Series Analysis

What happened in this series is a lesson for any team playing without a plan. Sehwag's dismissal of the first ball doesn't dilutes the momentum, but the way Dravid plays. He concentrates more on staying in the crease than scoring runs. This is like shielding that gives the opponent ample time and ways to think further on pushing them to the backfoot. That's the way Dravid plays and he alone can withstand the increase of speed and swing, but the rest of the team like to play shots and eventually perish when the bowlers get well settled in a rhythm gifted by Dravid. It wouldn't be a bad idea to play Dravid at 6 or 7 that will give the top order to play an attacking game early on. We have seen India losing wickets trying to defend and see off the new ball in test matches, but the same team scoring 300+ on similar pitches and tough bowlers in one dayers. Dhoni played his usual way and scored runs, and only very few of them came of edges and poor bowling.
A point to note here is that most of them played with straight bat on these swing friendly pitches in England. Masters play more horizontal bat shots in swinging conditions and strait batted shots on bouncy pitches. Sachin Tendulkar & Mark Waugh are good examples to learn from. Both of them go down on their knees bending their right elbow to get enough room to play a square drive or a cut over the point for good length deliveries outside off stump in swinging conditions. Moving to the line of the ball reduce the chances of playing tentatively. High bat lift gives more power and timing to score runs easily. Shots like these are so safe and has the touch of elegance that we have seen them (Sachin and Mark) playing so well.
There were big shots played towards the end of India's 2nd innings with Swann bowling continuously conceding more runs. This is a good strategy by England to entertain the Indian fans and to fill in the stands for the next match.
With the series lost, "India should play the 4th test as an one off test" Harsha says. It'll be good for the Indian team to take a step back and plan well before the one day series. Sure a 5-0 Indian win is on the cards if they play with a plan.

Way to play - being the natural self

Just few months being crowned as world champions in one day internationals, India reclaimed with inspired performances over the last couple of years. Flying to England as favorites and a very much anticipated high profile series is turning out to be a host dominated series so far with two more test matches to go...
Between the good and unexpected levels of performances in the World Cup and England series respectively, India had the IPL followed by the tour of West Indies. Pity that India didn't had time to share the joy and feel proud of winning the WC. As rightly said by Nasser Hussain, India doesn't seem to be playing with the pride of being the number one team in the world. They don't seem to have the guts to stand firm to fight as a champion. Harsha Bhogle says... "It's rather easy to reach the top of the rankings than to keep hold of it for a period of time".
There could be several reasons for being 2 down in the test series, but the bunch of players aren't playing upto the standards of test match cricket. Not one player barring Rahul Dravid seem to be playing confidently or with a plan. Dravid plays in a way that deceives the bowlers to get better and better and be more attacking which is uncomfortable for the rest. A Sehwag kind of start is what will work for India at the moment. We have seen India play better in the shorter versions of the game, but definitely not after the world cup triumph. They lost 2 out of 5 matches against West Indies without Chris Gayle after IPL. A worrying factor is whether India has drafted a plan for the next one year. If this hasn't been done, it would be better to play a second string team for the upcoming series as it would only give youngsters a chance to step up and keep the frontline players on toes.
The current batting lot is playing an unnatural game by getting to a very defensive mode. They are looking to occupy the crease as long as possible. These guys are good one day players by nature and it would be better if they play in the same way. They should try scoring 5 runs per over and not be worried too much about losing the wicket.
The current bowling unit doesn't seem to bowl as in a test match to get 10 wickets in each innings. 90% of the wickets taken by the Indian bowlers aren't wicket taking deliveries in this test series so far.
Spin has been the strength for India and they should persist with its capabilities. Harbhajan could have been given the ball in the first 10 overs. Or even could have opened with Praveen Kumar who oscillates the ball well but not accelerate it.
Parthiv Patel would have been a better choice to open the batting instead of Mukund. Murli Kartik has done exceptionally well in this county season and would have been handy in this series.
Where are the bouncers, yorkers, slower ones, cutters, or atleast bowling to a set field ? It's silly to think that they wouldn't have thought of these varieties, but doesn't matter to be silly.... "Don't they have these options in their minds ???"
The only good thinking from India is that they aren't playing negative cricket, but definitely lack planning. Shame that they couldn't get a wicket in the first 47 overs in the 2 day match against Northamptonshire.
All the hype about Sachin's century has faded away now.
What's going to happen ???

A Gentleman's Game - only played by few...

They call it (Cricket) a "Gentleman's Game"... We have seen many instances of it all these years where the friendliness in the game is shown. However, it gradually started fading in late 80s though few thoughtful 'gentlemen' played/playing it with good spirits. Who other than 'Sachin Tendulkar' could be a better example with perfect sportsmanship and maintained friendship & respect. Hansie Cronje was one to have played it with good heart but unfortunately left his mind to think crazy. It really needs the same strong mind and heart to admit it publicly and rightly staying away from International Cricket.
Adam Gilchrist was another guy who can be called 'A Gentleman' among the rough and tough Aussies.
Incidents like Sachin's run out in the test match against Pakistan at Eden Gardens, Steve Waugh handling the ball in the test match against India at Chepauk, Michael Vaughan handling the ball in a test match against India, Peter Kirsten's dismissal in a match against India (Kapil Dev incident), Sachin's dismissal of Glenn McGrath when hit by a delivery that didn't bounce and given LBW, a player's helmet falling on the stumps, ball popping out of Gibbs's hand in '99 World Cup, etc., do happen. These dismissals leave a dark spot on everyone and in the game. They were unexpected (except the Kapil incident), but a lesson to be learnt and a bonus for the media to fill in their dailies.
The recent one on Bell's dismissal turned out with showering praises on the Indian captain and the team. But it's a shame on Bell to argue on the field and later coming on to bat after the generous decision by the Indian team. Though Bell admitted later, he had the same time to think and decide as Dhoni had and did at tea. Bell should have walked off and that would have shown professionalism. India had to decide and let Bell play play down safe on the dismissal.
If this could be revised, then each of the incidents mentioned earlier could have been reviewed and the decisions revised.They call it (Cricket) a "Gentleman's Game"... We have seen many instances of it all these years where the friendliness in the game is shown. However, it gradually started fading in late 80s though few thoughtful 'gentlemen' played/playing it with good spirits. Who other than Sachin Tendulkar' could be a better example with perfect sportsmanship and maintained friendship & respect. Hansie Cronje was one to have played it with good heart but unfortunately left his mind to think crazy. It really needs the same strong mind and heart to admit it publicly and rightly staying away from International Cricket. Adam Gilchrist was another guy who can be called 'A Gentleman' among the rough and tough Aussies.

Incidents like Sachin's run out in the test match against Pakistan at Eden Gardens, Steve Waugh handling the ball in the test match against India at Chepauk, Michael Vaughan handling the ball in a test match against India, Peter Kirsten's dismissal in a match against India (Kapil Dev incident), Sachin's dismissal of Glenn McGrath when hit by a delivery that didn't bounce and given LBW, a player's helmet falling on the stumps, ball popping out of Gibbs's hand in '99 World Cup, etc., do happen. These dismissals leave a dark spot on everyone and in the game. They were unexpected (except the Kapil incident), but a lesson to be learnt and a bonus for the media to fill in their dailies.

The recent one on Bell's dismissal turned out with showering praises on the Indian captain and the team. But it's a shame on Bell to argue on the field and later coming on to bat after the generous decision by the Indian team. Though Bell admitted later, he had the same time to think and decide as Dhoni had and did at tea. Bell should have walked off and that would have shown professionalism. India had to decide and let Bell bat again to play down safe on the dismissal.

If this could be revised, then each of the incidents mentioned earlier could have been reviewed and the decisions revised.

passion for the job

Education became the X factor in deciding the future, meaning we specialize on a subject that is going to yield money in the form of a job. Jobs are not made for education, but actually the other way around.

"How much has this world changed ?" is a simple question that can easily tire a mind for answers.

There are innumerable factors that have completely changed in the last century.

* Those days, humanity was "just for living" and not "just for earning".

* We were living comfortably (just enough to live with necessities) with much lesser earnings.

* Life was peaceful (atleast to some extent) without many thoughts.

* Every day activities were simple, regular and planned.

* We had a healthy mind to take the best decisions of life.

* We lived with nature.

* We followed a balanced diet, stayed healthy, and lived longer.

* We were united in a joint family.

* There was quality education. Less subjects and more exploration.

There are many like the above mentioned that have given way "just for earning".

* We either spend beyond our income in enjoying a luxurious life or bring our expenses below the minimum for the future. This is like a two way balance (like what we have in vegetable markets for balancing the quantity of items with the weight bar). Just imagine, you are sitting on one side and your income on the other.

In the first case, we spend a lot from the other side and stay lower.

In the second, you don't spend at all and be at the upper side.

In both the cases you will reach a saturation beyond which you cannot extend to reach your income or savings.

* We have put ourselves in a stage where we have many things to think and worry about.

* We have too many activities everyday and thus get tired mentally and physically very easily.

* Decision making has become tricky with many options in place.

* We go against nature.

* Eating habit keeps changing and life span is varying.

* There is no question of a joint family.

* Quality education has dropped to a very few in number. More subjects and less exploration.

With changes like these happening in the way of living, how many of us think of our life after employment ?

Say that we will continue working for another 10 years ??? and then would have planned to stay home and spend time with family.

I bet we will not stay home throughout.

We usually talk upfront, but we realise later.

I have been thinking deeply about Sachin Tendulkar especially during the last two months, and am amazed by the passion with which he is still playing after two decades.

Just imagine that you are a senior manager in a company and earning in lakhs per month. You shoulder lot of responsibilities, answerable to many, risks in the job, physical and mental stress apart from your family responsibilities and worries. You have just completed 20 years of strenuous employment duties, and in the course have earned in crores that should be more than enough for generations until the global warming become wild.

What will you do at this stage ?

Will you continue to do the management job ?

Have you ever thought about that ?

The moment we are graduated, our prime aim is to get an offer from a top company.

We see staffs of our designation and next superiors.

After an year, we are close to most of them.

One more year, we get closer to the leads.

As years pass on, we get closer to the managers, senior managers, etc,....., top level management.

And in the meantime, we look for a bigger organization.

And, the same goes on... wherever we go.

The moment you feel you are financially very healthy to support the next generation without having to go for a job in spite of regular expenses, you eventually start thinking of ending your professional career.

This man "Sachin Tendulkar" is financially supersonic, and his passion for the game is stronger than his body and fitness.

This man is still too good for quick singles, fielding in the out field, bowling better than some of the regular spinners and medium pacers, batting in his prime class, leading the team, etc...

I feel he is at his best in leading a side. Given a chance he will lead any team in the world with ease.

And most of all, the way he is handling the press and addressing the public is exceptional.

He can answer in the most diplomatic way than an IFS officer or an IIM graduate or any entrepreneur. Have you ever heard a negative statement from him ? He bat the words in a way that they don't hurt anyone.

It's surprising to see why he has to continue playing and strain himself after 20 years. This definitely is not for earning, not for any other motive, but just his passion for the game.

Will we have the same sort of passion for the job we are doing ?

Ghajini - a remake of Ghajini

Ghajini is in problem on and off the screens. Case against screening the movie in Tamil Nadu due to copyrights sort of issue. Madras High Court raises interim suspension over screening the movie in Tamil Nadu that was all set to hit theatres on the Christmas day. Politically fortunate enough as usual that the Madras HC showed green signal for the movie.

24th December, i was browsing through the sathyam theatre website and found only one ticket left over for the 25th December 7:30 AM show and in the excitement of the website successfully loading, i booked that only available seat and took a printout of the ticket.

25th December, i woke up at 6 AM, was in double mood whether to go for movie or not. Decided. Am going to watch the movie. Got ready within an hour. Went to Saravana Bhavan and had 2 idlies and a coffee before going to the theatre at 7:15 AM.

Show started exactly at half past 7 and there was not much crowd as the confusion of whether the movie will be released or not prevailed till the previous evening. However the hall was full in an hour with only few seats left unoccupied.

I haven't seen the complete tamil version of the movie, but with the bits and pieces i have seen, it was like an exact remake of it with only the hero and villain being different. It was something like a recollection of each and every scene of whatever i have seen of the tamil version.

Different looks of Aamir Khan was interesting with each excelling on its part in the movie. Aamir had definitely put in enormous effort for the 8 pack abs and was perfect in the body structure. However, i feel his biceps was exposed too much in his character as a businessman which made much of it over his formal attire.

Asin had a fantastic debut in Hindi and was so easy and natural in acting, Aamir pairing with a debut actress after Lagaan, Asin was extremely professional than in the tamil version.

There seems to be a turnaround in the climax though when comparing with the tamil version, the cinematography by Ravi K Chandran was excellent that made it very colorful. Music by ARR was already a hit before the release and it was noticeable that Aamir is not so good in his dance especially in Behka Behka song which he managed to make it but was not free flowing to say, something like how Rajini in Oru Koodai Sunlight from the movie Sivaji.

The first song of the movie was Aye Bachu which was the intro of Asin and followed by Behka Behka and Latoo in the pre-interval phase. The best scores Guzarish and Kaise Mujhe were in the post-interval, Kaise Mujhe defeating the rest of the songs and really pulling the concentration of the audience to it that it was emotional. It also has the touch of Ismail Darbar's in Devdas, and what is more surprising is that, why the song "Aazaadi" from The Bose - Forgotten Hero didn't hit the top of the chart but Kaise Mujhe did very early. However, the background score of ARR throughout the movie was not as it used to be due to frequent change in the focus of artists and more action.

Aamir was at his best during the last 30 minutes of the 3 hour movie. The stunts looked very powerful and Aamir has done it exceeding well. His rock solid body came into action during the stunts and his eyes poured fire.

The movie has a finishing touch of TZP and that will definitely make it a successful one for Aamir. However, Ghajini is no way near to Dil Chahta Hai.

Overrated HSB - Hotel Saravana Bhavan

HSB (Hotel Saravana Bhavan), the brand that stands as a rock among all the hotels in Tamil Nadu is the nucleus for any South Indian to drop out their tongues to taste the delicious traditional South Indian cuisines. Anyone who goes to the hotel should enter pocket full to come out stomach full. It's one of the costliest South Indian hotels that is spread across many places in Tamil Nadu and some important cities of India, USA, UK, Singapore, Dubai, UAE, Australia, etc. In fact it is the only South Indian hotel to have established so well geographically.
It is one of the hot spots for so many people with no age limit. They always have Kripanantha vaariyaar greeting them at the entrance to have a wonderful food and pay for it.
We (SNMS 98 group) have been to HSB so many times in the past and have thoroughly enjoyed all the treats that our guys have offered. Today's at the Ashok Pillar HSB was no exception.
We were all at the terrace of Kishore's house as usual, and decided to go to HSB for Subbu's treat. The moment the place was decided, the "Never Say NO" person of our group Mr. Vinod was in no stage to control the sudden hunger that erupted inside his stomach like the lava that comes out of volcanos (don't know when the lava comes out of his volcano). He and baya didn't wait for anyone there and rushed to the hotel and were waiting in the queue. Kishore as usual took his time to get ready leaving Subbu and Guru sharing thoughts on Bhagvad Gita at the terrace. Kishore was ready and they left for the hotel to join the waiters. They had to wait for few more minutes before being called to take their seats. Menu cards were placed in front of NSN Vinod Rao and the lone family man Guru bhai. Vinod passed it on to Kishore and was waiting for others to get an idea of what to order as if he hasn't tasted Indian food. Idly, 14 idlies 2 plates, ghee roast, onion rava dosai, sambar vadai, gobi, etc... the first round of order started with these. All of us were served and we were busy tasting our dishes. However, a white half spongy head was rotating like a compass with its leg on its plate and its head smelling others dishes. Yes, it was none other than Vinod who never says NO to whatever you give to eat at anytime in 24 hrs until the lava comes out with enormous sound. All of us felt for that innocent hungry eyes of Vinod and offered him for formality to have a taste of our dishes. But this formality is just a normality for him, and he jumped into everyone's plate and started playing hard. The first round was over in minutes. A glass of water for all and rest for few seconds. The mixture of so many dishes were carefully transported from Vinod's mouth to different parts of his body in various proportions. Second round: Onion Utthappam, Kal dosai, paper roast, 2 rasmalais plus two more rasmalais and then one more. No stomach was empty there and a cyclone inside Vinod's. The left over sambar, chutney, etc, etc. didn't go waste; Vinod was there to take care of them. It again took only few minutes to finish the second round. Three more rasmalais were ordered to finish the dinner and all the eyes were on Subbu who was well prepared to pay the bill. 1500 rupees... No No 1200 rupees.... around 800 rupees.... came the bill amounts from each one as if it is an auction. Subbu was silent with fingers crossed waiting for the bill. And it was 848 rupees ONLY!!! We definitely overrated HSB and had this known to us earlier, we would have been served with many more from the list. A Lesson learnt.

The Tour of Lords

Recently i happened to visit the United Kingdom on an official assignment for a good period of 35 days. It was good, in fact great that almost everyday was different from the previous and was an invaluable learning experience that has opened the gate of confidence in me.
The tube railways operating in UK is the best in the world i've traveled by so far (i haven't been to Germany and Japan).The landscapes, old houses, parks, museums, ........., my office were all fantastic. But there is one place that took me out of the world - The "Lords Cricket Ground", that i visited on a bright and sunny day.
The Lords Tour is organized by the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) in which you will be guided to the Most Prestigious Pavilion to be in (of course as a player or atleast as a visitor), the Lords Museum (here you can see the cricket gears used by the Father of Cricket "W.G.Grace", trophies, medals, and so many things..... that were history), the ICC Meeting Room (any decision related to the cricketing stuff is made here. Like, if there is any change to the Laws of Cricket, it will be decided by experts around the table right there.), the boards that are painted with the names of the players who have scored centuries, taken ten wickets on the Lords Wicket (just imagine if your name is listed on the Centurions or Wicket Takers... you are there forever whether your century or wickets were out of merit or luck). The Lords dressing rooms are the only one in the world where all the players of each team will share the one big dressing room of theirs (no separate rooms for players).
There are totally 7 pitches on the ground, of which 3 are used for international matches (tests and ODIs) and the rest for practice/county matches.
The whole outfield was plowed for facilitating proper drainage system and was laid back after works on that, and now it's one of the best cricketing grounds to play on. In 2004, on an eve of a test match, the outfield was flooded by heavy rain and the match was stopped at 12 noon. It poured down heavily for exactly half an hour and by 12:40 the match resumed!!! Thanks to the wonderful drainage system laid in.
It was in 1999 during the memorable event of the World Cup hosted by England that an all new Press Box was constructed exactly opposite to the majestic pavilion. The oval shaped tablet press box sits on a single pillar, 100% sound proof, and the glass wall facing the ground has been designed in such a way that it will not break off if ball hits it up to 90mph. The tablet is shaped convex with the ground so that the impact when the ball dashes on to the glass wall will be minimum.
It was so emotional to be there where so many greats like W.G.Grace, Sir Don Bradman, Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, and so on.... have played and been there in those dressing rooms. Also, few players have lost their lives in this historical cricketing arena. These cannot be written off.
A very interesting point to note is none of the contemporary greats have scored a test century or scalped ten wickets in a test on this ground. Some of them include Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath..... So you can't see these big names out there in the list of centurions on the wooden board mounted on the walls of the two dressing rooms. Of course, even my name was not there :-)
I had a very good guide in "Keith" who took me out of the world to all these places. It was great. The moment the vision of my eyes fell on the ground, i forgot myself and thought what other place you need to visit that's going to be better than this.
The Lords tour was for 1 hour and 40 minutes and it was absolutely fantastic and worth the 12 pounds i paid for the ticket.
If ever you get a chance of flying to UK, please don't miss out this place.