Day 218-2011 : The English Nightmare

The Indian cricket team has had a pretty cool last year and a half.  They haven't lost a series, for the last 11 series, have sat on the top of the world Test rankings throughout the year and in April, won the World Cup as well.  Truly, a dream run!

They must be, however, beginning to realise that this dream was only a prelude to what they might call, in a couple of months' time, as the 'English Nightmare'. 

The India v/s England series was billed as top draw, a battle between, arguably, the world's two best cricket teams.  At stake is the top spot in the world Test rankings.  It has however, turned out to be a damp squib.  Two tests down, it has been a no contest between a tired, ill-prepared, injury ridden side and a well prepared and disciplned side.  The Indian side has been slow on the field and doesn't have a clue on how to handle swing and seam.  The only exception has been 'The Wall', excelling at the place where he made his debut about 15 years ago.

England now have an unbeatable 2-0 in the series.  So what are the reasons for this disgraceful slump? 

The symptoms:  No Virender Sehwag, the musical chairs between Yuvraj and Raina, Gambhir injured and to top all of that, the main strike bowler, Zaheer Khan out with a hamstring injury after bowling a few overs in the first test. 

For once, I would not blame the cricketers at all.  Clearly, we do not seem to be taking good care of our cricket team!  The BCCI has been greedy and these are all the symptoms of that.  The schedule of the Indian team is jam-packed; the idea being to milk it more!  The World Cup followed by the long and hectic IPL followed by the West Indian series and then the current England series.  Those who have been part of all of this, should be exhausted by now!  We run the risk of pushing some of our talented cricketers to the brink of burnouts.  Is BCCI killing the hen which lays the golden egg?

On the other hand, the English team look to be very well prepared.  It is probably the strongest ever English team that I have seen in the last few decades.  They seem to have sorted out their ego issues (especially prima donna KP!) and the captaincy capers.  Strauss has led well.  They have planned the downfall of each and every Indian batsmen meticulously.  Their batting line up is solid!  And most importantly they look hungry and want to be the best team in the world.

As I watched the two test matches on the telly, it was very evident that I have been watching the world's number one Test team.  But it certainly wasn't India.

Take care.

Day 58-2011 : Long Live The Pen!

I write this as the Indian bowlers are getting clobbered by the English batsmen.  Who would have thought that the Englismen would chase a large total like 338 so ferociously!  But then that is the nature of modern day cricket. Nothing is impossible!  I have to however, admit that I had to take a couple of breaks writing this post, as India turned around a defeat into a one pointer tie.  Team aise hi nahi jeetti, jeetana padta hai! Problem is, team jeeti nahi aaj...The match has however livened up a damp squib of a World Cup so far.

Along with the nature of modern day cricket, a lot of other things have also changed.  One of them, I realised today, was writing.  Yes, writing.  Earlier in the day, I tried writing this post (to be frank, the topic at that point of time was completely different) with a pen on a notepad.  Strangely, I found it terribly difficult to pen down my thoughts.  What I think I was not very happy about was the speed at which I was able to write, or the lack of it.  I noticed that the pace of my writing was not able to keep up with the pace of my thought processes.  Come to think of it, I realised that in the last 10 years, I haven't really written much by hand at all!  The pen has been used most only for signatures and maybe for filling out some forms.  Almost everything else has been 'written' by the keyboard.  No wonder!

Will they survive?

I am sure that others, before me, have also experienced the same.  The reason is very simple.  We no longer 'write'.  We type.  We do all our documents on a computer with a keyboard.  And nowadays on mobile phones and tablets as well.  We no longer write letters; we type out emails and send them.  They are delivered instantly.  Why use a pen?  For signatures?  Well, I think this reason will also be obsolete in a few years when everyone might be using digital signatures.  Already, a lot of official documentation is concluded with digital signatures.

So, will there be any reason to use pens 20 years from now?   Maybe....maybe not!  Will the saying 'The pen is mightier than the sword' still be relevant or will it be 'The keyboard is mightier than the sword'?  Will our children learn the written word with the help of keyboards and not pens and pencils?  Will the pen die a lonely death? 

I hope not.  Take care. 

Day 48-2011 : The Cup That Counts!

Sounds a bit tacky, doesn't it?  The Cup That Counts.  Somehow, it just doesn't sound quite right.  And given that there are many like me who think there is too much cricket being played, I am not sure if it really counts!

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is here.  The sub-continent is the host.  All the competing teams are here.  A couple of practice matches have been played.  The opening ceremony today at Dhaka was a big spectacle.  We are all set...for the cricket extravaganza of the year!

Or maybe not.  I thought the hype leading to the event itself has been a bit subdued.  It might be the result of the ambush advertising ban enforced by ICC.  Basically, ICC, with an Indian politician at its helm, knows the value of money and the fact that it can milk its exclusive rights over the tournament.  Thus the ban on cricketers appearing in advertisements of competing brands of ICC's main sponsors.  The cricketers, who know the value of money as well and the fact that they can milk the fan following for the game in the sub-continent, tried their best to hop, skip and jump the ban.  It is, after all, all about money, honey!

Whatever be the case, I am going to enjoy the games, even if the one day game sometimes tests our patience.  Thanks to 20-20 cricket.  There has been a lot of talk about India being the favourites.  Australia, with their recent success over the Poms and the Proteas are also strong sides.  I think they are equally good compared to the Indian team.  And then, there is the mercurial Pakistan team, which on its day, can make mincemeat of any team in the world.  Like a true patriot, I am rooting for the Indian team.  With a captain who is an expert at absorbing the pressure with his ice cool demeanour and a team that believes in itself, I think they can actually do it.  But, who knows!  Cricket, as they say, is a game of great uncertainties.  Maybe one of the minnows, most likely to be Bangladesh with its home advantage too, might spring a series of surprises.  They did so at the last World Cup in 2007.  I doubt if many of the minnows will do well like in 2007, but at least one or two of them are likely to make a mark.

I am also looking forward to the event very keenly due to the presence of some of the biggest stars of the game in the same event.  I am hoping that Sachin Tendulkar, who is most certainly playing his last World Cup, might put up a special show for us all.  Ponting, Gayle, Brett Lee, Afridi, Malinga, Yusuf, Sehwag and many many other exciting stars.  The other exciting part would be the discovery of some new stars which the tournament might throw up. 

Lastly, one of the things that I wanted to do this time was go and watch a match in person at the stadium.  A quick peek at the ticket prices and availability put paid to that wish.  I am much better of watching all the matches that I want at home on the idiot box which provides the luxury of action replays, highlights, quick access to key statistics and views of expert commentators.

Enjoy the game.  May the best team win.  Play!

Take care!

P.S.: The tag line, though, still doesn't sound right.

Day 291 - The Masterclass

21 years.  This masterclass has now been in session for 21 years. And this post is about the 'Master Blaster'.  A perfect role model for many thousands of young people seeking their destiny in this populous nation. 

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar's genius has been in session for 21 years.  Right from 1989, when as a 16 year old, he blasted 28 runs off an Abdul Qadir over in an exhibition match in Peshawar; till earlier this week, when he scored his 49th test century, a sublime 214, a lot has been written about this man and his cricketing talents.  I will, hence, not try to repeat all that (though it might just be worth it) and just stick to my take on Sachin. 

The one word that comes to mind when one thinks about Sachin is consistency.  One can argue that he had this phase of a couple of years, when according to his own high standards, he was scoring below par.  He was also dogged by injuries.  In fact, the pundits opined that his batting prowess had declined, his career had slid permanently and the end was nearing.  However, nobody could have imagined the kind of purple patch that he is in right now.  They call it the 'second wind'.  Some tacky Hindi commentator even compared it to the flame that burns its brightest just before it gets extinguished!  Whatever it is, I am loving it!

As an ardent fan, I have seen it all.  The pounding that Abdul Qadir got in the exhibition match, the bloody nose in Pakistan, the nearly missed century in New Zealand, the series of run-a-ball (or better) innings, the 'Sholay-like' friendship with Vinod Kambli, the opening slot in ODIs, the 'Don' himself wanting to meet him, the sand-storm inning in Sharjah, or for that matter the one after that; the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the Arjuna Award, the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan, the Mike Deniss episode, and more recently the Symonds one, the misfit captain, the injuries (tennis elbow being the main culprit; and I was actually thinking all the while that he plays cricket!), the apparent loss of form, the abstention of an international 20-20 career, the second wind, the wax statue at Madame Tussuad's, scoring a double century in ODIs, highest number of centuries in ODIs and test matches, highest number of runs in ODIs and tests, almost leading the Mumbai Indians to the winners trophy in IPL 3, scoring the most number of runs in IPL 3, in spite of not playing the format internationally. Phew! I have just skimmed through the surface.  Imagine, there is more to come.

To me, for the last 21 years, Indian cricket has meant Tendulkar.  And when he is dismissed, the hopes of a whole nation sink, the stadiums go quieter or just empty up and a million television sets are switched off.  When he does well, the whole nation is in a cheerful mood, the stock market is on the upswing (a recent research paper correlated Sachin's performances to the stock markets' performance!).  He has handled such intense scrutiny, pressure and criticism amazingly well. 

However, the best thing about him is, he still is very down to earth and retains his middle class grounding.  Here is the proof.

Take a bow, Sachin!

Take care.

Day 284 - A Magical Week!

One shoots bullets from his fingers, the other caresses cricket balls with his magic wand.  Both are big blockbuster hits this week!

I am just back from watching the Tamil film 'Enthiran' starring Rajinikanth, the ultimate crowd-puller!  Crowd puller he definitely is, not only in India both elsewhere as well.  For instance, he is extremely popular in Japan, of all places!  Coming back to the film itself; it is a special effects extravaganza which keeps you engaged for a little more than 3 hours!  I can safely say that I haven't really seen anything like this in Indian cinema before.  No wonder it is the costliest Indian film ever made, at Rs. 150 crores.  And Rajini, the superstar, does pull in his worth at Rs.45 crores.  Skipped a beat?  Yes, that is exactly how much Rajini was paid for Enthiran, to play the double role of a scientist and a humanoid robot created by himself.  The story itself is very predictable.  However, in my view, the film is doing roaring business (Rs.117 crores in box office collections) because of the following:

1) The Rajini charisma.

2) Superb special effects; probably the best ever seen in Indian cinema.  The last 30 minutes of the film is especially terrific!

3) A stunning Aishwarya Rai; I do not like her much, but in this film she looks fabulous!

All in all, the film does live up to its hype.  Rajini, at the age of 60, is stunning, to say the least. By the way, he is probably the only superstar who has no qualms being himself and being seen with his bald head in real life.  Hats off to Thalaivar!

The Rajini Magic.

The other blockbuster hit this week was India's nail biting, edge of the seat winning effort against Australia in the first test match at Mohali.  Kudos to the magician from Hyderabad.  The man with the most unique initials in the cricketing world is truly Very Very Special.  VVS Laxman played tormentor to the Aussies yet again with his almost run a ball effort which won India the match.  Never one to play the ball under his nose, he used his bat like a wand; scoring runs effortlessly all over the ground, when wickets were falling at the other end.  India at 8 wickets down and still more than 100 runs to get for a win, were a goner.  I had switched off the television at this point of time as well.  3 hours later, I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that Laxman and Ishant Sharma were still at the crease and India were inching towards a victory.  Ishant Sharma scored 31 sterling runs and his effort was equally important as Laxman's.

Laxman, Ishant and the rest of the victorious Indian team celebrate the win.

With the gutsy fightback and holding their nerves during the last few moments, India showed the Aussies why they are ranked the number 1 test team in the world by ICC.  I hope they stay there for a long time.

By the way, the opening ceremony of the CWG games was a huge success!  Some respite from the constant torrent of bad news related to the organisation of the event in Delhi.  And what's more, looks like the Indian contingent is winning medals galore, a lot of them golds. 

Hope we continue to do well and erase the bad memories in the run up to these games.

Take care.

Day 182 - The Beautiful Game

Goooooooooaaaaaaaaalllllllll!!!

Yes, it is football frenzy time!  It is amazing how once in every four years this phenomenon, called the FIFA World Cup, captures the imagination of practically the whole world, me included.  Let me be very clear; I am not a great fan of football.  Club football confuses me, what with all the different leagues in different parts of the world and the never ending player transfers from one club to another.  However, when once in 4 years, the World Cup is played over a month, I become a die-hard fan of the game.

Although India has never played in the World Cup Finals (it did qualify for the 1950 World Cup Finals, but the team did not travel to Brazil for the competition), during the World Cup people in India become staunch supporters of various teams depending on various parameters like, the stars that they follow, the emotional attachment to a playing nation, the style of play of a particular team, etc.

I, for one, support multiple teams!  And believe me this is not because I try to hedge my bets.  I am supporting Spain for its seamless and skillful play, Brazil as the eternal favourites due to the flair with which they play, Germany because of their structured and disciplined execution by a very young team and last but not the least, Argentina!  Since the time I watched the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico for the first time, I have an emotional connect to Argentina!  Argentina won that competition and Maradona was the 'God of Football', not necessarily due to the 'Hand of God' only.  From that year on, I have watched every World Cup with great interest.  If 1986 was about Maradona and the 'Hand of God', 1990 was all about the magic of the dimunitive Salvatore Schillaci.  1994 was all about selling the game to the USA, while 1998 was the year of Zinadine Zidane; France winning the tournament on home turf! The World Cup came to Asia for the first time in 2002.  It was also the first time that two countries were jointly hosting the tournament; Japan and South Korea.  I thought 2006 was a drab affair in Germany, which was won by the Italians.

2010 is the year of Africa, the World Cup Finals being hosted in this continent for the first time.  I missed the first set of matches due to the travel to Bengaluru.  However, I more than made up for it in the second week, by ensuring that I watched rest of all the matches in the Group stages.  I have to say, very few matches in this World Cup have been entertaining.  The pre-quarterfinal match up between England and Germany was a riveting affair.  It was also marred by poor referee decisions.  This and some other such bad decisions by the referees have sparked of a huge clamour of the usage of technology to assist referees in decision making. 

Now, don't get me wrong.  I am a great supporter of technology and its applications in our day to day lives. I also appreciate the fact that such technological help has added great value to sports like Cricket and Tennis.  However, I, for one would be very careful to go the whole hog with technology for a game like football.  Football is a beautiful game because of the raw speed and pace, because of the amazing skills of the players to control a ball and keep its possession with them and because of the innovative and creative tactics used by teams to cut through the defences of the opponents to score a goal.  I believe uncontrolled intervention of technology can take away the beauty of this minimalist game.  If the usage of technology is controlled in such a way that it does not kill the pace and creativity of the game by frequent interruptions, it must be welcomed.  Remember, some years ago, the game had started to become very boring due to the frequent stoppages because of inappropriate tackles and fouls.  FIFA had then introduced the 'Advantage' rule, to increase the pace of the game and keep it interesting.  The rule was simple.  If a player was fouled, but the possession of the ball still remained with the player's own team, the game was allowed to be continued without stopping it for a free kick for the foul.

As I write this, the tournament is entering its decisive and interesting quarter finals stage.  A couple of big ticket encounters await us.  Argentina will play Germany in the Quarters; can't wait for it.  Oracle Octopus might have predicted a win for Germany, but as one of my colleagues pointed out today, the law of averages might catch up with Mr.OO. I am betting on a Brazil v/s Argentina final, though Spain could also be one of the finalists.  They are playing some beautiful football.  Some of the stars to look out for in these later stages of the tournament are: David Villa, Lionel Messi, Kaka, Fabiano, Diego Forlan, Gyan, Sneijder, Klose, Podolski and maybe some more who might emerge as stars due to their exploits in the final stages.

I am loving it and looking forward to all these stars and their respective teams performing at the highest levels.  Meanwhile, this weekend I cought up with my friends from SHCIL.  Jyoti is here in India for a couple of months.  Hence myself, Parag, Jyoti and Ritesh got together for lunch along with our respective familes.  It was a relaxed affair and a lot of fun.  Plan to organise a bigger event in a month or so before Jyoti goes back to the US.

On Monday, Dad got operated for cataract. Finally, after a couple of postponements due to high sugar levels.  He is keeping well and in good spirits.

Hence, so am I.  Take care.

Day 133 - A Boring World Cup

Do you know that the T20 World Cup is on?  If yes, do you even care?  Is too much cricket killing the game?  Why do I get a strange feeling that the way the game is run today by administrators worldwide is eerily similar to the famous story of the goose which laid a golden egg every day?

The current T20 World Cup is a boring affair.  There are many reasons for it:

• It has been scheduled immediately after the IPL extravaganza, which this year was even more hyped due to the off-field goings on.  It is quite difficult to root for the players playing for different countries, when a few weeks back they were all in the same team.  I think there should have been a cooling off period after the IPL.  Moreover, we just had two months of non-stop cricket culminating in the Chennai Super Kings winning the IPL.  Some more cricket?  Naaah.  The players are tired; so are the spectators.
• The World Cup is being held in the West Indies.  Now, I am aware that in the past the West Indies were a strong force in cricket.  However, I am also aware that in the last few years the carribeans have tended to follow other sports more like football and basketball and cricket has been on the decline.  The rains are another problem here.  The West Indies gets unseasonal rains all the time.  Hence, many matches are getting affected.  Resorting to the Duckworth Lewis rule repeatedly to decide the fate of a match is the ultimate way to kill the game.  Moreover, the timings for the matches are weird late night ones.  I know that they have treid to schedule the matches early in the morning to catch the Indian TV audience after work.  However that works only for the first match of the day.  If it is a double header, I would be interested in knowing the TRPs for the second match late in the night.
• Another reason for the World Cup to seem boring is the performance of the Indian team.  Cricket fatigue is probably taking its toll on the players.  So, is the inability to adjust to the wickets in the Carribean.  It is a selfish reason, but isn't that natural? World Cups are played on the premise of national loyalties.

I am intentionally not mentioning the other oft-spoken reason for the Indian team not doing well in the World Cup.  Money.  There isn't enough in the World Cup compared to the IPL.  But I think, money cannot be a bigger consideration to joy and pride of representing your country.  But then, I might be wrong.

Personally the last week was interesting for me.  Friday and Saturday were especially enjoyable.  Friday due to the news that Suryanksh got the admission in Bombay Scottish School!  Couldn't wait to get back home to kick off the celebrations (pizza party at Papa John's).  However it took me 60 minutes to cover the 3.5 kms from office to home, because of the insane traffic at peak hours in Mumbai.  Saturday was good as well.  The townhall was well conducted and I am told that my presentation and speech was also well recieved.  Had a good time dancing with the team after the presentations, though a lot my bones did complain the next day morning.

I expect this week to be busy as well.  Have a few hurdles to cross this week.  If I get through them without any major blowups, I will be a relieved man by the end of the week.

More about that, next week.  Take care.

Day 82 - Too Much Of Anything; Good For Nothing

I am refering to our country's beloved sport: Cricket!  And the context of mentioning it now is the ongoing IPL Season 3. 

There was a time when I would bunk school to be able to watch cricket.  Not in the stadium, but on television.  There was so much more anticipation before any game of cricket those days.  Waking up at 4.00 AM in the morning to watch the Benson & Hedges World Series matches was so exciting!

Nowadays, there is so much cricket being played and telecast, I do not really care who is playing whom, unless there is a match of great significance being played. 

I believe that too much cricket is not good for anybody.  Not for the fans, not for the players, not for the administrators in the long run and certainly not for the game itself.

Too much cricket doesn't give enought time to players to recuperate from slight niggles and they tend to play with minor injuries which make things even worse, sometimes, career threatening.  I do not remember Kapil Dev, a medium pacer; workhorse of this times, ever getting injured and missing a match due to that. 

For the audience and the fans, we get to see time and time again the same players and teams battle it out against each other and it becomes repetitive and boring.  Interest in the game wanes.  For example I was so very excited when we had the first season of the IPL.  By the time IPL 3 has come around I do not think I have the same fascination for the event anymore.  2 consecutive matches every day is causing cricket fatigue for me.

One might argue that this is all good for the administrators.  More cricket translates into more money.  But the point is that they are all killing the golden goose!  So much cricket is taking the interest out of the game which is not good for sponsors.  The administrators are sweating the game too much.

All this cricket has made the game very different from what it was twenty years ago.  The pace of the game has changed.  The experiments in batting, bowling anf fielding are coming thick and fast.  As of now no one is complaining, but as this goes on we might see something similar to a baseball game on a cricket pitch very soon.  There is a need to preserve the classic form of cricket.

I am defintely not looking forward to a game of baseball.  Take care.

National Shame

Cricket is a passion. I love the game. A lot of my close friends and family know this. That is exactly why all these people preferred to steer clear of me today. Wisely so as well, because talking to me today, would not have made for cheerful conversation.

India lost another series to Australia today. This, inspite of we being the most populous nation amonst the test match playing nations. It is shameful that we cannot find 11 talented individuals who can collectively be world beaters in a country of billions.

The sport in India cannot even complain. There is no dearth of funding. More than 70% of revenues generated from the game globally comes from India. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is the richest sports body in the country. An association with mainstream cricket, either as a player or as an administrator, is a passport to windfall gains.

The skipper says his team is not mentally strong. I agree. The team, though much stronger willed than the teams of previous decades, is a bunch of weaklings who get exposed when faced with tough and challenging situations.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Apparently, this is not applicable to the Indian cricket team.