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...
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
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...
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...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
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...
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...
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Aftermath of IPL
It seems ridiculous to even think of it,but the painful truth is that a cricketer is restrained from representing his country because he played cricket with players who were once world class and in a place where he thought there is greater recogonition for his talent and skill.If the intension to earn money at the expense of playing for the country is a sin ,then go and stop the srilankans who wanted to play ipl rather than the england tour ,from playing cricket for their country.The biggest comedy lies in not allowing the county teams with the players in ICL to participate in the champions league and not allowing laxman,karthick to play for those teams.Even Sunny Gavaskar played with Barry Richards in the World series when SA was banned for apartheid .It is a shame that the game has to face that some of the all time greats to ve played for India like Kapil Dev,Sandeep Patil were neglected.It is fine to that India has now become the power house of the cricketing fraternity and is embarrassing that it has nothing to do with India 's performance in international matches but completely with a fanatic cricket lover who is ready to sacrifice everything to see an Indian win..
The people running the BCCI are happy to increase their bank balances,satisfied with making themselves the bosses of the cricketing world but are not ready to improve the standard of domestic matches played in India or the development of ground facilities.It is disgraceful that being the richest board in the world we have some of the poorest pitches (if not dust bowls) and poorest toilet facilities in cricket stadium around the world.But one has to accept the fact that these sports administrators are absolutely necessary for the success of a sport and the worrying thing is the game itself is in an endangered state in their hands.Though the IPL may be considered as a huge success,we should sit back and analyze what we ve got from it ....
1)A huge amount of money being added to the bank balances of the cricketers ,administrators and the franchise owners .
2)Cricket is about to lose one of its child as no one seems to like it after seeing the virtual charm and drama of its younger child .
3)Cricket 's original format(test match cricket ) is under threat (Purists like me believe that it is the true and highest level of competency for a cricketer)
4)Declining standard of telecasting of matches as more and more money comes to broadcasting as sony achieved new heights in telecasting as it broke its own record from showing 5 ball overs to 4 ball overs...
What the hell is happening to my very own great,old lovely cricket ...Decide for yourself,what do u want to see....
Players who take immense pride to play at the highest level representing his country or the ones who chose cricket as a easier way to earn money at quick time...
You can decide the future how our beloved game goes...
Case 1:A Dale steyn bowling his heart out at the final session of the fifth day of a decider match against Australia at 250/6 needing 295 to win with mike hussey at the crease ,to get that elusive test series vistory for South Africa.....
Case 2:A Dimitry Mascharanes playing for Chennai Super Kings amidst Sivamani and actor Vijay( Dont forget the Cheer girls!) hitting a six against Ashish nehra of Mumbai Indians with the crowd going mad courtesy the giant speakers in M.A.Chidambaram stadium to win the highest winning prize on the planet ,for his franchsie owners with Arun Lal yelling "DLF Maximum" and the sony max team showing us the ads before the replay of the shot...
Only one of the above two cases can be possibe...As a cricket fan who was brought up admiring the passion and pride shown at the highest level playing the game,it strikes at the heart with a very strong blow when the game is shown as the way for money....
Let someone do something to bring it back to life
The people running the BCCI are happy to increase their bank balances,satisfied with making themselves the bosses of the cricketing world but are not ready to improve the standard of domestic matches played in India or the development of ground facilities.It is disgraceful that being the richest board in the world we have some of the poorest pitches (if not dust bowls) and poorest toilet facilities in cricket stadium around the world.But one has to accept the fact that these sports administrators are absolutely necessary for the success of a sport and the worrying thing is the game itself is in an endangered state in their hands.Though the IPL may be considered as a huge success,we should sit back and analyze what we ve got from it ....
1)A huge amount of money being added to the bank balances of the cricketers ,administrators and the franchise owners .
2)Cricket is about to lose one of its child as no one seems to like it after seeing the virtual charm and drama of its younger child .
3)Cricket 's original format(test match cricket ) is under threat (Purists like me believe that it is the true and highest level of competency for a cricketer)
4)Declining standard of telecasting of matches as more and more money comes to broadcasting as sony achieved new heights in telecasting as it broke its own record from showing 5 ball overs to 4 ball overs...
What the hell is happening to my very own great,old lovely cricket ...Decide for yourself,what do u want to see....
Players who take immense pride to play at the highest level representing his country or the ones who chose cricket as a easier way to earn money at quick time...
You can decide the future how our beloved game goes...
Case 1:A Dale steyn bowling his heart out at the final session of the fifth day of a decider match against Australia at 250/6 needing 295 to win with mike hussey at the crease ,to get that elusive test series vistory for South Africa.....
Case 2:A Dimitry Mascharanes playing for Chennai Super Kings amidst Sivamani and actor Vijay( Dont forget the Cheer girls!) hitting a six against Ashish nehra of Mumbai Indians with the crowd going mad courtesy the giant speakers in M.A.Chidambaram stadium to win the highest winning prize on the planet ,for his franchsie owners with Arun Lal yelling "DLF Maximum" and the sony max team showing us the ads before the replay of the shot...
Only one of the above two cases can be possibe...As a cricket fan who was brought up admiring the passion and pride shown at the highest level playing the game,it strikes at the heart with a very strong blow when the game is shown as the way for money....
Let someone do something to bring it back to life
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Subramaniyapuram -Review
For the fraternity which feels that there are not enough quality films made in Tamilnadu this season has been a relief with two good films releasing in two months.Subramaniyapuram and Dasavatharam are great in their own genre.One proves the skill of a masterly actor and the other touches the heart and make us appreciate the work of a director who drives us into disbelief that it is his debut film.
The idea that the film happens in 1980 lightens up our attension and eagerness and one has to accept that the director has suceeded in satisfying us.The idea that the story is given importance and the characterisation of every actor present has to be given credit.Though the climax is not new to someone who had read books like Godfather ,it is new to tamil films and the fact that the girl in the movie betrays her love for the sake of family gives the depth of the director's analysis into human relations...
Well done Sasi Kumar...You have made a movie like which very few have been made before in the industry you are...Go on ,this is just the beginning...
The idea that the film happens in 1980 lightens up our attension and eagerness and one has to accept that the director has suceeded in satisfying us.The idea that the story is given importance and the characterisation of every actor present has to be given credit.Though the climax is not new to someone who had read books like Godfather ,it is new to tamil films and the fact that the girl in the movie betrays her love for the sake of family gives the depth of the director's analysis into human relations...
Well done Sasi Kumar...You have made a movie like which very few have been made before in the industry you are...Go on ,this is just the beginning...
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