After watching India lose at Colombo once again i thought it was time to update the blog.
Some Stats: India's win against NZ yesterday was only the first time a team batting second won at colombo in 18 matches. The best chase at Premadasa is 271 in the year 2002. All the top 5 highest chases at the stadium happened before 2004. This, in times when scores in excess of 325 are not considered safe.
It was almost a feeling of deja vu when India came out to bat and struggled throughout the innings. Any average Indian cricket fan would have seen such a thing umpteen number of times at Colombo. Leave alone 300, i am sure India would not have chased even 220. The most disappointing thing was Tony grieg showering praises on to the Sri Lankan team, when the only thing they had done correct was winning the toss.Personally, i really hate watching matches in Lanka. They are slow, uninspiring, without any spice and added to it is the constant ranting of Mr Tony Grieg in ridiculous english accent. I have no clue why is he so biased towards the Lankan team. Had those been the stats of any Indian ground he would have ripped the ground authorities apart. I distinctly remember his comments on DDCA during a test match at Kotla. Kotla might still be one of the worst grounds in terms of facilities but atleast the teams have a fair and equal chance while playing.
In a time when the future of ODI cricket is being discussed at lengths in the ICC channels it is really disappointing to see such a run of events. If we continue to have such highly one sided matches where the toss will decide the result, we can surely bid farewell to the ODI game, a game on which our generation has grown up.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
T 20 cricket - a not so serious business
Pakis won the second edition of the T20 world cup. This happened at a time when pakistan cricket was at its lowest ebb. The tournament started with their captain commenting that they did not take T20 cricket seriously and it would not matter if they went out in the first round itself. This comment was not taken to very kindly by the authorities in Pakistan and Younis recieved a a strong reprimand. On the other hand, the million dollar babies and everybody's favorite Indian team was probably thankful that they were traveling straight to West Indies and did not have to face the wrath of the fickle Indian Supporter at the airport.
So was this world cup really a victory of David Vs Goliath or following a pattern that TT cricket has always followed - Victory for the underdog, or rather victory for the team which hasnt seriously thought of winning.
Compare this edition to the inaugural world cup. An average Indian cricket fan, who generally suffers from amnesia, will not remember the circumstances under which India went to South Africa for the 07 world cup. The blame game from the shameful exit of World Cup 07 was still on. The 3 big stalwarts had decided that the latest slam bang form of cricket was not for them. Probably they thought it was not serious enough to warrant there presence. India had only played one international T20 and it was the only country which still did not have a domestic T20 tournament. The warlords of the BCCI who now want a separate window for IPL in the ICC calender used to look at T20 with disdain and thought it was only for those countries were cricket is not popular. To make matters worse, Rahul Dravid decided to step down as the captain of the one day and test team on the opening day of the world cup. Obviously, he too thought it is not an important tournament and would not matter if it effected the team in South Africa. So overall this Indian team were huge outsiders with problems on and off the field. It was a team of youngsters who had probably just gone there to enjoy a foriegn country. The team did not have a full time coach which must have meant no complex strategies and analysis.
Now compare it to the IPL 1. No body gave the frugal Rajasthan Royals a chance. People obviously thought that it would be the big money spenders who will rule the roost. In IPL 2, the team at the bottom of the last IPL came up trumps.
So is it safe to conclude, that the best way to win a T20 tournament is to not be serious about it. Is it the game which requires no strategy and practice. A team which is uncorrupted by modern ideas on coaching and captaincy will be the one that ultimately rules the roost.
Doesnt it make T20 a stupid form of cricket akin to gully cricket where kids just come out decide on the rules and start playing. I am sure WG Grace would have turned in his grave when the first ball of T20 cricket was balled in the land where Test match was discovered.
So was this world cup really a victory of David Vs Goliath or following a pattern that TT cricket has always followed - Victory for the underdog, or rather victory for the team which hasnt seriously thought of winning.
Compare this edition to the inaugural world cup. An average Indian cricket fan, who generally suffers from amnesia, will not remember the circumstances under which India went to South Africa for the 07 world cup. The blame game from the shameful exit of World Cup 07 was still on. The 3 big stalwarts had decided that the latest slam bang form of cricket was not for them. Probably they thought it was not serious enough to warrant there presence. India had only played one international T20 and it was the only country which still did not have a domestic T20 tournament. The warlords of the BCCI who now want a separate window for IPL in the ICC calender used to look at T20 with disdain and thought it was only for those countries were cricket is not popular. To make matters worse, Rahul Dravid decided to step down as the captain of the one day and test team on the opening day of the world cup. Obviously, he too thought it is not an important tournament and would not matter if it effected the team in South Africa. So overall this Indian team were huge outsiders with problems on and off the field. It was a team of youngsters who had probably just gone there to enjoy a foriegn country. The team did not have a full time coach which must have meant no complex strategies and analysis.
Now compare it to the IPL 1. No body gave the frugal Rajasthan Royals a chance. People obviously thought that it would be the big money spenders who will rule the roost. In IPL 2, the team at the bottom of the last IPL came up trumps.
So is it safe to conclude, that the best way to win a T20 tournament is to not be serious about it. Is it the game which requires no strategy and practice. A team which is uncorrupted by modern ideas on coaching and captaincy will be the one that ultimately rules the roost.
Doesnt it make T20 a stupid form of cricket akin to gully cricket where kids just come out decide on the rules and start playing. I am sure WG Grace would have turned in his grave when the first ball of T20 cricket was balled in the land where Test match was discovered.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Why i quit studying and became a back bencher
After another disappointing result, I have decided to reveal the secret of why i quit studying. Now i know this is not something you want to know, but why the hell do i care. This is my space, and i can write wateva i want to.
Semester: III
Venue : JCB hostel, DCE
Occasion : A day before Power Apparatus Exam
I am sure the whole electrical engg deptt of 2k3 batch will distinctly remember this exam. For the uninitiated, the course was as follows -
1. Electrical Machines - PS Bhimbra - First 250 Pages
2. Transformers - JB Say - 10 pages
Now if you have read PS Bhimbra you would have noticed there is a very interesting phenomenon associated with the book. You understand everything when you read it for the first time. When you read it the second time, you realize that whateva you understood the first time was completely out of order. So you try the third time and this time you get a single concept. The fourth time second concept and so on.
I had already read Bhimbra once but was at that time unaware about the above formula. So i was feeling quite confident about the exam everyone was dreading. When i entered JCB 117 "Saxo's stinking room next to Toilet", i witnessed the scene and honestly "Sabki Fati padi thi". I thought i can at least do better than these guys tomoro. Obviously, the worse was waiting for me. As i started "revising" the second time i realized that i am in a worse soup than everybody else. Coz now i was in the phase of unlearning. As i raised doubts, Prakhar, kalla and Kakkar fought to clear those. Obviously the ghissus of the batch had by then finished the course a zillion times. Anyways after slogging for 14 hours of PS bhimbra like a madman, i managed to finish the entire chapter and went of to sleep feeling confident that i will manage atleast 10 out of 20.
When we got the paper the next day, it had just three questions, All from the 10 pages from JB Say. I remember discussing the different first reactions of students on seeing the paper. I am not a good enough writer to put those in words. After more than 14 hours of intensive studying my paper was over in 10 minutes. Stunned i was looking all around. It was a great solace to find even more stunned faces around. Only Rahul Kalia was smiling. He had obviously studied the 10 pages and was passing that 24 carat colgate smile to everyone. I really felt like kicking him right there.
I managed a grand score of 4/20. Saxo, Raj and Sinha were behind me. That was the day i realized there is no use of studying in DU. A lot of things depend on luck. Either you are a prakhar or Rahul who will be able to complete the entire course or you are a bank bencher.
From that fateful day, i have started relying on luck before every exam. Infact that did work for me once. In Fin Acc in First Sem FMS i managed 80. Obv, i did not deserve it. I hope i get more such luck in the last two semester of my DU life.
Some other notable things that happened that day -
1. Baba made that Legendary quote " T***e Short ho gaye". The quote is now a part of Bawana folklore and infact i heard someone quote it before our Management Accounting exam in FMS 2nd sem.
2. Sougata Roy was spotted studying for the first time on campus.
3. Kakkar lost 4Kgs making 10 runs at 50Km/hr from his room on 4th floor to the ground floor.
4. Kalra once again proved how harami he is. He had a pretty stupid Mechanics paper the next day in which he managed 18 odd. He rubbed it in the night dinner.
5. Prakhar Jain turned 19. God save the earth.
Semester: III
Venue : JCB hostel, DCE
Occasion : A day before Power Apparatus Exam
I am sure the whole electrical engg deptt of 2k3 batch will distinctly remember this exam. For the uninitiated, the course was as follows -
1. Electrical Machines - PS Bhimbra - First 250 Pages
2. Transformers - JB Say - 10 pages
Now if you have read PS Bhimbra you would have noticed there is a very interesting phenomenon associated with the book. You understand everything when you read it for the first time. When you read it the second time, you realize that whateva you understood the first time was completely out of order. So you try the third time and this time you get a single concept. The fourth time second concept and so on.
I had already read Bhimbra once but was at that time unaware about the above formula. So i was feeling quite confident about the exam everyone was dreading. When i entered JCB 117 "Saxo's stinking room next to Toilet", i witnessed the scene and honestly "Sabki Fati padi thi". I thought i can at least do better than these guys tomoro. Obviously, the worse was waiting for me. As i started "revising" the second time i realized that i am in a worse soup than everybody else. Coz now i was in the phase of unlearning. As i raised doubts, Prakhar, kalla and Kakkar fought to clear those. Obviously the ghissus of the batch had by then finished the course a zillion times. Anyways after slogging for 14 hours of PS bhimbra like a madman, i managed to finish the entire chapter and went of to sleep feeling confident that i will manage atleast 10 out of 20.
When we got the paper the next day, it had just three questions, All from the 10 pages from JB Say. I remember discussing the different first reactions of students on seeing the paper. I am not a good enough writer to put those in words. After more than 14 hours of intensive studying my paper was over in 10 minutes. Stunned i was looking all around. It was a great solace to find even more stunned faces around. Only Rahul Kalia was smiling. He had obviously studied the 10 pages and was passing that 24 carat colgate smile to everyone. I really felt like kicking him right there.
I managed a grand score of 4/20. Saxo, Raj and Sinha were behind me. That was the day i realized there is no use of studying in DU. A lot of things depend on luck. Either you are a prakhar or Rahul who will be able to complete the entire course or you are a bank bencher.
From that fateful day, i have started relying on luck before every exam. Infact that did work for me once. In Fin Acc in First Sem FMS i managed 80. Obv, i did not deserve it. I hope i get more such luck in the last two semester of my DU life.
Some other notable things that happened that day -
1. Baba made that Legendary quote " T***e Short ho gaye". The quote is now a part of Bawana folklore and infact i heard someone quote it before our Management Accounting exam in FMS 2nd sem.
2. Sougata Roy was spotted studying for the first time on campus.
3. Kakkar lost 4Kgs making 10 runs at 50Km/hr from his room on 4th floor to the ground floor.
4. Kalra once again proved how harami he is. He had a pretty stupid Mechanics paper the next day in which he managed 18 odd. He rubbed it in the night dinner.
5. Prakhar Jain turned 19. God save the earth.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The most boring job in the world
As a part of our summer experience M&M took us to their Scorpio plant. It is a wonderful plant with most of the parts assembled automatically. Watching a complete body of Scorpio being assembled within 2.5 minutes via a completely automated process was really exciting. But besides the body there are numerous operations done on the car before it comes out and all these are done on an assembly line with manual operations.
On watching them for more than 5 minutes i realized that these workers end up doing the same job, and i mean the exact same job with a repetition cycle of 5 minutes throughout the day, 6 days in a week, throughout the year. And this continuously for at least 3 - 4 years.
Imagine standing 2 feet below the ground level the whole day. And screwing the same screws 500 times in day. This is a helluva job i suppose. I never felt like this before but a workers job must be tiring not only physically but mentally also.
PS: Robin, Kanika, Sinha and all others working in a plant. I pity you all :-)
On watching them for more than 5 minutes i realized that these workers end up doing the same job, and i mean the exact same job with a repetition cycle of 5 minutes throughout the day, 6 days in a week, throughout the year. And this continuously for at least 3 - 4 years.
Imagine standing 2 feet below the ground level the whole day. And screwing the same screws 500 times in day. This is a helluva job i suppose. I never felt like this before but a workers job must be tiring not only physically but mentally also.
PS: Robin, Kanika, Sinha and all others working in a plant. I pity you all :-)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Mumbai facts
Now that I have decided to continue with the blog, I will start with a few facts that Mumbai people inherently believe in –
1. Mumbai is the cleanest city in India. (Perhaps that’s why people sleep on the street itself)
2. All north Indians are SOB’s with no ethics. (Have you heard the names Raj and Bal thackery)
3. Delhi is a city full of goons and pickpockets. (It is a different matter that somebody stole my phone. Obviously it must have been a north Indian)
4. All marathis must support Mumbai Indians. When I told them in fluent Marathi that I am die hard Delhi daredevils fan, the shock on their faces was priceless
5. Ajinkya Rahane is the best young batsmen in India. (I hope he turns out to be )
6. Mumbai players cannot get selected in the Indian team unless they are as good as Sachin. Obviously they have conveniently forgotten the pain Ajit agarkar and Wasim Jaffer have inflicted on Indian cricket fans.
7. Mumbai Local is as good as Delhi Metro. (Oh God!! Please forgive them, they don’t know what they are saying)
8. “Kanda”, “Batata” and “Ghai” are Hindi words. (lol)
9. Mumbai is the financial capital of india. (That’s why they are the host to the biggest slum in India)
And now the last one which has caused me the most pain.
10. There is no concept of MRP (More on this one later. But did I hear all goons are in delhi )
1. Mumbai is the cleanest city in India. (Perhaps that’s why people sleep on the street itself)
2. All north Indians are SOB’s with no ethics. (Have you heard the names Raj and Bal thackery)
3. Delhi is a city full of goons and pickpockets. (It is a different matter that somebody stole my phone. Obviously it must have been a north Indian)
4. All marathis must support Mumbai Indians. When I told them in fluent Marathi that I am die hard Delhi daredevils fan, the shock on their faces was priceless
5. Ajinkya Rahane is the best young batsmen in India. (I hope he turns out to be )
6. Mumbai players cannot get selected in the Indian team unless they are as good as Sachin. Obviously they have conveniently forgotten the pain Ajit agarkar and Wasim Jaffer have inflicted on Indian cricket fans.
7. Mumbai Local is as good as Delhi Metro. (Oh God!! Please forgive them, they don’t know what they are saying)
8. “Kanda”, “Batata” and “Ghai” are Hindi words. (lol)
9. Mumbai is the financial capital of india. (That’s why they are the host to the biggest slum in India)
And now the last one which has caused me the most pain.
10. There is no concept of MRP (More on this one later. But did I hear all goons are in delhi )
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Wall
Rahul Dravid for me is not just a cricketer. For me he has been more than an idol. Whatver he signifies on the field is probably the way i have led my life, atleast before DCE changed me. Rahul dravid scored 95 in his debut match. Some Sourav Ganguly had choosen the same match to score a century on debut. The fate was sealed the same day. Rahul Dravid, the proverbial nice guy would continue to be the quite follower for the next 10 years. For young boys of the 90's, it was imperative to be fan of one and yes only one amongst the two. You can either be a die hard Ganguly or Dravid fan. The reason perhaps was they were so different in nature. I was by nature one of those good boys who tend to follow all the rules parents set for them. May be we are afraid to do something else. May be we feel obliged to follow all instructions. The jury is out on this issue. You are free to make up your own mind. Anyways, so i was a Rahul Dravid fan. As rahul was establshing himself as criketing icons, i remember the numerous fights i picked up in school with my class fellows over who was better. Infact, i met one of them a month back and the issue we fought on was same. Who is better Rahul or Sourav!!!! This is how all kids of my age spend there childhood. I quickly realized, and i think rahul too that we were not the most talented in the field we choose for ourselves. For Rahul there was Sachin and for me there were many guys in class who were much more intelligent than me. But by 1999, Rahul started to emerge as the most reliable batsman. It was surprisingly the same time, i finally started scoring well in school. Afterall, like Rahul's straight bat, i had decided that if i have to succeed i will need to work hard, really hard and boy for the next four years i did. I feel that even in the rigours of my MBA education i have never worked as hard as i did in those years of my school life. I just secured 85 percent in 10th. Normally, it would be considered a good score. But not for me, for me life meant more. Like my idol had once said after falling on 92 in West Indies " When i retire, i do not want to be considered as a good player who played for India, I want to be remembered as one of the greatest batsmen ever to play for India". Probably these were the kind of words that inspired me. Like almost all middle class boys my dream was IIT, Rahul Dravid's was to become the greatest batsman in the world. The years 2001 to 2003 were really great years for dravid where people finally started recognising his true potential. At the same time my performance was improving by the day, and i was winning over the respect of my classmates. The same classmates who initially thought of me as an average student, suddenly started thinking of me as someone who is truly talented. A rank was 3474 in IIT was not exactly the kind of result i was expecting. It was time for a reality check and i got through Delhi College Of Engineering. The parallels end here. Because DCE was going to change my life forever. Rahul Dravid's best year was 2003. It was the same for me. Thereafter, i changed the way i led my life and thankfully dravid continued on his own way.
The nice guy that was Rahul Dravid was finally handed over the captaincy, and some smart person decided to write an autobiography on his life - The nice guy who finished first. I thought to myself, Great finally rahul is going to get what he truly deserves. I think in life there are certain people who have to struggle throught there life. Probably the same thing happened to dravid. He had his worst failure in the 2007 world cup. The tearful exit from the world cup probably ended the debate once and for all - Nice Guys indeed, never finish first. Sourav had the perfect ending to his career, beating Australia in his final match. Even the most die hard fan that i am, i feel that Dravid's time is shortly going to come to an end. Will he get a proper retirement or will his career finish the way it had started......I hope, i sincerely hope it has a happy ending.
Dedicated to my whole generation that grew up with dravid and ganguly's career and for whom imagining a cricket team without the names of dravid, ganguly and sachin are very difficult to imagine.
The nice guy that was Rahul Dravid was finally handed over the captaincy, and some smart person decided to write an autobiography on his life - The nice guy who finished first. I thought to myself, Great finally rahul is going to get what he truly deserves. I think in life there are certain people who have to struggle throught there life. Probably the same thing happened to dravid. He had his worst failure in the 2007 world cup. The tearful exit from the world cup probably ended the debate once and for all - Nice Guys indeed, never finish first. Sourav had the perfect ending to his career, beating Australia in his final match. Even the most die hard fan that i am, i feel that Dravid's time is shortly going to come to an end. Will he get a proper retirement or will his career finish the way it had started......I hope, i sincerely hope it has a happy ending.
Dedicated to my whole generation that grew up with dravid and ganguly's career and for whom imagining a cricket team without the names of dravid, ganguly and sachin are very difficult to imagine.
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