Confetti that life is

India v Sri Lanka, And what rides on it

2007-03-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

So this Friday is the clash that will determine if India goes thru to the super 8's or not. It will determine if the big hearted tigers from Bangladesh will get to show the world that beating India was not a fluke. It will determine if not one, but two minnows(Ireland being the other) will most unexpectedly make it to the next stage.
Interestingly, there is more to it than meets the eye. In cricket at least, the mantra is simple : Big Bucks are where the Indian team is involved. Massive travelling support, TV deals, sponsorships ride on how far down the road the Indian team goes. The super eights schedule was drawn up long time before the tournament started. Ridiculous as it may sound, it was based upon the ODI rankings as of April 2005(huh!!!). Teams were labeled team 1 and team2 in their respective groups based on these rankings. In group B's case, India was team2, or B2 and SL was B1. Even if India were to win all their games, they would still be B2. From one perspective, it does'nt really matter if you are B1 or B2 since you are gonna have to play all the rest of the teams in the fray in the super 8s. But what this kind of system allowed the organizers to do was to draw up a schedule of the super 8s in advance. Allowed them the luxury to conveniently schedule the "marquee" games on weekends and public holidays. And needless to say, most of these marquee games involved India. India's clashes with Pakistan, Australia and South Africa were definitely mouth watering on paper and so were set to be played on weekends. Taking the ICC's word for it, companies have already rolled out big bucks for advertising slots on these gamedays. In-ground advertising has been booked way in advance. Ticket sales soared, Indian people from overseas, especially the US, made arrangements for their travel and stay at the venues in question.
All these people might already be looking for ways to get out of what can very well be a mess.
But if they are not, then god help them. Because one thing we can be sure of - A Bangladesh v Ireland Super 8s game is not going to attract quite the same number of people as an India v Pak game would have.
Pakistan may be out of the picture, but the Indians do still have an outstreched arm in it. What are their chances? what would it take to get past the marauding Lankans. Lets examine..
What I personally feel is that ideally, India should be batting first and setting a target. Two reasons, the pressure while chasing with their survival in the competetion on the line may be too much for the Indian batsmen to deal with, secondly, Sri Lanka's middle over bowlers sometimes just get impossible to score quickly off. Then again, I am saying this with absolutely no knowledge of the picth and weather conditions. If they get a green top and overcast skies, messers Vass and Malinga can wreak havoc. All said, I still feel that chasing would be too much to take(for me sitting and watching too).
About the team composition, I was proved wrong by Kumble last time around. But then it was only Bermuda. Right from the begining, i was not a big fan of Kumble's inclusion in the squad. Always felt Bhajji is a more attacking bowler. Also, what counts against Kumble is that the Lankans have always played him well. The problems at the top of the order are still present. Would they drop Uthapa for Kartik? would they open with Sehwag? I think putting Kartik in the line of fire for this one will not be a good idea. Either they should stick with Uthapa or, and this might be a long shot, bring in Pathan for Uthapa.
All questions will be answered this Friday. Unfortunately, I will only be able to follow the game and not watch it(damn them having the WC in the same time zone).

As all sporting previews end.. "May the best team win"..err.. I beg to differ..

"MAY INDIA WIN"

otherwise, all those people queing up for the India-Pak game, be ready to watch Ireland-Bangladesh's EPIC battle.

Of fallen powerhouses and deceased coaches

2007-03-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

What a dramatic week in the world cup. India and Pakistan losing to minnows and Gibbs hitting six sixes and of course, the sad news of Bob Woolmers passing away. It was the last news that the cricket world found hard to digest. And yet, this piece of news is inevitably going to get pushed further and further back in the pecking order. It will take a while for everyone to realize how big a loss this is to the cricket world. It will take a while for the Pakistan team to get used to the fact that their coach has not been fired, has'nt quit, has'nt lost it in the wilderness that pakistan cricket politics is, but has actually passed away.... It is a sad sad loss for cricket in general, May his soul rest in peace.

But as they say, the games must go on, and gone they have indeed. Black armbands and minutes silence and all. There have been incidents in the history of sport of events being continued unhindered, which, in my personal opinion is the right thing to do. Not only does it bear testimony to the tenacious nature of sport and of those involved, but also proves that sport is like any other thing in life, and it must move on. Inspite of the no less than 9 Israili athletes being murdered in what has come to be known as the Munich Massacre, the 1972 Olympics still went on. When the plane carrying the whole Manchester United football team back home crashed , killing most of them, Man U continued the season and actually went on to make it to the finals of the prestigious FA cup. The Pakistan team now owes it to Woolmer for all he gave to them during his tenure as their coach. It might be too late for them in this world cup, but they will have more chances after this. and they need to pick themselves up and perform again.

Getting back to news from the field now. India lost to Bangladesh and India's own overconfidence. Yes, it was over confidence, and nothing else. Lets face it, India lacks consistency. And this just does not allow them to walk with a swagger no matter how hot a winning streak they are on. Having steamrolled the hosts in a warm up game, some of the guys I think just took if for granted that the Bangladesh game would be a walk in the park. This is what eventually cost them the game and left them to bear the brunt of the fickle minded fans back home. True, they did wake up and resume business yesterday against an attack worthy of a club side, but I hope, really do hope that they do not carry anything from this game into the game against Sri Lanka.
I dont know why people talk of Australians as being on the decline. Inspite of a bad record right before the world cup, I still think they are favourites. I think their batting is just way to strong and their bowling, even though not venomous, is enough to get the job done. I think australia will complete a hattrick of world cup wins quite comfortably.
New Zealand and Sri Lanka are being talked about as contenders. And to an extent that is true. I think both of them have a good all round side. though I seriously doubt New Zealand's top order batting, their lower middle order of Oram,McCullum and Styris is formidable. Of course, there is the up and coming Ross Taylor. As for Flemming, sorry but i never consider him much of a batsman.
England being touted as one of the tournaments surprise packages is, well.. simply put.. crap!!
less said the better about them, they are going nowhere, thats for sure.
So the way its looking right now, I think Australia and South Africa would the faves, in that order. But that little hope that India has, wish it takes them farther into the competetion.

The world cup is now wide open

2007-02-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

So whats going on in the cricket world? Australia loosing 5 in a row? Ganguly diving on the field and taking spectacular catches? India actually having a pace attack worth talking about? Marlon Samuels (who???) embroiled in a fixing controversy?

Strange happenings, are'nt they? especially when the world cup is just round the corner. Rumour mills are working overtime. I have heard some really ridiculous ones such as Australia throwing games so that there is some interest still left in the world cup which, until not too long ago was theirs for the taking. I mean get over it guys, was'nt fixing in cricket a copyright of the subcontinent? Why would the Aussies throw games? why would they care if there is interest in the WC or not? They would just want to win it, and so would the other teams. So lets just forget all these stupid speculations and enjoy what promises to be an exciting tournament.

Team India looks nice and balanced. Batting is clicking, bowling is doing reasonably well, and with some young guys diving around fielding looks good as well. If only someone could find a solution to the conundrum that is Irfan Pathan, I think we would be a complete team. The very fact that Dinesh Karthick was picked to replace Pathan shows us that he now considered a pure batting option and no longer an all rounder, let alone being considered a bowler. And whats with him being picked inspite of being injured? Need some answers about him and need 'em fast.

The guys making a comeback to the team have performed admirably, or at least most of them have. Zaheer is is fine form, his swing and perfect length almost always providing an early breakthrough. Ganguly, well he has really been born again, has'nt he!! Down and dusted, not getting along with the coach, falling out(allegedly) with some of his teammates, no one really gave him a chance to make a comeback. Then when he was recalled to the test side, everyone thought that even if he did get this far, there is absolutely no place for him in th ODI side. But he made it, and how!!! To see him bat like he used to is really heartening. To see him dive around on the field is really refreshing, and , I dont know if its me or is it for real that he seems to have more hair on his head now. Last time I saw him, he was balding!! With Sehwag's form on a downward spiral, I felt initially that Sachin and him need to be re-united at the top, but the meteoric rise of Uthapa, that looks unlikely. The other comeback man though has left a lot to be desired and raised a lot of questions. I am talking about Anil Kumble. There is no doubt he is a liability in the field (his "knee first" diving technique is as ridiculous as it is hilarious) . I think our loss to Sri Lanka in the second ODI was brought about by his wasting 5 balls which Dhoni could have used. And lets face it, there is not too many places where you play 2 specialist spinners in an ODI. And with Sehwag, Sachin and Yuvi more that capable of sharing 10 overs, why the selectors have decided to to pick Kumble is beyond me.
So the stage is set for the Carribean magnum-opus. More teams this time, degrading the opening round to merely something that will decide who play who is the super-eights as opposed to a who makes it there thing. A super eights instead of the old super-sixes. Less number of venues which means less travelling for teams, something for the Americans to worry about .
But most importantly the "anyone can win it" feeling. South Africa in cracking form, Australia wounded and waiting to strike back, New Zealand on the moon after whitewashing the Aussies, England and Sri Lanka trying to get their acts together, Inidia also having a good recent record, and as always the unpredictable Pakistanis. Really sets the stage up does'nt it.

Predictions anyone?

Indian Media.. Something to think about

2007-02-14T07:33:00.000-08:00

Got this email as a forward from a friend...
dont really open forwarded emails too often, but ended up reading this one, and this is interesting..
no idea how true it is or how much of this is just a figment of someone's imagination.

So here goes... its titled "SHAME ON INDIAN MEDIA"

"
By the time u guys read this news, the body of Major Manish Pitambare, who was shot dead at Anantnag, would have been cremated with full military honors.

On Tuesday, this news swept across all the news channels 'Sanjay Dutt relieved by court'. 'Sirf Munna not a bhai' '13 saal ka vanvaas khatam' 'although found guilty for possession of armory, Sanjay can breath sigh of relief as all the TADA charges against him are withdrawn' Then many personalities like Salman Khan said 'He is a good person. We knew he will come out clean'. Mr Big B said "Dutt's family and our family have relations for years he's a good kid. He is like elder brother to Abhishek". His sister Priya Dutt said "we can sleep well tonight. It 's a great relief"

In other news, Parliament was mad at Indian team for performing bad; Greg Chappell said something; Shah Rukh Khan replaces Amitabh in KBC and other such stuff. But most of the emphasis was given on Sanjay Dutt's "phoenix like" comeback from the ashes of terrorist charges. Surfing through the channels, one news on BBC startled me. It read "Hisbul Mujahidin's most wanted terrorist 'Sohel Faisal' killed in Anantnag, India. Indian Major leading the operation lost his life in the process. Four others are injured.

It was past midnight, I started visiting the stupid Indian channels, but Sanjay Dutt was still ruling. They were telling how Sanjay pleaded to the court saying 'I'm the sole bread earner for my family', 'I have a daughter who is studying in US' and so on. Then they showed how Sanjay was not wearing his lucky blue shirt while he was hearing the verdict and also how he went to every temple and prayed for the last few months. A suspect in Mumbai bomb blasts, convicted under armory act...was being transformed into a hero. Sure Sanjay Dutt has a daughter; Sure he did not do any terrorist activity. Possessing an AK47 is considered too elementary in terrorist community and also one who possesses an AK47 has a right to possess a pistol so that again is not such a big crime; Sure Sanjay Dutt went to all the temples; Sure he did a lot of Gandhigiri but then........ ...

Major Manish H Pitambare got the information from his sources about the terrorists' whereabouts. Wasting no time he attacked the camp, killed Hisbul Mujahidin's supremo and in the process lost his life to the bullets fired from an AK47. He is survived by a wife and daughter (just like Sanjay Dutt) who's only 18 months old.

Major Manish never said 'I have a daughter' before he took the decision to attack the terrorists in the darkest of nights. He never thought about having a family and he being the bread earner. No news channel covered this since they were too busy hyping a former drug addict, a suspect who's linked to bomb blasts which killed hundreds. Their aim was to show how he defied the TADA charges and they were so successful that his conviction in possession of armory had no meaning. They also concluded that his parents in heaven must be happy and proud of him.

Parents of Major Manish are still living and they have to live rest of their lives without their beloved son. His daughter won't ever see her daddy again. Finally Major Manish, to my generation is a greater hero, someone who laid his life in the name of this great nation.
So, please forward this message around so that the media knows which news to give importance, as it is a shame for us since this Army Major's death news was given by a foreign TV channel!!!"

Leave it out to anyone who is reading for comments..

Have had better weekends

2007-01-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

A bad weekend for me, healthwise. Friday night started feeling the beginings of a severe cough and cold. By the time I got up on Saturday afternoon (yes, afternoons are mornings for me on weekends), I was coughing real bad. Thought its a temporary thing and ignored it. Managed to worsen it by having a chilled beer at a friends place in Orlando on my way to watch Guru. Kept tossing and turning in bed saturday night, as I just could not stop coughing. And on Sunday my 'sour throat' had gone so bad, that it was painful to swallow anything solid. Had to remain on a liquid diet all day. Included in that was drinking warm water, which I swear to god is the worst tasting thing to drink. Finally gave in, got some cough syrup which made me so drowsy that I went to bed at 11.
As if this was not enough, the Patriots lost in the AFC champs game to Manning and the Colts. Yes, Brady-Bellichick lost a playoff game!! Well, thats it for the Pats this season.
Also watched the Mani Ratnam movie 'Guru' on saturday. Must say this, Mani Ratnam's movies almost always carry a social messege, this one did too. Only this time, i thought it was more 'anti-social' than 'social'. In a nutshell, an attempt is made to justify all the hook-or-by-crooks and one-way-or-the-others involved in the rags to riches story of an Indian businessman. Agreed, as a movie, its as good as you would expect from Mani. Dont really agree with its messege though. But, thats my opinion entirely.

But there was indeed some silver lining on the otherwise dark cloud that was this past weekend for me. India won a cricket game at last. Beat the West Indies although not real convincing in the end, but was good enough that they won. Another good news on the personal/professional front might be round the corner. Not ready to reveal that just yet...

O Bannerjee Saab, Aapne to kamaal kar diya jee!!

2007-01-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

Confused by the title? I am sure you are. I am talking about, in my opinion, one of the best movies released last year.
Its called Khosla Ka Ghosla. The deep rooted dilliwalla accent used in the movie and the name of its director (Dibankar Bannerjee) is the basis of the title of this post.

Not often in the age of these so called "big movies" do we get to see such genuinely content driven movies. All the characters in the movie are so lifelike and believable that you sometimes wonder why do we need flying superheroes in movies. This is not a review of the movie, for that you can visit indiafm or any other desi movie site, just randon thoughts about it.

The first thing that strikes me is the language used. The accent and the tone is very very typical dilliwalla. Being a dilliwalla for 25 years myself, you can take my word for it. Starting with the O at the begining of each sentence and the jee at the end, going onto the quintessential sardarji using the well known expletive in many of his lines to the witty and cunning owner of A-One Agency ( there is one by this name is every neighborhood in Delhi). It is just totally lifelike, makes me feel like back home again.

Even the characters demeanours are so well enacted, so natural. The major characters in the movie strike you with their towering presence. Boman Irani as the property dealer, Anupam Kher as the typical middle class man with big dreams, and Pravin Dabas as the son who wants to escape.

But here is where many people will disagree with me. There were these minor, hardly noticable characters in the movie which struck me as more typical dilli. Anyone who has been to Delhi to buy property or in fact even gone to buy anything for that matter, is bound to encounter someone very very simillar to the middle man "propty" dealer shown in the movie, Vijender. The way he sucks up to Khurana and the way he dupes poor Mr. Khosla is a classic portrayal of middlemanship, so prevalent in Delhi.

If the middle man was terific, the ever nodding lackey to Khurana, called Munjal in the movie was absolutely awesome. So real is the way they have shown the guy's behaviour that it reminds me of so many such people I met when travelling with my Dad to his clients sometimes. The way he always has a cellphone in his hand, the way he refers to everyone as "Sir jee", the way he handles the situation in the police station, its just totally life like.

But the character that steals the show for me, albeit being in a minor, somewhat insignificant role is the good for nothing elder son of Mr. Khosla, Bunty Khosla. Credit should go to Ranvir Shorey for pulling off this role in the way he has, and continuing on with his awesome comic form last year with Pyaar Ke Side Effects and some others.

Of course there were many other positives in the movie which made me label it the best of 2006. But from my point of view, stuff that made me so nostalgic was the best. As my younger brother aptly put it when reccomending this movie to me "the best portrayal of Delhi on cinema thus far".

But after all, you all know as well as I do, the awards and addulations for the best movie and all that are all going to go a certain 4 hour, never ending crying contest between SRK, Rani and Preity and co. (read KANK). Why?? because Indian movie goers dont want to see what actually happens around them on screen, they want to see their fantasies painted on screen.

Who cares about awards anyways, as long as we get to watch these well made, life like movies..

and yes, whoever thought of the name "Chironji Lal Khosla" ought to be given special applause.. (you will know when you watch the movie)

Please go watch this if you have'nt yet.Highly Recommended.

A day at Tampa Bay

2006-12-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

This game of American Football never really caught my attention until recently. I always used to wonder why they call it football when only 10% of the time, the ball touches the players' feet.
When I was in school here in the US, I used to hang out mostly with Indians and my exposure to this game was limited if any. But when I started working, I started feeling increasingly left out of the post game football discussions that my colleagues indulged in rather passionately on mondays.
So starting this season(football season starts in september), armed with a cable connection worth a small fortune, egged on by colleagues and inspired by friends, i entered the world of another sport. Being a sports freak as it is, it was'nt difficult for me to catch up and start taking part in those discussions which seemed so elusive not so long ago.
Having a football fan for a boss and a even bigger fan as a team lead helped. The company arranged for a football game trip on November 19th 2006. We went to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the Washington Redskins. People with some football know-how will ask why such a crap game? well, because my boss is a redskins fan, thats why.
More than the game, the atmosphere really got to me.
The way the teams entered the arena, the fly past by one of the US Airforce planes that was arranged, the huge flags, the cheerleaders, everything added up to make the atmosphere absolutely electric. It was a small matter that the game itself was dull.
Made for a good day out, away from the mundane atmosphere of the office.

And now... Two contrasting yet similar retirements

2006-12-21T06:41:00.000-08:00

The Occassion : Ashes 2005
The Venue : Lord's, London
The Mood : Australia favored to retain the Ashes, but England's new look team not to be written off
The Scene : Australia choose to bat, regardless of the green top.

The First Over: 6 foot 7 Harmison charging in to bowl to the dimunitive Justin Langer, all of 5 foot something. Right in the first over, Harmison bangs one in short, the ball explodes of the surface, hits Langer smack on his elbow. painful? yes... round 1 to Harmy and England.. Setting the tone for things to come.

Cut to about a year later

The Occassion : Ashes 2006
The Venue : Gabba, Brisbane
The Mood : A hurt Australia trying to get back what they think belongs to them. England? well riddled with injuries but big at heart.
The Scene : Australia choose to bat again..no green top this time.

The First Over: 6 foot 7 Harmison charging in to bowl to the dimunitive Justin Langer, all of 5 foot something. Right in the first over, the first ball Harmy bowls, is collected by Andrew Flintoff at.. yes.. SECOND SLIP!!! painful? yes, this time for the Poms.. round one to Aussies.

This reflects the happenings in the cricketing life of Mr. Stephen Harmison. From a potent spearhead to a liability, the jorney from Lord's to Brisbane has been painful. For him and more so to the faithful Barmy Army. An odd good performance here and there making little or no impression, in fact forcing the selectors to sit him in one of the Champions trophy games.

And now, we hear the news that he has given up. Has given up something that he never really mastered. Steve Harmison has retired from the one day game. Well, we should say he is smart, since we all know so well that he was so close to being dropped anyways. Lets just hope for his sake and England's that this helps him in the longer form of the game.

Which brings me to todays other big news in the cricket world. Someone else who gave up the shorter form of the game to persue his test career. Not that this guy was struggling, but he made what turned out to be the right decision at the right time.
Yes, I am talking about the charismatic, the champion, the spin doctor, I am talking about THAT MAN SHANE WARNE. There is no doubting Shane Warne's ability. 699 wickets from 143 games is phenomenal. But if you look at the number of games he has inspired the Aussies in, without taking a bagful of wickets, it is absolutely mind boggling. Ironically, the two best Warne inspired victories in my memory are in the one day format. Semi final of the 1996 World Cup against the West Indies at Mohali, and the semi final of the 1999 World Cup against South Africa at Edgebaston. I am not going to go into the stats of those games. But those two were the ultimate examples of how his confidence and his tenacity rubs off on his teammates.

Being an India fan, I still have no qualms in saying that Shane Warne has been my favorite cricketer over the last few years. And when he says in his retirement press conference that Sachin is one of the best he has bowled to, it makes me doubly proud.
His duels with Sachin are, well.. unforgettable.

Come the end of this years Ashes at the SCG, the cricket world will miss those magical sliders, those mesmerising googlies and perfectly pitched leg spinners from the master himself.

So Mr. Harmison, by announcing your retirement from ODI's on the same day as this great Aussie, you have taken one page out of his book(that which reads quit ODIs to prolong your test career). Lets hope for your sake and England's, you take the other page off his book also ( that which reads BEING A CHAMP IN TESTS)

Farewell, Warnie...

Two awesome test victories

2006-12-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

Alas, looks like my prayers for the Indian team were answered. Maybe in another format of the game, bust still. As experts would say, "psychological edge" will be with India for at least the next test.
Although the Indians showed immense character, determination and dedication to acheive what almost was impossible, I was following the other test match that was going on over the same 5 days. The awesome Aussies pulverising the puny poms. Now that Aussie team is what a champion team should look like. Just see how deeply they were hurt by the ashes defeat last year. Every team member of the so labeled "Dad's Army" was so full of that ruthless streak to win back the pricelss ashes urn that you could almost feel it yourself. And the poor English team, even the talismanic Andrew Flintoff, had to be rudely awakened to the harsh reality that last year was a fluke!!
Coming back to the Indian team,looks like some change has happened in the Indian team. Comeback players(Zaheer, Dada and Laxman) were hugely responsible for this test victory. So what inference can we draw? Bringing in experience, and getting rid of that famous cricketing cliche of "our team is a perfect blend of youth and experience". Whatever it is, if it works, why not? Lets just say that messers Raina, Kaif and co were just not ready for the big league yet.

And yes, i stayed up all night, i payed 10 bucks to watch , and the Indian team did not let me down..
Way to go India, Now lets do it in the one day format also, because as "Revealed" said in a comment on my previous post, the World Cup is not a series of test matches!!

Criss Angel: Incredible

2006-12-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

Of late I have been watching a lot of TV, too much sometimes. I came across this show on A&E called "Criss Angel, Mindfreak". I am telling you, you have to see it to believe it, this guy is just unbelievable.

Before I go any further, just watch this video as an appetizer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTOMJhBX3JM

Well, what do you think? Whacky, is'nt it? I watched this one over and over to try and figure out how the hell he does that. You think.. well, it has to be planned of course, but how the hell does he pull it off? there are more videos of him flying, walking on water, breaking into and out of an armored car in a few seconds. totally amazing.

search on youtube for "Chris Angel" the guys at youtube got his name spelt wrong, its actually Criss, but whatever, watch these.. and let me know if you can fathom however the hell he pulls these stunts off.

FYI: his show is aired at 10 PM EST on wednesdays on A&E.

The inspiration from within

2006-12-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

Having joined the blogging bandwagon, I assumed that what forced me to post the first time, that inspiration, that driving force, will always be there. I thought to myself that I just need to start and then it will flow from there. But trust me, its not a snowball, that once rolled down, will keep going down along the slope... What I mean is the drive to actually force you to post again needs to come from within. I can think of a few reasons why one can get that drive:

1. You have nothing to do.
2. Something very very exciting is happening in your life.
3. India is very good, or very bad in cricket( in my case, anyways )
4. You are drunk..

Ummm... lets use the theory of elimination...

2 ?? naaah.. no one can have a life as insipid as me...
3 ?? already dealt with
4? certainly not.. not saying i dont drink, but... its 4 PM on a weekday...

where does that leave us? yup.. I have nothing to do!! Sitting at work whiling away my time....finished a task, too late to start a new one. have surfed all the cricket sites out there, read all the news, checked my email like a 100 times.. so basically i have run out of stuff to do.

So here I am, wring down whatever comes to my mind, knowing fully well that I will probably be the only one reading it.. but so what.. its a start...
and lets hope I keep posting. Lets just hope that I have something more meaningful next time.

2006-12-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

Indian Cricket... Someone help!!!

There were days when watching cricket used to be fun. Right through my college days in India, a hostel TV room full of about a 100 guys to about 25 people in the living room of a desi apartment whose occupants were fortunate enough to have a TV set, during my Florida Tech days. It gave me an atmosphere, albeit nowhere close to being in the stadium, but maybe close, urged me to cheer every boundary scored by an Indian batsman or every wicket taken by an Indian bowler, sometimes even compelled me to stand up and dance at an indian victory...

but above all, it gave me something that i totally lack now. It gave me a chance to vent my anger,my frustration, to share my feelings of sorrow, those of utter depression which I inevitably felt in the event of a meek surrender by the 11 best cricketers from a country of millions. I knew there were people around me who shared these feelings, and that somehow made me feel better.

Now as i sit in my room watching the events unfold in South Africa ( India has been whitewashed 4-0 in a ODI series by SA ), all alone, I can only imagine the mood of that distant TV room in India, or that living room in my friends apartment, and I so miss it.

Maybe this is why i am starting this blog, TO CUSS AT THE DEPLORABLE DECLINE OF INDIAN CRICKET!!! well, for the time being at least!!

Rediff ran this article a few days ago:

http://ia.rediff.com/cricket/2006/dec/04rankings.htm

It totally reflects how the team reached heady heights in the 2005 home season, beating Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and tieing the series with South Africa, only to be brought crashing down as soon as they stepped on foreign soil, getting a pasting from the (lowly???) West Indiies. Since then its been a downward spiral to this day, not something any Indian fan wanted to see with the world cup round the corner.

I have had many discussions with fellow cricket fans as to what might be the reason for this drastic decline. Post "Wright-Ganguly", the "Dravid-Chappell" era promised us success through being flexible. The word experimenting became synonymous with sending Dhoni/Pathan at number three. and while it worked at home, their lack of technique was cruelly exposed on quicker,bouncier wickets. In other words, the experiments started to bomb in Chappell's face, as for Dravid, well he kept on answering with his bat. But there is only so much The Wall could do, and with Sachin's decline imminent, if not already upon us, it was never going to be easy for team India.

Then came the champions trophy, which incidentally was held in India. But by that time, Chappell was running out of ideas, Pathan was failing him, about Sehwag, less said the better and he did not have the courage to send Dhoni up the order. So what happens? Mr. Chappell forgets the basics.

Picture this, India playing Australia in a must win match at Mohali, Sehwag gets some runs at the top(about time), Sachin fails but Dravid and Kaif somehow carry the score to 197 in the 42nd. Kaif gets out to a brute from Lee, Ok, he was looking for runs, and runs is what we needed then, and some quick once at that. runs? quick runs?? slog overs??? hey Mr. Chappell? remember your pinch hitters from previous season? Dhoni? Pathan?? would be useful at this stage of the game i suppose!! Nopes, Chappell pulls of a masterstroke, sends Raina who is struggling for runs, could not put bat to ball, could not rotate the strike, eats up 30 odd valuable deliveries and gets out. Wow!! what was Chappell thinking? what transpires? India stutter to 50 in the last 10, Martyn and Ponting cream the indian bowling and India is out of their home champions trophy.

Well, it is clear that Team India needs a change, and needs it fast. I am not saying replacing Chappell is the solution, not at all. Chappell is one of the greates batsmen of his era and shrewdest of cricketing brains around. But I think its time to punish the culprits, and by this I mean the players themselves. A kick up the backsides of Mr. Sehwag, Kaif and , it pains me to say this, but Mr. Tendulkar will only do them good. Pathan needs to understand that he is a bowler first and batsman later. I am not sure if bringing back Ganguly is going to help or not, but at least there is a change, and hopefully in the right direction.

Something needs to happen, and it needs to happen sooner rather than later. Otherwise I do envision myself having more days like today, when I sit and regret the fact that i stayed up all night to watch what I thought would be a game of cricket. When I envy people who dont follow cricket, to whom it does not matter if India looses. Because to me and hundreds of thousands of die hard cricket followers like me, it matters.