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Monday, April 25, 2011

Day 116-2011 : A Locha Called IPL..

We definitely need Lalit Modi back!  At least the IPL does.

Just a couple of weeks ago, in the euphoria of the World Cup win, I was actually looking forward to the IPL.  A lot of friends said it is overkill; an overdose of cricket.  I somehow was actually not feeling that way and was looking forward to more cricket.  The World Cup win probably making me want more.

A fortnight into the competition and I am not so sure anymore.  With ten teams and a competition that runs for more than 1.5 months, this tournament is going to take some viewing.  And the format is convoluted too.  I just cannot understand it.  With every team playing every other day, it is beginning to get a bit confusing.  Forget about the matches, following the points table is getting to be difficult.  Add to this the player changes this season.  It took some time for me to figure out who is playing for which franchisee.  And I am not sure, I still know of all the changes.  A Gambhir playing for Kolkata, Yuvraj for Pune and Dravid for Rajasthan!  Two new teams, Pune and Kochi, which by the way, has its own identity crisis to figure out, of being a team from Kerala or Gujarat!  I am now really feeling 'cricket fatigued'.

So two new teams.  What else is new?  Cheer leaders...of a different kind!  Fully clothed cheer leaders in traditional Indian costumes are doing duty for the Pune Warriors.  I am not sure if that is going down well; with the crowds as well as the ladies themselves!  Imagine dancing in the sun fully decked up!  The SET MAX hosts have a couple of new inclusions as well, one of them actually trying to do a Mandira Bedi with noodle straps and a strategically placed 'Pallu'.

Notwithstanding all of this however, there have been a couple of great performances this season.  Paul Valthaty...(who!?!?!) has emerged as the King for the Kings XI Punjab team.  The knock he played against the Chennai Super Kings was tremendous.  No wonder Greg Chappell has been talking of the Indian bench strength.  Sachin's first T20 century was a knock to savour as well, especially because it showed that he is still learning and evolving.  Yes, he played some helicopter shots aka Dhoni with equal effect!

Though I am not inclined to follow each and every match, my favourite teams this season are the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings.  At the start of the tournament, I expected them to play the finals.  Currently, one of them is at the top of the points table and the other at the bottom.  Now that I have shifted base to Mumbai, my loyalties have now shifted to the Mumbai Indians! Of course, having a strong team helps too!  I am rooting for them to win this season.  But there are still a whole load of matches to be played before we reach the finals...we will just have to endure them.

By the way, tomorrow me and the family go away to Kashmir for a week's vacation.  Now, you know what to expect in the next post then!

Take care!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Day 113-2011 : There Is Hope!

What's he got that I ain't got!?!?!? The answer to this, these days, could well be : An 'Anna' cap!  Wearing an 'Anna Hazare' cap is the latest 'cool' thing all over the place.

The Anna Hazare Cap - Hep!

Trendy!
It has been fascinating to watch Anna Hazare and his group of crusaders orchestrate the campaign against corruption over the last few weeks.  The first time I heard about the campaign was...on Facebook, on Meera Sanyal's wall!  I had, at that moment, no idea of how big this will become.  This was 'Gandhigiri' revisited!

The core elements were the same as the original methodology.  A lone man, frail and old, using non-violence and fasting as a means to protest against the wrong-doings of all the bad men.  Anna was protesting against the political class' incestuous attempt to rig the drafting of the Lokpal Bill, which would in effect give immunity to them.  The nation exploded in spontaneous anger.  Demonstrations and protest marches and meetings were held in multiple cities across the country to support the movement.
In many senses, this was 'Gandhigiri', 21st century style.  The campaign was all over the internet.  Social networking was leveraged wonderfully! The team also came up with a novel way of enlisting support, by making a missed call!  It looked like the politicos had grossly underestimated the enduring power of Satyagraha remixed with lightning speed communication.  The government finally gave in to all the demands of the protesters, the main one being the inclusion of civil society in the committee which is drafting the Jan Lokpal Bill.

The real battle, however, begins now.  The political class, which was taken aback by the spontaneity of the campaign, is slowly regrouping and trying to hit back.  Almost every day, there is a news report of an allegation of graft or other wrong-doing against the panel members from the civil society.  What the politicians fear is not just a one-off campaign.  They fear the radical ideas of the young group of Anna's supporters.  Anna is just the mascot.  The ultimate goal of this motley group of born again crusaders like Arvind Kejriwal, the Bhushans and Kiran Bedi, is 'Direct Democracy'.  A radical concept which would empower the civil society at the lowest common denominator.  What's more, it proposes the 'Right To Recall', which could be used by the voters of a given constituency if they think their representative isn't doing a good job or is corrupt.

I think some of the ideas related to the 'Direct Democracy' concept are too extreme.  They have in fact the power to destabilise civil society.  There will need to be some moderation before these could be sold to a country as vast as India.

But this is a great start!  One of the things that I firmly believed in the past was that, a revolution can never happen in a country like India.  This campaign has done enough to change that view.  Looks like a revolution is possible. 

There will be a time when the despair, desperation and frustration swelling within the consciousness of a gagged nation will result in a revolution against all that has caused it.  There is hope! 

Take care!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Day 94-2011 : The Cup of Joy!

I have always wondered as to why, when we won the Prudential World Cup in 1983, no one told me about it.  The hype and the celebrations over the win were not very apparent, at least to me.  There was one household in our locality who had drawn the pictures of some men on the front outer wall of their house, but I did not know who the men were.  No one was dancing, no one was asking me to participate in the celebrations and nobody was hysterical.

28 years down the line, I realise that it is a very different world!  Yes, India won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 yesterday and the scenes of celebrations had to be seen to be believed.  Not that I saw any of them live.  But the news channels on the television have been going on and on about the celebrations that ensued across the nation throughout last night!

India was being tagged as the favourites to win this tournament even before it began.  The No.1 status in Test Cricket, the fact that we were the hosts and the team's recent form meant that everyone was expecting this team, with a mighty batting line up and a not so strong bowling and fielding side, to win the tournament.  Yesterday, Team India delivered on that.  In spite of the pressure of the expectations of a 1.21 billion strong country, playing at home.


My view is that Team India, though very strong due to an unending stream of solid (and explosive) batsmen, was not necessarily top draw because of the bowling attack.  The bowling attack consisting of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Ashwin, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and the other part timers was not exactly a strong one.  However, this spirited group of people put on a great show on the bowling side in almost all of the matches.  They understood their limitations, bowled to their strengths and within themselves.  Zaheer and Yuvraj were the stars!  Each time Dhoni needed a wicket he called upon Zaheer...and he invariably delivered.  He has made amends for 2007, and how!

Yuvraj  is a completely different story altogether.  Criticised for his temperament, lack of focus and fitness, the 'Prince' came back from the brink!  To win the Player of the Tournament award!  It was very evident that a lot of work on the mental conditioning side has gone into this turnaround.  He was imperious with the bat and bowled with guile!  His fielding, especially in the final match, was top class!  The Prince had arrived...again!


The 'GOD' was at his usual best.  Scoring almost each time he went to the crease, he finished second best in terms of the number of runs scored by batsmen in the tournament.  He got closer to the 100th century but could not quite get there.  He however, has a World Cup medal finally!  The dream has been fulfilled.  The entire team wanted to win it for Sachin.  To me, it doesn't really matter what Sachin does with his cricketing career from now on.  He is a living legend and there will be no one like him...never ever! 


Last but not the least, was the captain.  Dhoni was in a class of his own.  He has now won all the major cricket tournaments as a captain.  The 20-20 World Cup, IPL, The Champions League, No.1 Test Ranking for India and now the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011!  We need to create some more tournaments to whet his appetite, I guess.  Evidently, he has shown great leadership skills over the last four years, since he took over as the captain of Team India in all forms of cricket!  Take a bow!


When Dhoni hit the winning runs with the six yesterday, we were shouting, jumping and hugging each other.  A spontaneous release of all the built up tension over the last few weeks while following the team.  The tournament itself was not devoid of controversies.  From the controversy on the allotment of tickets to that of match fixing allegations during the semis and the final.  I do not know if the match-fixing allegations were true...and now, I do not care.  I have realised that something which can give joy and happiness to so many people is best enjoyed at face value.  I love the feeling.  There is a spring in my step.  I am walking on air.

Enjoy the sense of achievement, India.  Enjoy the victory!

Take care.