So the I got the egg today on my plate rather than on my face. Australia vs Sri Lanka is a dream final. The two teams have epitomized modern cricket - aggresive batting throughout, excellent fielding and a bowling attack that is multi dimensional. These two teams have been the best on view by a mile. New Zealand flattered to decieve and South Africans failed to walk their talk. Amid all the hype, both the Aussies and Lankans have gone about their work in their characteristic brands of confident cricket.
Australia were (and still are) the red hot (if not white hot) favorites before the tournament began. Many were saying that this World Cup would be a much closer affair compared to the cake walk the Aussies had the last time around. But the Aussies have just crushed each opposition. Every time they batted first, they scored 300+, have not lost more than 6 wickets in an innings batting first or second and except for Bangladesh (when the match was reduced to 20 overs), they have bowled out the opposition each time. The furthest that they have been stretched was the England game in which they eventually cantered to in the end.
If the Aussies are the Alexander's army pummelling the opposition into submission, then the Lankans are the cunning troops of Genghis Khan beating the opposition with cunning rather than firepower. But make no mistake both of them have been equally brutal - from ending a blue billion Indian hopes to dismembering the Proteas both of them have been clinical.
So how do they attacks match up?
In batting the Aussies have a definite edge. They bat long and hard. After you have weathered the assault from the quicksilver Gilchrist and Hayden who is having the time of his ODI life, in comes Ponting the most destructive batsman of our times and the best since Sir Viv. Following them are Clarke who has quietly collected his runs and Hussey who though starved for some runs at the moment knows how to turn it on. The pack is rounded up nicely with the two big hitting all rounders in Symonds and Watson.
Sri Lankan batting on the other hand are distinctly top heavy. The wily old fox Jayasuriya wants to end his career on a high and he has had a wonderful last year or so. Tharanga on the other hand has had a miserable tournament up until the semis when he burst into life with a splendid knock which gave all a glimpse of what he is capable of. One player Sri Lankans would be mightily disappointed with is Sangakara. He has got out to some pretty ordinary shots when looking set for a big knock. Jayawardane on the other hand after an indifferent group stage seems to be coming good at the right time. He gave a masterclass in ODI batting in crisis in the semis and the Lankans would be looking for an encore a in the finals. Beyond them though it is a the great unknown. Silva impressed against Australia in their Super 8 clash while Dilshan and Arnold have been efficient rather than exceptional. Nobody knows how they would fare on the D-Day.
On the bowling front, Sri Lanka seems to be better placed with the old warhorse Vaas opening up with the irrepressible Malinga who has to be the most exciting bowler on view. Fleming the other day told about how he has come of age and boy is he having a good time. Fernando can be erratic but somehow had the nerves to bowl the final over in that nailbiter against England and bowl Tendulkar for a duck during the group stages. But he has had to do little else. Then comes their trump card Murali who like wine seems to get better and better with age. They are aided by the highly under rated Jayasuriya and Dilshan with Arnold throwing in some dobblers in between as well.
Australia had a miserable run up to the World Cup failing to defend two massive totals in the Chappell-Hadlee series. Admitedly, bowling is their weaker suit but they have improved vastly on this front to the point that a lot of teams are underestimitating their bowling. Tait has been the find of the tournament for Australia giving them a vital wicket taking weapon a la Malinga. McGrath like Murali is having a wonderful time and Bracken has taken over from McGrath in the economy stakes. He seems to be the Bracken of old swinging the ball - both old and new. But the most underrated bowler (the player?) of the tournament so far has to be Hogg. Hogg is vital to Ponting's Plan B of delaying the Power Plays when the opening burst does not fetch enough wickets. Hogg has been the cushion he can fall back to bring them back into the game. The fifth bowler made up of a combination of Symonds, Clarke and Watson is effective but not the same class as Jayasuriya and co.
This would be the battle of the two most balanced attacks on view. Only Sri Lanka and Australia don't rely only on batting or bowling for a win. And only they have demonstrated the ability to come back into a match after an opening onslaught on their bowlers or after a couple of quick wickets.
The Aussies though would have one score to settle. After winning the 1996 final, the Lankans said that they wanted to beat Australia in the finals after they had forfeited a league match, well the Super 8 match between them was virtually gifted by Sri Lanka after they rested Vaas and Murali and the Aussies would like to set the record straight this time around.
As for the final, I believe that Sri Lankan batting is suceptible and like Pollock, Vaas too might struggle containing Hayden and Gilchrist with his gentle medium pacers. In fact it would be very difficult for Jayawardane to decide what to do if he wins the toss. If he bats first, he risks letting his not so strong batting line up crumble against the early morning juice at Barbados. While batting second many not be a joy if you have to chase down 350 like India had to four years ago. Australia should win comfortably.
Thursday 26 April 2007
Tuesday 24 April 2007
A Few Good Men - Review
What do you do when your boss asks you to do something that you don't agree to? This is the topic of the famous Milgram Experiment. In our normal desk jobs, you can disagree with our bosses and perhaps have your way, but in the armed forces, you simply don't have a choice. There is no time or leeway to discuss the course of action with your superiors. You just follow the orders - whether you like it or not."You follow the orders or people die"
- Col. Nathan Jessep, A Few Good Men
What do you do when your parents have had an illustrious career and you are in the same line? In many cases, the children remain in the shadow of their parents. They are forever trying to do what their parents would have done, trying to be them rather than being themselves.
What do you do when both the parties are right? Many a times in life, there is no right or wrong, there are no heroes and villains, there are simply humans doing their job. Who do you favor?
A Few Good Men combines all these themes into one riveting movie. The movie is set in US Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Col. Nathan R. Jessep is in charge of the base and he is very proud of his boys. But one of them, PFC William T. Santiago is not able to keep up with the tough life at the base and wants to get transferred out of the base. He breaks the chain of command and writes to officers above Jessep asking for a transfer. No taking this affront lightly, Col. Jessep orders a Code Red to put Santiago in line. Unfortunately, Santiago dies during this rough up. The marines who followed the order Downey and Dawson are charged with murder. They contend that they were just following the orders. But there is no proof that such orders were given as there is no written record and the other officers in charge have taken the side of Jessep.
Daniel Kaffee is a navy lawyer who has never been inside a courtroom. He is assigned the task of defending Downey and Dawson, aided by Jane Galloway. Daniel is a happy go lucky chap who though talented, lives under the shadow of his illustrious father who was a renowned Attorney General and a contemporary of Jessep. Daniel attempts to come out of the shadow of his father and tries to do what his father would have done in the same situation. Jane helps Daniel discover his own self and make a name for himself.
A must watch movie especially the battle between Kaffee and Jessep in the courtroom in the end.
Ratings -
Overall 8/10
Jack Nicholson as Col Nathan R. Jessep 9/10 - even though he has a little screen time in the movie, he delivers an outstanding performance. Especially the words towards the end - "You can't handle the truth"
Tom Cruise as Daniel Kaffee and Demi Moore as Jane Galloway 8/10 - you won't believe that they are such talented actors when you watch Mission Impossible and Striptease.
Monday 23 April 2007
Ameican Beauty Review
I have been fascinated by America. Not because of the prosperity and the supposed quality of life there, but by the fact that it is perhaps the only country in the world, which provides you the opportunity to do whatever you want. But this freedom has its problems too. American Beauty is a look at the dark side of the Great American dream gone sour.
The movie is very simple which is chilling as you realize that it could happen to you as well. Lester Burham is a middle aged American journalist who is about to be fired from his job. He hates his wife Carolyn who is a real estate broker who wants to advance her career at any cost and dominates him all the time. Lester and Carolyn have a teenaged daughter Jane. As a single child, she is spoilt and suffers from the insecurities of the contemporary American teenaged girl like the size of her breasts, how good she looks and the lack of a boyfriend. Both Jane and Carolyn think that Lester is a loser and Lester knows it. In short Lester is going through a mid life crisis.
Things starts to heat up up when a new family moves next door. The Fitts too have a single child Ricky who studies in the same school as Jane. Ricky is a drug peddlar and has bought a lot of expensive stuff that his parents think is saved up from his job as a caterer. Ricky has this quirky habit of capturing everything on his camera. Ricky meets Lester at a party and they become good friends and Ricky starts supplying pot to Lester. In the same party Carolyn meets her competitor Buddy Kane. She is enamored by Kane and an affair begins to brew. Lester quits his job to work at the nearby Smiley's restaurant. To complicate things further, Lester also falls for his daughter's friend Angels Hayes.
What follows shows how frustrated Lester is with his wife's phony, status seeking behavior and with Jane's disrespect for him. He tries to do things that he always wanted to do. He starts working out, buys the car that he always wanted and starts enjoying the freedom.
The movie shows the decay that has set into the American society - the broken marriages, infidelity, the insecure gun toting teenagers, drug addiction, the single minded devotion to career which comes at the cost of the family and the lack of communication between the children and their parents. This communication leads to hatred and mistrust among all and their eventual downfall. A must watch as this is how urban India might be in 10 years' time.
Ratings.
Overall - 8/10
Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham 8/10 - excellent performance. His best scene has to be when he warns his wife in front of their daughter asking her not to interrupt him.
Annette Bening as Carolyn Burnham 8/10 - plays the career minded woman to perfection. Could have been a little more restrained in the crying scenes.
Thora Birch as Jane Burnham, Wes Bentley as Rick Fitts and Mena Suvari as Angela Hayes 7/10 - play the part of insecure teenagers well.
The movie is very simple which is chilling as you realize that it could happen to you as well. Lester Burham is a middle aged American journalist who is about to be fired from his job. He hates his wife Carolyn who is a real estate broker who wants to advance her career at any cost and dominates him all the time. Lester and Carolyn have a teenaged daughter Jane. As a single child, she is spoilt and suffers from the insecurities of the contemporary American teenaged girl like the size of her breasts, how good she looks and the lack of a boyfriend. Both Jane and Carolyn think that Lester is a loser and Lester knows it. In short Lester is going through a mid life crisis.
Things starts to heat up up when a new family moves next door. The Fitts too have a single child Ricky who studies in the same school as Jane. Ricky is a drug peddlar and has bought a lot of expensive stuff that his parents think is saved up from his job as a caterer. Ricky has this quirky habit of capturing everything on his camera. Ricky meets Lester at a party and they become good friends and Ricky starts supplying pot to Lester. In the same party Carolyn meets her competitor Buddy Kane. She is enamored by Kane and an affair begins to brew. Lester quits his job to work at the nearby Smiley's restaurant. To complicate things further, Lester also falls for his daughter's friend Angels Hayes.
What follows shows how frustrated Lester is with his wife's phony, status seeking behavior and with Jane's disrespect for him. He tries to do things that he always wanted to do. He starts working out, buys the car that he always wanted and starts enjoying the freedom.
The movie shows the decay that has set into the American society - the broken marriages, infidelity, the insecure gun toting teenagers, drug addiction, the single minded devotion to career which comes at the cost of the family and the lack of communication between the children and their parents. This communication leads to hatred and mistrust among all and their eventual downfall. A must watch as this is how urban India might be in 10 years' time.
Ratings.
Overall - 8/10
Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham 8/10 - excellent performance. His best scene has to be when he warns his wife in front of their daughter asking her not to interrupt him.
Annette Bening as Carolyn Burnham 8/10 - plays the career minded woman to perfection. Could have been a little more restrained in the crying scenes.
Thora Birch as Jane Burnham, Wes Bentley as Rick Fitts and Mena Suvari as Angela Hayes 7/10 - play the part of insecure teenagers well.
Team for Bangladesh Tour
The Indian team selected for the Bangladesh tour could not have been more inane. My initial reaction was that they had mixed up the ODI and Test lists with each other. There is no Sreesanth in the Test team and he is surprisingly in the ODI team. Sehwag is in the ODI team but not in the test team, though his test performances have been relatively unaffected. Ganguly is in the test team and not in the ODI team even though he is a poorer test player that he is in the ODI format. Ramesh Powar not in ODI team and Piyush Chawla not in the test team.
In the hurry to appease the board and the media, the selectors have botched it up completely. Sure the selected players can perform in the teams for which they have been selected, but surely they should have the opportunity to have a crack in the discipline that they have performed better. And after drubbing Bangladesh in both the tests and the ODIs, these teams would be set in concrete for a year. It would be a year's waste of the talents of Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla - both are not suited for the Indian concept of ODI where containment rather than wicket taking is preferred.
In the hurry to appease the board and the media, the selectors have botched it up completely. Sure the selected players can perform in the teams for which they have been selected, but surely they should have the opportunity to have a crack in the discipline that they have performed better. And after drubbing Bangladesh in both the tests and the ODIs, these teams would be set in concrete for a year. It would be a year's waste of the talents of Sreesanth and Piyush Chawla - both are not suited for the Indian concept of ODI where containment rather than wicket taking is preferred.
Abiash
Hard to find facts about the AB - ASH wedding -
Did you know that Abhi wore a white colored Jockey underwear size 34. Actually Ash had bought one from Marks and Spencers but unfortunately AB junior lent it to Salman who has refused to give it unless he was invited for the wedding. So left with no choice, AB senior sent Amar Singh to Big Bazaar. Amar Singh saw a great price offer buy 1 get 2 free, as a result, AB junior, AB senior and Amar Singh were all wearing white undies. By the way, to ensure that Ash does not create a scene on the suhaag raat, AB Senior cut the tags on the underwear to ensure original tag-less comfort for his son.
Did you know that Salman came to the wedding. Well, the mare on which AB was sitting was not a mare but a horse called Salman. Sachin gave the same protector that he uses while facing Shoaib Akhtar to Abhi while he was riding Salman. You can never be too cautious.
Did you know that AB junior scratched his butt 23 times during the course of the marriage ceremony (Perhaps the result of the undies that Amar Singh bought and Sachin's protector - Aaila). The results were compared using two AXE Clickers by Price Water House Kapoors the noted audit firm to ensure that there was no misreporting of the results. And the TV channels reported that there was no Salman and no Kapoors in the wedding. In related news, astrologers are saying that since 2+3 = 5 and 5 is Abhi's lucky number, he does not have to worry about Ash being a manglik. It would have been a disaster if Abhi had gone on to scratch 27 times.
Did you know that the wedding was telecast live on FTV. But since no one has FTV now, nobody could watch it. Govt is now contemplating passing a bill asking FTV to share its feed to DD so that all of us can watch the highlights of the marriage and the live coverage of the honeymoon as it is a matter of national importance.
Did you know that Abhi wore a white colored Jockey underwear size 34. Actually Ash had bought one from Marks and Spencers but unfortunately AB junior lent it to Salman who has refused to give it unless he was invited for the wedding. So left with no choice, AB senior sent Amar Singh to Big Bazaar. Amar Singh saw a great price offer buy 1 get 2 free, as a result, AB junior, AB senior and Amar Singh were all wearing white undies. By the way, to ensure that Ash does not create a scene on the suhaag raat, AB Senior cut the tags on the underwear to ensure original tag-less comfort for his son.
Did you know that Salman came to the wedding. Well, the mare on which AB was sitting was not a mare but a horse called Salman. Sachin gave the same protector that he uses while facing Shoaib Akhtar to Abhi while he was riding Salman. You can never be too cautious.
Did you know that AB junior scratched his butt 23 times during the course of the marriage ceremony (Perhaps the result of the undies that Amar Singh bought and Sachin's protector - Aaila). The results were compared using two AXE Clickers by Price Water House Kapoors the noted audit firm to ensure that there was no misreporting of the results. And the TV channels reported that there was no Salman and no Kapoors in the wedding. In related news, astrologers are saying that since 2+3 = 5 and 5 is Abhi's lucky number, he does not have to worry about Ash being a manglik. It would have been a disaster if Abhi had gone on to scratch 27 times.
Did you know that the wedding was telecast live on FTV. But since no one has FTV now, nobody could watch it. Govt is now contemplating passing a bill asking FTV to share its feed to DD so that all of us can watch the highlights of the marriage and the live coverage of the honeymoon as it is a matter of national importance.
Friday 20 April 2007
The farce at Kalighat and Dakkineshwar Temples
Disclaimer: This is not an anti-Hindu or an anti-religion post. Please don't flood me with hate mails. This is a just what I saw at these temples - plain and simple facts.
Three weeks ago, my relatives from Delhi had come to Calcutta on a flying visit. As I was supposed to be knowing Calcutta well, I took them around to places they wanted to visit. It was also an opportunity for me to see places around Calcutta which I normally won't like temples, churches, etc.
On Saturday, we visited the famous Kali temple in Kalighat (where else should it be!!). We took a an taxi to Shovabazar Metro station (it was also an opportunity for my relatives to see the famous Calcutta Metro) and from there we went to Kalighat. The temple is about 15 minutes walk from the Metro station. (I would add the map as soon as I can make sense of Google Maps).
It seems that this particular Saturday (31st March) was the birthday of Kalima. My father had warned that even during weekdays there is a lot of rush in the temple. Being a weekend and the "birthday" turned the whole place into a mess. Outside the temple the whole road aptly named the Kalighat Temple Road is full of trinkets and potential offerings to the deity. It is a outdated custom in Hindu temples that you cannot wear slippers inside the temple. So outside most Hindu temples in India, one finds a chappal stand to take care of your slippers while you are with the lord. In case you don't leave your footwear in one of these stands most probably you won't find them when you come back. My mom once went into a temple in Delhi keeping her slippers outside. When she returned, she found the slippers missing. At least the thief was considerate enough to leave her slippers behind so that my mother did not have to return home barefooted.
Armed with this knowledge, all of us were scouting for the chappal stand. Unfortunately, there were not such stands. We found a few folks asking us if they wanted to keep our slippers in their custody while we were inside the temple. Relieved, we took off our footwear and were about to leave the counter when they asked us to buy something from their shops. They said it is mandatory to buy something from their shops. I said, I would give the money for keeping the slippers but would not buy something from their shops. They insisted that we buy something else we can keep our slippers. I would have protested but I did not want to make my relatives uncomfortable so we bought an offering for Rs 11 - the lowest denomination possible. And we went inside.
I have drawn a rough outline sketch of temple.
Three weeks ago, my relatives from Delhi had come to Calcutta on a flying visit. As I was supposed to be knowing Calcutta well, I took them around to places they wanted to visit. It was also an opportunity for me to see places around Calcutta which I normally won't like temples, churches, etc.
On Saturday, we visited the famous Kali temple in Kalighat (where else should it be!!). We took a an taxi to Shovabazar Metro station (it was also an opportunity for my relatives to see the famous Calcutta Metro) and from there we went to Kalighat. The temple is about 15 minutes walk from the Metro station. (I would add the map as soon as I can make sense of Google Maps).
It seems that this particular Saturday (31st March) was the birthday of Kalima. My father had warned that even during weekdays there is a lot of rush in the temple. Being a weekend and the "birthday" turned the whole place into a mess. Outside the temple the whole road aptly named the Kalighat Temple Road is full of trinkets and potential offerings to the deity. It is a outdated custom in Hindu temples that you cannot wear slippers inside the temple. So outside most Hindu temples in India, one finds a chappal stand to take care of your slippers while you are with the lord. In case you don't leave your footwear in one of these stands most probably you won't find them when you come back. My mom once went into a temple in Delhi keeping her slippers outside. When she returned, she found the slippers missing. At least the thief was considerate enough to leave her slippers behind so that my mother did not have to return home barefooted.
Armed with this knowledge, all of us were scouting for the chappal stand. Unfortunately, there were not such stands. We found a few folks asking us if they wanted to keep our slippers in their custody while we were inside the temple. Relieved, we took off our footwear and were about to leave the counter when they asked us to buy something from their shops. They said it is mandatory to buy something from their shops. I said, I would give the money for keeping the slippers but would not buy something from their shops. They insisted that we buy something else we can keep our slippers. I would have protested but I did not want to make my relatives uncomfortable so we bought an offering for Rs 11 - the lowest denomination possible. And we went inside.
I have drawn a rough outline sketch of temple.
Inside the temple is a mess. As you enter from the entrance (a), you have to join the queue (b-c-d-e) which would take at least 2 hours to clear. I don't mind waiting in the queue but the way the queue is managed is a shame on the temple management. Your enter the inner sanctum via a small door (d) and exit from the same door and continue on path (e) to the exit. However there are a lot of pimps/brokers/middlemen there who would take you to the temple without you having to wait in the queue. They start at Rs 100 for a group (more if you are a foreigner) but you can bargain for less. We bargained for Rs 50 for a group of three. How does this work?
There is a policeman at the exit (e) who (atleast in theory) is supposed to ensure that people don't enter the temple via the exit. But if you bribe him, he would let you in. This pimp is the market maker between you and the policeman. He would bribe the policeman on your behalf and let you in from the exit. So he asks you to give him Rs. 10 which in turn is passed on to the policeman and you can enter from the exit. Unfortunately for us, today the policeman was not in the mood (in other words he wanted more) so we gave him 10 more. And we were able to enter from the exit. We were definitely not alone. There were many such pimps and many regulars to the temple who were pushing these pimps to get into the temple.
However this is not all. You are allowed to stand inside the sanctum for hardly 30 seconds and there is a mad rush of people inside. The priest grabs you by your head, shoves it into a heap of other heads peering into a window and lo and behold your darshan is over. People are pushing and shoving each other in a desperate attempt to have a sight of the deity. People who had endured 2-3 hours in the queue would have definitely felt cheated and would ask themselves if this was worth the wait.
There is another way that you can have a look at the deity. There is a very narrow passage (g) about 3 feet wide between the main temple and another structure which I call the viewing gallery. In this passage, you can look at the deity (if you are lucky) as there is an window for people from the viewing gallery. On this window a priest sits chanting his mantras and collecting offerings on behalf of the deity. Unfortunately, this route is congested as many people break the queue and enter this passage. I am surprised a stampede does not happen here. My aunt was almost crushed in this passage.
There is another way to get the darshan. There is a policeman at the beginning of the queue (b) who ensures that the queue is strictly followed. However as with most things official in India, you can have your way by bribing him and you can get into the temple faster. Yet another way to get a darshan (though you would be hardly able to catch a glimpse) is to go through the viewing gallery. There too it is congested with people and priests want you to offer generous donations to them in the name of the goddess.
The scene was very much the same the next day when we visited the Dakkineshwar Temple the next day. The only difference was that the scene was enacted in close to 40 degrees (Celsius) of sweltering heat. The idiocy of having to leave your slippers outside just beats you. Your feet are literally fried on the uncovered stoned flooring of the temple.
I have seen quite a few temples (many of them were congested) when I stayed in Madras for 4 years. But I have to say that these temples are very badly managed. They are "renowned" and hence should get a lot of money in form of donations but surely better amenities can be provided to the devotees. And the way they treat these devotees is shameful. If you are in Calcutta and want to visit these temples, it is simply not worth it.
Thursday 19 April 2007
World Cup Semis
So South Africa has scraped through to the semis. Once the Super 8s were decided, you could predict who the semifinalists would be. But the South Africans made it tough for themselves by losing to Bangladesh. England on the other hand should retire their whole team from the ODI format and concentrate on Tests only.
So the predictions for the semi finals - one look at the past records would tell that the final is going to be an Australia - Sri Lanka affair. Aussies have never lost a semi final in a World Cup and both New Zealand and South Africa have never won a knockout match in the past World Cups.
So the predictions for the semi finals - one look at the past records would tell that the final is going to be an Australia - Sri Lanka affair. Aussies have never lost a semi final in a World Cup and both New Zealand and South Africa have never won a knockout match in the past World Cups.
Sunday 15 April 2007
World Cup
This week witnessed some pretty interesting match ups. Australia-England, Sri Lanka-New Zealand and New Zealand-South Africa.
Australia-England
Pietersen has to be the most fearless batsman in the world today. You have to give credit to his courage. Not many people would play the same shot against the same bowler who cracked your ribs. But Pietersen is different. He shimmied down the track and casually flicked McGrath to mid-wicket. The temerity of the the shot was mind boggling and the execution near perfect. But the most vital moment of the game came during the English innings. Ponting delayed the third Power Play yet again and was well rewarded. I thought that the gamble would fail poorly but his bowlers did not let him down. Shaun Tait brought them back into the match and the wily old fox McGrath bowled like a dream during the death. It was as lesson of how to bowl to a field that has been set. With both fine leg and third man up, he had no choice but to bowl full and straight. Six balls all full. Here is the cricinfo excerpt of the 48th over of the innings.
The English commentators - Ian Botham and Mike Atherton are the most arrogant and partisan commentators one can encounter. They believe that this English team is the best in the world. Against Sri Lanka, Botham said that 235 cannot be defended. Against Australia, they elevated Bell, Bopara and Nixon to ODI masters. Very much like how the Indian commentators talk about their team. I have no problems with patriotism, but commentary box is not the place to show it. One needs an unbiased view of the proceedings and unfortunately these blokes cannot do that.
Another very interesting thing that came to my mind during the match was the way Pietersen played to get the last 15 odd runs to his century. He just tuk-tuked his way to a 100 when the need of the hour was to get on with it. It cost England about 20 runs which could have made it slightly tougher for the Aussies. The worst part was that even the commentators justified his approach. When Mike Atherton was asked should he open out or should he look for his century. Mike said, he should look for his century (sic).
New Zealand - Sri Lanka
Every one has a bad day. I suppose this was New Zealand's bad day. They were truly mauled by the Lankans. The scoreboard read 6/2 in 7 overs. Vaas just did not allow the Kiwis to settle down. I did think that Jayawardane missed a trick by removing Fernando and putting Maharoof in. That just let the pressure off the Kiwis. Scott Styris did try to make a match of it but unfortunately Jayasuriya and Sangakara were too smart while chasing. Fleming did however limit the damage to their net run rate though, waiting till the 46th over before taking the third Power Play.
The most irritating part about this World Cup is not that you can see only one innings if you want to go to the office the next day, but to check on the score the next morning when you turn the telly on, you encounter monkeys on NDTV and chimps on CNN-IBN. Kris Srikanth seems to have lost it. He goes hysterical like the rest of the CNN-IBN crew and just blabbers on. Then there is the irritating sports editor of theirs who cannot speak without putting some numbers on the screen. On NDTV, its not very different, Navjot Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja just muck up the whole thing. They introduce Jadeja as a former India captain - ya right 20 odd matches in 7 years mainly because of Azhar or Sachin being injured is captaincy. The most irritating part was when he said the way Scott Styris played to get his 100 was stupid and was selfish. His claim was that once you are 20 odd for 4 then just sitting there and waiting for a some time for the pitch to ease off was going to do no good. They should have gone out and played their shots because they were just fighting a losing cause anyways. Perhaps he has not watched any of the great Aussie escapes especially this one.
New Zealand - South Africa
I don't like the looks of this particular South African team. They are not mentally strong, cannot think on their feet and do not have variety in their bowling attack. They would again get knocked out in the semis and this time it would neither be a tie nor the rain so that they don't drown the town with their tears begging for sympathy. To say that their leader is stupid would be an understatement. Graeme Smith is a good batsman but worse that Bishen Bedi, Navjot Sidhu and Harbhajan Singh combined. Just like the rest of them, he suffers from an acute case of verbal diarrhoea and always ends up with egg on his face. He has rubbed most of his team mates the wrong way. After their public admonition, Pollock has lost all his confidence and Kallis bats as if he wants the double his career strike rate. As for the actual match, NZ did to South Africa what Sri Lanka did to them. In this match too, after 7 overs in the first innings, the score was 6/2.
Well the final week of the Super 6s are here. Yesterday's result means that Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are through with one spot to play for and the final juggling to avoid Aussies as the semifinal opponent. New Zealand would avoid them and Sri Lanka are safe as they have a game against the Irish to manipulate their spot. For the last place I guess it would come down to the England vs South Africa match. Its going to be on net run rate this time too and with the South African luck, they may miss the boat just yet.
Australia-England
Pietersen has to be the most fearless batsman in the world today. You have to give credit to his courage. Not many people would play the same shot against the same bowler who cracked your ribs. But Pietersen is different. He shimmied down the track and casually flicked McGrath to mid-wicket. The temerity of the the shot was mind boggling and the execution near perfect. But the most vital moment of the game came during the English innings. Ponting delayed the third Power Play yet again and was well rewarded. I thought that the gamble would fail poorly but his bowlers did not let him down. Shaun Tait brought them back into the match and the wily old fox McGrath bowled like a dream during the death. It was as lesson of how to bowl to a field that has been set. With both fine leg and third man up, he had no choice but to bowl full and straight. Six balls all full. Here is the cricinfo excerpt of the 48th over of the innings.
And to think that he is playing his last tournament. Phew. Aussies chased well and once Ponting had his eye in, with their long and powerful batting line up, they would never be troubled.
47.1 McGrath to Pietersen, 1 run, and there's his hundred. Another full toss bunged down the ground. Pietersen skips through for a single, and jumps in delight - pumping his fist and roaring his pleasure. That's his slowest one-day hundred. Time to kick on now Around the wicket to Nixon; Gilchrist up to the stumps 47.2 McGrath to Nixon, no run, and he plays and misses 47.3 McGrath to Nixon, 1 run, ah, good play from Nixon, shuffling around his crease like a man with ants in his jockstrap, putting McGrath off his line before working it to leg 47.4 McGrath to Pietersen, no run, ooh here we go! Pietersen takes a step outside leg, tries to crack McGrath over his head but can only hammer it back to him McGrath is nearly thrown backwards with the force of the shot 47.5 McGrath to Pietersen, 1 run, brilliant bowling. Full and straight, Pietersen steps a mile outside his leg stump trying to whack him down the ground but can't time it Gnasher informs us England have added just 70 since the 30th over Around the wicket to Nixon 47.6 McGrath to Nixon, no run, and again Nixon plays and misses
The English commentators - Ian Botham and Mike Atherton are the most arrogant and partisan commentators one can encounter. They believe that this English team is the best in the world. Against Sri Lanka, Botham said that 235 cannot be defended. Against Australia, they elevated Bell, Bopara and Nixon to ODI masters. Very much like how the Indian commentators talk about their team. I have no problems with patriotism, but commentary box is not the place to show it. One needs an unbiased view of the proceedings and unfortunately these blokes cannot do that.
Another very interesting thing that came to my mind during the match was the way Pietersen played to get the last 15 odd runs to his century. He just tuk-tuked his way to a 100 when the need of the hour was to get on with it. It cost England about 20 runs which could have made it slightly tougher for the Aussies. The worst part was that even the commentators justified his approach. When Mike Atherton was asked should he open out or should he look for his century. Mike said, he should look for his century (sic).
New Zealand - Sri Lanka
Every one has a bad day. I suppose this was New Zealand's bad day. They were truly mauled by the Lankans. The scoreboard read 6/2 in 7 overs. Vaas just did not allow the Kiwis to settle down. I did think that Jayawardane missed a trick by removing Fernando and putting Maharoof in. That just let the pressure off the Kiwis. Scott Styris did try to make a match of it but unfortunately Jayasuriya and Sangakara were too smart while chasing. Fleming did however limit the damage to their net run rate though, waiting till the 46th over before taking the third Power Play.
The most irritating part about this World Cup is not that you can see only one innings if you want to go to the office the next day, but to check on the score the next morning when you turn the telly on, you encounter monkeys on NDTV and chimps on CNN-IBN. Kris Srikanth seems to have lost it. He goes hysterical like the rest of the CNN-IBN crew and just blabbers on. Then there is the irritating sports editor of theirs who cannot speak without putting some numbers on the screen. On NDTV, its not very different, Navjot Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja just muck up the whole thing. They introduce Jadeja as a former India captain - ya right 20 odd matches in 7 years mainly because of Azhar or Sachin being injured is captaincy. The most irritating part was when he said the way Scott Styris played to get his 100 was stupid and was selfish. His claim was that once you are 20 odd for 4 then just sitting there and waiting for a some time for the pitch to ease off was going to do no good. They should have gone out and played their shots because they were just fighting a losing cause anyways. Perhaps he has not watched any of the great Aussie escapes especially this one.
New Zealand - South Africa
I don't like the looks of this particular South African team. They are not mentally strong, cannot think on their feet and do not have variety in their bowling attack. They would again get knocked out in the semis and this time it would neither be a tie nor the rain so that they don't drown the town with their tears begging for sympathy. To say that their leader is stupid would be an understatement. Graeme Smith is a good batsman but worse that Bishen Bedi, Navjot Sidhu and Harbhajan Singh combined. Just like the rest of them, he suffers from an acute case of verbal diarrhoea and always ends up with egg on his face. He has rubbed most of his team mates the wrong way. After their public admonition, Pollock has lost all his confidence and Kallis bats as if he wants the double his career strike rate. As for the actual match, NZ did to South Africa what Sri Lanka did to them. In this match too, after 7 overs in the first innings, the score was 6/2.
Well the final week of the Super 6s are here. Yesterday's result means that Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are through with one spot to play for and the final juggling to avoid Aussies as the semifinal opponent. New Zealand would avoid them and Sri Lanka are safe as they have a game against the Irish to manipulate their spot. For the last place I guess it would come down to the England vs South Africa match. Its going to be on net run rate this time too and with the South African luck, they may miss the boat just yet.
Friday 6 April 2007
Late, Very Late post on the World Cup
Long time no post. Blogger has been blocked in office, the UPS went for a toss, relatives came over and there was no gas in the tank left after watching the World Cup matches in the night. But I have got some time today.. so here is a late, very late analysis of the World Cup so far.
Whatever happens from now on - this World Cup would be known for all the wrong reasons. The death of Bob Woolmer has brought to light the dark side of the game yet again. It had ceased to be a gentleman's game for a long time now but this was really sad. The circumstances of the death are still not know and I would not speculate on them. I would just like to talk about some images of Woolmer that pop into my mind. My first memories of Bob Woolmer was in the 1996 World Cup in the SA - Pakistan game in the league stages. Inzy was considered among the best batsman in the world and was easily their best player of pace bowling. For Inzy, there were a short midwicket as a catching position even though the fielding restrictions were over. This prevented him from playing his trademark hoick over midwicket with which he had massacred the Kiwis four years ago. Forced Inzy looked for some other areas and eventually was run out cheaply. The next image that stays in the mind for long was the infamous earpiece incident during the 99 World Cup against India which he used to communicate with Donald and Cronje. This person was way ahead of his times. I don't know why they made him apologize for this? The third and probably the most impressive image was during the match fixing saga during the Oval Test of 2006. Bob was also a columnist for Cricinfo.com. He discussed the history of the cricket balls and the reasons behind reverse swing. That one article showed why he was such a great coach - he had immense knowledge about the game and its history and he could communicate it in very simple terms(I tried to find that post but have not been able to find on the cricinfo site). May you rest in peace Bob.
The second and the most obvious topic has to be on India's and Pakistan's early exit. I would write more in a separate post. But I was really pleased that the Indian team went out. Sri Lanka played well and really deserved to win that match after India has so famously botched up against Bangladesh. There was no way India could have competed in the tournament even it managed to get through to the next stage if Bermuda had shocked Bangladesh. Tendulakar failed again which is not very surprising and Murali was just fantastic.They talk about the oldies in India being liabilities. But just have a look at Sri Lanka - Jayasuriya and Murali are running around the park like kids. Their desire to win just shows through in their approach to the game. Just like India, Pakistan too did not deserve to be in the Super 8s. The Irish are playing really well. I believe they might be able to upset somebody in the next round.
The scariest match in the World Cup so far was the Aus-SA match in the group phase. There have been quite a few upsets and some thrillers that Sri Lanka have played. But what made me choose this match was the sheer intensity of the contest till about 75 overs. India Sri Lanka played the previous day. To see this match the next day akin to witnessing a Sampras-Ivanisevic bloodbath on grass the day after you have watched a Muster - Kuerten fistfight on clay. Both Australia and South Africa have 11 extremely fit gladiators. They don't give an inch, don't pull their punches and the cricket was really awesome. They seem to be from a different planet altogether. There were two captaincy masterstrokes in that match - first was the way South Africans bowled during the death - they bowled full and wide in stead of full and straight - the ground was very small straight - but was defendable on the side boundaries. So they bowled all the balls wide so that if they were hit, they were hit to the defendable parts and ended up giving 4s rather than 6s. Not many people credit Smith with brains (yours truly included), but this was a well thought out move. The second was the delaying of the third Power Play by Ricky Ponting - another captain whose skills are under-rated (perhaps rightly so). AB and Graeme Smith were going berserk. In such a huge run chase, the team chasing has to hit all the time. There is no room for a breather, no time to consolidate in the middle. With a huge cushion of runs in hand, Ponting decided to delay the third Power Play in the hope of getting a wicket. It was a huge risk because if it did not pay off, it would just consolidate South Africa's position even further. But the Aussies manufactured a wicket from nowhere and that finished off the game then and there.
The best match so far has been the Sri Lanka - England match. I switched off when Pietersen was dismissed believing that Sri Lanka would go on to win comfortably. But the next day as I switched on the TV to look at the results, I was shocked. I regret not seeing the match now. One thing must be said about Sri Lanka is that they really play as a team. In their case, the sum is much greater than their individual parts. Their bowling is disciplined and the fielding is superb. They gave only 3 extras the whole match - yes your read it correctly. And they did not give any till the 20th over (perhaps even later but I got sleepy after that).
Yesterday's match - South Africa vs Bangladesh showed why Smith is not rated very highly as a captain and why South Africa would not win this World Cup - it would surprise me if they reach the semis now. In the final overs, he did not ask the bowlers to bowl a single bouncer when the batsmen were charging all over the place. Nor did the bowlers think of it themselves. He gave the ball the Ntini and Nel when he could have given Kallis a bowl - Kallis (in the absence of Hall) is easily their best bowler at the death. He possesses a lethal in swinging yorker and is easily their most brainy cricketer in their team. And finally Smith was just playing catch up with Mohd. Ashraful during the slog overs. In the beginning of each over, Smith would bring the fine leg in. On the second or the third ball, Ashraful would scoop the ball over the fine leg's head for a four. Smith would change the field and send the fine leg back. The next over the fine leg would be back in the ring. This sequence went on incredibly for four overs !!!
And finally the predictions and wishes - I would like Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the semis (though I guess South Africa might still sneak in). The final wish is an Australia - New Zealand or an Australia Sri Lanka affair and of course Australia to win the cup undefeated.
Whatever happens from now on - this World Cup would be known for all the wrong reasons. The death of Bob Woolmer has brought to light the dark side of the game yet again. It had ceased to be a gentleman's game for a long time now but this was really sad. The circumstances of the death are still not know and I would not speculate on them. I would just like to talk about some images of Woolmer that pop into my mind. My first memories of Bob Woolmer was in the 1996 World Cup in the SA - Pakistan game in the league stages. Inzy was considered among the best batsman in the world and was easily their best player of pace bowling. For Inzy, there were a short midwicket as a catching position even though the fielding restrictions were over. This prevented him from playing his trademark hoick over midwicket with which he had massacred the Kiwis four years ago. Forced Inzy looked for some other areas and eventually was run out cheaply. The next image that stays in the mind for long was the infamous earpiece incident during the 99 World Cup against India which he used to communicate with Donald and Cronje. This person was way ahead of his times. I don't know why they made him apologize for this? The third and probably the most impressive image was during the match fixing saga during the Oval Test of 2006. Bob was also a columnist for Cricinfo.com. He discussed the history of the cricket balls and the reasons behind reverse swing. That one article showed why he was such a great coach - he had immense knowledge about the game and its history and he could communicate it in very simple terms(I tried to find that post but have not been able to find on the cricinfo site). May you rest in peace Bob.
The second and the most obvious topic has to be on India's and Pakistan's early exit. I would write more in a separate post. But I was really pleased that the Indian team went out. Sri Lanka played well and really deserved to win that match after India has so famously botched up against Bangladesh. There was no way India could have competed in the tournament even it managed to get through to the next stage if Bermuda had shocked Bangladesh. Tendulakar failed again which is not very surprising and Murali was just fantastic.They talk about the oldies in India being liabilities. But just have a look at Sri Lanka - Jayasuriya and Murali are running around the park like kids. Their desire to win just shows through in their approach to the game. Just like India, Pakistan too did not deserve to be in the Super 8s. The Irish are playing really well. I believe they might be able to upset somebody in the next round.
The scariest match in the World Cup so far was the Aus-SA match in the group phase. There have been quite a few upsets and some thrillers that Sri Lanka have played. But what made me choose this match was the sheer intensity of the contest till about 75 overs. India Sri Lanka played the previous day. To see this match the next day akin to witnessing a Sampras-Ivanisevic bloodbath on grass the day after you have watched a Muster - Kuerten fistfight on clay. Both Australia and South Africa have 11 extremely fit gladiators. They don't give an inch, don't pull their punches and the cricket was really awesome. They seem to be from a different planet altogether. There were two captaincy masterstrokes in that match - first was the way South Africans bowled during the death - they bowled full and wide in stead of full and straight - the ground was very small straight - but was defendable on the side boundaries. So they bowled all the balls wide so that if they were hit, they were hit to the defendable parts and ended up giving 4s rather than 6s. Not many people credit Smith with brains (yours truly included), but this was a well thought out move. The second was the delaying of the third Power Play by Ricky Ponting - another captain whose skills are under-rated (perhaps rightly so). AB and Graeme Smith were going berserk. In such a huge run chase, the team chasing has to hit all the time. There is no room for a breather, no time to consolidate in the middle. With a huge cushion of runs in hand, Ponting decided to delay the third Power Play in the hope of getting a wicket. It was a huge risk because if it did not pay off, it would just consolidate South Africa's position even further. But the Aussies manufactured a wicket from nowhere and that finished off the game then and there.
The best match so far has been the Sri Lanka - England match. I switched off when Pietersen was dismissed believing that Sri Lanka would go on to win comfortably. But the next day as I switched on the TV to look at the results, I was shocked. I regret not seeing the match now. One thing must be said about Sri Lanka is that they really play as a team. In their case, the sum is much greater than their individual parts. Their bowling is disciplined and the fielding is superb. They gave only 3 extras the whole match - yes your read it correctly. And they did not give any till the 20th over (perhaps even later but I got sleepy after that).
Yesterday's match - South Africa vs Bangladesh showed why Smith is not rated very highly as a captain and why South Africa would not win this World Cup - it would surprise me if they reach the semis now. In the final overs, he did not ask the bowlers to bowl a single bouncer when the batsmen were charging all over the place. Nor did the bowlers think of it themselves. He gave the ball the Ntini and Nel when he could have given Kallis a bowl - Kallis (in the absence of Hall) is easily their best bowler at the death. He possesses a lethal in swinging yorker and is easily their most brainy cricketer in their team. And finally Smith was just playing catch up with Mohd. Ashraful during the slog overs. In the beginning of each over, Smith would bring the fine leg in. On the second or the third ball, Ashraful would scoop the ball over the fine leg's head for a four. Smith would change the field and send the fine leg back. The next over the fine leg would be back in the ring. This sequence went on incredibly for four overs !!!
And finally the predictions and wishes - I would like Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the semis (though I guess South Africa might still sneak in). The final wish is an Australia - New Zealand or an Australia Sri Lanka affair and of course Australia to win the cup undefeated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)