god INCARNATES YET AGAIN

One love for the boyish looks,
One love for the cover drive,
One love for India’s pride,
One Love for the batting genius.

On a day when the Nation’s railway budget got shunted in the House of difference sorry parliament, one man mercilessly derailed the South African express with inhumane brutality. An act of crime so well executed that it even earned the admiration of his victims.








On 24th February of 2010, Charl Langdvelt earned himself a place in the record books by conceding a single of the final over. Not that he had done it for the first time but it was that momentous single which weighed a whopping two tons. Langdvelt could have very easily earned Godse’s reputation in India had his heroics succeeded. At the other end though, stood a figure which had a billion people breathing down his neck, a billion pair of eyes got blinded to the rest of the world but for this five foot boy wonder who stood between their ecstasy and melancholy for the days to come.

Right from the Senas to the rest of India, Cricket fanatics to sports lovers, Twitter freaks to the blog martyrs and even the pro and anti telenganas, all for once acceded to unison like they did on 92 previous occasions.


"He is my favorite player. I had said that one day he would go on to break all batting records and now you see him scoring runs and runs."

Javed Miandad kinda saw it coming.

It was once again, Sachin Tendulkar who broke another batting record. In fact; in this case he was the first person to reach that milestone. Sachin scored the first ever double ton in the history of One day International cricket. A record that stood for almost One and a half decade finally got rewritten by this batting genius.

"Better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself."

Nasser Hussain runs out of comparables for Tendulkar.

At an age when kids craved for brightly dyed school uniform, he adored the white robes, his batch was the Indian emblem embedded on his helmet and his daily stint in the nets had longer periods than his time in the classroom. He had a liking for geometry but he was his own tutor; he conceived theta off the arm of a bowler, possessed a natural affinity for angles of bisection, an innate ability to draw straight angles but with different equipment though and liked the square more than any other shape.

An argument or rather a statement from many “Imagine had Ponting or Hayden debuted at an age when Sachin did, they would have outscored Sachin by miles”. It’s a pity that they don’t realize the rationale in it, “at an age when these contemporary greats were learning the art of playing within the V, this prodigy had by then essayed poems of aesthetic marvel in the most intimidating conditions in the cricketing fraternity.”

To be precise, he was so ridiculously talented that the selectors had no other option but to play the boy in the Gentlemen’s game. Boy! Dint he give the men a run for their money!!!


Not many aged 16 would score a ton in each of their debut matches in the Duleep, Irani and Ranji trophy (making to the squad at that age in itself is commendable).



When many would have preferred the comfort of resting in the warm dressing room to the gloomy skies of Trent Bridge, he turned a cold shoulder to the lanky English fast bowlers and stood between England and victory on the final day scoring his maiden ton.

Soon, the boy tag gave way to the Giant killer in him. The agonizingly close finish at Napier when his eventual coach proved to be his nemesis, stopping him from becoming the youngest ever player to score a test century, the Opera at the Sydney cricket ground and

the pillaging at Perth on a track that appeared only slightly pale in green than the outfield prompted Dean Jones to comically warn Allan Border standing beside him in the slip cordon saying “this little guy would one day definitely outscore your record”.

Taylor But we thought the extra pace and extra bounce would sort him out. You could expect an Indian player to make a century at the SCG where it's slower and lower, but at the WACA it takes a special player to pick up the bounce and pace of the wicket in such a short time and Sachin was able to do that. It proved that he was always going to be a player for the future.

His brilliance was not a flash in the pan rather a lightning that struck everywhere from Trent bridge to Jo’burg, even the white lightning got electrocuted in his own backyard.








He was in a league of his own in the test format but it took a while for his geniuses to cut loose in the shorter format. It took 78 matches before he made his first One Day International Century. But he made the format his own once he got promoted to open the batting for India.

Where others perished, this man thrived. Hostility aggravated his hunger for big runs; bowler’s pride annihilated in his humble blade, seeing the back of this man was a dream for any bowler. His was a rare blend of batting, an ensemble of the solidity of Sunny Gavaskar and the sublimity of Sir Vivian Richards, his sabotage disarmed the opposition’s attack at will.


Sachin had become the country’s most followed sporting idol, even got elevated to the status of a demi god in his early twenties.

Being the lone crusader of the Indian batting for almost a decade in the 90’s, he formulated the perfect blend of offense and defense and saw his team home more often than any cricketer; his panache earned the admiration and awe of millions around the world. He made ruthlessness look beautiful, demise of records a regularity and his artistry inspired even the most passive pair of eyes.




His enduring journey has for over two decades been India’s reason of celebration, unanimity, pride, joy and even disappointment.











In a Nation that is as diverse as his array of shots and yet to be its most loved soul really requires the work of a genius. This quiet, hardnosed task master has not only earned the dismay of the leather charmers for over two decades but has caused equal distress to the game’s historians and statisticians delegating to them an eternal chore of number manipulation.

Open Quiz!!!

Greetings to all...

There's going to be an open quiz hosted by V V Ramanan of The Hindu Young World fame.

Details

Venue: Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam , Erode District, Tamil Nadu

Date : August 30th 2009

Timing: Prelims at 10 am followed by finals

Prizes:

Rs. 10000 for first place
Rs. 5000 for 2nd
Rs. 3000 for the third spot

For more details contact:(Tamil nadu SIM)
Ramakrishnan - +91 9952968169
Gowrishankar- +91 9940307842

MOUNT T20!!!!

India has started its quest of defending the T20 champion’s title in style with a convincing win over Bangladesh. India after mixed results in the practice games has started off its world cup campaign on a winning note. It really is a big surprise that India is the overwhelming favorites in clinching the title, I say so, purely on the merit of the format of the game. T20 has one rule written all over it – UNPREDICTABILITY!!!! It certainly ain’t a Monza circuit as in F1 where the driver who takes the lead and steps on the gas at the right time will win nine out of ten times. This game is as unpredictable as India’s coalition government and can turn topsy – turvy in a matter of an over or a couple of wickets. The Indian media as always has gone about its routine job of over- hyping the National side but, this time around the results in the recent past certainly add spice to it.

I always wanted to write about “upsets” in sports. A lingering antipathy in me that always surged up whenever a commentator said “We are in for a big upset here!!!”. “Upset” is too nominal a word used to ridicule a hard earned victory. When stated, it shifts the focus from celebrating a surprise and BIG hard earned victory to the defeat of a much stronger opposition in a context that makes you to sympathize the dismal performance and feel lucky about the hard earned success! What an irony! The term minnows don’t sound that pleasant either. The US and Canada were undoubtedly minnows when they played the First official Cricket match in 1844. So was the case with Australia and England when they started their international outing. Well! The fact that The US and Canada still remain as minnows cannot get more obvious. For some reasons Longevity alone has not defined the term “minnows” but standards and performance have a greater say in defining the term.

The typical English weather is doing no good to the sub continent players. The players swell up with pullovers and find it tough to take the pounding the ball effects during fielding. It’s not just the players who have got the cold shoulder of the weather but the biggest losers are the spectators who paid heftily with all the hopes of having a closer look at the cheer leaders. Where is the Glamor? Why the hell are the cheer leaders dresssed like Eskimos?? This is definitely not the opening the world cup wanted. Lol!!!

England as rightfully predicted by Ian chappell, faltered when it came to doing the basics right and yet again has stumbled in the big stages. India too looked very apprehensive and itchy when they came out to bat in their first match against Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma was awe-inspiring with his astounding stroke play that looked so effortless but he played one too many shots that led to his exit.

Dhoni has off late indulged in a much futile act of promoting himself up the order to the most important number three position. Now, that’s a fatal tactic and I still don’t understand how the support staff and coach is keeping mum on this issue. Dhoni’s saga of big hitting and marauding stroke play is slowly diminishing and is very evident from the way he plays in the recent past. He is now more of a nudger and has transformed into a fantastic finisher picking up the ones and twos and putting away the odd bad ball to the boundary ropes. A role much similar to what Bevan did so well for the Aussies. When he has such a cushion up the order with the likes of Raina and Rohit in his ranks to do the job at number three, over experimentation is not the order of the day! Dhoni has picked up this unhealthy habit of coming down the track time and again risking his wicket only to end up securing a single, this is quite frankly absurd. Gautam Gambhir anchored the innings but he too was more of an accumulator on the previous occasion rather than his usual self who would punish the bad deliveries at will. If not for Yuvraj’s cameo The Men in BLUE would definitely have faced the BLUES!!!

T20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How often have we witnessed big finals turning out to be a dead rubber with one sided contests! Let’s take a walk down the memory lane.

• ICC World Cup 1999, England – Australia vs. Pakistan, the Aussies truly were the Lords on that day! They defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets.



• ICC World Cup 2003, RSA – Aussies had the final laugh in India’s melodramatic run in the tournament. Australia recorded an emphatic victory by a record margin (in World Cup finals thus far) of 125 runs, underlining their dominance of the tournament.

• ICC World Cup 2007, the Caribbean Islands – Australia completed the Hatrick. Australia recorded 53-runs victory over Sri Lanka via the DL method.

Let’s play the music now:

• ICC_World_Twenty20_2007, RSA – India clinched the victory in the last over, defeating their arch rivals, Pakistan by five runs.


• 2008 Indian Premier League - In a match which went down to the last ball, Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings in the final to win the title.

• 2009 Indian Premier League – A match that got decided only in the last two deliveries with the The Deccan Chargers outwitting The Royal Challengers Bangalore by just six runs.


The NANO format of the Gentlemen’s game has so far lived upto it's hype and reputation. No wonder it has proved to be such a big hit. REASON??????:

The thrills and shrills of a nail biting finish is something that every sports lover would crave for. Agony, ecstasy, elation, despair all these invaluable emotions at the very last second of a game!!!!
Who could forget an absolute screamer from Iniesta that sealed the doors for the BLUES in this year’s Champions League Semifinal at Stamford Bridge! What drama it proved to be at Interlagos, in São Paulo, Brazil when Hamilton passed Toyota's Timo Glock in the final corners of the race to finish fifth, securing him the points needed to take the Drivers' Championship. Cricket has had its fair share as well and T20 has certainly added the oomph factor to what some considered as a dying game!

The 2009 IPL final between The Deccan Chargers and The Royal Challengers Bangalore was a low scoring game but was not short of excitement, twists and turns. The balance shifted between the two sides as periodic as a pendulum and kept the spectators and TV audiences on the edge of their seats. The Two teams were running for cover in the last edition of IPL, but this season they were truly much competitive and were hungry for success.

Anil Kumble showed everyone how well he could fit into the role of a leader and a mentor. On the other hand, Gilchrist seemed to have made the right moves at the right time whenever an opportunity was there to be taken. The 2009 IPL final had it’s moments of brilliance, verbosity, silliness and emotions. In the big final, it really proved to be a PERFECT GAMBLE when Anil brought himself on in the very first over to dismiss the ever dangerous Gilchrist. A gamble so well planned that it is worthy of a little briefing.
Anil who normally pushes his deliveries through the air was considerably slower through the air in that first over, lured Gilchrist to go for the heave onto the ON side and. The trajectory, dip and subtle deviation proved to be too good even for Gilly himself. Anil chipped in with wickets at the right time to put the brakes on the Chargers from running away with the game.

Unfortunately, his efforts went in vain as his batters let him down miserably at critical junctures. The DC’s were absolutely electric on the field with Sharma, Gibbs and Symmonds forming an impregnable corridor on the offside of the wicket and with their bowlers bowling to the field set, it really proved to be a nightmare for the RCB. Just as Anil proved to be the trump card for the Royal Challengers, it was Gilly who was the mastermind in causing their opponent's downfall. His behind the wicket glove work, that got rid of the set Virat Kohli was an absolute treat to watch. For critics who considered T20 as young man’s game, this is the ideal reply from a man aged 38 and still matching his reflexes on par with the best in the business. With wickets falling at regular intervals, it was just a matter of time before the challengers bundled out.

For once, Force India One was a solace for Dr. Mallya. Force India One finishing 9th and 13th in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix might well have saved the day for the UB DON!
IPL 2009, a true African safari!!!

IPL South Africa

The second edition of the IPL is coming to a close and we are two matches away from crowning the champions for this year’s IPL. In complete contrast to last year’s edition, IPL 2 has definitely proved to be even money bet between bat and ball.

Though the dissimilarities between the two editions seem to loom large, it has to be noted that, both the editions have witnessed one important similarity that has made this format of the game a box office blinder. Cricket is never short of surprises, excitement and for obvious reasons it neither runs out of disappointments as well. There is never a game in cricket that goes without coupe de theatre, certainly not in this format. Last season, Rajasthan Royals proved that Big Names are not necessarily the ingredients for success.

This year’s edition has witnessed a similar episode and it has to be said that The Deccan Chargers really did not run out of charge this time around. The Deccan Chargers looked in complete disarray last season, with a batting line up that was tailor made for this format of the game with the likes of Gilly, Gibbs, Afridi and Symmonds in their ranks. This year, the team has really done justice to their potential and has eventually found a place in the tournament which is almost from touching distance to the coveted trophy. Their semifinals tussle against the tournament favorites Delhi Daredevils proved to be ‘Gillyz’krieg! By the time Shewag’s men realized what had hit them; it was curtains down for the DareDevils.

Another surprise package in the tournament is the Royal Challengers from Bangalore. A team that proved no challenge to any team last year has witnessed a sea change this time. I doubt if they endorse Buchannan’s multiple theory of captaincy but they certainly had a tough time around finding the right leader at the helm, right from the word go. The then, England skipper pieterson replaced Rahul Dravid as captain at the start of the tournament but did not find success allured to him as easily as women might have. With his departure midway through the tournament and with his team finding it tough to keep its head out from drenching in complete failure, it was very crucial that they made the right choice in choosing their skipper and it really seems to have paid off by letting the old spin fox Kumble in taking over the team for the stub of the tournament. The team peaked at the right time and with their power hitters backing up, it’s ominous signs for their semifinal opponents The Chennai Super Kings. It really will prove to be a humdinger of a contest between last year’s runners up and this year’s phoenix of IPL.

Adieu!!!!!

Time is a luxury that we humans don’t have. Four years back, time was measured in grades, hence then, it was semesters that quantified it. Well, that is about to change for many of my friends here in college as they are about to bid adieu. As you might have guessed, this post of mine is reserved for my friends who added all the flavors to my college life which is turning out to be a bikini cocktail. If not for them and a few of my classmates and juniors, my college life might end up much like my hostel food. Need I say more?

The Rendezvous:

My college use to be an open house. Trust me it really was when we were in the first year! If not for the literal sense, at least people had no problems to get back to hostel even at unearthly hours after a movie at sathy’s famed IMAX’S but the only option they had was to jump the fence. Let’s plunge headlong into the list of the notorious pranksters, the peters, the Johnny Bravos, the Gunners, the red devils, the motofreaks, the manish malhotras and the desperados.

The MeCH TRIO:

AnKaN:


This guy will be your best mate if you address him as HUNKan every time, he might respond to you if you call him Ankan and he’ll go absolutely berserk if you call him Gong. Jokes apart, Ankan is BIT’s Hariharan. Ankan, a Bong, in fact a proud Bengali is one bloke who can go to extremes as far as his humor goes and has immense potential in exercising his vocal chords. I can never forget our IIT face painting competition and the stay at his home was absolute joy. I need to mention Ankan’s parents and his brother Arnab. We guys had a fantastic stay at his place, amazing hospitality and great food. A great mate and at times, he’ll be too rude a self critic and that has confounded many amongst us.





Vinay:

Vinay is ankan’s roomie and they both have the ability to amaze you with sheer brilliance and can also make you gobsmacked with bizarre mokkais. To be precise, vinay is smart, very smart guy. Whatever he does, he does it with interest and purpose and that is something I personally envied of this guy. Very clear of his ideology and conducts his life as he wishes. There is always something that is informative when you talk to this fella. He is an ardent football fan and an Arsenal Fan, a man for all weathers and a no fuss guy.










Sandheep: Sandy, sandu are a few names that can invite this guy’s attention. Sandy is an F1 and Football freak. He knows much about Ferrari than Stefano domenicalli does. He won’t mind giving a few suggestions regarding the team’s formations to Sir Alex Ferguson as well. Sandy can speak loud, really loud. I mean it! Sandy is down to earth. He won’t hesitate to admit his ignorance and that is something I like in him. I have had his company in all the major cultural competitions that I have been to and I have enjoyed every bit of it.









The Mixed Bag:

Prabhu Shankar:

Pappu , chitappu, brubbu, coach etc……. are few of his nick names. Prabhu is BIT’s chella pillai. Everyone knows him. Hold on a second, let me put it this way, he knows everyone. He is a natural story teller. The best part is that it is not intentional. A cricket maniac and that’s a common trait amongst us. He can go on and on about cricket (in fact he can do it on any topic). He is an extreme hard worker and can fit into any role, be it a technocrat, a throw ball coach and obviously a cricket expert. He is a Genial Giant.




Saravannan:

Pottu, loosu kounda (that’s how ska calls him) are his nick names. A true eco freak, very passionate about animals, pets, plants and all that is related to flora and fauna. A humble person and an enthusiastic participant in all activities. All the major treks in our college’s Eco club were possible, truly because of this guy. His koundar accent is something that’ll stay in my mind for long. His hideout is my college’s cafeteria and you can find him there, nine out of ten times after college hours.


Prashanth:


Shanth is a motofreak and goes crazy for cars and bikes. He would rather be working in a pit stop rather than studying network protocols. An athlete, a good friend of mine and off late for some reason he badly wants to murder someone just because he feels bored. I got to know him only in the latter half of my hostel life and since then we have partnered in morning jogs, afternoon class bunks and a few cricket’ O7 matches in ska’s system.






Varun:

I call him Vroomm, a name inspired from Chetan Bhagat’s One Night at the Call Centre. He is BIT’s student’s voice in any important function and don’t mistake him to be a students head. He sings the lullaby in every function from the MC desk. He adores sleep much more than his B.E degree and he is up there to compete with ska as far as afternoon naps go. I first met him in the English department for a MC rehearsal in the first year and even then, he was the king of that trade. Varun, along with his gang mates relish pulling my legs and obviously ska’s too.



Gokul:

Goka has a fantastic dressing sense much like maali, prashanth and few above mentioned characters. He is studious, a quite operator and a good dancer. He taught me the important step for the ringa ringa part in our recent “flirt with danger attempt” (I mean, our hostel day dance).















Mahesh:


Maggi, matter are few of his famed nick names. This guy had his base in the hills for sometime and was literally chucked down to the plains. Jokes apart, mahesh can prove to be a silent assassin and he is adept at pulling other’s pants down and still act as if nothing had happened. Matter, is an easygoing person and makes girls go crazy over his hair style.















Anantharaman:

Anda is Bio-tech’s Bheem boy. Anda is varun’s roomie and both come from the same school as well. I know Anda right from my school days when we use to go to the same cricket coach for daily nets. I was surprised to see this guy when I joined the college. He is The Big B (big brat). A famous Rotarian in our college and can get very candid at times.














Marshal:
Malli is the chocolate boy of our gang. His dressing is impeccable and carries a soft demeanor and obviously, a ladies man. He is very polite and has a clean sheet in whatever he does. A brand freak and like a few others, an absolute no fuss guy. Malli shares a good rapport with ambi and he is ambi’s roomie.








Tarun:

Appachu still has this habit of irritating me with the question that he asks me every weekend “dude how come you are still in hostel instead of going home?” (Well! To be honest quite a few of my friends, juniors and seniors would ask me the same question and that makes no difference to me) Tarun rarely talks and barely comments on anything. He has his own world out in the backyard of mysore and coorg. He too is an automobile freak and his room walls stand testimony to this fact.











Kadambari:

Well KD is the personification of Bharathi’s pudumai penn! She has enough ammunition in her armory to rattle down everything and anything that is thrown at her. Her response would be as blatant as one could imagine. She is a knowledge hub and would not hesitate to help you out if her help is sought. A very good friend of mine and history says that she was in my batch and in my school. A Bhavan’ite!











Amrutha:
She is a real brat. She is one person who would start joshing casually and then can go up to the extent of making you completely mum with her spontaneous responses. She is one of my very few friends from the opposite gender and she really is a worthy friend of mine. A chatter box and a die hard MSD fan! .








The list is non-exhaustive and I only hope that those names that I have missed out don’t get cross with me. A statement is beautiful only if it is complete. On that note, separation is as important as instigation. Any relationship derives meaning not on the proximity but on the longevity (wow! I never knew I would come up such an authentic, awesome one-liner!). Anyways, let the best of luck accompany you in all endeavors.

Team India is only one test match away from scripting its famous series victory in New Zealand that has eluded them for more than four decades. The just concluded test match at Napier has added more to the fact that team India is now covering grounds on all aspects of the game. India has managed to pull off a draw after being completely outplayed by the kiwis for almost three and a half days of the test match.

The Kiwis piled up a mammoth first innings total of 619, thanks to Jesse Ryder’s marauding double century and tons from both Taylor and Mccullum. The strip at Napier served as a batting paradise and there was virtually no assistance for the quickies from it. Sloppy ground fielding from the Indians aided with ordinary bowling ensured that kiwis batted India out of the game. India started their daunting quest of scaling the huge total on an ordinary note with the Delhi dasher getting out cheaply for a very ordinary shot. Gambhir too perished yielding to sudden rush of blood. The Indian batsmen played one too many shots and failed to put up any considerable partnership throughout their innings. All three senior pros failed to convert their starts and that cost India dearly. India was asked to follow on and that meant India had to bat for two and a half days. Even though the wicket was true enough and had even bounce, it really required an out of ordinary effort to stick it out for all seven sessions. India has quite often succumbed to pressure when it comes to saving a test match in the last innings, but this new Indian outfit seems to be averse to losing games and this is the quality that has transformed the poor travelers to a top draw team. Much was expected from Viru but he failed again and India was one down at stumps on day three.
MARATHON INNINGS:
Day Four:

All that was required of India was Bat, bat, bat and bat on till dusk and that’s exactly what unfolded from the Indian batting camp. Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir did exactly what was required off the duo. The Kiwis tried all that they had in their arsenal but couldn’t make any inroads early on. Dravid has finally come out of the shell that subdued his batting in the recent past. Even in the last test match his batting was flawless and very fluent. Dravid was at his best in both offense and defense. An absolute shocker of a decision sent the dejected dravid back to the pavilion. Sachin who walked in as India’s number four did not put a foot wrong. The Master is in sublime nick and that was evident in each of his outing. Dravid was the sole wicket to fall on the day and India raised their chances of pulling out a draw out of nowhere. The black caps had a long and toiling day on the field.
Day five:
Things looked rosy for the master blaster to add another ton to his kitty, but a stunning catch from Brendon Mccullum consumed his wicket. It was crucial for India to keep the wickets intact as we know history has often surprised us with team folding up like a pack of cards on the last day in fact, even in the last session of the match. Just as the kiwis smelled blood, Laxman yet again performed in trying situation and made sure that the kiwis did not get under their skin. The match was nicely poised and both the teams had a chance of getting home. Gambhir, on the other hand played an innings of his lifetime occupying the crease for almost eleven hours. For a natural stroke maker, it really is coming of age for this Delhi youngster. Gambhir finally got out and even then, Kiwis had a fair chance of winning the game. Yuvraj Singh was under pressure right from the word go of his innings.

Laxman Silken:

Post tea session witnessed vintage laxman. Laxman was all class and poise as he caressed his way through for his fourteenth Century. The wristy player scored hundred of his one twenty four in boundaries and this says the complete story. India finished the job with much ease and lead the series. All set for a humdinger of a contest at Basin River.