Final Frontier Fallllinnnggg..........
At tea on Day 3, India is staring down the barrel, as the Aussies consolidate ruthlessly, shutting the door completely, ensuring no cracks are left unsealed. There were no miraculous comebacks from Sachin ,Dravid or Laxman. If you compare the last two series, none of the batting stars have fired, Laxman, Sachin,Dravid among the Indians and Hayden amongst the Aussies. The Aussies have found 3 batsmen(Katich, Clarke, Martyn) while the Indians have found only one , Kaif, who has raised his hands, to be counted. Even the combative Dada doesnt seem to have the fight left in him. Is it anything to do with the BCCI imbroglio...hmmm
The bowlers from both teams have fared equally, the Aussie fielding is streets aheads of the Indians, but it is in the batting that the Indians have floundered badly. As a unit which prides itself on its batting strength, the collective failure of all its top batsmen is sapping the morale.
This year is turning out to be terrible one for India. At the Chess Olympiad, with vishy in the team, one would have expected the Indians to finish among the medals. With the loss to Israel, even that hope is gone.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Goa!! Goa!!
Off to Goa , today evening. Funny thing is its going to be my first trip there. Will reach Londa at 10ish, tommorrow morning, then to Calangute. Booked a bungalow on a the beach, friends turning up from Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Bhopal. One huge bachelor bash, before two close mates head off to the altar.
Off to Goa , today evening. Funny thing is its going to be my first trip there. Will reach Londa at 10ish, tommorrow morning, then to Calangute. Booked a bungalow on a the beach, friends turning up from Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Bhopal. One huge bachelor bash, before two close mates head off to the altar.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Marvellous Martyn
At 150 for 4 in the Aussies second innings, I thought India had the match sewn up. It required some dogged batting by Gillespie and Martyn's epic to turn around things for the Aussies. Though I knew Martyn had done this twice before in similar situations in SriLanka, I never thought that the man raised on the hard & fast Western Australian pitches could do it again , and that too against Jumbo & Bhajji. The pitch slowing down did help his cause. As for Gillespie, this is the second time he has halted India's victory march, even in the last series , it was his patnership with Katich which helped them save the 4th test.
Even without Mark Waugh, this must be the best spin playing outfit which the Aussies have ever brought to India. Hayden, Martyn, Clarke, Lehmann, Katich are the best players of spin in Australia. Pontings absence seems to be a blessing in disguise for the Aussies. With him in the team, we would always be assured of a cheap wicket!! HaHa!!
In Ponting's defence, in the 2001 series he batted at No6 , and used to come in when Bhajji was in full cry. This time at No 3 , he would have fared better, I guess.
Eric in Charge
The Proteas have a new coach, and he has already started imposing himself on the team, Cullinan has been approached about a possible comeback, and Boucher is being asked to shape up or ship out. I dont know wether the Proteas have a adequate replacement for Boucher, but I seriously doubt wether the 37yr old Cullinan (avg 50+ against India in tests), would be able to handle Kumble & Bhajji together. His hundreds in India came on good batting wickets in Kolkata. I doubt that the we will prepare similar pitches this time . Low-bouncing , dust bowls are going to be the flavour of the season.
Come to think of it, Kumble has a very good chance of surpassing Kapil & Hadlee, this season itself, 2 left against the Aussies, and 2 each against S.Africa & Bangladesh.6 tests in all; 5 wickets per match is not beyond him.
At 150 for 4 in the Aussies second innings, I thought India had the match sewn up. It required some dogged batting by Gillespie and Martyn's epic to turn around things for the Aussies. Though I knew Martyn had done this twice before in similar situations in SriLanka, I never thought that the man raised on the hard & fast Western Australian pitches could do it again , and that too against Jumbo & Bhajji. The pitch slowing down did help his cause. As for Gillespie, this is the second time he has halted India's victory march, even in the last series , it was his patnership with Katich which helped them save the 4th test.
Even without Mark Waugh, this must be the best spin playing outfit which the Aussies have ever brought to India. Hayden, Martyn, Clarke, Lehmann, Katich are the best players of spin in Australia. Pontings absence seems to be a blessing in disguise for the Aussies. With him in the team, we would always be assured of a cheap wicket!! HaHa!!
In Ponting's defence, in the 2001 series he batted at No6 , and used to come in when Bhajji was in full cry. This time at No 3 , he would have fared better, I guess.
Eric in Charge
The Proteas have a new coach, and he has already started imposing himself on the team, Cullinan has been approached about a possible comeback, and Boucher is being asked to shape up or ship out. I dont know wether the Proteas have a adequate replacement for Boucher, but I seriously doubt wether the 37yr old Cullinan (avg 50+ against India in tests), would be able to handle Kumble & Bhajji together. His hundreds in India came on good batting wickets in Kolkata. I doubt that the we will prepare similar pitches this time . Low-bouncing , dust bowls are going to be the flavour of the season.
Come to think of it, Kumble has a very good chance of surpassing Kapil & Hadlee, this season itself, 2 left against the Aussies, and 2 each against S.Africa & Bangladesh.6 tests in all; 5 wickets per match is not beyond him.
Monday, October 18, 2004
New Dragon!!
Inveterate movie goer that I am, the menu this weekend leaves me non-plussed. Hatya, Dil Bechara..., Decoy seem too much to endure. Left with no choice I head to Skyline( which in my opinion is the worst theatre in Hyderabad) to watch "Enter the New Dragon", oh yeah New Dragon..hmmmm. Mentally prepared to endure two hours of meaningless fistcuffs and people flying all over the screen, a'la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon & Hero (and they say we make un-believable movies!!, if the chinese can fly over treetops, we can surely dance around the trunks).
However , surprise surprise the movie turns out to be a paisa vasool!!. The posters proclaim.."no dupes, no slings..all real stuff"..and real stuff it is, after a long time I have seen a "martial-art" movie, not without incredulity, but with amazement as the hero (Thai star Tony Jaa) kicks, butts and elbows his way through the goon army. The action is fast, furious and frankly, very watchable. Tony Jaa makes Jet Li, Van Damme, Jackie Chan look like somebody's grandmom. Highly Recommended if you are a fan of the martial art genre. If only the filmakers had paid more attention to the dubbing..ahaa...BTW, the brand of martial art displayed is called Muay Thai, of which van damme dishes up poor parodies, for the real stuff watch this movie!!
http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-410.html
Inveterate movie goer that I am, the menu this weekend leaves me non-plussed. Hatya, Dil Bechara..., Decoy seem too much to endure. Left with no choice I head to Skyline( which in my opinion is the worst theatre in Hyderabad) to watch "Enter the New Dragon", oh yeah New Dragon..hmmmm. Mentally prepared to endure two hours of meaningless fistcuffs and people flying all over the screen, a'la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon & Hero (and they say we make un-believable movies!!, if the chinese can fly over treetops, we can surely dance around the trunks).
However , surprise surprise the movie turns out to be a paisa vasool!!. The posters proclaim.."no dupes, no slings..all real stuff"..and real stuff it is, after a long time I have seen a "martial-art" movie, not without incredulity, but with amazement as the hero (Thai star Tony Jaa) kicks, butts and elbows his way through the goon army. The action is fast, furious and frankly, very watchable. Tony Jaa makes Jet Li, Van Damme, Jackie Chan look like somebody's grandmom. Highly Recommended if you are a fan of the martial art genre. If only the filmakers had paid more attention to the dubbing..ahaa...BTW, the brand of martial art displayed is called Muay Thai, of which van damme dishes up poor parodies, for the real stuff watch this movie!!
http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-410.html
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Keep The Faith
With the Indian team being hounded by one and all, Dileep Premchandran provides a voice of sanity in cricket.org. The players are not in form, but the team is definitely not as bad as it is made out to be. Lets keep the faith, things will turn around.
Whats with Yuvraj and spin?
Yeh woh desh hai jahan bacche maa ke peth se spin khelna seekh ke aate hain. I wont be surprised to see Warne being introduced as soon as Yuvu walks in!!
With the Indian team being hounded by one and all, Dileep Premchandran provides a voice of sanity in cricket.org. The players are not in form, but the team is definitely not as bad as it is made out to be. Lets keep the faith, things will turn around.
Whats with Yuvraj and spin?
Yeh woh desh hai jahan bacche maa ke peth se spin khelna seekh ke aate hain. I wont be surprised to see Warne being introduced as soon as Yuvu walks in!!
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Bride & Prejudice
Armed with complementary tickets, courtesy of Tata Indicom, I whizzed down to Sangeet to catch the premier of the Gurinder Chadha flick. I have liked her previous movies; BILB, BOTB, and the TV series on Showtime(cant recollect the name..its about all these families living on the same street) . Expectations were high. 2 hours later, I exited with a throbbing headache and dashed hopes. The movie does not work .Period. I just cant digest Ash mouthing angrezi songs in front of the Golden Temple, nor can I handle Bhangra songs in inane English lyrics. The USP of the "Bend it.." movie was the snappy script with doses of humour and a crackerjack soundtrack .B & P fails on all these counts.There is no story, the humour is lame and the soundtrack is as bad as it can get.
This viewing completes a trio of disatrous movie outings for me, Village, Alien vs Predator, and now B & P. I think I will desist from the theatres and instead work on my new roomie's; Ritzzy's () DVD collection. BTW, this week's menu features, To Kill a Mockingbird, Dr Strangeglove and..., Lock Stock and 2 Smoking barrels, Guy Ritchie's movies and Sanjuro.
Armed with complementary tickets, courtesy of Tata Indicom, I whizzed down to Sangeet to catch the premier of the Gurinder Chadha flick. I have liked her previous movies; BILB, BOTB, and the TV series on Showtime(cant recollect the name..its about all these families living on the same street) . Expectations were high. 2 hours later, I exited with a throbbing headache and dashed hopes. The movie does not work .Period. I just cant digest Ash mouthing angrezi songs in front of the Golden Temple, nor can I handle Bhangra songs in inane English lyrics. The USP of the "Bend it.." movie was the snappy script with doses of humour and a crackerjack soundtrack .B & P fails on all these counts.There is no story, the humour is lame and the soundtrack is as bad as it can get.
This viewing completes a trio of disatrous movie outings for me, Village, Alien vs Predator, and now B & P. I think I will desist from the theatres and instead work on my new roomie's; Ritzzy's () DVD collection. BTW, this week's menu features, To Kill a Mockingbird, Dr Strangeglove and..., Lock Stock and 2 Smoking barrels, Guy Ritchie's movies and Sanjuro.
Monday, October 11, 2004
GAMEPLAN
The morning news brings with it the news, that Sachin maybe out of the whole series. I think the Indian team should take it for granted that Sachin wont play in any of the next three tests and save them, the job has to be done by the 11 players on the field. Is this Aussie team invincible? No of course not!! Here's my mantra for prevaling over the Aussies
1) Dont panic, dont change the team yet: Sehwag & Chopra should be persisted with, Chopra's confidence has been dented by Ganguly's repeated public comments favoring Yuvi as opener, Give him the assurance that he is going to play the full series.
2) At all costs, at any cost, dont lose wickets to McGrath in his first 3 overs of his spell, if you see them through, you can easily milk him . Gillespie is not fully fit, while Warne is no demon, the best bowler in this lineup is Kasprowicz, be careful while playing him.
3)Yuvraj should be promoted to 3 , he will do better on the bouncier track of Chennai.
4) If Pathan, Patel, Bhajji could battle it out, the rest of the batsman should take heed of it, the demons are there only in the mind, the Aussie attack is no way at its best.
5) Dont fret over the umpiring mistakes, the decisions even themselves out, India bore the brunt in the first test, it will be the turn of Aussies soon.
I dont think this series will see as much exciting sessions as the previous one, in that one the Aussies were hellbent on attacking cricket, this time they are prepared to play the waiting game. This series will be dominated by cricket of attrition rather than "flair" cricket.
All said and done, I dont think the Indians are gonna win it, it will be 3-1 in favor of the Aussies!!!
The morning news brings with it the news, that Sachin maybe out of the whole series. I think the Indian team should take it for granted that Sachin wont play in any of the next three tests and save them, the job has to be done by the 11 players on the field. Is this Aussie team invincible? No of course not!! Here's my mantra for prevaling over the Aussies
1) Dont panic, dont change the team yet: Sehwag & Chopra should be persisted with, Chopra's confidence has been dented by Ganguly's repeated public comments favoring Yuvi as opener, Give him the assurance that he is going to play the full series.
2) At all costs, at any cost, dont lose wickets to McGrath in his first 3 overs of his spell, if you see them through, you can easily milk him . Gillespie is not fully fit, while Warne is no demon, the best bowler in this lineup is Kasprowicz, be careful while playing him.
3)Yuvraj should be promoted to 3 , he will do better on the bouncier track of Chennai.
4) If Pathan, Patel, Bhajji could battle it out, the rest of the batsman should take heed of it, the demons are there only in the mind, the Aussie attack is no way at its best.
5) Dont fret over the umpiring mistakes, the decisions even themselves out, India bore the brunt in the first test, it will be the turn of Aussies soon.
I dont think this series will see as much exciting sessions as the previous one, in that one the Aussies were hellbent on attacking cricket, this time they are prepared to play the waiting game. This series will be dominated by cricket of attrition rather than "flair" cricket.
All said and done, I dont think the Indians are gonna win it, it will be 3-1 in favor of the Aussies!!!
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Bangalor-ed!!
1. Langer must be the luckiest batsman in the world, i have seen nobody get so many favorable LBW decisions (except maybe Miandad in Pakistan). After he was reprieved on the first ball of the match, visions of his century against NZ (when he was similarly repreived off Cairns off the first ball) flashed before my eyes. Thankfully it was not to be.
2. Cant believe that Bucknor is umpiring in this match especially after his bloopers against India in Australia. ICC must seriously look at the idea of acclimatising umpires to the local conditions before they officiate in the series. Maybe they should have been the umpires in the Aus-Mumbai match. With conditions varying from country to country, its tough to expect umpires to make their decisions spot on form the first ball itself. As for Silly-billy, he simply refuses to give the lbw's
3. Patel keeps making costly mistakes, letz see how much India has to pay for them.
4. Clarke is fast turning into my fav batsman, his talent is so obvious that he has been annointed by Ricky himself and I dont see him serving the longish "trainee" periods that Hayden, Langer, Martyn or Katich went through. I would go so far as to rate him the best batsman in the world under the age of 25.
5. The underrated Kumble reaches 400 wickets (taking 20 tests less than Kapil) , as is the case with so many of his ilk, his value will be known only when he retires.
1. Langer must be the luckiest batsman in the world, i have seen nobody get so many favorable LBW decisions (except maybe Miandad in Pakistan). After he was reprieved on the first ball of the match, visions of his century against NZ (when he was similarly repreived off Cairns off the first ball) flashed before my eyes. Thankfully it was not to be.
2. Cant believe that Bucknor is umpiring in this match especially after his bloopers against India in Australia. ICC must seriously look at the idea of acclimatising umpires to the local conditions before they officiate in the series. Maybe they should have been the umpires in the Aus-Mumbai match. With conditions varying from country to country, its tough to expect umpires to make their decisions spot on form the first ball itself. As for Silly-billy, he simply refuses to give the lbw's
3. Patel keeps making costly mistakes, letz see how much India has to pay for them.
4. Clarke is fast turning into my fav batsman, his talent is so obvious that he has been annointed by Ricky himself and I dont see him serving the longish "trainee" periods that Hayden, Langer, Martyn or Katich went through. I would go so far as to rate him the best batsman in the world under the age of 25.
5. The underrated Kumble reaches 400 wickets (taking 20 tests less than Kapil) , as is the case with so many of his ilk, his value will be known only when he retires.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Dream come true!!
A boring party at B&C is suddenly transformed by the announcement:"Ladies & Gentlemen: SUPERSTAR Sridevi is in the house (with hubby Boney in tow)".
Aha my original dream girl !!, and she still looks delectable, I fight off dozens of ardent wooers , grab a handshake, get a autograph (on the table mat), and manage a few admiring quotes, before the beefy bodyguards brush me aside.
That leaves only Kajol & Preity on the to-meet dream girls list.
Praying for Rain
Seems only the Rain Gods can save India from defeat in this series, Sehwag's & Yuvi's return to form nonetheless, I find it hard to see this Indian team (without Sachin) winning against the rampant Aussies. The weather gods assure me that B'lore will be a washout. I will keep my prayers in reserve for the rest of the test matches.
More interested in watching India play Pakistan in the hockey match in Hyderabad. Wanna be behind the goal when Sohail drag-sweeps .!!
A boring party at B&C is suddenly transformed by the announcement:"Ladies & Gentlemen: SUPERSTAR Sridevi is in the house (with hubby Boney in tow)".
Aha my original dream girl !!, and she still looks delectable, I fight off dozens of ardent wooers , grab a handshake, get a autograph (on the table mat), and manage a few admiring quotes, before the beefy bodyguards brush me aside.
That leaves only Kajol & Preity on the to-meet dream girls list.
Praying for Rain
Seems only the Rain Gods can save India from defeat in this series, Sehwag's & Yuvi's return to form nonetheless, I find it hard to see this Indian team (without Sachin) winning against the rampant Aussies. The weather gods assure me that B'lore will be a washout. I will keep my prayers in reserve for the rest of the test matches.
More interested in watching India play Pakistan in the hockey match in Hyderabad. Wanna be behind the goal when Sohail drag-sweeps .!!
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