Happy Birthday Yuvraj Singh

     Somethings never cease to amuse us, like the beauty of a peacock, solidity of Dravid's defense etc, but one thing i found very late, yet i knew it all the time, the commitment of Yuvraj Singh, never ending!, i remember an incident about a year ago, India were in Sri Lanka playing a ODI series, yuvi was in and out of the team due to injuries, he wasn't playing but was in the squad, when he went to give drinks to the players in-between overs the crowd shouted "water-boy", allegedly he got into a small verbal fight with the crowd, back then i knew, he would come back into the team and would blast his way through, but i didn't believe that myself, but he did what he does best, he performed and outshone everybody in the 2011 wc, not only with the bat but also with the ball, he performed so well that he was the probably the reason why India ever won this wc, but even that wasn't enough for me to see it, then he was again out of the team due to injuries, but it was leaked to media somehow that he has a lung tumour and that's the reason for his absence from the team, then everybody realized, he played all the way through with a lung tumour and won us the wc, what kind of commitment!, there are kind of players who take rest for slightest of pain and there are players like Kumble and Yuvi who would do anything to win the game for India.

Yuvi with Man of the Series award WC 2011

     India also won the T-20 wc because of this guy's brilliant performance against the Aussies and the English but we all speak only about the captain.

The Dream

     This cannot and should not wait morning, it's roughly been an hour since we held the WORLD CUP, man, how many times should i have to hold those tears back?, everyone in this country wanted this cup, once in their lifetime, Sachin already gave me enough memories and we normal fans before this tournie started all wanted them to win this one for only one person, and we normal people couldn't thank the team in a million ways, this world cup was not just about Sachin, it's the teams whole team effort. I"ve always hated Dhoni but this special innings he played today his 91, i wont forget that for my lifetime. I've no more words to type about how ecstatic i am now along with millions others in the country, just thankful to give all this people one reason to celebrate.

The Phenomenon Ind VS Pak

     I've already written about the Ind vs Pak match and this is another one, this is an incident in 2007 sep, i was in 12th standard at that time, and days were going slow, i had to attend maths tuition on alternate days and i never missed one day there because i really liked it, more than school, the school was getting very strict with all their stupid rules and no one there had any idea how teaching was done, i used to fail consistently in physics and chemistry and somehow manage to pass in maths, all because of this tuition i attended.

The famous Javid Miandad jump

     Anyways that's not at all the point, it was the first time the T-20 championships were played and no one knew the power of the format then, it was not being shown on cable in most parts of the city and the dish technology was fairly new and not many had access to it. As a result most of us chennaites saw the post-match shows on news channels and there was no live radio commentary either, we missed the Pak bowl-out, Sa chocking, Eng and Aus demolition by Yuvraj, and somehow India and Pak both qualified to the finals, and everything came to a stand-still, the match was scheduled to start at 6 in the evening i guess, and almost everybody from our tuition bunked that day, i went to my friends house in east C.I.T nagar, he had a set-top box, so i knew i wouldn't miss the match. But later i heard the final match was aired on cable also. When people say India is a cricket-crazed country, i doubted it, i myself have met many who weren't really "crazy" about cricket, but my tuition served as the best example, that day on the final, only 5 or 6 turned up, and the class strength was nearly 65, and our tuition sir invited those 5 or 6 downstairs to his house to watch the match with his family and from then i never doubted our "craziness". Come Wednesday, exceptions are going to be made, there will be massive bunking of schools, colleges and offices and no one will question them cos they already know it's because of the match, some clever IT companies are going to stop working after 2 and they are going to air the final match in their own offices, that way at least only half a day will be wasted, i have college till 12 I'll return home in time for the toss, for this is not just a match it's a PHENOMENON.
     PS: This is just purely my view, there is a debate going on tv about diplomacy and sh*t, f**k you people!, i don't understand you people, this is a cricket match, not your stupid politics, it will be treated as war between the two nations, we average indian-cricket fans always had this notion and will have continue to have it this way, it's absolutely a war now after what afridi has said, so just shut up, no peace or diplomacy and anything will come out of this match, if possible enjoy the cricket else just f**k-off!

The Worldcup so far

     What a cup it has been so far, it started with controversies that this format is designed in such a way to protect the asian teams, but it did actually protect England too, they would have been first round exits if it was the older format for their loss against Ireland. Spraking of minnows, man, kevin o'brein, doeschate, surkari, tikolo etc can't forget those guys, sadly they might not be in the next wc, but kob's century left an impression, the ICC might rethink it, wc over the years was always about the minnows, remember Dwayne Leverock the fat guy from Bermuda who took that catch at first slip, the world trembled that day, wc is about these moments and it's really sad they are not going be in the next tournament.
     Now, the quarters are over and only 3 matches to go in the tournie, England just got *itch-slapped by the Lankans, Safa's chocked and the word is that the safa-choke is the biggest after deep-throat (laugh if you understood that, if you didn't, just ignore), Wi as usual didn't care much, Aussies we won against them, always love a Ind vs Aus match, got to respect Lee and Ponting for the heart they had, to give a fight like that, they are true champions, even ponting, the ahole he is, is a tremendous cricketer, will miss the ferocity of an Aussie match without them.
     The Lankans, they beat a non-asian team and that too England and on their own home-turf so they had a relatively easy qf, Nz played well but the chocker chocked and every one joked about them, Pak's the most erratic cricket team the world has ever seen and they beat Wi which is also relatively easy, India had the toughest match of the qf, yuvi was great throughout the cup, and hopefully for the rest of it also.

     This leaves us with Sl vs Nz and Ind Vs Pak sf's, i don't care about the first sf, thats will most probably be one-sided Sl victory, IND vs PAK that's the dream, that's called rivalry, the ashes can suck it's own ash compared to this, the ashes is complete mismatch England almost never won until the recent years and it has a following, but this was never like that, both teams fought a battle, only with bat and ball, i not going to hype it anymore than it's already hyped, and hyped as it deserves to be, I predict a Ind vs Sl final. Afridi just said a few hours back this,"Sachin will have to wait until after the World Cup for his 100th international century because we are not going to allow either him or any other Indian player to play a big innings" all i can say is wait until 30th and you'll made to mince your own words.

The Wc '11

     I hadn't written a post in a while and i thought it was time, first things first, i hate dhoni, i hate him cos, he had talent and when he took the captaincy he just forgot how to bat, and was riding on luck and performances of others.
     Ind vs Sa, we scored 296 something, where we should have scored more, we didn't, not that we batted badly or they bowled well, but batting the wrong batsmen at the wrong time, that was a mistake, i still suppose dhoni is human, so he's bound to make a few. Second half, Sa batted brilliantly, we bowled and we fielded bad, Zaheer came, changed things on its head, we were in a winning position, 49th over bowled by zaheer, superb over only 5 runs in that i guess, last over 13 required, robin peterson and faf du plessis batting, we had bhajji, nehra, y pathan, yuvraj, to bowl the last over, we still remember the 5 sixes of yuvi's last over in england, pathan inexperienced, nehra fucked up the last over many times in the past(he's good bowler, just the death overs), the obvious choice was bhajji, dude's experienced also, yet that asshole of a captain gives the ball to the delhiwala, i can't blame nehra here at all, not that i hate dhoni i am blaming him now, just that logic was no there.
     Lets consider this situation last over of the '07 wc (t20 championship), last over given to joginder fuckin sharma, just think, if that over had failed and Pak won that match, where would have our "captain cool" been today, that over was a obvious bad choice, but luck favored him and i for one believe that matches have to be won by skill rather than luck.
     Hindsight is always 20-20, last match against WI, we made 268, lesser than we would have scored, i personally felt raina should have come in earlier where dhoni came and to the last both the beasts y pathan and dhoni, would have been perfect, but let's face it, we batted really bad and that too without roach, second half, this is where the problem was, Wi didn't have gayle, chanderpaul, and yet they almost chased us, ashwin and zaheer the only 2 proper bowlers we have in this tournament, ashwin was wasted in first 15 overs itself, and zaheer was not given the ball after his first 2 overs, and we bowled all part-timers from 6th over onwards, i didn't understand it, i thought fast bowlers get the new ball and the spinners get the used one, but it was the reverse, and that too using part-timers not even yuvraj, it was raina and pathan for most of the time, dhoni was waiting for reverse swing i guess, as if we have a wasim akram, waqar younis, abdul razzaq kind of bowling attack all we have in the fast bowling is zaheer, the only Indian who could reverse at present, all we should have done is bowled bowlers not the part-timers at fielded properly, if this kind of tactics persists in the match against the aussies, i am sure we're losing it, and i'll blame dhoni and solely dhoni only for that.
     But something inside me says that, we're going to win that match, this world cup is all about Sachin, and we still have Shewag, Gambir, Yuvraj, Kholi, Ashwin, Zaheer, we have a team that can win, things are all not falling in place, it's just like a puzzle and when the day comes i hope we find all the pieces in it's proper place. 

Suresh Raina !?

     I don't get it why some people hate Suresh Raina, and i mean a certain section of cricket fans in general (is that an oxymoron?), so i thought of writing a small post on the pros and cons of this guy, first of all i like Suresh Raina, not like i am a fan of him but just like him.

CONS:

• Suresh Raina bats like sh*t on bouncy tracks, this is quite true, we saw how he batted in SA recently and even otherwise he has a reputation for playing like sh*t on leave bouncy tracks but short-pitched deliveries also,
• What the f*ck did he do to deserve a place in the 11 for the first 30 odi matches he played?, as far i can remember he hit some match saving 70 odd runs in one of his first 5 matches and he went on for nearly 25 matches without scoring any useful runs,
• Look at his technique! it resembles Dhoni's Neanderthal style in some shots, especially the big pull shots where he gives the spectators a free view of his abdominal area, yeah his batting looks sick and thats the most logical reason why he cant play the short ball properly.

PROS:

• He is a very good Fielder,
• He has a great record in the sub-continent,
• He is a handy part time bowler,
• He is not an asshole like Appam (people also call him Sreeshanth) or has any weight/attitude problems like Yuvraj Singh,
• He is already being groomed to become the next captain (Sachin (i.e God) knows how many they are training),
• all other Sh*ts included

     Basically i perceive him as a good T20 and ODI player, but downright unfit for tests, he did score a century on debut but that was in SL, dusty flat tracks even Dhoni can hit a triple there, fielding he has always been great, bowling , i don't get it how he is even allowed to bowl, but it always seems to work, captaincy and sh*t like leadership skills i have no idea, overall watch out for him the WC.

   PS: Damn!, this post looks a 8 mark answer i write for my exams!

CSK again

  
     Last time just before the IPL, i wrote a completely crazy post, and what happened? we won the cup, so i am going follow that 'tradition' of hyping the team before the tournament actually starts.
     We still have a captain who don't know to bat outside the sub-continent, but hey we have Hayden who's batting suits the bouncy South African pitches, evidently he did extremely well in the second season of IPL held there and very badly in IPL 3 held here, Raina's been good Kemp and Albie are playing in their home conditions, Badri can give us the needed stability and we have Mr.Cricket Hussey too, Vijay is a problem(maybe some numerology might help, he's got a bad name) so is Dhoni, bowlers! this is something we did not have in IPL 1 and 2, but this time we have that edge, the good bowling line-up one of the best in cl-2 i would say, R.Ashwin came from nowhere to become most economical and wicket-taking bowler in the second half of IPL 3 and since then bowling problems have gone down, Murali is the maestro, jakati can really help and Bollinger another plus gives good pace, other pacers are BAD(i mean balaji,goni,joginder sharma, tyagi) i hope that they don't even get to play one match, part timers like albie and kemp can handle it, fielding's always been good except for 2 absolute AS****** named balaji and Goni, the team and everything around is in real good shape unlike the last time when CSK found it's rhythm only in the second half and we fans had no real hope, so just go on rock SA guys we are supporting you, i think no need to hype as we are sure of the victory.

CSK FOR LIFE...... 

Anil Kumble: The true legend.

The Ultimate reason why one can be his fan.

     When I was a kid, without much knowledge of cricket, when someone asked who is your favorite cricketer i would say 3 names, sachin, kumble, ajay jadeja, i have no idea why, but i would, as i grew ajay jadeja faded away with some match-fixing scandals, everyone knows Sachin is the god but kumble remained underrated, if anyone asks me today who are role models in life i am sure i'll mention the humble Sachin and the gentleman Kumble among the few others.

     Kumble is a legend, he is the perfect example for determination and controlled aggression(which many lack these days aka sreeshanth, yuvi, etc). Kumble's attitude is the ultimate i feel, and that attitude can win many hearts like mine, for me cricket is not just a game, it's a teacher of many life qualities and lessons and one can learn many from Kumble's games. Determination, whenever i hear this word, the first name that comes to my mind is "Anil Kumble", anybody else with such a bowling action as his wouldn't have lasted for more than a series or two, but kumble survived for 132 tests and took 619 wickets highest by any Indian and also considered as one of the best modern day spinners, his action gave him no spin but bounce and pace, what made him unique was the aggression with which he bowled, those expressions of anger after taking a wicket, the pleading to bowl one more over again and again even after being thrashed by the bowler, he was titanium-strong mentally, he had a hunger for competition like no other. It was like if he was bowling he was giving more than a 100 percent every time.

     I did not see the famous 2002 India vs West Indies match where he played on with a broken jaw and took Brain Lara's wicket, but i've heard a lot about that match and seen a few videos, but that alone doesn't show his greatness, many other minor incidents were the reason for me liking him so much, he was a perfect gentleman, he had no controversy ever until the sydney '08 incident occurred, he was extremely aggressive on the field and off it he was gentleman, the ultimate qualities of a legend.

     This article by Harsha Bhogle triggered me to write this much delayed post and i am really satisfied i wrote this.  

CSk for life

Dear Red. If you're reading this, 
  you've gotten out. And if you've 
  come this far, maybe you're willing 
  to come a little further. You 
  remember the name of the town, 
  don't you? I could use a good man 
  to help me get my project on 
  wheels. I'll keep an eye out for 
  you and the chessboard ready. 
   (beat) 
  Remember, Red. Hope is a good 
  thing, maybe the best of things, 
  and no good thing ever dies. I will 
  be hoping that this letter finds 
  you, and finds you well. Your 
  friend. Andy.

Now why did i post this dialog from "The Shawshank Redemption"?, let me explain it, might sound silly, but it is something to me, last week or so i was reeling in pain, not able to think anything, do my things properly, get angry on small things, i was in extreme frustration, CSK has lost 4 matches in a row and looking in very bad shape to qualify for the semi's, people started ridiculing the team, sms's were passed over to add salt to already salty soup, i knew that my team would rise up from the defeat and show to the world what csk is made of, i held my hope, i always had a lot of hope on csk, and maybe that was a good thing and it never died, never even fainted for a second, and now the result speaks, many of those wagging mouths have already shut up, i don't know what a csk fan is or a sports fan is when he can't stand-by his team through thin's of the team's carrier, i was never like that, hope is the best of things, and i'll remain with hope always.

CSK for life......

CSK

Chennai Super Kings

     Shit, i don't know what's wrong with our team franchise, first they give a yellow color jersey, people say manja color banian(yellow, yellow dirty fellow with a captain buffalo), kothanaru podaru banian (masons wear a similar yellow color vest and do their work), Kak*** color da adhu (no expalination). Then they select a buffalo as the captain with no proper bowling attack, then they create a unbearable team song, then they buy cheap cheer leaders, then they make vijay the team ambassador.....do what not?
     I am tired of explaining all the geth our dress colour, and i don't support the captain but i back all the stupid player, then i say, this is the best team this is MY team, and saying vijay is removed now's sivamani.
     What for? Tomorrow is IPL, I don't see any fever out there, saturday is our first match, no proper advertising on tv or internet or even newspapers, KKR the most stupidest IPL team is also doing some advertising, what are we doing? We got enough negative publicity already with a buffalo playing for the team and a pig ambassadoring the team I don't know what's my purpose as a fan, I don't know why i am a fan of such a stupid team.
     But wait,This is MY team what if those assholes don't publicize MY team, I will be a fan for life. MY team WILL win the tournament this time, this time no semi final finish and stuff, winners is the only finish we are going to see this time. My team has the best batting line up, now come and face my team and you are only getting to be humiliated by boundaries flying outside the ground, come saturday it's gonna be mayhem on the field, it's gonna seem like there is reverse gravity effect when MY team bat, balls gonna get ripped apart, and getting lost every few overs, such is the bashing gonna be, every other team out there is going to think "shit guys we've been cheated, they are using black magic" such is the effect going to be, it would be just like the Kings have arrived but wait, we are the Superkings, Beware others out there, the Superkings are on the prowl.

CSK FOR LIFE......

Sachin THE God.

     This is my 50th post and what a wonderful thing i got to write for this post, Sachin and his 200*, it's a Divine sent gift (i mean sachin when i say divine,God etc). I spent a fair bit of my life in one sadness, only one record not created or broken by the God, but i thought that the god is omnipotent and just for a him a record book could be created and just that one record would not matter at all. But i'll remember the 24th of February, celebrate this day as it is one of the most important day of the year apart from the 24th of April this is the day that broke an existing record and also create a new record that no living person has done(that's why he is the God). I stood up in adulation, tears rolled down(i don't know why it happened, but it surely did happen) and was paralyzed with admiration,passion or any other word in that dictionary for love for the God, there is completeness now, every mafa record is made by the God now, is there anyone out there to question any aspect of the God?, C'mon where are those who said that he's old for the game?, C'mon where are those who said he is not consistant?, C'mon where are those who said he can't bat fast?, C'mon where are those who uttered those blasphemous shit? and most importantly where is that coach and a wicketkeeper-batsmen and other mere-mortals who doubted his commitment?, Ya you got it, those have dug their heads into a ditch full of dog shit or they have understood their mistake and changed their stance from anti-god to devotees of the omni powerful.
     There was an sms after the record from a good friend of mine, he asked "I got a critical doubt now, will the God's 200 be considered as the 46th century or his first 200?", i never replied, i did not know the answer, but  all i knew was that God is great and only because of him these kinds of doubts could arise, all i can say is that, "I was an Atheist, but saw Sachin Tendulkar and realized how blind i was". One chance, i need to meet him or at least see him from a distance, i can go back and die happily!, what else is left?, i would have attained salvation, that's enough for my life.

Funny Cricket Cartoon's

 Be AFRIDI!!!

                                                         Stupid Dhoni.                                                          

I love Cricinfo Page2.

Eden Gardens

     This ground is heaven for any Indian cricketer/fan, any day if anyone asks me to talk about a few test victories by India, i would without doubt mention 2001 Ind vs Aus among a few others, that test happened in the most beautiful eden gardens-Kolkatta , we were hopeless on day:3, following on, but the aussies did not know that if they have to capture the Indian fort, they have to demolish the strong Indian WALL guarded by a STYLISH HYDERABADI, then there were a few spinning arrows thrown at the them bya person know as the TURBONATOR, poor aussies it took lot of time to suppress the first two but then the arrows devastated more than half of their army.Scorecard.
     Eden gardens has magic, something a mortal can't interpret, present : series against S.A , status : we are 1 down in the two test match series, past : in 2001 we were one down to aus in that series, Similarity : A test match at Eden, Results : Won the series after winning that test, after have risen from the ashes like phoenixes, Present :End of day 1,sa 266 FOR 9........ Eden is showing it's magic, History is repeating itself the arrow-thrower is resurrected, the stylish hyderabadi's back, Wall has been re-built using chennai concrete(that's badri), the opening slayers are in murderous mood, the rapid spear throwers are spitting fire,every sign of a victory is imminent, we are going to win the match, we are going to remain the Number one.

Sports movies and criticism on Cricket

     
     Of late i have been watching a few good movies, and Chak De India is one of them,this movie is named as the 12th best sports movie of all time on imdb, and we have 3 of our movies in that list Iqbal and Lagaan are the other 2, while the other two were more art oriented and about cricket,this movie's little less arty and about hockey.This movie is about a coach called Kabir Khan,coach of the women's national hockey team who brings the team from nowhere to victory but his personal hockey carrier was spoiled when he misses to make a penalty goal in a Ind VS Pak match, as soon pak wins, a member of the pak team comes and shakes hand with him in good sportsman spirit but the media takes close-ups of this hand shake and makes it a national issue alleging kabir of match fixing then he leaves his home and disappears for 7 years and then appears on the scene in path breaking style.
     This movie had good music,camera work,acting,story etc.As far as i am concerned i always thought Sharukh was a bad actor and that was because that always he acts in those masala flicks mostly and his KKR team publicity stunts(which actually did negative publicity) and most importantly i have not seen many of his movies earlier and that has changed now but the one thing i don't like about this movie is that there is too much of negativity towards cricket, but lets assess we just won one cricket world cup and in present tense cricket is the only sport here,hockey won most of the golds, in fact india has the highest number of olympic medals in hockey but it still can't find a proper place with peoples interests, why? maybe politics.....It's time people stop blaming cricket and see what's wrong with other sport administrations, cricket did well(the admin's of course) to be decorated in this era but what did other sports do?....
     It's too late for me to rate this movie but i will give a 8.5/10.There are equally good movies Iqbal and Lagaan and as far as i remember india has produced 4 bollywood sports movies and three are in the top 15 ,4th movie is goal(john abraham,bips starrer).One movie called "Sye" it's a masala flick,telegu movie,college oriented and rugby based(would you believe that?) is worth a mention a good movie and "Lee" tamil movie, football based did average it had a bad actor to play the lead that's it as far as i remember ok bye.

Peiteresen talking to Kallis in Tamil

Peiteresen: Vaa macha veliyala poie oru dum adichitu varalam.

Kallis: Aama macha unga trott payan kooda romba gaandu enthitan da.

Few quotes on Sachin

Nice video ,i liked it...

Sachinism

This is very old ad , but i always remember the ecstasy i used to feel whenever i saw it on tv, it was aired during matches and i used to stop whatever i may be doing and run to the tv to watch it, for me this ad is the start of sachinism in me.....like in the ad if sachin bats the world is in an absolute stand still , just as if waiting to be taken to glory and attain salvation by the only Saviour(during those times literally it was only him who played well) and numerous times he made us win games,single handedly.....Proud Sachin fan, my religion sachinism, my god sachin. 

Fine's and Ban's Part-II

    This one's simple one compared to the last post India while playing against the Lankans in the 2'nd ODI used up extra 45 mins of the alloted time and that is not too late to be left off with a fine and Dhoni has been handed a two ODI ban effective immediately and all the team members 40% of the match fee has docked as fine.For Dhoni hater's like me ,we are happy to see a match without him but generally for a normal and neutral fan it's a little sour.None is to be blamed here the referee Jeff Crowe did what was written in the book and the new rules in the book are very strict, Dhoni and his team bowled only 8 overs in the last one hour while the normal rate would be 14-16 per hour. When in pressure, it generally takes time to bowl your overs but 45 mins was a little too much but India had to try their best to win and so it's OK considering the spirit of the game issue. The B.C.C.I won't appeal(very un-BCCI style) the ban or the fine.

   The captain for the next two tests is Shewag and Dhoni will be back for the final match. So enjoy guys waiting to see an ODI without Dhoni.

   As i write this post i realize that Makaya Ntini is playing his 100th test match Kudos Makaya!!!

 You are one of the best.

Fine's and Ban's

     "I'll See You Outside" says Benn

 You would have got it,Yes it's about cricket first the controversy the "Sulieman Benn" issue.And it is a serious one in my opinion it's racism in cricket. The incident was a very normal one, Midge hits one just to his off side and Benn goes to pick the ball up as Haddin tries for a quick single and they collide and an altercation occurs between the both and it is settled quickly but the real incident occurs a few overs later when Benn stops a ball which is hit straight back and aims it back at the stumps on the strikers side while looking at Haddin and then Haddin almost charges upto to Benn saying things and Benn's not to be left behind starts saying things and that too in his Caribbean calypso style when they keep talking to each others Midge enters and puts his head blocking Benn hand and Benn gives him a slight push. Gayle tries to separate Benn and the white boys but it's of no use, the umpires mere look at them as if it was funny. Complaints lodged and the racist referee Chris Broad hands 25% and 10% ban to Haddin and Midge each, but 2 ODI ban on Benn.....Ok i ask this question how would have Chris Broad reacted if he was in Benn's situation? Everyone knows the aussie's racist culture so i have no doubt that they would have said something to Benn, coming back to Chris Broad he would have reacted the way in which Benn had, and leave that why was a ban not handed on the aussie's, maybe cos they are white, that's the only thing i can think of. Similar incident took place in 2007 day 3 of the 2nd test match at Sydney in the series between India and Australia when Bajji was provoked by Hayden,Symonds and co, that's when aussies were told that are the most "Champion Stuff" team in the world. I hear W.I has appealed the ban and most probably i feel that the ban will be overturned when the case falls in the hands of a proper non-racist judge.

This is my personal opinion so if there is something wrong please forgive my mistake.