Incredible India

We live in a nation where a pizza reaches faster than an ambulance or police !

We live in a nation where you get a car loan at 5% interest but an educational loan at 12% interest !

We live in a nation where rice is Rs 40 per kg but a sim card is free !

We live in a nation where a millionaire can buy a cricket team for thousands of crores of rupees instead of donating a part of the money to charity !

We live in a nation where everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to follow the path to be famous !

We live in a nation where the netas are more concerned for IPL rather than the population living below poverty line (BPL) !

We live in a nation where the agriculture minister is more interested in cricket politics rather than controlling the rising prices of the basic food grains !

We live in a nation where a union minister can remain absconding when declared guilty by the court !

We live in a nation where loads of money is spent to provide security to a terrorist when hundreds of people are killed every year in terror acts !

We live in a nation where people love to break rules and then get away by paying a petty bribe !

We live in a nation where people prefer tainted netas to represent them over educated ones !

We live in a nation where people standing at a tea stall reading an article on child labour say "Yaar, bachho se kaam karwane waalo ko goli maar deni chahiye..." and then they say "Oye chhotu ! 2 chai laa..."

We live in INDIA ! Incredible India !

PS : Some of the above points are a part of an SMS forwarded by a friend of mine. I added some points on my own.

PS2 : This post should not be taken in a wrong sense. Rather this post should be taken as the key areas where we can change the system.

Dec 6 - a day to be remembered !

December 6, that's today. Its a day to be remembered, for some bad things, and for some good.

Cut to December 6, 1992.

Ayodhya. Uttar Pradesh. India.

"Raam Lala aayenge... Mandir wahin banayenge !"

Around 1.5 lakh Kar Sevaks gathered with this slogan in what was supposed to be a political meeting. The Babri Mosque was demolished by a large group of Hindus, who had been camped out at the site for weeks. Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) were part of this large group. The VHP wanted to erect a temple dedicated to Rama at this spot. Many Muslim organizations, on the other hand strongly oppose the building of the temple.

Seventeen years later, the Liberhan Commission, one of the longest running enquiry commission with 48 extensions, submitted a report with no strong conclusions and no recommendations of a strong punitive action against anybody. The commission was to submit its report in three-months' time. But 17 years and 48 extensions later, the result was null.

Most of the Kar Sevaks have become old or are in the mid-ages. They are not as active as they were 17 years ago. And most of the people in young generation don't care about the issue anymore. They don't care even if there's a temple or not. They don't care even if there's a mosque at that place or not.

In fact, basically India does not need a temple or a mosque. Look at the grim situation of education in the country. Why not build up a nice educational institution at that place? I'm sure Lord Rama and Allah (and Mr Babar) won't mind to this idea. They won't have any hard feelings if the people of Ayodhya get good education. Its upto us now to take the decision. Do we still want to fight over the issue and guzzle millions of our hard earned money or do we want a good future?

Back to December 6, 2009.

Brabourne Stadium. Mumbai. Maharashtra. India.

"Jeetega bhai jeetega... India jeetega !"

The slogan has changed. India on the verge of becoming number one in test cricket. At the beginning of the fifth day's play Sri Lanka were trailing by 59 runs in their second innings. And India were just four wickets away from creating a history.

And Zaheer Khan struck. Three wickets in the first twenty minutes. And in the next ten minutes, Harbhajan Singh claimed the final wicket, thus making India numero uno in test rankings.

 This match, filled with ecstatic performances by Virender Sehwag (293 off 254), Zaheer Khan (5/72 in second innings), Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and he entire team, will be overshadowing the Babri issue, at least this year.

This was something good that happened on Dec 6. And I hope, every year something like this happens, so that people don't remember December 6 as the saddest day in Indian history !

Amen.

Blame Game begins....

"We are sorry. We are more disappointed (than the fans) and we respect the emotions of our fans and the country. We gave our best and we say that with an open heart, we have nothing to hide. We apologize to the fans for whatever happened. We are more disappointed than the fans themselves”, said the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the team's exit at the Super-8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2009 losing by a mere 3 runs to England (and that too with 5 wickets in hand).

Now, is it the same Dhoni who bought the T20 World Cup two years ago? If yes, then where's the confidence? And where is that flambouyant captaincy? Why is MSD acting so mean? Any answers?

Well, to me, India were never the favourite this time. But, as it is my home team, I always had some distant hope that my team India gets the cup. But after all, reality is reality, and you have to face it sooner or later. This exit, in my opinion, should act as a wake up call for the captain Dhoni, the players, and of course for the BCCI.

What the BCCI clearly needs to understand is that after all, the players are also human beings, and they too need some rest. Continuously playing can lead to a poor performance. And that is what happened with team India.

And Dhoni's captaincy is also under scanner. There were a few decisions that went totally wrong. In the match against England, sending Ravindra Jadeja instead of Yuvraj Singh, at a time when India was at a crucial stage, went haywire. Not only this, saving Yusuf Pathan for the end proved disastrous as the run rate at when he came in to bat was nearly unachievable. Pragyan Ojha, the bowler in form, was rested in this do-or-die match. Can Dhoni explain this?

And not to mention the Sehwag episode. Whether it was a spat between Dhoni and Sehwag or whether it was a matter of hiding Sehwag's injury or something else, this issue had certainly affected the morale of the team as a whole.

Media, I just don't understand how they work. When the team wins a match, they portray them as the national heroes. And when they lose one, they start performing the post-mortem of the loss and tag the same players as traitors (they almost do that !!)

Its not that I am confused on who to be blamed. Its a fault of the captain and players (for poor performance) and BCCI is equally responsible (for not letting the players rest before a crucial tournament).

Its time for the ‘why’s, ‘if’s and ‘but’s to be answered. Explanations will be demanded and answered, crucial decisions may be taken and heads may roll. The hero of 2007 has turned villain in 2009. Yes, folks. The ‘blame-game' has begun.

Deccan Chargers - Zero to Heroes !

Yes.... the IPL extravaganza is over.... at least for the season two....


And last year's bottom position holder Deccan Chargers have emerged victorious. One of my friends, Dhaval Sanghavi, has put his Orkut status as : "DC wins IPL-09 n its all bcoz of 1 man......VVS LAXMAN...thnx 4 not playing this season!!!!" I thought why blame a guy who didn't even play.... :)


Well, there has been one particular similarity in both the seasons of the DLF-IPL, which is that in both the seasons, the tournament has been won by teams with Australian Captains and both retired from international cricket (Shane Warne - Rajasthan Royals - Winners 2008 and Adam Gilchrist - Deccan Chargers - Winners 2009). Another similarity being that nobody thought that they'd win. In short, the underdogs won again.


Not only this, last year's bottom two teams finished in top two positions this season. And last year's champions Rajasthan Royals had to be satisfied with a mere 6th position. The tables have turned, haven't they?

The Champions League T20, featuring the top T20 teams from different cricketing nations, is scheduled to begin from Oct 8th, 2009. CLT20 will have top 3 teams from India, namely Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils. And ya, the ICC T20 World Cup in England is also up on the cards. So, more cricketing extravaganza to watch out for.....

RR crash outta IPL...

Rajasthan Royals - the team I supported - has crashed out of DLF IPL. I'm so very heart-broken (You can see I even removed RR's banner from my blog !).... I can't express myself in words..... *sob sob* :(

Actually, even I was doubbtful of RR's Semis position when Delhi Daredevils beat them and today's loss to KKR was the final nail in the coffin....

Well, with defending champions and my favourite team out of the competition, I'll place my bets on Delhi Daredevils which were and still are my second favourite....

IPL Update

IPL - Indian Premier League - will now be held out of India.

With Indian government's non-supportive stand, BCCI has decided to move the second season of IPL outside India.

BCCI is in talks with other cricket boards to host the IPL. South Africa and England are most likely to host IPL this year.

BCCI Vice President and IPL Commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi apologised to the Indian Cricket lovers for not being able to organise IPL in the country. He added that IPL schedule will not be changed and the matches would begin at 4 pm and 8 pm IST.

"I do not blame anyone for what has happened. Elections are much bigger."
- Lalit Modi, IPL Commissioner

"Happy that IPL is happening"
- Vijay Mallya, Owner, Bangalore Royal Challengers

Well whatever happens, IPL would be much fun to watch.... I mean cricket, not the cheerleaders.

Suggestion - IPL should be rechristened as OIPL (Out of India Premier League).... :D

P.S. : I'm supporting Rajasthan Royals this time too..... Which side are you?

Attack on SL Cricketers in Pak

In a daring raid reminiscent of the Mumbai attack, terrorists in Lahore targeted the Sri Lankan cricket team that is currently touring Pakistan on Tuesday morning.

Unidentified gunmen, believed to be 12 in number and armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket launchers, opened fire on the bus carrying the cricketers to Gaddafi stadium in the city.

Initial reports said the attackers came in a white car and reportedly surrounded the bus at Liberty Chowk in the heart of the city and first fired rockets at the bus. They then resorted to indiscriminate firing with automatic firearms.

The attackers then started firing at a police van which was providing security to the Lankan team.

City police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said five policemen died in the attack.



According to a Reuters report :

Gunmen killed at least four people in an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus on Tuesday as it drove to a stadium in the Pakistani city of Lahore, according witnesses and cricket officials.

Sri Lankan media, quoting the sports minister, said four players received minor injuries in the attack — Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana.

Pakistan television channels news channels said four people were killed. A witness told Reuters he believed two police commandos were killed along with a regular policeman and a traffic warden. Shopkeeper Ahmed Ali said the two police commandos had been driving behind the team bus when they were hit.

"It was a very heavy firing and I heard at least two explosions at the time," said a Reuters witness who had been on his way to cover the test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan only invited the Sri Lanka team to tour after India's team pulled out with security concerns following the militant attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in November.

A Pakistani Cricket Board official said six players were injured and admitted to a hospital.
The players reported injured are Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Mahela Jayawardene, Tharanga Paranavithana and Chaminda Vaas. Vaas was reportedly carried off on a stretcher while Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana were reportedly shot at.

Sri Lankan cricketer Kumara Sangakkara, while speaking to CNN-IBN, said :

"I had a sharpnel inside my shoulder, Ajantha had a few in his scalp and he also had a thigh injury. We are fine now. I don't regret coming to Pakistan to play cricket because that is our profession. We are all out of danger now. I am very happy that I am safe"

A Lanka team spokesperson has now said that both Tharanga and Samaraweera are out of danger.

Six policemen are reported dead. The van carrying the umpires was also attacked. Assistant coach Paul Farbrace has also been reportedly injured.

The Sri Lankan tour has been officially called off.

The audacious attack in the heart of the city is reminiscent of the attack on Mumbai hotels. It is a clear pointer to what the perpetrators had on their mind — a Mumbai-like reaction and outrage from international community.

The impunity with which the attack was carried out, especially when cricketing events in the country sees unprecedented security measure, is sure to rattle the international community about security measures in Pakistan.

Speaking to the media after the attack, Punjab Governor Salmaan Tahseer said:

"They are the same people who attacked Mumbai. It's a Mumbai-like operation. These were trained killers and are not ordinary criminals."

After initial postponement, India had officially called off its cricket tour to Pakistan on December 18 after the government refused permission to the team in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

That cancellation followed after relations between the neighbours deteriorated further following the 26/11 attacks.

Indian cricket team was scheduled to play three Tests, five One-Dayers and a Twenty20 match from January 4 to February 28 in Pakistan.

Security concerns in Pakistan have troubled tours in that country before as well. As many as three tours were cancelled in the last year alone.

Australia pulled out of their scheduled visit, while the International Cricket Council (ICC) postponed the Champions Trophy one-day tournament in September.

Cricket replies to Terror

Well, it has been four long days since my last post. Actually, I didn't get time to do so. And here I am, with the latest post.

"England played really well, but India played better...."

These were the words of a sports critic just after India won the first test against England in Chennai by 6 wickets.

This match, once touted as one-sided affair when England bowled India out at 241 in the first innings chasing England's 316. This match will now be remembered for not just one single reason, but many, namely centuries by Andrew Strauss in both the innings, Paul Collingwood's century, Graeme Swann's brilliant bowling, India's fightback, Virender Sehwag's firebrand half century (it was this 83-run knock that changed the course of the game), not to forget, Gautam Gambhir's stand of 66 runs, Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 41st Test Century (a brilliant one, just when India needed it) and last but not the least Yuvraj Singh, scoring 85* without which it would've been difficult to chase this mammoth target.

This was Cricket's reply to terrorism and that too, a tough one. This match was a tribute to those who suffered in the Mumbai terror act.

It was the fourth innings that changed the face of the game, which once was in England's grip. All in all, it was undoubtedly one of the most exciting test match in the history. It was a brilliant test match that had the thrills of T-20. With the way the fortunes turned the side, a dialogue of a SRK-movie strikes in my mind....

"Haar ke bhi jeetne waale ko BAAZIGAR kehte hain...."

This was a match, where both the teams had won, Cricket had won, and the loser was 'Terrorism'.

With his 103*, the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who hails from the very city that was devastated by terror just a few days ago, has silenced his critics. Who says that Sachin is not a match winner? Isn't this a match winning knock? 'Sizzling Sachin'.... 'Terrific Tendulkar'.... The most suited adjectives for the man of the day.

On the other side, even Yuvraj Singh proved his mettle by scoring 85* and justified his selection in the Indian test side.

The English team, no doubt, has won millions of hearts by coming back to India for the good of the game. Not just this, visiting India, playing here, playing here very well and donating their match fees to the victims is a wonderful gesture by the English team.

Among these wonderful performances, there's still a concern for India - Rahul Dravid. His miserable run with the bat continued as he was dismissed in the first ten minutes of the day’s play by Andrew Flintoff. Dravid has now been dismissed for single digit scores in his last four Test innings and ever since he quit captaincy last year, he has scored 881 runs at an average of 28.41. I think its high time now. If he does not wants a shameful end for his career, he should announce his retirement himself and play the last few innings with class.

Overall, this was a match to remember. With the hope that India continues the winning streak, I'd like to end this post.

Bits and Pieces - Aftermath of Mumbai Mayhem

I was glued to the TV watching the nail-biting fifth one-dayer between India and England. Flipping the channels was strictly not allowed. The match ended with India's win in the match as well as 5-0 lead in the seven-match series. One step ahead towards a whitewash. After the win, I changed the channel, just to see the news (of over-excitement of Indian news channels) of India's win.

Forget the good news, there was the news of firing at four places in Mumbai. The reporters, initially, tagged it as a gangwar. But i sensed something much much more fishy. A gangwar can not take place at so many places at the same time. Within minutes, the news of a blast at Vile Parle flashed on the screen, affirming my belief of a terror attack.

At that time, the victory in the cricket match looked so very irrelevant. Cricket is not larger than life, not even in India, where it is said to be a religion. IRONICAL !

I didn't even watch the presentation ceremony. All I was doing was flipping between the news channels.

The terrorists had already started firings at the Taj, the Oberoi-Trident, CST, Cama Hospital, Leopold Café.... I couldn't sleep that night, even though I knew that allmy near and dear ones were safe.

Next day, the picture became clearer. Those guys had taken a lot of people as hostages, including foreigners, in the Taj, the Oberoi-Trident and Nariman House. I thought these guys had some demands to make. The news channels were doing LIVE coverage of the rescue operations, something which could've posed a bigger threat since the terrorists might have been watching every move of the security personnel LIVE on the TV.

Bullets. Fire. Grenades. Hostages.

I kept watching silently.

I had seen our Home Minister changing clothes after the blasts in Delhi. And that night I saw him informing the whole world on TV that NSG men are leaving to take on the terrorists. He gave the details. Number of NSG men, what time they would leave and what time they would start the operations.

Thank you Mr Minister. The terrorists were watching you on the TV.

And I was watching it all silently.

That night I also wondered where was Raj Thackeray and his 'brave' men who wanted to save their beloved Mumbai from North Indians. Why was he seen nowhere to save the lives of Mumbaikars? And did he ask the NSG commandoes whether they are from north or south? Or do they speak Marathi? Since the NSG commandos arrived 9 hours later, Raj and his men should have been sent to 'save their Mumbai' in the interim.

Mumbai for Marathis! NO!!! Mumbai belongs to all of us. Attack on Mumbai is attack on India. And that night all the Indians were worried and glued to TV and praying for the safety of hostages. They were not praying for Mumbaikars or Marathis or South Indians or North Indians. They were praying for all the INDIANS.

Even I prayed. I prayed for the well being of those inside, except the terrorists of course.

That night I also read Amitabh Bachhan's blog. Day 218. And I was stuck at the last sentence of the blog.

"Before retiring for the night, I pulled out my licensed .32 revolver,
loaded it and put it under my pillow. For a very disturbed sleep."

Disturbing times indeed.

I am still silent. But I know its time to speak up. Speak up and ask our damn good-for-nothing politicians and administrators how long they are going to cage us in fear and insecurity?Speak up and ask why don't we have a leader who can come out and say YES WE CAN !

We were tired of waking up each morning to the news of terror attack in some or the other part of the country, at least I was. I needed some result. Some damn result !

The Oberoi-Trident was cleared by evening and Nariman House by night. But the terrorists were still playing hide-and-seek with the security forces at the Taj. The Taj was cleared by next morning, thus ending the biggest terror attack on India in 59 hours. By late evening, it was found out that they were just 10 terrorists who carried out the inhuman act.

This was an example what a few 20-somethings can do. These 10 guys halted the world's largest democracy, the world's future superpower.

All of us are tired. Tired of facing terror attacks. Tired of the reports of the insensitive media. Tired of trusting people. Tired of being helpless. As a friend put it,

Why we, the youth of India, can't do a fucking thing to change the
fucking system at the moment?

I still sometimes wonder that why do Indians fight with other Indians in the name of caste, language, race, etc instead of fighting the motherfucker enemies of the country.

The aftermath of terror attack was something even more painful than the attack itself. With the media trying to reach everywhere, even at the cremation grounds and at houses of the martyrs, its much much more painful to see someone's funeral LIVE on the bloody idiot-box, and its even more painful to see the state of the kins of the deceased. The media fraternity (as they call themselves) must STOP doing such a crap. Just for the sake of your viewership, you guys are making commercial use of something like DEATH.


Another aftermath took in the political circles with Shivraj Patil (coincidentally from Maharashtra) vacating the post of Home Minister. He resigned taking the moral responsibility of the attacks. P Chidambaram is given the Home portfolio while the Finance portfolio (earlier held by P Chidambaram) will now be held by the PM himself.


Well much said about the good-for-nothing politicians and of course the insensitive media. Its time to end this post. But before ending, I would like to mention a message, which reads like this :

Forgiving the terrorists is left to God. But fixing their
appointment with God is our responsibility.

- INDIAN ARMY

When Rain God decides to play Rain Devil - Part 3

Oh !!! I didn't know that the Duckworth-Lewis method can ever become helpful for the side batting first.... Well..... With pretty impressive bowling and fielding put up by the Indian side, it was nearly impossible for the Englishmen to clinch victory in this match.....

Actually, I was in train and couldn't watch the game live on the idiot-box.... Although, i've been listening to the radio commentary, but one can't exactly visualise what actually happens.....

Talking about the match, although India made 166/4, England were given a revised target of 198 in 22 overs.... But thats not a big score keeping the Twenty-20 format in mind.... They still had 10 wickets in hand and they had to play just 22 overs.... Even then, they could only score 178/8....

Yeah !!! India won the match by 19 runs (D/L) and the 7-match series 4-0. It were the seamers and the fielders that helped India win..... The seamer trio (Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel) picking up 2 wickets each and Harbhajan Singh getting one wicket, all of them at almost regular intervals, kept the required run rate always high from the reach of the English batsmen.... The top scorer in the English innings was Owais Shah who slammed 72 off just 48 deliveries with 9 fours and 3 over the rope.... Tendulkar picked up a fine catch off Zaheer's bowling and showed him the way to the pavilion....

Sehwag was adjudged the 'Man of the Match' for his brilliant knock....

Well.... Winning the series isn't enough.... Is it? Winning it 7-0 makes a hell lot of difference.....

Buck up India !!!

When Rain God decides to play Rain Devil - Part 2

I didn't know I'd be writing a post so early.... It hasn't been an hour since i wrote a post.... Well this is just a sequel to what i posted earlier.....

Yeah its about the India-England cricket match..... The match was further reduced to 22 overs a side.... India scored 166/4 in the 22 overs.... Thats 40 runs in the last 5 overs (8 an over !!!) The match is now more like Twenty-20 !!!

Do hell with the Duckworth-Lewis rule..... In my view it should be renamed 'Rain Devil Rule'..... England now have the edge in the game as they know with what rate they have to score runs.... India didn't know this.... FCUK Mr Duckworth and FCUK Mr Lewis.... I don't know what the rule means and what fcuking calculations does it says.....

Well the English team definitely has the upper hand in this game....

WHATEVER !!!

I still hope that India decides the fate of this series in this match itself.....

When Rain God decides to play Rain Devil

First of all..... Sincere apologies for not posting anything for 5 days..... But i can justify it..... I was busy travelling and attending weddings..... And i was damn tired !!! During this 5 day gap, there were a few occassions on which i wanted to write a post, namely Weddings (in general) among others.... And ya, there was a 'Why Me' kinda experience too..... But due to lack of time (and stamina of course) i resisted myself from posting anything..... Well i've already apologised....

Keeping apologies apart, lets talk about Cricket !!! Rain God is today impressed by his own darker side and is playing Rain Devil.... The fourth One Day International (in short :: ODI) in Bengalooru (formerly :: Bangalore) has been halted twice due to rains..... There was a change in the Indian playing XI with Sachin Tendulkar replacing Rohit Sharma. England retained the same team that played in Kanpur.....

English captain Kevin Pietersen won the toss and decided to bowl in this Day-and-Night match.... Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar opened the Indian batting.... India got a strong start with Viru slamming a boundary off James Anderson's ball..... He followed this one with many more. But Tendulkar, who's making a re-entry in the Indian ODI side after 8 long months, found it a bit difficult to match him from the other end.... Ultimately the legend from 'Aamchi Mumbai' fell to Stuart Broad when the latter's moving ball hit the off-stump.... Tendulkar scored 11.... Gauti came in at number 3.... Both of them played some nice shots till the game halted for the first time when India's score was 82/1 in 14 overs.... The play was stopped for more than an hour..... The match was then reduced to 44-overs a side..... Viru and Gauti picked up from where they had left.... But the covers were on again with just 3 more overs played, 17 in all.... India were at 106/1 at the time of posting this blog..... At this point of the game, Sehwag was at 61 off 53 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes and Gambhir scored 30 in 28 calls with 6 fours....

With the 'Rain God' or should I say 'Rain Devil' allowing, the match would resume and I want India to continue the winning streak to clinch the series in this match itself....

I'm writing this piece of post sitting in the train, on my way back to home from Mumbai, with 4 foreign tourists (all from different countries.... Good !!!) so with a hope that i'd write a 'Travelogue' post within no time, i'll stop here.....

Hoping that India wins !!!

Cheers for the 'Men in Blue'....

Ind-YEAH !!!!

First Rajkot...... now Indore..... The creators of the Gentlemen's Game (read :: England) have bowed down to the young Dhoni brigade (read :: Team India)

On the starting note, this match was considered out of India's reach..... at a time when India had lost 3 precious wickets at a mere score of 29..... Then enter Yuvraj Singh aka Yuvi, the hero of Rajkot..... He, alongwith Gautam Gambhir, stood for the wicket and made a much needed 134-runs stand..... Gauti stands like Rahul Dravid..... He not only stands but also hits the ball like hell..... He's an aggressive 'Wall'..... There was a time when people thought the scoreboard will read past 300.... But then the English bowlers struck again....

It would be partial if I don't mention the innings of the elder of the Pathan siblings, Yusuf Pathan...... His unbeaten knock of 50 in just 29 balls took the score to 292-9..... Another plus-point with Pathan's firebrand fifty was the bowling of Yuvi & Viru..... This pair of not-so-regular bowlers picked up a total of 7 wickets....

Yuvraj scored a 118 off 122 balls with 15 fours and 2 sixes.... His bowling figures read 10-0-28-4 (thats 10 overs - 0 maidens - 28 runs - 4 wickets) Sehwag who couldn't score from bat (1 run off 4 balls) struck with the ball... The bowling figures of 5-0-28-3 says it all.... Its a welcome change in Indian cricket that the top order batsman giving all-round performance..... Another change that will pave the way for becoming the superpower of Cricket.....

Talking about England, they couldn't cash on the early successes..... They might not have won, but there was a clear improvement, especially in the bowling side.... Stuart Broad (bowling figures :: 10-1-55-4) created a lot of trouble for the Indian batting line-up.... Flintoff also posed a threat with his good-length bowling.... Rest of the bowlers still need to match up with the improvement of these two..... And the batsmen still have a long way to go.....

With a 2-0 lead, India has the upper hand in the series.... But with some more superior performances from both the sides, I hope to see some nail-biting finishes..... and obviously India's win....!!!

I feel like saying.....

Come on India.... Baja do England ki Band...!!!

Some More Random Thoughts....

Cool..... With only 17 posts and just less than a month old on blogosphere, my blog has seen 1055 viewers at the time of writing this post (courtesy :: easy counter & more recently site meter).... Gr8 ! I dunno if this is a nice response.... But for a person like me, who never tries to comment on many issues (well.... I've done that on my blog) its a welcome change and the word i'll use for the response is 'overwhelming'.... at least for me it is..... Love u guys for that.....

Anyways to continue this 'overwhelming' response from you, i'll have to post more..... Topics....??? Any idea? Cricket? Naah TV? Neither.... News? Nothin new..... Ahem ahem..... Politics..... Best topic to discuss with the election season on head !!! But that'll be an overdose of the politics injection..... Everybody talks about it..... But nobody wants to be a part of it..... Ironical.... Isn't it?

I won't bore you more.... Lets change the topic.... Hmmm.... Can't think of anything as such..... May be some of my 'Why Me???' kinda experiences would be liked by you (* i know you guys laugh at those not-to-laugh-at bizarre incidents of my life....) but i haven't faced such incidents of late.....

Well..... With Dada making an unprecedented exit, Cricket is something which i can talk about..... I can't say whether he was my favourite or not..... Actually, i don't have any favourites in anything....

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, the Royal Bengal Tiger, needless to say the most successful Indian cricket captain ever..... Adjectives fall short for a guy like him.... Sourav Ganguly has been a cricketer like none other.... a batsman with elegance, charm and God of Off-Side..... an extraordinary captain with extraordinary aggression.... a fierce competitor.... a man who proved his critics wrong countless number of times throughout his career..... a man known for his comeback..... real fighter..... As i said earlier, words and adjectives always fall short to describe such a wonderful personality..... I'm still passing sleepless night..... wondering why the hell did he retire when he still had at least 2 years of cricket left in him......??? Well it was his decision.... And there are some decisions which you can't control.....

Dada..... u rule the hearts of the people..... You can't be replaced..... Nobody can ever achieve the feat you have achieved..... As you leave after stamping your class on the grandest stage..... against the self-tagged World Champions..... these lines still come up in my mind.....

"Abhi naa jaao chhod kar,
Ke dil abhi bhara nahi....."

DADAgiri never ends....

"All good things come to an end...."

Maybe it was poetic justice. All thought Sourav Ganguly's final Test innings had passed. All were disappointed that he didn't get a hundred as he poked tamely to Michael Clarke at slip. It looked the game will end in a draw. Maybe it was okay. Obituaries had already been written. It was a sad end indeed. A century would have been a fairytale ending. Even the BCCI had felicitated him.

But two days later he was back. This was his moment, to set right the error committed in the first innings. But there was a rider: the first innings was emotional, in the second India were in trouble. There was no time to look around to find familiar faces in the crowd. A series win was on the cards.

He ran out at the fall of VVS Laxman's wicket. The rousing reception was befitting of the figure, thin attendance notwithstanding. Even the Australians lined up to applaud. Ganguly acknowledged and walked up to Sachin Tendulkar for a brief chat, then walked back to take guard. It was the same bowler who cut his fairytale short in the first innings. Jason Krejza was on debut. He turned his bat too early. Krejza completed the catch. Ganguly was out for nought, first ball.

It reminds you of the Aussie cricket great Don, Sir Donald Bradman. He was out for a duck in his last innings. Those who saw him say he was teary-eyed. He needed only four runs from his last knock to bow out with a batting average of 100. It would have been perfect, an ode to his prowess that was on display on either side of World War II. Yet, he finished on 99.94. Some say this is the very reason the Don lives on for generations. Maybe it was a fitting end. He was human. Even he wasn't perfect. The comparison ends here.

Over the years, Ganguly was increasingly revered for his captaincy. His batting, although not forgotten, had been eclipsed. His aggressive batting was not as talked about as his firebrand personality. He made a triumphant return to the side two years ago. He scored all the runs. But even his colleagues paid tributes to him as the leader who changed things for them.

Even his one-day career ended without prior notice. Someone with more than 11000 runs was done away with at the start of the year. It was not a fitting end. But he wanted to go out of Test cricket by himself. By his own admission, he might have never returned if a new selection regime had not taken over.

Ganguly was never perfect. He was all too human. His triumphs are entangled with failure. His rise has been riddled with ridicule. His setbacks were trumped by his comebacks. There was conflict in every aspect of his cricketing career. He scored a hundred on debut. There was no way he could end with a century. Maybe it was a fitting end. He was no Bradman. He could never have been Bradman. He was Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, our very own Dada....

A great captain he was, not seen of his likes anytime anywhere in India.... He was the one.... the chosen one !!!

He could have played more.... But lets stay away from controversies, he made his own decision.... the final decision.... and a decision which was complemented by an emphatic 2-0 series win....

India & Cricket will miss you DADA !!! and nobody can ever forget that scene from the NatWest final at Lords.... Indian captain fluttering his jersey in the air.... Its only YOU who can do it....

Dada might have said adios to international cricket.... but DADAgiri never ends....!!!

All FALL Down....

No guys its not a "Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses" hangover..... I'm juz talkin about the economic crisis the world is facing today.... If you're thinking that I'm some sort of an economic analyst, then you're wrong..... I'm just a common man thinking about where the world economy is heading towards....

I read in the 'Business Standard' that 90% (thats NINETY PER CENT....) of the stocks in Indian Stock Markets are trading below their IPO price.... Another news making rounds is that Pakistan is on the verge of Bankruptcy.... According to a report from Pakistan's Finance Ministry, they have just 2.48 billion dollars, which can't even buy food for Pakistan more than a month......

Till now, I've only heard large MNCs getting bankrupt.... Now its the turn of countries.....

The other day, there was a furore in India (read :: sponsored by the Thackeray cousins) when the largest domestic airlines 'Jet Airways' cut down 1900 'temporary' (means :: not permanent) jobs. This issue had taken a political colour. Raj Thackeray-led MNS threatened Jet of stalling their operations if all the ex-employees were not taken back. Ultimately, Jet had to take its ex-employees back.

The Stock Market in India is suffering an all-time low.... The Sensex has reached below the 5-figures and is currently running in 4-figures.... Its the same Sensex that had reached 21000+ less than a year ago....

The investors are doomed.... Such is life....

And such is the economic recession.... The Fall... The Great Fall...

2008 will be remembered for a great great Fall....

EXCEPTIONS :

There are a few exceptions to this great fall.... One being Sachin Tendulkar.... This great Indian batsman has just reached a landmark 12000 runs in Test cricket after breaking Brian Lara's record of 11953 runs..... Another being soon-retiring-greatest-Indian-captain-ever Sourav Ganguly slamming his 16th Test ton against Australia giving a tough answer to his critics....

I just loved the statement Sachin Tendulkar gave in the press conference.... He said

"People threw stones at me. I turned them into milestones."

Exceptions are always there.... Isn't it?