On a lazy Saturday morning, one woke up grumbling about toolchains and life in general and then came the thought about the IPL starting. Going through the normal routine about reading more about cricket than watching it thoughts slowly started filtering through the fog. A vague curse rose to the lips regarding planning regulations. Consoling one self about the new youtube channel on cricket and IPL, one went back to thinking and the the penny dropped. You see, this year the IPL would be available on terrestial television in the UK and as resignation turned towards expectation and increasing degrees of smugness, one tuned the t.v. to ITV4 to see Tendulkar walk out to bat. The reason for this gradual increase in smugness is that for 1 year one has felt like a prize goof everytime a good game of cricket has gone on in the world and the television has apparently mocked back at me.
Last year one wrestled up a 42 inch HD t.v. in a hurry hoping to get a particular brand of satellite television and get to watch all the sports in the world. The application for the satellite television had gone out before the television was procured and the engineer turned up 3 days later, took one look at the south wall and went on about planning regulations and having dishes poking out of walls. A red mist descended, though it has receded slowly over the year the feeling of being a prize goof hasn't gone away that quickly.
Gloating was never good for anyone but once in a while one can afford the luxury of saying .. Ha jolly ha !
Showing posts with label Cricket. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cricket. Show all posts
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Yeah yeah I was there when Mr. Tendulkar hit 200
Yeah yeah, me my uncle , my mother and everyone else's chacha were there when Sir Tendlya, the boss of cricket scored a 200. We were all there when the following events also happened.
Agree you have done GREAT......
BUT BUT BUT BUT
P.S. It sounds as though cricinfo has ordered some Tendulkar servers ...
100 - Headingley 1990 England - Test drawn
114 - Perth - 1991 Australia - India lost.
155 - Chennai - 1998 Australia - India won.
136 - Chennai - 1999 Pakistan - India lost.
98 - Centurion - 2003 Pakistan - India won.
241 - Sydney - 2003 Australia - India won.
Last over - Calcutta - 1994 South Africa - India Won. (The Hero cup semi-final)
5-36 - Kochi - 1998 Australia - India won.
143 - Sharjah - 1998 Australia - India won.
117 - Sydney ? - 2008 Australia - India won. (Finals of the CB Series)
175 - Hyderabad - 2009 Australia - India lost.
163 - Chennai - 2008 - England - India won.
And like most Indians we cheered loud and clear. Reading about it on websites left one slightly disgruntled at planning regulations. The BCCI's speed at removing highlights videos from youtube for copyright claims left one wondering about efficiencies. Finally finding an opportunity to watch it now leaves one contented after a long week's work and getting the chance to visualize certain comments.
The beautiful flick of the wrists that got a boundary from outside off stump to the midwicket boundary. The non-chalant flick from outside off stump to the midwicket boundary to move from 162 to 168. The double to go past a certain Mr. Anwar who got 194 with a runner in Madras on a humid day in 1997.
But on this day - all ijj well, the cold disappears ever so slightly , the sun appears to stay out longer (only till 5:45 p.m.) - the best batsman in the world has 200 off 147 balls. However the wife, who's typically agnostic to cricket forwarded me an analysis possibly also seen by millions others.
Agree you have done GREAT......
BUT BUT BUT BUT
- 25 x 4s = 100
- 3 x 6s = 18
- It implies that you have scored 118 Runs in 28 Balls.
- And 12 x 2s = 24
- 58 x 1s = 58
- It means you have scored 200 Runs in only 98 balls
- Hence wasted 147-98 = 49 balls
- Considering only 1 run scored on each of these balls you could have earned
- 49 valuable RUNS **for the team*
And hence scored 250 and India 450 - Given this performance the manager has no choice but to award you an appraisal rating of someone who's only achieved expectations and not exceeded it !
If only we were so demanding of the road contractors after the monsoons in Pune...
It certainly does look like this man is on a mission - a mission to win the 2011 world cup. All ye cricket fans plan your vacations in advance, there is only one place to be in 2011.
P.S. It sounds as though cricinfo has ordered some Tendulkar servers ...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The juggernaut that is the IPL.
So, the last few weeks have changed the face of cricket in the country that yours truly resides in . At the end of 50 odd matches - the semi-finalists have been identified , Punjab, Chennai, Rajasthan and Delhi . Its also a sight to see all playgrounds full and to watch some new kids come and play fearless cricket. It was a revelation to see that there is talent in a lot of the local kids - S A Asnodkar , A M Nayar, Manpreet Gony, Sidharth Trivedi, Badrinath, Suresh Raina and a few of the new overseas kids Albie Morkel, Shaun Marsh , Luke Pomersbach, Shane Watson to name a few. It was also good to see the old warhorses ( Glenn Mcgrath, Shaun Pollock , Jayasurya , Shane Warne) also give a fair run to the new kids. as well as show them the work ethic that has made them into the legends that they are.
At the time of writing this, Rajasthan are in the semifinals whilst Chennai and Punjab square up to decide the other contestant. Much has been said about Chennai not having enough good players once the likes of Hussey and Hayden left. However they've just about hung by the skin of their teeth to make it and in the big semifinal it would be a fair comment that Punjab would be feeling under the cosh at 63-7 . However as many people say , its a funny old game and funnier things have happened. As the sobriquet under which I write this blog suggests ,I must confess a soft corner for the Chennai Super Kings and can't resist writing a couple of lines indicating my support for them.
Come June 2 I wonder what I shall do at 8p.m. on a week night without changing the channel to the official broadcaster. The national teams shall start capturing public attention from the next week and the existing city based teams will disperse. I wonder what would happen with international cricket. However with tactics learnt about various players from different team mates , it would be interesting to see the impact on international cricket. If nothing else it will show up the wannabes from the true masters and would make life that much tougher for the international cricketer. It would also improve the game that much more and provide a way of taking the game to newer markets as well as rejuvenating it in older staler markets (read the UK).
However lets keep the gyan aside, for now its time to, sit back , relax and enjoy Albie Morkel ( A South African) captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni ( A Bihari adopted as a Madrasi) bowl to Wilkin Mota ( a Mumbaikar plying his trade with the Punjab Kings XI owned by a Mumbaikar - Preity Zinta) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
At the time of writing this, Rajasthan are in the semifinals whilst Chennai and Punjab square up to decide the other contestant. Much has been said about Chennai not having enough good players once the likes of Hussey and Hayden left. However they've just about hung by the skin of their teeth to make it and in the big semifinal it would be a fair comment that Punjab would be feeling under the cosh at 63-7 . However as many people say , its a funny old game and funnier things have happened. As the sobriquet under which I write this blog suggests ,I must confess a soft corner for the Chennai Super Kings and can't resist writing a couple of lines indicating my support for them.
Come June 2 I wonder what I shall do at 8p.m. on a week night without changing the channel to the official broadcaster. The national teams shall start capturing public attention from the next week and the existing city based teams will disperse. I wonder what would happen with international cricket. However with tactics learnt about various players from different team mates , it would be interesting to see the impact on international cricket. If nothing else it will show up the wannabes from the true masters and would make life that much tougher for the international cricketer. It would also improve the game that much more and provide a way of taking the game to newer markets as well as rejuvenating it in older staler markets (read the UK).
However lets keep the gyan aside, for now its time to, sit back , relax and enjoy Albie Morkel ( A South African) captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni ( A Bihari adopted as a Madrasi) bowl to Wilkin Mota ( a Mumbaikar plying his trade with the Punjab Kings XI owned by a Mumbaikar - Preity Zinta) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
So what ho ?
And pigs can fly and the sun rises in Western Australia. India just beat Australia in their own backyard at Perth. Perth - the so called grave of cricketers from the sub-continent, on what would be the bounciest wicket in Australia . Pakoda Kadar, ex student of RKM Vivekananda College and currently Bullet enthusiast called to ask me for status of the requirements from my last blog post.
1. A double century by one of the fab 4 whacking the famous 4 pronged attack to all corners. If it is a certain Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar it would be a repeat of 1992 .
No double century from anyone . Not even a century. The highest score from Dravid for 93.
2. An opening dash by Viru .
There it was . Perth seemed to suit him
Also the interesting exchange.
-> Viru to Kumble - One more over to Ishant Sharma . Ponting strike pey hai.
-> Kumble - ek aur daalega.
-> Ishant Sharma - Haan ek aur.
This after Ishant worked on Ricky Ponting in the morning for 8 overs making him play , miss and get hit on the body was the reason for this exchange. 3 balls later Mr. Ponting was trudging back to the pavilion wondering if a certain H Singh had come out as I Sharma.
3. A 5 wicket haul for Harbhajan Singh (including the wickets of Ponting, Clarke, Hayden, Symonds )
Damn! he was dropped.
4. A century by Anil Kumble
He got a pair but then he got 6 centuries of wickets. Wicket 600 came up and yesterday he learnt how to get the leg break going . The leg-break turned. Way to go, Jumbo may you confuse more batsmen now with actual leg spin rather than flippers, top spinners and wrong 'uns .
1. A double century by one of the fab 4 whacking the famous 4 pronged attack to all corners. If it is a certain Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar it would be a repeat of 1992 .
No double century from anyone . Not even a century. The highest score from Dravid for 93.
2. An opening dash by Viru .
There it was . Perth seemed to suit him
Also the interesting exchange.
-> Viru to Kumble - One more over to Ishant Sharma . Ponting strike pey hai.
-> Kumble - ek aur daalega.
-> Ishant Sharma - Haan ek aur.
This after Ishant worked on Ricky Ponting in the morning for 8 overs making him play , miss and get hit on the body was the reason for this exchange. 3 balls later Mr. Ponting was trudging back to the pavilion wondering if a certain H Singh had come out as I Sharma.
3. A 5 wicket haul for Harbhajan Singh (including the wickets of Ponting, Clarke, Hayden, Symonds )
Damn! he was dropped.
4. A century by Anil Kumble
He got a pair but then he got 6 centuries of wickets. Wicket 600 came up and yesterday he learnt how to get the leg break going . The leg-break turned. Way to go, Jumbo may you confuse more batsmen now with actual leg spin rather than flippers, top spinners and wrong 'uns .
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Monkey business.
Journalists should possibly stop covering the big Sydney imbroglio that led to Peter Roebuck calling for the sacking of Ponting as captain in what was the most hard hitting article I have read in the recent past and brutally honest. The funny bit was opinion polls suggesting that the Australian public was quite with the popular sentiment as in India. The other funny articles online include one by Pranav about one-tup cricket as is famous in the various terraces of various apartments in every Indian city.
The latest in what seems to be an unending discussion on what was possibly said drags Andrew Symonds poor mom into the whole discussion. I wonder what levels will journalism stoop to in this case. There even was talk in Australian papers about Indian arrogance with the ICC . The funniest part of the decision was the apparent contradiction in Mike Procters statement.
The whole thing however has put a different perspective for the Perth test. I wonder what would happen there . Will it be played in complete silence ? Or will Australia continue with their mental disintegration to have some of it dished back at them . I still remember the seminal 2001 series where the Australians first got the mental disintegration dished back at them and famously got Steven Waugh out. I can't find that particular issue of India Today but I remember how India started giving it back to Australia since then. Ofcourse the funny part according to a lot of legends has been that Australia have behaved like cry-babies and only the Indian captain and team have moved on with their heads held high. Certainly Australia are going to have to think a lot about what they want to do or show in the future. There has been a very strong statement by Anil Kumble about the spirit of the game and that has been made in such a statesmanesque fashion that everyone is thanking their stars for him being appointed captain instead of Dhoni.
Lots of people have talked about how India is using its arrogance thanks to it having the richest board . Its interesting to note that none of these folks question the US dominance in the world economy. Money does speak. This series is financially lucrative to Cricket Australia - make no mistake about that . Even if the team leaves early and India has to pay out the money , there would be no issues since the payout would happen , India would invite Pakistan over or have a tri-series with someone else in India and make up the moolah. Its high time the ICC started giving some respect to India for the amount of commerce it is bringing to this game. Otherwise how do you expect the market for this to grow ? The biggest migrants in the world today happen to be the Indians and the Chinese and this is the way that cricket will spread with the Indians playing it in different parts of the world. So the spirit of the game and all is fine but treat India with some respect. The BCCI doesn't demand it , many times the BCCI blunders in the ICC with short term commercial gains in mind but its high time the ICC, Australia and England got off their high horses because they started the game. England might be the birth of cricket, but today crickets home lies in the maidans of Bombay, the streets of Ranchi, the beaches of Madras and the bylanes of Jalpaiguri from where the next big cricketer would appear.
Finally what every Indian fan would like to see in Perth -
An Indian win comprising of :
1. A double century by one of the fab 4 whacking the famous 4 pronged attack to all corners. If it is a certain Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar it would be a repeat of 1992 .!
2. An opening dash by Viru .
3. A 5 wicket haul for Harbhajan Singh (including the wickets of Ponting, Clarke, Hayden, Symonds )
4. A century by Anil Kumble
The latest in what seems to be an unending discussion on what was possibly said drags Andrew Symonds poor mom into the whole discussion. I wonder what levels will journalism stoop to in this case. There even was talk in Australian papers about Indian arrogance with the ICC . The funniest part of the decision was the apparent contradiction in Mike Procters statement.
The whole thing however has put a different perspective for the Perth test. I wonder what would happen there . Will it be played in complete silence ? Or will Australia continue with their mental disintegration to have some of it dished back at them . I still remember the seminal 2001 series where the Australians first got the mental disintegration dished back at them and famously got Steven Waugh out. I can't find that particular issue of India Today but I remember how India started giving it back to Australia since then. Ofcourse the funny part according to a lot of legends has been that Australia have behaved like cry-babies and only the Indian captain and team have moved on with their heads held high. Certainly Australia are going to have to think a lot about what they want to do or show in the future. There has been a very strong statement by Anil Kumble about the spirit of the game and that has been made in such a statesmanesque fashion that everyone is thanking their stars for him being appointed captain instead of Dhoni.
Lots of people have talked about how India is using its arrogance thanks to it having the richest board . Its interesting to note that none of these folks question the US dominance in the world economy. Money does speak. This series is financially lucrative to Cricket Australia - make no mistake about that . Even if the team leaves early and India has to pay out the money , there would be no issues since the payout would happen , India would invite Pakistan over or have a tri-series with someone else in India and make up the moolah. Its high time the ICC started giving some respect to India for the amount of commerce it is bringing to this game. Otherwise how do you expect the market for this to grow ? The biggest migrants in the world today happen to be the Indians and the Chinese and this is the way that cricket will spread with the Indians playing it in different parts of the world. So the spirit of the game and all is fine but treat India with some respect. The BCCI doesn't demand it , many times the BCCI blunders in the ICC with short term commercial gains in mind but its high time the ICC, Australia and England got off their high horses because they started the game. England might be the birth of cricket, but today crickets home lies in the maidans of Bombay, the streets of Ranchi, the beaches of Madras and the bylanes of Jalpaiguri from where the next big cricketer would appear.
Finally what every Indian fan would like to see in Perth -
An Indian win comprising of :
1. A double century by one of the fab 4 whacking the famous 4 pronged attack to all corners. If it is a certain Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar it would be a repeat of 1992 .!
2. An opening dash by Viru .
3. A 5 wicket haul for Harbhajan Singh (including the wickets of Ponting, Clarke, Hayden, Symonds )
4. A century by Anil Kumble
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Across the pale parabola of joy ...
Achievement of the decade. Procuring a printed copy of Mike and Psmith, the "pre"quel to all the Psmith books by P G Wodehouse was the highlight of the day . I had read it off Project Gutenberg but the joy of having a printed copy is something else. This is the origin of sentences that have given absolute joy to readers over the years . Having tried to lay my hands on this book out of print unsuccessfully since class 9 when I first lay my hands on a work of art by Wodehouse, it was a significant achievement to obtain this at long long last...
To quote one of these as PB mentioned to me .
Mr. Downing was a bowler with a style of his own. He took two short steps, two long steps, gave a jump, took three more short steps and ended with a combination of a step and a jump, during which the ball emerged from behind his back and started on its slow career to the wicket. The whole business had the dignity of an old-fashioned minuet, subtly blended with the careless vigour of a cakewalk. The ball when delivered, was billed to break from leg, but the programme was subject to alterations.
To quote one of these as PB mentioned to me .
Mr. Downing was a bowler with a style of his own. He took two short steps, two long steps, gave a jump, took three more short steps and ended with a combination of a step and a jump, during which the ball emerged from behind his back and started on its slow career to the wicket. The whole business had the dignity of an old-fashioned minuet, subtly blended with the careless vigour of a cakewalk. The ball when delivered, was billed to break from leg, but the programme was subject to alterations.
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