that brought glory and events that could well be forgotten.'Once upon a Furore' is a fine attempt at revisiting those events.

The book traces the 'Lost pages in the history of Indian cricket' through some fine research and substantiates the events discussed with media references available from those times. Boria Majumdar and his research team have done some great work to revisit the birth of cricket in India, the earlier tournaments, the birth of Ranji Trophy(not without its share of controversies), the power play by the BCCI and the controversies surrounding some of India's greatest players, Ranjitsinghji, CK Nayadu, Lala Amarnath and Vinoo Mankad.

The chapters that visit the trials of these players come down to one common point that no player escaped the wrath of politics and power play; and the scenario does not seem to have changed much in the present day unless you are a Sachin Tendulkar!

As we traverse these cricketing memories, we discern a few commonalties that recur through time. Communalism will be an issue with everyone but those playing the game. (A point brought to the forefront to ban the Pentangular Tournament.) Camaraderie, sporting spirit and loyalty to the team are qualities that most sportsmen consider important and will always be present in the finest of them. Money always makes the world go round, it was so during the princely rule, during the 50s and 60s decades and even today the picture is not different.

We are not aware about all aspects that go into the selection of players but over the years it has been seen that merit is not the sole criteria in being awarded a place in the team. Power play exercised by Vizzy against Amarnath and then later CK Nayadu, both being India's finest players, proves the above fact. Both suffered due to non-cricketing reasons and so did Vinoo Mankad as we see later in the book. Surely these players had earned enough respect through their performances on-field to not deserve such treatment off it.

The Player-Board conflict has continued through decades. A stark example would be the Rajputana Cricket Club's tour of England and the events that followed it. We see some changes in the modern era but the Board's insistence to be the Boss continues even today.

In uncovering the events, the author fortunately does not sideline the always ignored 'Men in Black and White'. This is an interesting chapter where the author reflects on the selection of umpires and the reasons behind India not producing excellent umpires to perform on the international arena despite producing the world's best cricketers. How dirty the politics was regarding umpire selection and the depths it plunged to; is observed in this very chapter.

I was disappointed about the coverage given to the match fixing episode which shook Indian cricket in 2000. There was much more media coverage then and maybe a bit more perspective on the issue could have been given. It is mentioned fleetingly and could have been dealt with in detail.

At the end of it, I found the book lacking in one aspect. It fails to hold the reader's attention continuously. It does so in parts especially towards the latter half. Reading the early chapters is like going through news archives and some better narration would have helped to maintain the reader's attention.

If you are neither a cricket fan nor with any interest in history then you might not appreciate this effort but if you are both, then I feel you should give it one glance atleast. Boria Majumdar and his team have done fine justice in compiling the events of early days in Indian cricket and giving every fan a chance to revisit them.

As we reach the end of this fine effort we realize one thing that we learn from history that 'We never learn from history.' The saga continues in the modern era albeit with different actors enacting the parts in the drama called Indian Cricket.

Crossposted on Desicritics.org. My first book review.

p.s: Thanks to Aaman @ Desicritics.org and Parul of Yoda Press for giving me this opportunity.

For My Little 'Boy Friend'

You just connect with some people instantly. You don’t need long introductions, chats or meetings to develop that special bond. He is one of those special ones for me. I’ve just known him for a little more than a year now and our first meeting hardly lasted 5 minutes. After that it was only over phone that we spoke.

He visited my house a few months back and when he entered, he just flung himself in my arms and gave me a tight hug. The rest of the day was spent listening to his constant chatter. I finally visited his place in Dubai for a week and we had a great time with each other. He constantly hung around with me and showed me all his favourite places.
Every morning he would come near me and try to wake me up quietly and when it was time for him to leave, would place a cute little peck on my cheek and say good bye.

He has endless questions over everything and I really admire his parents for answering each one of them patiently. He loves eating at KFC and his favourite snack there is chicken popcorn. He sings ‘Kajra Re’ to perfection (only after our constant pestering) and dances to it as well along with his tiny friends! His non-stop chatter is something I miss everyday back home.

He is my little energetic bundle of joy, my little “boy friend”. He hasn’t quite yet figured out the meaning of ‘Bayko’( wife in marathi) and thinks that it means something that is his and keeps fighting with his ‘Mama’( his maternal uncle and my husband) saying that I’m his ‘Bayko’.

Dear T, your ‘Minal Mami’ misses you every moment. I’ve never been a great person with kids but somehow you have brought out the best in me. I hope this lovely bond we share will last forever. You seem to be growing up fast.

Here is wishing you a fun-filled birthday and a great year ahead.
May your naughty and innocent antics never stop and keep spreading happiness and joy to all the people around you.

Wisdom @ Work

From one of my favourite blogs, a few words of wisdom to tackle work life:

• Your hard work will be rewarded. Specifically, your boss’s boss will reward your boss for making you work so hard.
• Teamwork is what you call it when you trick other people into ignoring their priorities in favor of yours.
• Preparing a Powerpoint presentation will give you the sweet, sweet illusion of productivity.
• It is better to be an “expert” than it is to do actual work.

These and lots more pearls of wisdom from the man himself: Scott Adams

Mirror Mistakes

I did write about cricket played on Sunday 19th but not about this. My next pending post is about the series review which will be up soon but looks like Mumbai mirror decided to play psychic by guessing what I intend to write next!

I do not know whose post is this and why has my post been credited to it? First shot glad to have my blog post featured in print media for the first time but on a second glance not so much to have someone else’s content put up instead of mine!

I wonder if proof reading is a concept that is fast disappearing in the print media!!

Heartbreaks Galore!

Sunday the 19th seemed a day that could go down in Indian history as Demolition Day! Atleast it was on the track till afternoon. The seniors were going about their mission in fine fashion. Almost pre-planned! That series review post will come later (On another note we can finally name Dhoni as our Demolition Man, he is just too smooth in his operation!)

Meanwhile I was also hooked onto the under-19 World Cup final being played in Sri Lanka. Ten Sports and Set Max were the only two channels that were working on my TV on Sunday!

It was the clash of old foes, two teams evenly matched up and scores to be settled. India was beaten by Pak in the last WC semi-final. This was their day to avenge the defeat. The performance against England in the semi-final, where they had wrapped them up for a meager 58, had given them enough confidence. In the first innigs of the match when asked to bowl they seemed to carry off from where they had left off!

India played to its strength and the spinners did the trick for India. Jadeja, Paramer and Piyush Chawla. The little lad Piyush, all of 17, is one hell of a prospect for India. Bhajji better be aware. He disguised his deliveries well and the googlies he bowled often, had the batsmen confused.

8.1 overs, 8 runs and 4 wickets! The bowling figures speak a lot for the young lad! He looks good to break in the big league. Maybe a year or two at the domestic level will serve him good but considering that Kumble does not fit in the ODI scheme of things, Bhajji has been far from performing well; Chawla could be tried out for the World Cup 2007 probables. No harm done! He is also handy with the bat as the innings would prove later!

Anyway it all looked over for Pakistan. 109 all out on a good batting track and India was out to bat for a few overs before lunch. The cup seemed to have been in their pocket until lightning struck in the form of two young speedsters from Pak!

Yesterday’s three overs made me agree that we are still a trifle bit under prepared to face sheer pace! It still shakes us up! And Imran is not joking when he keeps harping about how of the current lot of teams in international arena Pakistan has the richest pool of talent in the pace bowling department. If you had seen Jamshaid and Anwar you would agree with him!

Jamshaid and Anwar bowled the most amazing dream overs one could expect at the start of the innings! I can’t recollect the last time I saw such a dream start!

Dhiman out first ball, then Sharma gets a four, then Anwar bowls in and gets Pujara out, then Sharma, then Tehlan! The Indian score card reading a dismal 8-4, chasing a meager 110 on a good decent track!

The best part though was seeing both the teams play to their strengths and be successful at it. Pakistan a trifle more! India deploying their spinners and Pakistan their speedsters. The captain Shukla even pulled the same ploy as Martin Crowe did in the ’92 WC. Like Crowe had deployed Deepak Patel the spinner to open the bowling; Shukla brought in Jadeja to do the same and Jadeja responded well with two vital wickets.

At the end of it; it was heart wrenching to say the least. Before the lunch-break in a span of three overs India was reeling at 9-6. No hope, not even the slightest chance. What looked like all theirs had gone away in few minutes of sheer havoc! I did not follow each and every match in this tournament but from the reports and commentators India had been the best team in the tournament only to fail at the final post! The batting had been rock solid with the top three batsmen always getting good starts and it had to fail only at the final juncture.

Those kids are in their teens and it must have been heart-breaking to cave in this fashion. Maybe they will seek inspiration from their seniors in the ODIs. Remember Yuvraj and Kaif were a part of the team that had won the U-19 WC in 1999. So this tournament sure does produce stars for the future and take my word Piyush Chawla is the one that will soon shine on the horizon for us!

As for Pakistan, after a forgetful ODI series for the seniors the country has something to celebrate! Also Sami, Rana, Shoaib better be on the lookout, those young guns Jamshaid and Anwar just might blast their way through and then it would be too late to realize what hit them;-)

Give a Thought-9?

• Everyone has a photographic memory; some people just don't have the film.
• When I was born, I was so surprised I didn't talk for a year and a half.
• Until I was 13, I thought my name was 'Shut Up.'
• I say no to drugs -- they just don't listen!
• I've never been drunk, but often I've been over served.

Source: From Mangi's list again...

What’s in A Name?

So you haven’t changed your last name yet?
Why have you kept both your surnames?

Everyone considers these questions as their birth right to ask a lady who has been recently married and mind you this does not apply to Indians alone!

I have all along wondered why it is such a talked about issue. It’s my name and it’s my personal choice. Today a lady can retain her maiden name, and there aren’t any legal hassles. All that she should have is the marriage certificate as a proof of her marriage to her husband. Her name is a matter of her personal choice. Yet we are to accept it as a norm. The norm that is easily accepted is to simply take up your husband’s name right away.

Why exactly? I don’t see the husbands changing their name to their wives’ name! (Have I turned on the feminists, one more point to debate about?) I don’t even want people to do that, that’s being foolishly extreme, but surely the girl must have a choice in retaining her maiden name, keeping both surnames or changing over completely to her husband’s name. That choice should be hers and hers alone. It’s her name and identity we are dealing with. We talk of educating the women, giving them liberty and yet when she chooses to retain her maiden name or keep both surnames, it is often met with raised eyebrows. And raised eyebrows are not only from the older generation but from your own friends and peers. Your own generation! (In fact I have found it easier to convince the elders than my peers)

I find it increasingly funny when I hear justifications that no one from any side in both families has done it before. Well that is not a reason for me to not do it :-)

I have simply thought about it on a few lines:

• For most of us it’s our parents who are responsible for what we turn out. We do owe them a lot. Tell me how can one suddenly stop identifying as somebody’s daughter simply because she has become someone’s wife? They are the ones who give you your identity, so what is the need to drop their identity from one’s name.
• To look at it practically and logically, the name change process can be quite a pain. These days most girls get married after they have been working for sometime. This means that their bank accounts, initial investments, correspondences, documents like passport, credit cards, etc all are in their maiden name. Imagine the pain one has to go through to communicate to all of them about the change in name. (Surprisingly the men don’t seem to go through this hassle when they get married!) So the ideal situation would be to not change the maiden name at all and continue as is.
• But then when you are a mix of traditional values and rebellious streak, the two-surname choice is a more lucrative one. I love both of them, my parents and my husband. I have to have them both in my identity. They after all are important in defining me :-)
• It is definitely easier to relate to the old and new identities if both names are retained. For e.g: I’d relate to 'Miss Maya Ray' as 'Mrs Maya Ray Sen' much better than only 'Mrs Maya Sen.'
• By keeping both names the lady depicts the union of two families forever

What I hate is the safe universal assumption that the lady getting married will change her name to her husband’s. I can choose to call myself Princess Consuela (But I’m no Pheobe and I won’t go to those extremes) instead , it’s my choice after all. Earlier I tried giving everyone my point of view but I now see it as a fruitless exercise and I’ve come back to telling myself the same thing. It’s my name and I decide what I do with it. No more questions asked, no explanations given.

Surprisingly the one person who should have raised some concern is completely okay with whatever I choose :-) Ah the wonders of having an understanding friend in a hubby!

Birthday Wishes…

Cards aplenty,
Bouquets so pretty,
E-mails flow in from afar,

And so do the SMSes,
Blessings from the elders,
And the belated wishes continue for a day or two,

All echoing only one thing, wishing a wonderful birthday and a lovely year ahead…

It is truly wonderful, how year after year, your loved ones go to different lengths to make your day a special one, and each year is different from the one before.

I can only thank God enough for blessing me with such a lovely bunch of people around; for if it weren’t for you all, yesterday would not have been special…

Thank you:-)

Does He or Does He not?

Harsha asks for Shoaib to undergo a test to see whether he chucks or not. He puts a fair logical reasoning to it. Many a times when one watches him bowl you get the feeling that he could be violating cricket rules, anyway that's for the ICC to 'check' and Pak to accept.

The article makes for some good reading and invites a lot of debates as well.

10 years...

Shopping at the grocery store she saw a familiar face.

All of it suddenly came back, the memories flooded. Memories she had tried hard to kill, to bury. She thought she had done so until she saw that face again. It all came back, the sorrow, the hurt, the pain at being cheated, the false promises, the lies, the betrayed trust, the death of a fine friendship. He had murdered it all for her in one go. It was so sudden then that she had never reacted. She had taken it quietly. She wanted to yell, she wanted to kick him hard, she wanted to slap him, to get her revenge, and bring out in the open that selfish being.
She had done nothing. She had questioned nothing and accepted it all. For most she had shown dignity through it all, only she knew deep down what she really wanted to do and for years she wondered why she had not done what she always wanted to.

Today her time had come, she decided to walk up to him and ask. Finally question his actions of ten years ago and seek the answers to questions that had haunted her. She dared, she walked up to him and then stopped.

She turned back. His existence did not seem to matter to her anymore, it did not then, it did not now. She had the answer for all these years but she had just realized; that he was simply not worth it. The man up there seemed to have conveyed it to her in the best possible manner 10 years ago yet she had questioned his decision to do so. And now she knew what he had meant.

She smiled and walked back.

Life seemed to have started again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shopping at the grocery store she saw a familiar face.

All of it suddenly came back, the memories flooded. Memories that still brought a smile on her face. The face that had made her blush the first time, that had made her knees go weak, her first crush.

He turned and saw a familiar face looking at him. All of it suddenly came back, the memories flooded. Memories that still brought a smile on his face. The face that made him that made his knees go weak, the smile that had melted his heart, his first crush.

They both walked towards each other steadily. He offered her a cup of coffee. She accepted. All those college memories revisited. The fun and the banter, it all blossomed again. They spoke about their lives after college. They had gone pretty much the way they had always wanted to.

After a pleasant chat both parted ways. They looked up and thank god for not giving them the courage to express their feelings 1o years ago. It was far more beautiful having each other for friends than anything else after all these years. Sometimes the man up there knows you better than you do yourself.

They smiled to see their better halves waiting to greet them at the doorstep of their homes.

Life seemed to have started again.

Give a Thought-8?

• The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of the oncoming train.
• It's not the fall that kills you; it's the sudden stop at the end.
• I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens.
• Born free; Taxed to death.
• Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.

Source: My dear friend Mangi with his sense of humour could probably cook up better ones!

Kolkatta’99 Revisited at Karachi ‘06

After day one I prayed that the ghosts of Kolkatta 1999 did not return to haunt us. Unfortunately that is exactly what seems to be happening!

Irfan pathan came up with the three most important deliveries of his career. Hat-trick in the first over of the match! We could not have hoped for a better start. It was like a dream! The ball was finally wrecking some havoc. After the leather being belted around it was time for the furniture to be brutally dismantled.

RP Singh and Zaheer chipped in and we had Pak reeling at 39 for 6 just like we had them reeling at 26/6 then(at Kolkatta in the Asia cup in 1999). As always instead of further tightening our grip we let it lose and let Pak recover to a reasonable fighting total. Moin Khan the then wicket -keeper rescued them and here it was the current young wicket keeper- Kamran Akmal.

The script has gone eerily similar, only this time Pak has put itself in a far more commanding position, having declared at 599 in the second innings!

Kamran Akmal though was a delight to watch. What a lovely innings he played. It is even more worth applauding considering the match conditions. None left to stand with you and the ball seaming wildly. A little bit of patience and loads of natural talent was the key for Akmal. He played splendidly and if Pak wins this match he deserves the man of the match for his innings have to be the one that turned it around for Pakistan.

Post day one it has been nothing but disappointment for the Indian team. First we did not bat sensibly at all. Specialist openers, anyone heard about them? Never mind! What’s the point in talking about it in the hindsight! Why did Dravid and Laxman open? Sehwag injured? Get a regular opener in his place!

Saurav Oh Saurav, they crucify and keep the sword hanging on your head. I thought you played with a lot of grit and that one mistake turned out to be your last! Time and again the same shots bring about your downfall. That lad Pathan plays it better than you! Do you not work on it? If not forget it, try to avoid playing it. Clumsy is the one word when I see you playing the hook shot! That shot is a sight for sore eyes when executed well, ask Dravid or Ponting. One fifty and you could have taken India to a respectable total but it was not to be.

Asif impressed. A little bit assistance and the guy bowled extremely well. Boy Pakistan really has talent in the fast bowling arena. But they seem to come and go; none seems to last a while. Razzaq had a terrific match too. 45 in first innings, 90 in the second, three crucial wickets: Tendulkar, Dhoni and Ganguly in India’s first innings. He bowled a snorter of a delivery to Yuvraj, Yuvraj was lucky he did not nick it!

One word for Simon Taufel. Awesome umpire! I wish we could have ten more of him on the panel! Yuvraj had one LBW appeal against him which Taufel turned down. Even the commentators did not realize in the replay that there was a faint inside edge of the bat before the ball hit the pads. They were convinced that he was out but several replays proved otherwise. That Taufel was correct. The next time when Yuvraj got out, Taufel got it perfect. The ball hitting the pad before it took the edge of the bat. That guy is seriously good! No doubt he has got the Best Umpire of the Year Award at the ICC awards for last two years.

Finally to end, we have our backs to the wall and Sachin has failed again. Is it the same pitch that Pak batted a while ago? I wonder! How we seem to squander a perfect lead position is something I fail to understand. Sometimes sticking to the basics helps, especially in tests.

Sigh! All it takes is one bad session to turn the tide against you. We have only ourselves to blame!

Dead End at Faislabad…

Surely that’s how everyone must have felt watching the final day of the second test match. But I don’t agree with everyone that it was Lahore Part II. Did we not get some action on Day 3 Session 2 and what about the last day when Pakistan suddenly collapsed to 490 all out? Not enough you say? Well we have been used to such wonderful cricket produced in the last decade that it is but natural that this is one is proving to be a dampener of sorts.

I don’t want to sound too critical but the fact is that the test series touted to better the Ashes rivalry in modern day cricket has so far been plain boring. I never thought that I would say this about India-Pak matches. It feels like we are back in the 80s where India-Pak matches always ended in boring draws, as loss by either side was not acceptable in their respective countries. I thought the picture had changed in the late 90s what with we playing Pak almost every year. The 2004 series and the 2005 series proved that the teams were playing to win. So what changed this time?

How could Pakistan who were riding high on confidence post their bashing of England, get into such a defensive mode? India’s batting line-up is superior no doubt, especially in the sub-continent conditions; but it seems their bowling which is strictly decent seemed to scare the Pakis off. You need to take some calculated risks to win. No risk no return. You can never win a match by batting your way out; who will take the opponent’s wickets?

I thought that Pakistan would make the match a wee bit interesting by giving India a target of 300 to chase at 6 per over; but it seems they are too wary of losing and also of this Indian batting line-up. In fact, I was hoping Rahul would declare some 50 runs short of Pak’s total, have a go at the Pak batsmen, as they were short two batsmen. Neither of the two scenarios happened. There was absolutely no hope for some excitement or to see something innovative!

The nature of these pitches is killing the spirit of test match cricket. To make things worse what we saw on the final day was cruel mockery of this wonderful game. Oh it broke my heart! It was meant to amuse the spectators, bring in some excitement. Was that the idea? Sorry folks that didn’t not go down well with us. Dhoni and Yuvraj bowling with the new ball and later Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi! Please don’t put us through this after the 4 ‘exciting’ days of batting. As I have said before this series refuses to acknowledge that bowlers need a fair game too and I’m not surprised that Shoaib refused to bowl when India stepped out to bat again. Why should he waste his energy in an inconsequential match?

I’d rather have a nail-biting draw where one team is fighting to win the game and the other is fighting even harder to save the match. That kind of a draw is worth savoring. Remember the current Ashes series match 3?

The nature of the pitch is what makes this game interesting. There in comes your skill as a bowler and as a batsman to tackle the variances of the pitch. What would be left in the game if all countries produced the same kind of wickets? Cricket would lose its charm. The most important thing though is that the pitches must give bowlers and batsman a fair chance, prepare a sporting wicket is all we ask.

Allianz the main sponsor of this test series has an advertisement for its insurance products that says will you prepare a fair pitch or not. Take the right decisions in life. What an irony that the PCB does not seem have to have taken any clue from its main sponsor!

Do you think Dravid will rank his two hundreds in this series among his greatest ones? He would rather be pleased with his 27 on a fiery pitch in Durban 1996 or his 148 on a seaming Headingley wicket in 2002. Come on, give the batsman also something to savor about. Even he knows a rank local batsman would have a got a hundred on this kind of pitch and which is why my next target of criticism is the Master Blaster himself!

How could he, oh how could he walk away? First of all how could he not play Akhtar well on this kind of wicket? Agreed he was bowling a fiery spell, but there was nothing in the pitch to get ruffled up. Tendulkar, who has scored hundreds on greener faster tracks, ought to have handled Shoaib well here. The situation demanded it. India needed him to stay on with Dhoni and get some runs; instead he got out for 14! Ughhh it was so damn frustrating and later we see he was technically not out. What did he achieve by his generous attitude? Nothing! This is precisely why I don’t agree to batsmen walking off on their own! There is an umpire there, let him do his job; don’t try to do his job, why don’t you do your job of batting!

Dhoni and Pathan’s counter-attack worked wonders for India what with Bhajji and Zaheer adding their own to see India past the Pakistan total which looked seemingly impossible at one point. The knocks by the lower order also supported the team’s decision to go in with 5 regular bowlers dropping Ganguly. Yes I was surprised they dropped Ganguly (How much more humiliation that man will go through no one knows! Not fair is it? ) and even more surprised that the two openers are still warming their pads in the dressing room! Atleast you could have sent Jaffer back home. Maybe he would have helped Mumbai fight out UP. What a tragic match that was for Mumbai and full Kudos to Kaif’s team. If you don’t intend to take Ganguly in the final match atleast let him enjoy playing the Ranji final!

Another disheartening aspect was the attitude of Pakistani players. Shahid Afridi, he is anyway known for his sledging ways and it is expected of him. Shoaib’s ego and tantrums are well known by now. But the two carried it a wee bit far in this game. Needless and not required. Shoaib was amazing, you bowl a goddamn beamer and don’t even apologize! Dhoni should have given him back there and then. He should not have even bothered to say at the press conference that maybe it slipped! This one surely did not seem to have slipped! The attitude showed by Shoaib is bad for cricket! Inzy take note. Ranjan Madgulle, The ICC referee will let them go with a warning and if it was any Indian player god knows how many suspensions and fines would have honored the Indian team.

On another note it’s a delight to watch Inzy bat, I even like Asif Kamal (wonder where he is) but somehow Younis Khan and Shahid afridi don’t evoke the same emotions in me! At best I think Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan are average batsmen. It’s only our team that allows them to pile up monstrous scores; and yes I know I’m being a real sadist when I tell you that it gave me endless joy to see Younis Khan not get his double centuries in both matches and falling short of it after being so tantalizingly close!

Now the entire pressure is on Karachi. On the groundsmen to come up with a sporting wicket; on Pakistan to win the series and on India to not lose the initiative it has taken. I don’t have much hope from the finale. Karachi is not the luckiest ground for India. We were never keen to play there in the first place and I don’t see things changing much in the last match of the series. Defensive attitude never helps you win a series. Attack they say is the best form of defense and it’s high time both teams realized that!

Patriotic Fervor …

I eagerly wait for these two days in the year; 15th August which marks our Independence Day and 26th January, which marks our Republic Day. For the obvious reasons, they mark the most important events in my country’s history. They remind us of the great freedom struggle and the freedom fighters who laid down their lives so that the generations to come would live in a free democratic India.

India’s freedom struggle was marked by slogans and songs, which have now become immortal. Songs we learnt at school and will never ever forget. It’s a little tragic that post-school we get to hear those songs on radio or view them on national television only on these two days. To crib is not the intention of this post.

On the eve of India’s 56th Republic Day the intention of this post is to relive those magical songs.

There is not a single Indian I know who does not know the following songs by heart.

• A tear strolls down the cheek every time we hear Lata Mangeshkar sing 'E Mere Vatan Ke Logon' written by Kavi Pradeep and composed by C. Ramachandra. It reminds us to never forget those who lost their lives defending this country, a fine tribute to the men who guard our country risking their lives day in and out.
• 'Kar chale hum fida' from Haqeeqat on of the finest war movies made and ‘Taqat Vatan ki Hum Se’ from Prem Pujari reiterate the praise for our nation’s pride, our defence forces.
• E mere pyare vatan from Kabuliwalla depicts the pain of being away from one’s motherland and his craving to be back home whereas 'Apni Azaadi Ko Hum Bhula Sakte Nahi’ from Leader tells us to take pride in the freedom we have achieved, to never ever forget its importance and to never give it up even though we might have to sacrfice our lives to keep it.
• And there are the ones, which praise India and define its beauty to the rest of the world. A lovely place to be in. Songs like Sare jahan se aacha, Jaha dal dal per sone ki, Mere desh ki dharati , Hum Sab Bhartiya Hain, Jhanda Uncha Rahe Hamara, and Yeh desh hai vir jawano ka
• There are the others which inspires the children (Nanna munna rahi hun), the youth of the nation to realize the importance of their motherland (Aao bachoo tumhe dikhaye) to realize their duty to walk the righteous path (Insaaf ki dagar pe bachho dikhao chalake) and aspire to work hard to make their nation a better place to live in (Chodo kal ki baate)
• There is also a beautiful song that praises Mahatma Gandhi the father of our nation for his non-violence strategy.(De di hume azadi bina khadga)
• Not to forget the ever-inspiring Vande Mataram; a source of inspiration for freedom fighters of this nation.

These and so much more, all from the decades of 50s, 60s and 70s.One wondered if any would come in the future to carry forward this legacy and inspire the generations to come with some more patriotic songs.

Just when you thought none would; came a young composer who gave us a few we could be proud of. The intention of this post is also to thank a music director who is largely responsible for giving the modern generation a few patriotic songs. Songs that the next generations to come will definitely sing along with the immortal ones that have been handed over to us from our past generations.

A.R. Rahman makes me proud for giving my generation some of the finest patriotic songs that we can proudly hand over to our next generations.

• His very first film in Hindi (all though dubbed) had one of my all time favourite patriotic number. Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hain from Roja
• Along with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan he rendered a meaningful number “Gurus of Peace” in his private album titled Vande Mataram. Though I will always be critical of him for modifying Vande Mataram (One should not alter the national song) in his song Maa Tujhe Salaam. The song though turned out to be one of the popular ones that praise our motherland.
• Then came Lagaan, which had a number though not exactly patriotic but was inspirational for us Indians, so much that it almost became an anthem for our Cricket World Cup 2003 campaign. 'Chale Chalo', another inspiring number.
• In a film (Legend of Bhagathsingh) that did not win much box-office acclaim AR Rahman rendered a mesmerizing number, 'Desh Mere, Desh Mere, Meri Jaan Hain Tu'. It had the infuence of the Roja number but the song is worth remembering nevertheless. He also brought alive ‘Mera Rang De Basanti Chola’.
• In another historic epic, which again failed to achieve any box office success, he did not fail to render an apt number to signify Subhash Chandra Bose’s freedom struggle. 'Azaadi' from Bose-The Forgotten Hero also deserves a place in our patriotic songs.
• Then there was Swades, which had a song that reminds each of us, of our duties towards the nation. The nation that has given us so much but owing to our selfish pursuits we often fail to give back its due. A song that tells us 'Ye jo des hai tera, swades hai tera, tujhe hai pukaara…Ye woh bandhan hai jo kabhi toot nahin sakta.' Indeed the bond can never be broken.
• And finally when Rang de Basanti releases tomorrow (a film I’m looking forward too) AR Rahman comes back with another winner in its title track. The song has a terrific beat and the lyrics remind you of every aspect that make up for this beautiful nation called India.
  
  

Wishing you all a Happy Republic Day and leaving you with my favourite part of AR Rahman’s new number.

Thodisi dhuul meri dharti ki mere watan ki,
Thodisi dhuul meri dharti ki mere watan ki,
Thodisi Khushbuu baurai se mast pavan ki,
Thodisi dhondhane waali dhak-dhak dhak-dhak dhak-dhak saansein,
Jin mein ho junoon junoon voh boonde laal lahuu ki,
Yeh sab tuu mila mila le phir rang tuu khila khila le,
Yeh sab tuu mila mila le phir rang tuu khila khila le,
Aur mohe tuu rang de basanti yaara,
Mohe tuu rang de basanti,Mohe mohe tuu rang de basanti

Sapne rang de,Apne rang de,
Khushiyaan rang de, Gam bhi rang de,
Naslen rang de, Faslein rang de,
Rang de dhadkan, rang de sargam,
Aur mohe tuu rang de basanti yaara,
Mohe tuu rang de basanti,

Basti rang de, hasti rang de,
Hans hans rang de, Nas nas rang de,
Bachpan rang de, Joban rang de,
Ab der na kar sach much rang de,
Rang rez mere sab kuchh rang de

P.S.: I could have missed out on a few ones and would be really happy if you all could add to the list.

Lahore Fiasco...

I never thought that post 6 centuries in a match I would be bored to death. Of all the dull draws witnessed this should take cake! Even Virender Sehwag’s blitzkrieg did not pull the match from the depths of boredom it plummeted to. Let me get this right; ever since I started watching this game and understood it; I was told it is supposed to be a fair contest between the bat and the ball. Contest? There was none here! At Lahore, the pitch-curator probably thought that only the batsmen would be in the playing eleven from both sides!

I’m sure the bowlers would have preferred to not play at all after seeing the pitch at Lahore. It simply would not have mattered; be it a Shoaib bowling or Irfan or some local bowler. Even if you called upon the greats like Denis Lillee, Jeff Thompson, Richard Hadlee, Glenn Mcgrath, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Allan Donald, The Fearsome Foursome of WI, India’s Spin Quartet or Pakistan’s very own Imran, Wasim, Qadir, nothing would have changed! The goddamn pitch was as dead as a dodo! I kept waiting for that one odd ball to speed up, to bounce, to turn, to stop awkwardly at the batsman, to skid, to stay low, to do something! Damn nothing!

How on earth can you prepare such a wicket when you are bragging about your speedsters? And by the way a message to Inzy and all his Pakistani supporters, Shoaib Akhtar makes no difference to India. Every time you hype him, we go ahead and tackle him extremely well. So for a change stop doing that. He is fast, super-fast but he is not accurate and I’ll trade McGrath’s accuracy for Shoaib’s pace. His resilience atleast pays me rich consistent dividends. Shoaib gives me no guarantee, especially against India. Too early to say? Okay. We saw how Sehwag and Dravid handled him (on a dead pitch you might say). I think they are ready to take the bull by the horns and the earlier Pak realizes the better for them.

On a comparative note, India got 7 wickets in 2 days compared to Pakistan’s one wicket in 2 days (I’m accounting for the session’s lost). On a pitch like this, I think it’s worth a mention. The curator sure had great faith in Pakistan’s bowling attack to prepare such a track or rather they were petrified of giving us some advantage.

I’m glad Sehwag and Dravid took full advantage of the lifeless track and made the most of it. I liked every bit of Dravid’s captaincy. Today when they needed just 13 runs to break the 50 year record, he saw to it that he got the Pakistani players out on the field; despite light being worse than yesterday. As soon as Sehwag got out (I wish he had showed a little more patience. Greedy aren’t we! Come on, they were only 4 runs short!), Dravid was offered the light and he took it, adding more irritation to the Pakistanis. Inzy tested his patience during the press conference when the cup was displayed to the press, made him wait for some half-hour. Dravid gave back very well in the match and not only by way of his batting. India pretty much got the psychological advantage in the manner they posted a reply to Pak’s total.

Now for something important, I don’t know how many of you agree but I felt it was huge injustice to Gambhir and Jaffer, two genuine openers in form. Neither is Sehwag an opener nor Dravid or Ganguly or Yuvraj. I don’t want to see Dravid open; it’s neither fair to the two openers waiting in the wings nor to the team and Dravid. There isn’t much to choose between Ganguly and Yuvraj. So take a tough call and drop Yuvraj. Ok stop blasting me for thinking so. Give Ganguly the ultimatum. See how he performs at no.6 in the series throughout. If he comes out with flying colours works well for the team; if not you have legitimate reason to drop him for the next series and have Yuvraj fill in. No point axing openers and shuffling with opening combination. I never agree with middle-order batsman opening the innings. It’s a goddamn specialist position and India should learn to deal with this perennial problem. Not everyday do we get a Sehwag. Who, by the way I think however successful, has his flaws as a test opener. He too will face some music as he matures in his cricket career.

What’s the point in taking both Yuvraj and Ganguly and having Dravid open? It’s silly and it’s pointless. We are doing no one any good. Asking Ganguly to open is unfair and too open a ploy to get him out of the team, so the team management can’t ask him to open however ready he might be. In his heart though, he must be dead scared to go face a racing Shoaib with the shining new red cherry. He would have liked doing that on this dead Lahore pitch, but him being successful here as an opener would have been a false alarm.

Honestly we need to resolve this issue once and for all, come on drop the axe on Yuvraj for once, I’m sure we would not lose much! Get Jaffer or Gambhir to open, it’s simply not fair them. Let Yuvraj supporters shout 'Unfair' for once. Why am I not calling for Ganguly’s head? I think they guy has been treated badly enough, and this after all that he has done for Indian cricket. I think it’s been pretty unfair, so give him one last chance to prove his guts. He deserves at least that!

And to another important issue, can we have a change of commentators please? Rameez Raja gets my goat! He is so damn partial and biased! Nothing India does deserves any praise or are only Pakistanis the Kings of cricket? I thought India batted with more supremacy than Pak did and our bowlers atleast got more wickets in the same time! Somebody protest and get him off! His presence is not good for either teams and we could really do without his biased opinions.

To end, this comment stuck in my head today and unfortunately I can’t remember who said it.

‘Dravid played very well within his limitations’

What limitations? Getting 128 in 223 balls in a test match is playing within one’s limitation? Simply cause Sehwag got 247 of 240 balls at the other end at end of day 4. Do we even understand Dravid and Sehwag? Do we understand what test-cricket is all about? Dravid has limitations?

Dravid is the only batsman after Steve Waugh to have had a century in every country that has test match status. Every time Dravid has got a double century India has never lost! He has been involved in most batting records set by India.

Yes, the man with a 10-year test career, a career test average close to 58, regarded as one of the best players at the No.3 position, the man to step up every time India was in crisis, The impregnable WALL has limitations in test-match cricket! You bet he does.

Thanks for the enlightenment you cricketing expert!

Run Mumbai Run...

I wanted to write this little post before the Mumbai Marathon began but unfortunately bad health did not permit me to!

Since the Mumbai Marathon commenced, I often wondered why was 'Aamchi Mumbai' the chosen one of all the cities in India. I have finally come to the conclusion why we were the privileged ones. Mumbaikars are the best prepared for this Marathon. They prepare for it everyday, every minute of their lives and require no special preparation when the marathon arrives. All that they have to do is change into the right sporting suit and shoes and they are on their way.

You are wondering why? Well here are a few reasons to convince you of the supreme athletes we are:

• We are running through our daily chores like brushing, bath, eating breakfast etc. in the morning so that we catch the train/bus in time to reach our offices/school in time. However early we try to get up time is simply not enough.
• Women are running in the kitchen to get the meals and tiffins ready and then later running to get themselves ready to prepare for a tiring work day ahead.
• Once out of the house we are either running to catch the auto-rickshaw or the cab to take us to our destination, which is the railway station, bus-station or our office if we are lucky enough to live near by, most of us are not!
• On reaching the station we are running to catch the 7:57, 7:51 Borivali Train to Churchgate so that we are not late for office.
• If we arrive well before time we are running to jump into the train to get the proper seat!
• Once the train arrives at its destination and knowing well that it is the last station we are still running to get out first and running to get to the cab or the bus queue first.
• If there is a queue it means some amount of rest to our athletic bodies else it’s back to the running and jumping into the bus before others can.
• We run while crossing the road, waiting for the signal to turn green and walk at peace is something we do not identify with, especially during the peak office hours
• Once we reach the office there is still some running to be done to get to the lift queue.
• So you think we rest once we are in office? Think again. We are running to enter the boss’s office before the other colleagues can so that our work gets done faster.
• We run to get to the canteen first to avoid long queues and spend lesser time at lunch.
• We are constantly hurrying up our work so that we can pack up in time for the day and get to catch our regular bus/train home.
  
  

Even a moment of rest is a strict no-no. We can’t wait for the office to get over and begin our final lap home. We refuse to stop and take a breath. We are running, and running and running!

Now it makes sense to have the marathon in Mumbai, doesn’t it? Who else but the ever-running Mumbaikars would be better prepared for it? What’s your say?

Having lived my entire life in southern Mumbai, what they call the city, the townside;I never experienced this running till I shifted to the suburbs after marriage. The lives of people are tied to their watches, to the train timings and the bus timings. You miss one and life could go awry that day. I have consciously tried to avoid that and so far succeeded a little bit; but also realized that you can’t completely quit running in this fast-paced city!

Run Mumbai Run; no wonder that it is our motto:-)

Dubai Experience– Shop Till You Drop!

After a week’s trip to the city of shopping fantasies I have come to the conclusion that even a lifetime won’t be enough to look around each and every shop in Dubai.

Dubai is famous for its malls which are really huge. I was amazed at their size. The smallest of them were huge. Sounds like an antithesis but I hope you get what I mean. To name a few, the ones I could visit were Lamcy Plaza, Burjuman, Avenue, Citi Centre, Gift Village, and my favourite the Ikea Store. I missed out on the 'Mall of Emirates'- Dubai’s latest attraction. They have built a skiing facility within the mall. You can play in the ice, build a snowman and play with the snowballs. I was there for a short time so the next time around I intend to visit that place first!

The shops in the mall have steep prices and normal people won’t shop there unless there is a Sale. Now in Dubai 'a sale is a sale' where you get some awesome deals and which is why the people there wait for the Sale to hit the shops. If you are stinking rich then I don’t think the prices in those Malls would make a difference to you :-)

Apart from the high-tech Malls, the one place I really liked shopping at, was the Deira Market. Dubai is divided into Deira Dubai and Bur Dubai by the Dubai creek. You can either drive down over the bridges, the under-water tunnel or travel through the Abra- the water taxi. I suggest you take the Abra atleast once. It’s fun even though the ride lasts hardly 5 minutes:-)

The Deira market reminded me of our very own Fashion Street or Linking Road. The bags and the junk jewellery had an awesome variety and the prices were a steal. If you are fond of artificial jewellery (I’m for one) then you must visit this market. It’s crowded and can get to you but one visit is worth the hassle. You must take a local with you so that you can get some good bargains. I went along with my sis-in-law’s friends who have been in Dubai for a decade now and we got some excellent shopping done; be it dress materials, jewellery, purses and glares. I freaked out on the rings available there. There was a clear Arabic influence and though huge, they were a designer’s delight, and made your fingers look even more beautiful.

One item that got me completely hooked on was the Pashmina shawl. Now that is one collection I look forward to increase in number. The material is exquisite, with style and class written all over it. They were available in plain colours with some design as well as a combination of colours with lovely borders. I felt like picking up the entire collection in the shop but then I don’t think my husband would have been too happy about my escapade ;-) And since I needed to buy a lot more I let the idea fade away.

Now it was time to think more about my house and a little less about myself. If you are fond of home appliances, utility items, crockery and items that will make your house look beautiful then Ikea is one store you must visit. The store first amazed me with its size and then with the variety of the items it had. You could set up your entire house after buying things from Ikea itself. I also liked the idea of fix-it yourself furniture.

The variety of taps available for the kitchen sink is something that I’m yet to get over. The one tap that caught my husband and brother-in-law’s fascination was priced at 895 AED and both looked keen on buying it sooner than later. My sister-in-law and I failed to understand how men thought women shop recklessly; now why would you want to spend 895 AED on a tap!! Before they turned positive about it we had them taken away to another section! I’m sure they always hope of doing the same every time we move out to shop, but somehow the will-power of women is much stronger than men when it comes to shopping;-)

I just stayed glued in the lights and candles section. The lamps came in all shapes and sizes and so did the candles! Yes add those two items to my collection list. Though the size of the house will be a restricting factor on the amount of show-lights you can keep I’m not so sure about the candles. I think in the years to come that will grow as well. In all shapes and sizes, in different colours and fragrance, candles have completely taken over my mind. I think it must be hereditary, mum has always had a fascination for candles and used to pick up some lovely ones from the places she visited, I think it’s slowly beginning to show in her daughter as well.

If my legs and stomach hadn’t given away I don’t think I would have moved out of Ikea. I really enjoyed the shopping experience there; shopping for your own house and close people was more fun than shopping for oneself.

It’s only after I began working and earning my own buck that I’ve developed interest in shopping. If something attracts my eyes I pick it up if it is value for money. Obviously anything in excess is always bad and yes I do know how to curb my shopping instincts; but when you are in Dubai for a short time my advice would be to make the most of it. It’s one experience I think you will enjoy if not overdone!

Punter Packs a Punch

Now that’s how you answer your critics! Having faced severe criticism for the Ashes loss, Ponting hit back with a bang. WIs were an easy target but it’s no mean feat to repeat 2 centuries in both the innings of a match in space of 6 matches. To be the first ever cricketer in history to achieve the feat in his 100th test does call for some special celebrations!

I’m not sure what I should make of Graeme Smith’s decision to declare since I did not see the match. Going all out is great but SA did have a chance to speed up the runs and set a better target; unfortunately they goofed it up a bit. He does make for a gutsy captain though having asked Aus to chase 287 in 76 overs at a run-rate of 3.77. That is tempting enough!

Considering the form they have been in off late; they must have felt it was an achievable target. After all the Aussie spirit does not believe in drawing a match even if you are already leading the series. They love taking risks and going all out; that has always been the difference between them and the other teams.

This will be Ponting’s match. What a captain’s innings he has played! He is already in the Top-10 leading test runs scorers of all times, the third Australian batsman behind Bradman and Steve Waugh for highest number of test centuries, and among the current playing ones behind Sachin who has 35 and Lara who has 31. The contest is gaining some momentum with the kind of form Lara and Ponting are in. 2006 should make up for some interesting chases. Sachin are you watching:-)

As for Ponting when he looks back at his career, he will be a fairly satisfied man, apart the one huge regret of being the first Australian captain to surrender the Ashes in 16 years. Sigh! Nothing and no one is perfect; life as they say is not always fair. But as of now enjoy the moment for Punter!