Life Vs Sport Again...

“At one point in your life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you don't.” – Anonymous

Life is a game of choices, the choices between the compromises one takes in the journey of finding the inner self’s true identity and the obligations to his loved ones. Sport is nothing more and nothing less. In fact, Life and sport are microcosms of one another, with each trying to outwit the other. In this realm, being a professional sportsperson is not a gift, not a state of bliss, it’s a choice.

Beneath the facade of fame, happiness and successes of an athlete, lies a plethora of unimaginable pain, sacrifices and endurance that materializes the outcome. Sport is so cruel that only the outcome matters to the populace and the entire pursuit underneath becomes a travesty. Euphemists like to attribute this fact to call sport a leveler, but the greatness of the sportsman lies in accepting this iniquity before becoming one.

Sport presents the afflictive artist’s paradox, although innocuously. It fosters the conflict between the art and the artist, each priding to be greater than the other. Most cases, the art has the last laugh asserting the artist that there can be only one masterpiece and it is for which the artist was born and not the vice-versa. It ruthlessly devours the coup de grace of his battles and leaves him pondering the impact of time and age.

Here comes the decisive to part to answer why a sportsperson chooses to be one. He derives only the solemn pride and joy that is truly his from pursuing it. It’s perhaps the only thing he wants.

A Journey from the streets of Tirunelveli to IIM-B

Wed , 10th April 2013 - The day I will always remember even in my death bed. The day I had made into an IIM after a lot of travails and toil for 5 long years. The infinitely long nights spent trying to comprehend the  techniques of solving mysterious Quant problems and doing religious readings of the everyday "Hindu" editorials  had come to an end. The picture had reached its eventual 'happy' climax albeit its numerous signs of not reaching one. An eventful journey had ended and another one beckons.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is going to be an emotional post capturing my journey from a kid in a small town to the hallowed portals of IIM-B. This will be a long post and will be updated as and when I find time over the next 3 months. I will also be posting the same on AIWTSAC in Pagalguy. I hope someone can get any inspiration out of this

A night to remember...

2nd of April,2011-The greatest moment for an indian cricket fan,the moment every fan yearned from the day he understood the meaning of runs and wickets,a moment profused with ecstacy,pride and self-gratification.the moment of culmination of the journey from "A bunch of 10 little Indians and a star" to "A cricket team with an inspiring champion and a great leader ".Cricket for a fan in an inexplicable way is linked with the natonal identity ,though it does not play any miunuscul part in potraying the true image of a nation.Cricketing victories gives the fan a sense of pride,a feeling of joy and a infinitesimal moment of running away from the materialistic world.This victory is the consummation of the little unsaid dream in every cricket fan's heart, the apogee of Mt.Everest,nothing more and nothing less.

There was this 8 year old kid witnessing India vanquising Pakistan in the 1996 world cup and then being agonisingly kicked out of it inspite of Sachin's heroics throughout the tournament.It was the birth of the kid into yet another indian cricket fanatic.The Indian team was then a bunch of people with two or three individual big-guns trying to maintain its reputation of being the ambitious hosts and the disgraceful tourists.Alas the kid was blessed enough to be a beholder of the making of the greatest batsman of his generation.Sachin was the superman both the kid deserved and needed.The kid even never minded his hero's failure to rescue the team as a leader,as the kid knew that his hero was destined only to be the batting God and nobody else.Roger Federer cannot hit home runs,can he ?

The indian cricket team saw the arrival of two promising and intriguing young men,one left-handed with the greatest of timings and the other right-handed with the purest of techniques.The team started earning respect outside the country ,but still a test victory seemed a far fetched dream.The 1999 world cup came and went with flashes of brilliance from the team but the dearth of talent,energy,focus,consistency was clearly evident.During the course of the tournament ,the kid had become a holistic cricket lover and enjoyed watching one of the greatest one day innings from an Australian who also incidentally was the architect and inspiration for the world cup triumph.This australian captain(widely known as Stephen Rodger Waugh) who was an epitome of hardwork and perseverence was given a special place in the kid's heart.

Then there was the change of throne and the prince was made the Maharaja of Indian cricket.The attitude changed,Balls were chased till they reached the boundary,Men started diving in the field and teenagers started getting a place in the Indian dressing room . Even the master was asked to sacrifice his opening position for the team.There was a vision,a plan and a path.More importantly,the path was steadfastly pursued through victories and defeats.Two youngmen fashioned a historic run chase in the mecca of cricket.The kid had grown into a boy and knew the nitty-gritty of the game now(thanks to Harsha Bhogle and the bunked classes at school).The Indian team put a proud display of grit and tenacity at the 2003 world cup and ended as the second best team of the tournament.A billion hearts crashed(including the boy's) when the punter produced the innings of his lifetime to bat India out of the world cup final.But the boy knew he could walk with his head held high without shame.All these years ,there were two great statesmen decades,one be-spectacled engineer who also bowled mesmerising leg spin and one stylish Hyderabadi artist who also hit those boundaries English batman would never play even in their dreams.

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villian.The Maharaja seemed to be at the helm more than his time.The ODI format never needed the impregnability of the wall anymore .The boy had gone to college and was denied the chance to see the 2007 world cup in his hostel.What did he do?He started standing infront of tea-stalls,hotels and even spent a night in a barber shop, only to see his beloved team going toothless and bowing out in the first round .It was one of the darkest moment in Indian cricket history and the team was desperately in need a saviour.Indian cricket was due for an overhaul and needed fresh legs to carry it farward.The prince decided to move on .Wait,what has he done to indian cricket ?He just built an indian team that will conquer the world one day.(In the names of Shewag,Gambhir,Yuvraj,Zaheer,Harbhajan,Nehra and Dhoni).Meanwhile the test team grew from strength to strength,the batting order became the best ever in indian history.The disgraceful tourists became the most feared.

The master made the masterstroke again,this time off the pitch though ,by choosing the next leader of the Inidan team.The 2007 T20 world cup broadcasted the arrival of something positively suprising to Indian cricket,a leader whose demeanour was calm and confident and a team that had the courage to take bold decisions without the fear of losing.A hardworking veteran was made the coach.Throughout all these changes in the Indian cricket,the boy's hero remained a constant.There was this aura about the leader and his team-a blend of aggression,street-smartness,youth,experience and they finallly started playing for each other.There were ebbs and flows,so were patience and perseverence.Here came the 2011 world cup,the man from Ranchi showed the world what differentiates a leader from a captain..Finally the hour of joy arrived,the moment belonged to the master,the cup belonged to the captain and the rest to the ordinary cricket fan.It is truely a night to remember.....

A sport called Life

Life can neither be defined nor does it be understood with time or energy but can be felt and experienced by our titanic pursuits of realizing its glorious uncertainties. Sport like life has its own share of victories and defeats, fame and misfortune,moments that take us to the apogee of ecstasy and agony. Both Sport and Life have an inexplicable aura and charm associated with them that it becomes easier to contemplate the similarities that one possesses with the other. It will be an interesting and fascinating journey as this article tries to explore what some of the most enchanting aspects, principles of sport if applied in life can make it more exciting and pompous.

The most intriguing persona about sport is its unique way of handling failure. How sport gracefully accepts failure as a part of it and moves on is by far the most enviable aspect of it. Tendulkar with all his might and genius could never be a great captain while Ganguly with all his vulnerability to hostile bowling attacks could become the most successful captain the

country ever had. Failures taught him to think better and gave him the ability to empathize and thereby get the best of his men. Failure, besides making success sweeter gives a whole new perception and dimension to Life. After all it comes down to one single question. Will a smooth sea with its pleasant voyage make a good sailor?

Another dramatic insight is from how sport effortlessly handles the eternal dilemma “Which is more important? The process or the Result.?” Sport emphasizes in making the process of achievement supreme and the result irrelevant. A sprinter has absolutely no control over his opponent in the adjacent lane and the best he can do is to concentrate on his performance

and let go of things out of his control. Sport enunciates how sometimes ambition can turn into anxiety and affect one’s performance and foments on the principle that giving 100% every time is more important than being on the winning side It is an interesting thought that matches are won or lost just because one team does not play to its potential. Sport edifies us to chase

our performance or professional goals relentlessly and letting the result take care of itself. Ian Thorpe, one of the world’s greatest swimmers, once said “for me losing is not coming second. It’s coming out of water knowing you could have done better.”

What makes a man play, toil and give his heart out for victory even if he holds all the records of his sport? Why does a Federer still fight hard in every match he plays even though he has the most number of grand slams than any other man in the planet ever had? It is the appetite to conquer greater heights that have never been explored by fellow men that drives these men. It is about challenging oneself and coming out on top. The joy, curiosity, energy and the child like passion towards the game with which a Tendulkar,a Federer,a Schumacher confront new challenges coming their way is what every man has to emulate in every endeavor of life.

So, next time when you see a sportsman perspiring in pursuit of giving his best, spare a thought for him and spare two for what you can take from him.

Roger does it ....in vintage style

"The higher you soar,the smaller you appear to those who cannot fly"

Words that Nirmal Shekar quoted nine years ago when Sampras won his 14 th Grand slam when people around him said he was "a step and a half slower" and had lost his firepower .He battled all odds and did it when it mattered the most.

Things similar to what were said of Federer before the French Open. Roger ,like Sampras ,has proved his critics wrong and shown the world why many consider him the best ever in history.

The killer forehand was missing, the first serve percentages were having a negative slope,the unforced errors were suprisingly on the higher side than his opponent.Roger could have easily given in to a persevering Hass or a mercurial Del Porto or even a nameless Tom who stretched him to five sets ,but he found his own way to manufacture winners that came from nowhere.The shots had the necessary friction,speed,spin,momentum,direction,swing when it needed the most.

When Roger lost his Wimbledon crown to Rafa last year ,it took a while for us to sink the result into our minds.He plays with his heart.That was why he wept when he won his first Grand slam, wept after losing the Australian Open and wept after crossing the final frontier.When the going is tough,when people start thinking he is done and dusted ,when people doubt his supremacy on court,he comes with his genius and asserts he is still the best craftsman on the court.That's what make champions and Legends.That's what make Roger Federer.

When Roger could not cross the final hurdle at Roland Garros,.someone asked "Is Federer destined not to win the French open ?".And only with time we came to realise "Federer is destined to win the French Open as his 14 th Grand Slam,making it the greatest victory of his career".....How beautiful is sport...!

"God, It's killing me "

Greatness can seldom be defined,nor does it come with time or victories but from the titanic pursuits of attaining it.It is marked by an unparalled skill and mastery of an art,but this man was not an artist,he was the one who created the art itself.His raquet spoke to the tennis ball giving it instructions of speed,movement and direction, with clinical precision.The art was so fascinating and awestruck that Wordsworth would have declared his sight at Wimbledon more beautiful than the one upon Westminster bridge.

Comparing Pete and Roger is like trying to find out which one is better,the discovery of fire or the invention of the internet.Both the most gigantic feats of their time,so are these two champions.The technical and aesthetic brilliance in Federer's game is unparalled and is only overcome and outsmarted by the brute force and tenacity of a man called Rafa , the only man on the planet who could make look an ordinary player on court.

Heros and Supermen dont cry,but artists do.There has always been this conflict between the art and the artist,one trying to be greater than the other.Most times,as in Roger's case, the art has the last laugh proving the artist that there can be only one masterpiece and it is for which the artist was born and not the vice versa.Roger cried because he realised he can no longer produce that killer forehands which made the coup de grace of his battles in the centre court in the All England Lawn Club,he cried for the art that was in jeopardy and not for his career.

The "The year that was" post

I would remember 2008 as the year that witnessed a lot happening around my life.Apart from the fuzz that would normally be there with your transition from a student to an employee,there was everything i could ask for

January to 6th May :The first four months have been the most enjoyable amidst the last few days of my college with nothing to study and everything to have fun.A lot of friends,movies,chatting,sleeplessness(I dont remember a day sleeping before 2.00 am).It would surely be remembered as the best days of my life.How our final year project(There wasn't one actually) turned to be a disaster and how we surrendered ourselves into our project guide during the final month was hilarious even then.Those where days when I would ve said "So what?" even if the sky was falling upon me....

19th May to July 22 nd:The days of so called "Training" at the job.I was determined to give my best and do whatever I could to perform well.The days when i enjoyed studying ,learning new concepts and ideas everyday.those were days that i rediscovered my passion for working hard and realized the fruit of hardwork and dedication.

July 23 rd to Sept 12th : Call it fate or anything ,I was asked to be in bench for these days.the days that reminded me of the final semester in colege life.Again I did nothing,not doing justice to what I learnt in the earlier days.Nothing much happened during these days except for the one-of visit to the college to my certificates and seeing my old friends again and got a glimpse of the old times.

Sept 13 th to December 31:Was finally allocated to a project which was a really good team.I began to understand slowly what it meant to be sucessfull in this software life.I was getting a picture how actually the software industry works and was trying to find the missing part of the puzzle to be passionate about it.It was really painful to miss the old careless college life and movies


This year would be there in my heart as the one in which i got my first salary and the one in which i was able to see a cricket match with my childhood heros in it at the chinnasamy stadium.

'The Sicillian' -Book Review

For someone who has just got into books and reading a book every ten days,it was too much to swallow.As I began to study the last hundred pages of the novel 'The Sicillian' by the famous Mario Puzo again ,at midnight,I knew I was falling into an ocean of unbelievable storytelling.Finishing the book at 2.00 a.m,i could not sleep for the next hour or so.Turi Guilliano, undoubtedly the greatest character that i have ever read about is just too unthinkable and great to forget with time.Puzo with his indimidating style and vocabulary takes you in to a different world where living by your heart is more important than living by the law.

The book starts as if it is a sequel to the' Godfather',but never really wants to be the sequel.While Godfather lighted the underworld,this book shows you love,unimaginable bravery,gratitude,friendship,courage,cunning cleverness,a mixture of kindness and cruelty all present in one man Turi Guilliano who with his friend Aspanu becomes a bandit to help the poor.Though I have never read anything about Robinhood and his heroics,I can be dead sure that Turi will be beter than him in every attribute.The book ,unlike the Godfather ,has fewer characters,with each of them beautifully sculptured by Puzo's brilliance.

It is quiet amazing how I got the same aura after completing the book,that once got after reading the Godfather.I wonder why this book isn't famous as the Godfather.It made sense afterwards that it was the true reflection of mood of the two novels.The pace of the novel that remains the same throughout the plot,the typical phrases that makes you read it over and over again,the pride of those fearless men in killing and running for life,the glory with they accept death and more than anything else, when you are about to think the book has already been worth read ing before the climax,the climax happens to be the actual thing why you should read the book

May be because Godfather was one of the first few books I read ,I like the 'Sicillian' more than I do the former.But I am happy for that.The book is a piece of art ,an epitome of characterisation and storytelling.It is more than a novel about the life of Guilliano,it is a recording of how a story of a man becomes a myth,a legend for the generations to come.The greatness of Puzo lies not in telling you such a wonderful story but in making us think this is the life we would have wanted to live in the wildest of our dreams.Whatever it might be,I honestly beleive 'The Sicillian' is far more heart-breaking than 'The Godfather'( both the books and the men wrapped in their names).

Out of My Comfort Zone:The Steve Waugh Story

If you are a cricket fan,go and grab this book now or else you are not exposed completely to what cricket is all about.The book that reveals the heart of a man who was one of the architechts of the Australian success in Cricket.Stephen Rodger Waugh is one of those very few cricketers whose life is a lesson itself...
He is a genius,not by birth ,but acuqired it through sheer grit,perseverence and hardwork.The book is foreworded by our very own Rahul Dravid who sums up everything in his last few words
"When I hit the winning runs in Adelaide,Steve found the ball and handed it to me.I still have it and it is signed by him."
His entire career can be divided into three periods, his early days where his place was insecure and as he fought against his mind and talent to fit into the Australian eleven,the days he shone with the bat and ball and went on to become the Australian captain,the days when he became the helm of Australian cricket,which reveals the true person in him.
Honesty is one thing that any true fan of him expects from him and he does not disappoint his fans.The match fixing incident,the controversial catch in WestIndies,the indifferences with ACB and every other things that an ordinary cricket fan wants to know about the life on the field, is beautifully presented.The facts like one of his 'backyard pitches' near his home produced enormous turn that actually made mark waugh to make that mid-wicket shot his very own,Steve Waugh's description of his character of wanting to be the best but not wanting to get the attension,how Shane Warne predicted the Gibbs dropped catch at the 1999 world cup are just amazing.
It is sure for sure that the book elevates our stand as a true cricket fan one step higher and help us understand how onw has to out of his comfort zone to acheive greatness...

A part of me would go with the Fab-Five...

This is the most agonising period for those of us in their early twenties and whose journey with cricket started with the arrival of Sourav to the cricket scene.The everlasting debate of Lara Vs Sachin began to occupy our Lunch hours at school.The two potential youngsters Sourav and Dravid had just begun to change Indian cricket from what it was as a one man show.The purity of Dravid and the unconventionality of Sourav stole our hearts.We were taken to a different world by the wrist work of Azhar and moved to tears seeing the painful exit of India at Eden Gardens in 1996 world cup.

It was even more painful when the one we had trusted betrayed us by involving in the match fixing scandal.We were comforted only by the centuries with which our genius named Sachin conquered the world.The two knocks at Sharjah with Tony grieg at the background...We would remember those straight sixes even in our death bed.Then came our saviour in the name of Sourav with the job of the cleaning the soul of the game and taking Indian cricket forward after our batting genius failed to be a better captain.

Then came a term called 'professionalism' in to Indian cricket.Dravid started to keep wickets.Balls were chased till they reach the boundary.We saw the entry of Yuvraj,Kaif,Harbhajan,Sodhi,Zaheer.we started beating Australia in one -off matches.Yuvraj's maiden fifty against Australia and Zaheer cracking the stumps of Steve Waugh at that Nairobi match made us hope that Indian cricket was in safe hands.We saw Kaif struggle for runs and going out of the team in agony.Over all those years one man did his job in silence and extraordinay precision and accuracy as we would often fail to give credit to one of the remarkable sportsmen of all time ,Anil Kumble.

The VVS Laxman story of the innings that changed the history of Indian Cricket and 'The wall' that made us comquer every country we tour.We were treated by the greatness and class of those amazing batsmen.Yet we would never give away that special place in our heart to anyone other than our master.Alas we had one for everyone of them!The epic innings of Sourav at Brisbane that started the remarkable Steve Waugh Farewell tour.the 271 that Dravid made at the Adelaide Oval,Laxman producing shots against australian leg spinners that English batsmen would never play in their dreams,SCG being renamed 'Sachin Cricket Ground',Sourav removing his shirt at Lords....Oh it goes and goes on and on.....

No other team would have had these glorious batsmen coming in at No2,3,4 and 5.Then we witnessed a masterstroke from the prince ,of sending a batsman to open who had never opened in any of his first class games,the move that changed Indian Cricket in the ages to come.Then there was that 'so near yet so far story' of 2003 world cup final.Chappell and co converted our team into a youth brigade.We saw Dhoni marshalling his boys and give us that elusive victory in a final after we had witnessed each and every final given away with ease.But we knew we would have been more happier if our four extraordinaty gentleman had been part of that triumph.

Sachin was a genius,Dravid was an epitome of batsmanship,Laxman was a Magician,Kumble was a veteran,Sourav was an artist.More than everything they were gentlemen whom every children can have as his idol.They demonstrated every quality that someone have to suceed.We learnt to enjoy our game and let the better team win a match.We were never really angry at them as they made us realise that it was all part of the game.

The days wont come back.The days when I used to sit back and lose myself into the grace of Sourav and elegance of Sachin at either end.The ruthless opening partnerships between them just refuse to go out of my memory.The happiness when I see a full match and predict the next day's headliness in 'The Hindu' .The desperate prayers that I made in my childhood to see an Indian win.The fake illness that I often came in the day of a cricket match and the punishment I used to get after my guilt exposed.I was happy to give anything to see a match.After all these years of being obsessed with cricket and with the feeling that some time when India is going to be at 5-1 and 15-2,there wont be a Dravid or Sachin walking in,I knew I would quit watching cricket.As for me,with Sourav and Kumble quitting and when Sachin,Laxman and Dravid would bid goodbye,a part of my life, with it, a part of me would be gone forever...

Life is not that beautiful...Sometimes

Exactly Five months and 23 days have passed since i started working as a Software Engineer.It started off well with a very good training and a lot of intensity , interest levels etc(Even I managed to be perform as the best)But now looking again what i am into and what sort of life i would have to lead if i continue to work in this celebrated profession,it is like i am given a Einstein's puzzle and trying to solve it forever though i know the solution.
The tragic part has been an absolute wall that has been built between me and the outside world.My interest seems to go away from any news other than cricket.No newspapers for the last three months,no awareness of what is going on.Sometimes it makes me think "Do I really need this ?"But the facts that most of my friends are still waiting for their call to the job and I am lucky or good enough to get one keeps me going.Only time has to say if this is what really what i want to do with my life...
Five months and 14 days ago,I was still at the college just coming out of my last university exam and a trip to Ooty as a boy wondering the intricacies of life ahead.It is awfully wonderful and interesting to be into the corporate world and thinking about the careless hours spent in college.It was a great journey those four years and i am sure that those days would be best days that i would have in my life again...

So after spending my first Diwali away from my family,I am not angry but disappointed seeing the people celeberating it greatly,I am slowly realising what it takes to be sucessful in professional life,a pure dedication to your profession and to nothing else.....
P.S:Needless to say that this post is a result of reading the college slam book at 11.45 p.m in solitude....

A thrilling batlle on the cards in Mohali...

Test cricket is revived. We have not had a classic test match but a hardly fought test match between two tough competitors. A true champion can be determined by the span he remains in that exclusive zone. Legends need five days to happen. Patience and Perseverance are harder to acquire than power and skill. That is why they call this game played over five days as Test cricket.
The match is special for me as I was in the chinnasamy stadium watching the fourth day’s play in close quarters and I tell you what, it was a privilege to see the game which had the greatest players of our time from sachin to pointing, from Kumble to Brett Lee. The match was played with a higher level of intensity which was what professional sport was all about. The contests unveiled and the match proved to be the best prologue to the series ahead.

From the Aussies perspective:
They came into the game with nothing to lose, with a shaky middle order that did not contain Gilchrist and Symonds in a long time and with a bowling attack that had bowled 000 balls in tests in India. They had shown the world how tough they are when it really mattered. Pointing responded to his critics and did what Sourav did 4 years ago in that first test at Brisbane when India was the underdogs. Mr.Cricket showed the reason behind his name. The only worrying thing for them would be the form of Hayden and lack of a quality spinner to exploit the fifth day surface.

From the Indian Perspective

To be honest, it is a disappointment not to go for the kill against a depleted Australian side right from the first day. Probably for the first time, Kumble’s tactics were questioned and his lack of aggression and pro activeness were clearly visible. May be his lack of form with the ball is reflecting on his captaincy Harbhajan was still not at his best. All the members of the fab four had a decent match and spent time in the middle which was a good sign.
So it is going to be one hell of a contest in Mohali with the wicket supporting the faster bowlers we can expect a thrilling battle of bat and ball on the cards and what else can a true cricket fan expect…

The Prince departs as 'The Emperor'...

It is such a remarkable day in the History of Indian Cricket as India's sucessful captain bids Goodbye to his career.Whatever may be the circumstances that are behind his decision,it is not wise to analyse those things but rather sit back and celebrate a glorious career and savour the memories that he is going to leave,

He has been such a great character as I would say he is the one responsible for where India ncricket is now.He persisted with Yuvraj Singh,Kaif,Harbhajan Singh,Zaheer Khan and backed them whatever happened.And the youngsters just proved they are worth their place.Who else would be more happy if Yuvraj,the man he groomed ,can fit into his place of No:5 once he retires...Some Little known facts that I have read about him over the last decade and here is why rate along with the callber of Sachin,Sunny,Kapil,Vengsarkar.

Harbhajan Singh was about to quit his career in cricket and go to Dubai to earn his living as a truck driver when he was questioned for his legality of his bowling.It was Sourav who backed him and persistede with him in those tough phase of his life and made him to bowl again.

Yuvraj who was consistantly backed by Sourav irrespective of his scores that made Yuvraj once say"I will die for my captain".

He was the one who asked Shewag to open,who then had never opened even in a first class match..What a masterstroke that changed the face of Indian Cricket....

Now the big one...Some years ago when he was the captain,he was watching a ranji trophy match and suddenly somrthing striked him in the match.He called a media friend and said "See the batsman playing in DD sports now,He is going to be the future of Indian Cricket".Guess who it is ..He is none othen than the new wonder kid M.S.Dhoni....

He trusted his instincts and and my previous post on him justifies his greatness...

So..It is a great feeling to bid you goodbye,may God be with you for the rest of your life and bring sucess and happiness
as you had in you cricketing career.I dream to see you with Harsha in the espnstar commentary box.....

Border -Gavaskar Trophy Comprehensive Preview - Part -II

The middle Order

Sachin,Sourav,Laxman,Dhoni -It is very suprising and ridiculous that the media has been consistently criticizing Laxman because he has bee n our sucessful test batsman in the last year.He averages 52 in his last 12 test matches.With Sourav announcing his retirement we can expect him to go as a hero fighting.And now it comes to our master,how many times I have to say this ,he was the difference between the two sides when they met last time.Hope he shows his champion stuffs once again.Much attension will be on Dhoni as he has not produced any significant innings with the bat in test matches for the past one year.How can we expect him to take the test team forward.His performance is crucial for India's future in test cricket....

Clarke,Hussey,Watson,Haddin -Clarke has proved that he can take the Australian side forward in the years to come and his refusal to play in the IPL send strong signals and shows the passion he shows to play in his national colours.He is a great player of spin and the visitors depend on him to deleiver.Mr.Cricket has always been at his best and his commitment levels are unbeleivable.Now the interesting part ..Can Haddin and Watson do or excell the roles of Gilchrist and Symonds respectively.I beleive the latter is going to be the deciding factor of the test series.If he can play well and provide that crucial 60+ runs needed in the middle order and bowl his heart out as he always does,he is going to win the match for Australia.Well for Haddin,only time can answer the question

The Pace Attack

Zaheer khan is the spearhead of the host and his craft in bringing the ball in against the right handers is crucial.Then the man who made a mockery of Ricky pointing seven months ago,if he can do it this time again,the series is in the host's pocket.


Brett Lee is in the tranistion phase of superb and great.It is fitting that his evolution from an Akthar to Mcgrath has come good and is influending their side's sucess.Clarke has his lethal inswingers that can break into the defence of Dravid and Sachin.He comes in and bowls that '2 inches outside off stump' balls time and time and again.Johnson has been the trump cars for the Aussies breaking into the side at a young age and showing a lot of temperamant

The Spin attack


It is a pity that the mighty Aussies cannot produce a replacement for Warne and it describes the class of the champion bowler.It will be entralling to see how Harbhajan bowls to pointing and Hayden.Kumble as humble and hardworking as ever will like to add to his tally of wickets and would like to surpass warne when he retires.Cameroon white has to lead the spin attack for the visitors and never underestimate him,alas he is another australian.


Wars within the battle


Brett Lee Vs Sachin
Pointing Vs Harbhajan
Poinitng Vs Ishant
S.Clarke Vs Dravid

Border -Gavaskar Trophy Comprehensive Preview - Part -I

Border -Gavaskar Trophy Comprehensive Preview - Part -I As the start of the first test comes nearer,the intensity and the excitement to see the contest is ramping up.Let us get a complete picture of the competition and the rivalry that every cricket fan is thrilled to witness.As the start of play is just two more days ahead,let us put together a head to head comparison of the two teams and see what we can expect... The Opening Pair Shewag,Gambhir Vs Hayden,Jaques Never before in an India-Australia series has been these reliable opening partnerships in both the teams.How can anyone forget the runs scored by the sweep shots of Hayden 7 years ago broadcasting his arrival to the big scene.It continuously makes us wonder how one Australian player coming straight away into the team can fill in the shoes of a Veteran.Gilchrist did it for Healy,Hussey did it for Martin or S.Waugh for that matter,Clarke for M.Waugh(including his bowling contribution) and now Jacques is doing it for Langer.That is the strength and character of the Australian team.The Australiam team's batting success depends hugely on the contribution of Hayden same as the host depends on the performance of Shewag.Gambhir has evolved into such a wonderful ODI and T20 player and it is a huge challenge for him to prove his worth in the test matches.The opening partnerships in both the teams are going to be a vital factor in the course of the series. The Crucial No:3 - The Wall Vs The Punter Test Matches are won and lost by your No:3.It is such a crucial position that after Dravid became our No:3 we started wining matches outside India.Pointing has also played a huge role in Australia's dominance in the past decade.It is a huge coincidence that both of them is having their ability questioned at this moment.Pointing being doubted his ability to face spin in subcontinent wickets and Dravid being doubted for a chink in his armour of Defence.But the fact remains that the series is highy dependent on the way that these two men are going to reply to their critics.

Can we taste the Kangaroo curry this time atleast...

Here we go...The clash what they call the 'Fight of their lives',the clash that have seen many enthralling episodes in its earlier versions.Here is why I call this the 'series to watch ..'

Apart from the one-off ashes series in 2005,no other team other than india has been consistent in competing against the Aussies in the last decade.Taking the Sydney match away from the last series,it was virtually drawn.And the last time tthey were here,that final day's rain at Chennai ruined our chances of squaring the series.So,in terms of competition and results ,it is very difficult to pick the better of the two teams.

The breath taking duels that this clash has witnessed like the warne-sachin,bhajji-pointing and dont forget the Ishant-Pointing spell in Perth,the best I have ever seen,no wonder the world is waiting to see another such duel .The Indian bowlers made a mockery of Pointing in their last series andit will be interesting to see how he combat spin this time.If India goes for the kill to get Pointing out cheaply and suceeds in it ,the trophy is on our bag at no time.

Time has come to check the new Australian era whether Clarke can become the next Steve waugh or Pointing,Haddin the next gilly.Threy are going to miss Warne and Mcgrath dearly,but dont underestimate the likes of Stuart Clark and Johnson because these are the guys who once rattled the Indian middle order some time back.Dont underestimate this Australian team,as they play hard and winning is every thing for them.

Can the fab five deliver again?Well this is the million dollar question at present.I honestly beleive they can and thinking the contribution they have done to Indian cricket in the last fifteen years it is fitting that they add this Aussie series victory under their belt before they retire and hence can say they made their team the best in the world.
P.S: As I am in bangalore now,I am going to witness the match live at the Chinnasamy stadium.Thrilled to see my heros live ,hope they deliver this time...Somewhere inside my heart it strikes hardly that i am not going to see Gilly collecting the balls anymore...

Sourav,Go like a champion,the way you played..

It was yet another day when i woke up and started doing my routine works and heard the news of Sourav Ganguly being dropped from the squad of Irani Trophy and the news was not a suprise as it had been only a question of when rather than why.Looking back the memory lane it had been a tremendous journey with him taking Indian cricket along numerous famous victories and incidents.Some of the most remarkable deeds of him that comes to my mind ......

*The aura he brought into the team and the courage with which he took the captaincy when the future of the indian team was at stake after azharudhin's match fixing episode and from that point becoming the most suceesful test captain of the country.

*The famous chase in Dhaka against Pakistan which came to be known as the Kanetkar match after his four that sealed victory for india in tha last over...that was the begiinning of the Sourav era

*That remarkable 183 against Srilanka in the 99 world cup in a do-or-die match producing the first ever 300 run partnership in ODI history..Oh the roars on that afternoon still echoes somewhere

*The Lords episode where he removed his shirt and waived it in style paying back what Flintoff did to us in the Natwest final victory thanks to the gem of a partnership between Yuvraj-Kaif.

*The comeback after him being dropped from the squad after the chappel controversy proving thousands of critics wrong(not me,of course)..

Every innings he played were marked by his trademark shots of the cut,the big hit over mid on,the lofted cover drive which he hits coming down the track..He was a treat to watch at the top of his game.Now the time has come to bed good bye to one of the greatest cricketers the game has ever seen.Sourav,believe me the bottom of your heart what is good for Indian cricket,who other than you knows better..may be it is the time for you move gracefully like the way you played....

Some records that speaks for Sourav's greatness Courtesy:Wikipedia

Tests

Captained India in a record 49 Test matches[58]
Led India to a record 21 Test wins[59]
His test average has never been less than 40.[60]

ODIs

Hold the record of most 200+ ODI partnerships (6 times) along with Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.
Holds the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for most 1st wicket ODI partnerships of 175+ runs (7 times).
Holds the record, shared with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the second highest score by an Indian cricketer in an ODI — 183, against Sri Lanka in 1999.
Held the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for the highest first wicket partnership for India in an ODI match, 258, against Kenya in 2001. This record was bettered by Sri Lankan opening pair of Jayasuriya and Tharanga in 2006 at Headingley.
Was involved in the first 300 run ODI partnership with Rahul Dravid.
Sixth on the all time list with 31 man of the match awards.
He is also the only player to win 4 consecutive man of the match awards in ODIs.
India's most successful ODI captain.
First Indian to score an ODI century against Australia in Australia.
Highest ODI runs scorer in the world (in a calendar year) in 1997,1999,2000.
Third in the list of hitting maximum number of sixes in ODIs.
Second in the list of highest number of centuries in a single calendar year ever. 7 centuries in 2000.

Vintage Federer becomes Alien Again

It was as if Roger Federer sprinting and Andy Murray crawling in a 100 meter race.For that brief period in the first set ,he looked the man we knew about,the Federer we had heard of as a man from another planet.The impecccable forehand ,the ground coverage,the surgical precision in the mixing of defence and offence,the unplayable return of second serve,the dunk that reminded of elusive pete....Oh it looked as if Ernest Hemingway writing his old man and the sea,an artist finishing his masterpiece.This US open is special in every sense for the champion as he competed not only with other players but also his self doubts,the criticisms,the questions on the end of his supremacy......
Nadal on the other night looked far lesser than his greatness against a resurgent Andy Murray,who by his armour of ruthless defence and baseline play made the best player of the year look pretty ordinary.It is quite unbeleivable how Federer managed to do the same to Murray himself.Federer came with a purpose to demonstrate the world he is still in that untouchable zone...
And here he is...Just four months away from attaining that greatest of all records ,that magical number fourteen at Melbourne...

Is Dhoni ready to be at the helm

One bad series for the super stars and there are talks of giving the test captaincy for the wonder kid.How cruel are we to forget the entertainment and memories that these giants have given us for the last decade or so.Whenever we win,the media yells 'The Fab Four','The Holy Trinity',' Captain Jumbo' and the fantacy goes on... And when they start losing a match or two ,we suddenly feel the lack of youth in the team and ask for the axe of these great legends..It is true that these people have past their prime and and it is also true that a Tendulkar at 50% is far better than a yuvraj at 110% in test matches..The temperament of a Dravid or a Laxman can bat the overs the entire ODI team can face...

Statiscally speaking ,it is not Sachin,Dravid,laxman ,not even Sourav who should be dropped but our very own Dhoni who averages 24 in his last 10 innigns ,which includes four innings at home and he has not even faced the Mendis jinx..Taking nothing away from his leadership qualities and his peseverene and skill to become the best batsman in the world (I show the greatest respect and salute Dhoni,the ODI batsman and skipper).It is a very bitter truth that Dhoni has not yet established himself as a test batsman and he should concentrate on cementing his place in the side and then think about taking the team farward(To his credit,he has not told anytime he is interested in it)...See for yourself the scores of the last ten innings of our fab four

sachin 14, 6, 5, 31, 27, 12, 0, 153, 13, 71 Ave: 33.2
sourav 35, 18, 16, 0, 23, 4, 13*, 87, 0, 87 Ave: 31.4
Rahul 10, 68, 44, 2, 14, 10, 18*, 29, 3, 17 Ave:23.8
laxman 25, 61*, 13, 39, 21, 56, 50, 35, 3, 39 Ave:34.2
dhoni 32, 52, 14, 16, 20, 16, 19, 38, 2, 35 Ave:24.4


Stop the non-sense of dropping the seniors as a whole,it is now time to move farward as Indian cricket is in the process of a generation change.Groom the youngsters ,break the fab four and give an extended run to one of the promising ODI players and results will come under the guidance of the seniors.These five pillars that have carried the Indian cricket for the last fifteen years have to be replaced but not to be demolished as they deserve a gracious exit.It is pay back time for us.Let us give them a farewell that can better the one ,SCG gave to Steve Waugh 4 years ago...

August 15-Just Another Day

This post comes amidst the dawn of the 61st independence day of India,a nation that survives corrupt politicians,baseless violences,ruthless indifferences between the rich and poor,hypocritical citizens and whatever possible problems that any nation can have, on theory.This week would ve seen many articles featuring our glorious past and our acheivements on various fields and many 'proud to be an indian' stuff.All these bluffs can hit high TRPs and generate that peculiar feeling of being an Indian ,but nothing can be of any tangble nature that can do anything good for the nation.

Though pessimistic i may sound,I am not a patriot who is ready to die for the country and I have a huge and enormous amount of respect and good will for those who risk their lives for saving our country and for those who are selflessly in the work of rebuilding various lives that ve fallen into rotten paths.I love the way i lead my life because this is the way i was told to live in my childhood and i am happy about it.I have not done anything to this country that i can be proud of,but i am not ashamed of it,after all it doesnt need anything from me.The country goes on amidst its political,financial and environmental crisis...

A boy from a lower middle class family studies hard ,puts everything into his studies but just could not clear the cut off of his community for that elite university to see the seat which he deserves go to the son of a rich politician who would ve hardly put one-hundreth of a work that our boy had put.I also see a rich athlete with full of passion and commitment for the game backed by his rigorous and world class trainig ,which was made possible by his financial background, getting the gold medal for the country followed by a very large Euphoria for making his country proud and a poor old girl from one of the villages getting nothing for becoming the world carrom champion...Aren't we hypocrites ?...wanting to live in the moment that is best suited for us to live easily...

Today,the 15th of August is going to witness yet another optimistic speech by yet another prime minister,which is going to change nothing and that patriotic feeling will rush through our heart for atleast a second or two, towards some part of the day and believe me it is not going to make much of a difference and if you want to fight with me against this ,listen to your heart before you proceed...