The Real Test

Here is a classic one from Ramachandra Guha
“In my opinion, Test cricket may be compared to the finest Scotch, 50-overs a side to Indian Made Foreign Liquor, and 20-20 to the local hooch. The addict who cannot have the first or the second will make do with the last. The pleasures of the shortest game are intense but also wholly ephemeral. There is no time to savour delights offered in such a rushed and heady fashion. The medium form allows one to take in the booze more leisurely. Here, a batsman can bat long enough to develop an innings, to play strokes other than the hoick over midwicket or mid on.

But proper cricket can only be Test cricket. Spread out over five days, the game unfolds as in an epic drama. No restrictions are placed on anyone. As with the finest Scotch, one savours every sip; and yet, as with the finest Scotch, the whole is infinitely greater than the parts.”

Check out the complete article at: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080329/jsp/opinion/story_9055430.jsp

I have often been involved in coffee table discussions wherein the debate is over Test or One-day or 20-20, which one is going to be more popular, exciting and interesting. The above liner is a clincher. I will remember that!

No doubt, that 20-20 cricket will be a crowd puller, an instant hit. The IPL has left no stone unturned by roping in popular film stars into the fray. Moreever, ShahRukh and Preity Zinta are owning cricket teams and Cricket is becoming more of a tamasha or a mega bollywood bash. This will no doubt increase the TRPs, but where will all these lead cricket to. Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the gentlemans game?

20-20 cricket is more a show of brawn over brains, strength over strategies. Be ready to see more of the upper cuts and the hoicks over the mid wicket.

The BCCI seems to be hell bent on spoiling the test cricket in the country, by preparing some of the flattest wickets ever seen for the test matches. The match at Chepauk was a dud. Sehwag provided the much needed spark, but overall, the match was a hugely forgettable one.

It was very heartening to see Dravid crossing the 10,000 runs mark at Chepauk. It is a very coveted milestone and i for one, do feel that there is no more a deserving candidate than Dravid. Javagal Srinath pours his heart out in this interview and flowers a lot many accolades (all deserving!) on dravid - http://cricketnext.com/news/dravid-an-icon-of-test-cricket-srinath/30643-14.html.

Dravid has been the No.1. batsmen for India in test cricket during the period from 2002 to 2007. There were a lot many centuries and double centuries towards a winning cause. Tendulkar was more of a dud during this period and there were occassional brilliances from him and Laxman. Ganguly, with a suspect defence, has never laid claims of being a Test great.

2007 has been an off-year for Dravid, which included the world-cup debacle and some low scores in tests. His work ethics and attitude are of the first grade and he is a role model for any youngster in any profession. I just hope that he survives at least the next 2-3 years of test cricket and scores tons of runs.

Tantrik's Story & the Cricket round-up

I have been off-blog for quite sometime. This has more to do with some serious work loads and ridiculous schedules on the professional front.

Check out this link:- http://www.rationalistinternational.net/article/2008/20080310/en_1.html

The guts of the tantrik should very well be appreciated here. He tried the tricks in front of the cameras of one of the prime indian channels. This was hilarious stuff. “The tantrik tried. He chanted his mantras (magic words): “Om lingalingalinalinga, kilikili….” But his efforts did not show any impact on Sanal – not after three minutes, and not after five.”

Here is a very funny situation that a guy got into because of dowry!. The guy goes around saying that he is from City A even though he is from City B, coz his wife is from city A. His hands are all shaky and sweaty whenever he hears a high decibel “hello” from his wife..The world is so round and funny..Hope the guy finds some peace..

The Indian team returned victorious from the tough Australian Campaign. Not that they won the test series. The fact that they won at Perth, on a bouncy track, is in itself a victory of sorts. That the Indians were at the receiving end on most of the erring umpiring decisions, robbed them off the Sydney test and most probably a test series victory. Sydney had proved elusive during the 2003-04 series as well. A typical fighting innings by Steve Waugh in his farewell test eluded us of what could have been a historic win on that occasion.

A lot has been written about the controversies surrounding this year’s Sydney test. A “maa ki..” comment is less derogatory to Andrew Symonds and the match refree than a ‘monkey’ comment! But for a billion cricket fans, Harbhajan has been a big disappointment. “maa ki..” is a terribly derogatory comment to make in India and he has set a bad example for all young cricket enthusiasts.

India, of late, has found quite a few talented young cricketers. These youngsters seem to have the right attitude to survive at the highest level and take India forward. For once, the retirement of the Pancha Pandavas ” sachin, dravid, kumble, ganguly and laxman”, does not seem to leave behind a big void.

The squad for the first two tests against the South Africans have been announced - http://content-www.cricinfo.com/indvrsa/content/current/story/342851.html.
Hope the Indians continue their winning momentum - lot easier to do in home conditions!

Lost in LOST!

I ticked off one more item from the pending list of my scheduler. I finally was able to watch all the pending episodes of SEASON 3 of the hugely popular tele-series LOST.

All the episodes were so fast paced and action packed, that it was a perfect recipe for a sure success. No wonder that LOST is among the all time top rated tele series. The DHARMA Inititaitve, the OTHERS, mysterious radio signals, mysterious magnetic fields all do capture the viewers imagination and keep them wanting for more. For all those who want to unearth some mysteries, here is a great site http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page

The other popular series ‘Prison Break’ turned into a lame duck in its 3rd season. It failed to deliver after promising so much in its first season. Right now it seems that the 3rd seson will be cut short into just 13 episodes. Dont know what Michael Schoffield would do in the remaining 4 episodes. He has to break away from SONA and the finale on Feb 18th would be worth watching.

Have heard quite a bit of positive reviews about HEROES. But somehow, it has not yet made an entry into my scheduler!

ESSC syndrome!

Well, am a fan of Dilbert, Dogbert, Asok and infact of all the characters that Scott Adams uses in his cartoons.

They are so funny and sarcastic that they give everyone a good nice laugh.

Well, here is one i caught recently in a desi dilbert forum:

Mr.A: Hi guys, I went on a trek to Mount XXX. It was so thrilling and adventurous.

Mr.U: You should have actually tried the Mount Everest. Mount xxx is a waste of time.

Mr.A: Infact Mount XXX has some tortuous and steep trails.

Mr.B: Wow, thats great! Hey, i purchased a new diesel SUV. Man, its a great machine. Always wanted to have one.

Mr.U: Very bad. You should have purchased a Petrol Vehicle.

Mr.B: Never mind. I love my possession and like going on long drives.

Mr.C: Guys, we have a desi get together this week to celebrate the Independence Day.

Mr.U: It is a waste of time. Of course, i would not waste my time and money on such silly events.

Mr.D: Btw, what do you do Mr.U?

Mr.U: I am affected by the ESSC (Eat, Shit, Sleep and Complain) syndrome. So, i do ESSC and play XBOX games during my free time!

Mr.U, then goes to another group and…
Mr.U: You know what! A, B, C and D are useless.

hahaha..Remember “Kyunki, Saans…” vamps?

The Bourne Series

Recently, i watched the latest in the Bourne movie series, “Bourne Ultimatum”. Having read the original novel by Robert Ludlum, i felt that the movie script deviated a lot more from the original plot in the novel. After a few hits in the WIKI, i realised that the novel was published way back in the 80s and so the original plot needed a touch up to live up to the expectations of the current day movie goers.

Another suspense thriller that comes to my mind is the “Day of the Jackal” by Frederick Forsyth. It has a great plot and would keep its suspense quotient intact until the reader reaches the end pages. Frederick Forsyth’s “Odessa File” is another great read about the Nazi plots in modern Germany and a secret organization called Odessa. His latest one “The Afghan” is about the modern day terrorism.

Dan Brown and Michael Crichton are my other favourites. Brown’s “Angels and Demons” and the “Da Vinci Code” were an instant hit among the literary folks, more for the controversy they created and also for the amount of meticulous reseach involved. Michael Crichton has been a favourite among the hollywood producers for regularly churning out mind-boggling techno-thrillers. His “Jurassic Park”, “Sphere”, “Congo”, “Disclosure” have all been very successful films. “Andromeda Strain” and “The Terminal Man” have been techno thrillers which appealed a lot to me.

Dravid Dropped!

The Indian team’s selection for the Pakistan tour has evoked a lot of strong opinions. A lot of them are due to the dropping of Dravid from the team. I think that this was a right decision taken by the selectors. Start grooming the youngsters and gradually phase out the oldies.

Its great to see that the fans have not resorted to effigy burnings and protest marches. Tells a lot about the civilised behaviour of the Bangaloreans! There are a lot of other issues of national importance which require such acts. Neways, if either Ganguly and tendulkar were to be dropped, then there sure would have been a lot of profits for the effigy makers!
And coming back to the team, there are 6 openers, 5 bowlers, 1 wicket keeper and 3 middle order batsmen. Now the headache is to pick 2 openers from 6 and somehow get 4 middle order batsmen from the 3 chosen. A task only the Indian selectors can do! Dhoni, am sure, will miss Dravid against a tough opposition like Pakistan. And am sure that Pakistan will be happy to hear this news.

And coming back to the openers dilemma, Sachin will not bat anywhere else (his feelings are of paramount interest to the team management and the selectors than the results ) and Saurav cannot bat anywhere else. So, the other openers picked would probably be warming the benches on all the 5 matches.

Let the action begin. The build up to this series is quite encouraging for the Indians. They have done well in England, won the Twenty20 World Cup and performed up to their expextations against the tough aussies. Hope the better team wins! And that obviously is India on current form!