End of a cricketing generation!

Today is perhaps the last day when we would be seeing the bulk of the golden generation of Indian Cricket play together. Dravid, it seems, would hang his boots, Laxman may too and Tendulkar might not be far away. Ganguly is already in the commentators box and the way Sehwag plays, sustainability is not his mantra. I'm not at once saying that bowlers like Kumble, Zaheer and Harbhajan had nothing to do with the success India enjoyed in test cricket for the last decade but surely the top 5 I mentioned would be the poster boys of Indian cricket.
All of them combined several ingredients in Indian test cricket team's recipe for success. If it was Viru's aggression, Rahul's grit, Laxman's resilience, Ganguly's fearlessness or Tendulkar pure passion, all of it combined rather well. We can clearly see that when any of it was missing or on decline, the results were not up to the mark. Believe me folks, the talent of this caliber playing together comes once in couple generations and I would argue that it will not be until another decade that you will see something like this. Although, people doubt the short-lived no.1 status of the test team, it took a while to get there and not until India achieved the distinction of not losing to England in a test series for a period of 15 years and being the closest rival to an all conquering Australian team in the last decade.
For all the failures post world-cup, I still think that fans from my generation have been treated to something special. Imagine waking up on the eve of test match next time to know that there won't be the wall at no. 3 after the openers have failed or the little master on song for a session or two after lunch. We must understand and appreciate this because signs are that it's going to be back to 90's for a while. So, as we control our emotions, sit back and thank our heroes for giving the nation so much joy and pride!

Notes from the IPL

I must confess I have been able to get an hour's worth of entertainment everyday in spite of a rigorous schedule otherwise. Heck, I have enjoyed watching the games in the Indian Premier League (something, I could have anyways managed). I had my initial doubts over the format succeeding but its been phenomenal. The quality of cricket has kept the spirit up all the while.

Here are some of the noteworthy points for me -

• The return of Shane Warne: We all know how he can mesmerise you with his bowling but we have also witnessed a tactical genius inspire a bunch of talented lads.
• Sanath-Sachin pair: We had to wait almost half the tournament but we finally got to see what all fantasy cricket players have wished for almost a decade.
• 'Other' Indian talent: The likes of Gony, Dinda, Saha, Badrinath, Nayar and many others have used it as a perfect platform to show their mettle.
• T20 champions: We now know why the Indian Team won the T20 championship in South Africa. Players like Gambhir, Sehwag, Sharma, Dhoni, Pathan, RP Singh and Sreesanth (off-field as well??) have proved their antics.
• Full houses: The crowd support and the growing fan following suggests this league is here to stay. It will take time for soccer-like fanaticism to develop towards the franchises.
• Cricket has been good: Entertainment aside, quality of cricket has been good. Players have applied themselves and cricket has overshadowed other stuff.
• Knowledge transfer: I think lot of younger players have already benefited from intermingling with the senior/international pros. This will help Indian Cricket in the long run.

Any takers for a Rajasthan-Punjab final?

If there ever was a script ...

I woke up this morning and things seemed a bit different. The smell of the morning coffee, the ride to the office and work thereafter, all seemed to indicate a jovial mood and content within. India beat Australia to win the CB series down under and staying up till 4 am seem to have no effect on my day. There's something about this victory that makes me believe it is the most fulfilling of all my years of watching Cricket. I knew exactly what makes it special. We just burnt the ghosts of defeats in the finals at the hands of the Aussies and disappointments from that day of World Cup final 2003 when a fairytale journey to final had hit the Australian road block. All the Indian Cricket fans must be very happy today, as we finally say "Aussie ki Taisse".

Over the last few years, India has challenged Australia in all forms of the game more than any other nation but lot of the times we have tripped over at the final hurdle. Hence, to beat them in their own den without needing to play the 3rd final and win a trophy which would be ours forever (I mentioned in the previous post that this is the last edition of this tournament) is indeed significant. Watching the games, it felt after a long time that things were just falling into place. One victory was a perfect chase and the other was a nerve-wrecking thriller. The script had plenty of drama, sweet revenge (Harbhajan's success against Hayden and Symonds) and loads of fire (Indian pace attack was too hot for the Aussies and not the other way round). But to top it all, it had a stamp of a genius written all over it even after all these years. They say "cometh the hour, cometh the champion", Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar lambasted his critics with two worthy knocks. His hundred in the first final was an ideal knock, hundred unbeaten while chasing a stiff target. His near hundred in the second was making sure that it didn't slip this time. The fact that he did it against a champion side in the twilight of his career tells us about his determination to succeed against all odds. It also is a reminder that we enjoy this wonderful player as much as we can because the game is going to be poorer soon.

Here's a salute to the man, who has given so many people like me, a reason to forget yesterday and look forward to tomorrow.

Time for farewells and new beginnings

A lot has happened over the last two months since I wrote , both on personal front and the cricketing world (at times its hard to distinguish between the two I know). But as we reach the fag end of a long Australian summer (I still maintain that quality of cricket played here is bloody good), there has been a long talk about farewells where as at the same time, a new beginning is being made in a manner unheard of (atleast for Cricket). Yes, I know a lot of players are quitting but well even the tri-series concept down under is. For all those who have followed the game for so long would have some cherished memories with this long but interesting triangular tournaments (World Series as they called it before). My own has been how eagerly I used to get up for early telecasts and cherish the Channel 9 coverage well before the Star Sports - ESPN days.
As far as players retiring, I will sorely miss watching Adam Gilchrist. With his departure, I don't find any genuine joy in watching Australians play cricket. He alongwith Warne were the true differentiators (in more than one respect) and with both of them leaving, it surely leaves a big dent. We also have the likes of Jayasuriya, Vaas, Hogg retiring but then players go and new players are born.
Speaking of that, it brings to us to the buzz word that's doing the rounds in the cricketing circles these days "IPL". With all the hype and hoopla surrounding it, I surely think it will have a headstart which the ICL did not enjoy. If the player auction was anything to go by, we can definitely expect some entertainment this summer if the corporates can market the event well and draw in large crowds. I am sure the BCCI has some plans to rake in more mollah out of all this especially with Lalit Modi being the man behind all this. Teams do look interesting and provided all the players turn up (they may be absent for any number of reasons) with their minds on the game ( it can so easily wander given the stakes involved), we might be in for some action. More on this later.
As the last series down under draws to the close, I would be willing to put my hand up and cheer the Indians as I definitely think that this team has more than a chance. There is something about M.S Dhoni which has made this team fight with the dogged spirit. Let's get over with this on Tuesday (2nd final itself!)

And they will continue winning ...

Why not? The Australians are on the verge of a spectacular recovery from 134-6 in the ongoing Sydney Test and Andrew Symonds is closing onto 150 in his third stint this innings. Let me make it clear that the Australian side is a superior side but certainly not unbeatable. Time and again, we have seen that some umpiring decisions at crucial junctures in a match/series have gone their way. This has been happening over the years. Just in the recently concluded series against the Lankans, Sangakarra was given out after a breathtaking 192. Not that he would have one the game but he atleast had a chance as SL lost only by 90 runs chasing 500. Tendulkar had a horrid time in 2000 series in Australia and lot of the times he was leading a recovery. Come on Aussies, you don't need umpiring assistance to notch 16 wins in a row. Let the weaker teams get some reprive atleast. If a batsman gets three lifelines, I am sure someone like Tendulkar or Dravid averaging 55 and above will notch up 150's consistently (simple math).
Anyways, coming to the point, we (India) have suffered such distinctions (thanks many a times to the Football referee turned umpire Steve Bucknor) and the water has risen over the head now. Without Zaheer Khan, this attack is already weak and you don't want to take 13 wickets every innings to bowl out the opposition when you are struggling to take 10. I don't see how India will win this test , a position they would have been in by this time. Forget a comeback at Perth with inadequate fast bowling resources even if they manage to draw this one. Winning the series is a very distant dream.

Good old days

Me, Rashmi and Mummy visited Lake Tahoe this weekend. Its been a while since I have been here in Bay area but never visited Tahoe before. People often visit the lake during summer and do all sorts of water sports and here we were in middle of snow on a glaringly sunny winter day. The drive was smooth as the last week snow had been cleared and with such a clear day, it was extremely scenic. At our first destination, we got an opportunity to drive a snow mobile and it was great fun. I wanted to do this sometime but not sure why we didn't in Minnesota. I had skiing plans also but there was a lot of rush and also after the snow mobile experience, I was a bit tired.
We had a nice lunch by the lake and played with snow. Some of the visuals were spectacular as the sun began to descend. The area was lively with lots of people visiting and we do plan to return for some skiing next time.
It was a nice trip and close to 3 yrs since I last visited a place with snow. The lasting memory would be the full moon we saw over the mountains during twilight as we headed back home. It was indeed beautiful!

Sensitively embellished

Aamir Khan's directorial debut is by far the most sensitively handled piece of cinema coming from Bollywood this year. We saw the movie "Taare Zameen Par" last night and it is definitely a worthy watch. The movie leaves you with a nostalgic charm about childhood, a period everyone yearns to visit that once more. There is a fair sprinkling of colors on the canvas and they replicate the emotions the movie drives you through.
The best thing Aamir as a director has done is that he has handled the subject in a simplistic manner, taking his time at some opportune moments to convey what he wants to. The only complaint I have is that the film could have been trimmed a bit more in the second half.
Now about the real hero of the movie, Darsheel (the protagonist Ishaan), by far the best performance ever from a child in a bollywood movie. He conveys so much through his eyes, his mannerisms that he leaves his mark on even the mundane of scenes. Aamir Khan, the actor, plays his part well delivering lines in a measured manner. Other characters enact their parts well, the one standout being Ishaan's Mother Tisca Chopra, well cast as a doting but unsure mother.
Music and background score from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is well blended with the storyline. The title song stands out and Prasoon Joshi lyrics are out of the world (I have them on my headphones as I write this). The song "Maa" is also well sung by Shankar Mahadeven and it manages to pull a string or two in your hearts.
Overall, the movie achieves what it perhaps was set to and is a definitely recommended to all the child caretakers so that they leave childhood as unadulterated as it is supposed to be.