PJ: Who stole....

You have been warned. There is a PJ coming up. I wash my hands off all frustrations you might feel.
This came up while in Traimbak - the skies were clear of any pollution and the stars were out in all their strength.

While watching the Orion (also known as the Great Hunter) - a thought came to mind. What if the light from one of the stars stopped reaching us earlier than the rest? Some one named Hunter might make a killing by writing a book titled "Who stole my belt".

You were warned.

Quick Comment

The third test - i guess was lucky not to have been able to follow/witness the last 2 days.
We had no business of not winning that test - forget losing or drawing it.

The reason I missed the two days is that I have been on my rural stint. More on that in a later post.

..... They remain the same

That match in Sydney had a similar start with Ganguly winning the toss - the openers playing well enough. And guess who were at the crease when day ended? Sachin and Laxman: the same pair ending yesterday's play.

Cricketers and teams are at times a fairly superstitious lot. I wouldnt be surprised if the reason for Laxman striding out instead of a night watchman was that they wanted the same pair to take guard as the one that did at Sydney.

Ofcourse it could all still go horribly wrong - but I would rather look at the positives and keep my fingers crossed.

With Anil Kumble in the side - things cant go too wrong can they?

The more things change....

It was the Australian season 2003/04. It was an Indian team visiting those shores as holders of the Border-Gavaskar trophy. It was expected to be passed on to the Aussies meekly. Losing 2-0 would have been respectable. What is funny about the Indian team is that they generally give 2 hoots for the expectations one way or the other.

Brisbane saw a gutsy knock from Saurav and then Adelaide happened. Dravid, Laxman, Agarkar, Kumble. What a game! What a performance! Dravid cried after hitting the winning runs. No writer can sum up the emotions better. We went to Boxing Day with history knocking on our doors - pleading to be let in while the Aussies were trying hard to drag it away. For a while on the first day Viru laughed in the faces of the Aussies and defied them - nearly letting history slip in a glorious moment for the Indians. But it was not to be. The Aussies came back and dragged history away and kept the series alive.

It was the South African season 2006/07. It was an Indian team visiting those shores as an improved test side and a plummeting one day side. They folded 4-0 in the ODIs and were expected to go down 3-0 in the tests. Again funnily enough the Indian team gave 2 hoots for the expectations.

The first test saw a steady batting performance and a brilliant bowling performance. Saurav, Laxman, Sachin, Rahul, Sreesanth, Zaheer, Kumble. The Indians celebrated with champagne. Writers might be able to sum up the emotions nearly as well but the impact of the victory was for all to see! India went one up.

And yet again it was boxing day when history beckoned. She figured that they didnt let me in in Melbourne - maybe Durban might just let me slip in. Till day 2 - it looked like the Indians might just pull the rug on the Africans but Ntini and Pollock and Prince ensured that it was not to be.

Sydney is the most spinner friendly ground in Australia. Capetown they say is the most spinner friendly ground in South Africa. Sydney had Tugga going, Sydney had Steve Bucknor, Sydney had Parthiv Patel. CapeTown has an opportunity for the Indians and none of the above three. Freakishly enough there have been many similarities between that series and this.

Lets hope Sachin and Laxman score as many here as they did in Sydney. Lets hope that this time though we go the full distance and pull it off.

History and Opportunity are very egoistical knockers - they dont do so repeatedly. Lets hope we answer their call this time.

The Law of the Airport

If flying to anyplace involves one of the 6 metro aiports at any side of the
travel - then the probablity of not meeting someone you know is as about as low
as the chances of Venkatesh Prasad bowling 100mph delivery.

"Warne"ing Bells Toll

Logically if you did drugs as a sportsman – you would be a disgrace. Logically if you were banned from the game for a year – you would be an untouchable. Logically if you were caught exchanging smses with hookers and your ruined your private life – you would be hated. It is possibly a tribute to arguably the best bowler in the world ever that in spite of all indiscretions he remains one of the game’s best loved and respected players. But then again if you have the charm and the guile of Shane Warne, it’s hardly a surprise.

Logically if you made your debut against Indians in Sydney and had just a wicket to your name for 150 odd runs, you would be demoralised. But if you are Shane Warne your next 142 tests will fetch you 698 more scalps. If you were a bowler coming in after the likes of McGrath and Gillespie and Lee had done their spells, you would hardly have any wickets to take but if you are Shane Warne you end up as the world’s highest wicket taker.

Shane Warne. As an Indian cricket fan, I haven’t followed Aussie cricket too often. So I can have only read about some of his famous spells. Having watched Warne bowl in patches, this tribute to him will always be a little hollow. But for an Indian fan to write a tribute about Shane goes to say a lot about his lovability and greatness as a bowler. The fact that people all over the world will be disappointed about his retirement decision – at age 37 at that – speaks a lot about what Warne was to the game.

Very few bowlers possess the ability to bring crowds to the stadium just to seem them bowl – the chances of that bowler being a spinner even more remote. However Warne holds that ability easily. The thrills of watching him fool a batsman – not just through that one wicket taking delivery but the whole set of deliveries before that crucial one slips in. Apart from being the master bowler – he is also one of the biggest showmen of the game. Guile, talent and histrionics – the whole package.


The unbelievable look of shock and surprise on the face of a batsman when what he thought was a well left ball pitching way outside leg stump has actually spun wickedly and crashed into an unsuspecting off-stump while the batsman was shouldering arms expecting the ball to go down for 4 byes.
For the life of me I can never erase the image of a shocked MSK Prasad on that ill fated tour of Australia in 1999 (The 3-0 loss for India). For a minute MSK did not move from his spot – he couldn’t believe that it was legal or allowed for a ball to turn that much from behind his legs. He was convinced that the keeper was up to some mischief. There was mischief indeed but only in the eyes of Warne after he had delivered that ripper.

For me personally, it was Ashes 2005 that made me an unreserved fan of his. Australia lost but for Warne it was a personal triumph. Not just with the ball where he threatened to win near un-winnable matches on his own with very little backup but also with the bat where again he threatened to win near un-winnable matches with his bat in this case he had the company of the trusty Aussie tail. It’s not often that one supports Australia for any match but purely for that one man – you would want Australia to pull it off. They did not and in weird way it seems good as otherwise Warne would have retired then but he stayed on to fight back and earn the little urn back.

Shane Warne has been a supreme magician in the game. He will be remembered for his umpteen well thought out wickets. For an Indian, he will be remembered for being the easy meat he was for Sachin and VVS and Sidhu. The humility of Warne though shone through when he stood in line to take Sachin’s autograph after the Sharjah assault.

Before the start of the current series and even before the retirement announcement, I would have hated to see Aussie win 5-0. But if there is ever a sendoff that a guy of Warne’s calibre deserves – it is a thumping 5-0 win to see him off into retirement.

In your face

I think thats the official term. As i write this Team India are a wicket away from scripting a glorious victory in Dakshin Afrika. To all the critics - this is as fitting a reply as any could be to those critics who wrote them off.

A south african cricket website apparently has a poll to predict the score line. It has the options 1-0; 2-0; 3-0 all in favour of SA. Again the technical term is "In your face"

Ofcourse this win has also meant that i am now the proud winner of a dairy milk chocolate. It pays to always bet on the Indian team. With their extremes - the odds will always be against them and in the long run you would always make more money.

But this article is not about the money. Its about a victory. Its about a victory which qualifies as a brilliant team effort. Its about a victory which had some brilliant individual moments. Its about a victory that had drama, comedy, suspense and twists and turns. Damnit! We have won our first match in SA. It is HUGE. As huge as it gets. Congratulations to the super performance.

I had mentioned earlier that we were probably just one good knock or match away from turning the tables. In this case - the fightback probably started when we lasted the full 50 in the final ODI and then going on to win the match v/s the Rest of Dakshin Afrika. The SA strategy of playing the Indians on bouncy fast bowler friendly pitches to ensure that the batsmen couldnt get in probably backfired with the bowlers gaining confidence. And which fool actually decides to underestimate an Indian batting lineup that includes Sachin, Rahul, Sehwag, Saurav and VVS? Really which fool does that ???

Apparently the South Africans did. What was immediately concluded as a feeble show on day1 when we were 156/5 was actually an exercise in application and patience by Sach, Rahul, Dada and VVS. But what really brought India back was 2 innings - one a fighting for life one by Dada and second - a more funny slam bam thank u ma'am by VRV. That knock had the whole dressing room laughing and in a positive mood. And it showed.

My moment of the match though has to be Sreesanths riposte to Nel. Singularly the most funny moment in cricket that I have seen to date. Again the technical term "In your face"

The Indian team was never bad - just out of form. When they do get back to form they can be devastating. The South Africans now know.

Let me end with the joke of the match. After day 1; Kallis "I dont think there is much wrong with the pitch, We are only disappointed that the bounce is a little less than usual. I think we will wrap them up tomm and put a huge score on the board and put them under pressure in the 2nd Inning"

Some big score. Some pressure!

Dhoom Dvitiya

They had a limited budget. They spent on the actor salaries and the stunts and the locations. They couldnt afford a storywriter. They couldnt afford a good music composer. Hence the only good song in the movie was adapted from last time.

Learnings for the day -

1. You can be a sitting duck for 10 henchmen to shoot you but if you are the hero you can travel to the henchmen in a straight line and ur charisma is enuff to cast a magnetic field to deflect the bullets. Atleast that seems to be the only explanation for so many bullets missing their target.
2. You thank your stars that you watched the movie at Innovative as opposed to Inox. 130 bucks saved can go a long way.

Front Foot Defensive

It was one slower ball that probably changed the course of our fortunes. Dwayne Bravo to a Yuvraj in form and what looked like a brilliantly fought for victory turned into the narrowest of defeats. It was one of those moments. These moments count for a lot in cricket. But that was probably the moment where India slipped - a moment that started to weigh heavy on their confidence and their intent. A 17 match streak ended and doubts crept in. Since then its been downhill.

But before we get into a "abuse-overpaid-players-and-experimenting-coach" mode -lets just for a moment consider what was a purple patch. We had Yuvraj playing the best that he ever had. Dravid was his usual consistent self. Sachin made injury-free guest appearances where he played well. Sehwag fired from time to time, Pathan rocked both with the ball and the bat and Dhoni was well Dhoni.

Now its the same set of players really - almost all out of form and ofcourse out of form players dont win matches. Out of form players with their confidences dented by what seemed to be only a slower ball really dont get around to winning matches easily. Who do we have on the bench? Raina, Mongia and a host of no name no performance players. Lets just accept the fact that wehave no backups - we have no one to bat if any one of our frontline guys go. The option is probably going back to tried and tested old guys. But thats for another day.

However the core set is still the same. In cricket usually if the core set fires, the fringe players derive confidence from the form of the core guys and start supporting the core in-form guys. So perhaps when the moment comes when Sachin Dravid Sehwag Dhoni fire - atleast 2 of them in a match, you got to betthat the fringe guys might chip in with a crucial 20 and maybe we might getback to winning. However we are just that one match away from turningconfidence and forms for the better. Atleast in that case the short term is better.

But the long term is really grim. Even if we do go back to VVS and Dada to bolster the middle order - what next? All these guys are in their 30s and lets face it they wont be playing for long. Do we really have any quality batsmen tore place them?

Supporting India is always an exhiliarating experience. Its more fun if you stick through the thick and thin for no other team with the prominent exception of Pakistan can give the variety of highs and lows of Indian cricket. You win 17 in a row chasing - you lose many on a trot. Indian Cricket for me will always be the rollercoaster ride i look forward to in an entertainment park.

Champions Tumble

Its disappointing that we lose. More disappointing that we lose and cant make it to the finals of a tournament I can get free tickets for. Life is tough at times!

However the media will be out with its knives and villans will be created readily. It would be funny if I was not so crazy about the sport. Questions will be asked about captaincy coach and players and the advts they do. We do everything but accept the downside with the upside that our team gives us. Life is tough at times!

I know I am boring - hence will leave this post to be picked up in a better way later. I have to rant about the umpires and the ICC. But thats for later.