A season of under-achievements.

Saturday saw Chelsea getting knocked out of FA cup by a spirited Liverpool side. This meant that Chelsea will have to be content with only the EPL title this season. The way I see it, this is a huge under-achievement.

Before the start of the season I had thought that if there is any team who can win a quadruple then it has to be this Chelsea side. We had got Crespo back, Essien deal had gone through, Robben was fully fit, SWP was added etc etc. At the start of the season this Chelsea side was looking good to get the quadruple, but alas !!

First we were knocked out of Carling Cup. This was the biggest shock of the season for me. At that stage we were going great guns and no one would have predicted a Charlton side to oust us. But to everyone’s surprise and my rage, it happened and followed a mini slip of Chelsea which culminated in a defeat at Old Trafford in the league.

Then it was the Champions League. In the league stages, we had done nothing outstanding but were quite decent. We did face a defeat at hands of Real Betis and we were held by Liverpool to 2 goalless draws but in spite of that we qualified quite easily. But then when the draws were made I was left a bit anxious and scared. It was Barca again and this time they were looking better than the last season. And what I feared the most, happened! Barca were successful to take the revenge. However, I must say that Chelsea was very unfortunate the way the first leg had panned out. Some horrible refereeing decisions meant that they had to play Braca with 10 men for almost an hour. It proved to be a too difficult task even for the mighty Blues and the nightmare came true in Neu Camp where we were not able to get the 2 goals.

Then came the FA Cup disaster. It is quite staggering the way we thrash Liverpool in the league every time but when it comes to knock out tournaments, we end up second best. I attribute this defeat to Mr Mourinho’s arrogance. The kind of team he had put on field was inexplicable. 3 of our most creative players, Cole, Duff and Robben, were kept on the bench. Paulo Ferriera was playing as a right winger. We did not have any left winger.
I am a big fan Mourinho but I have no clue what he was trying to prove by starting with such a side. His mistake was highlighted by the way game changed when Cole, Duff and Robben were brought on. But Liverpool are a very good defensive side and its not easy to get back when u are 2 goals down.

Now it’s just the EPL. Though we are not in the best of forms right now, I expect us to get the one point required to become the England Champions again. But for the amount we spent, we have to win atleast 2 or 3 sliver wears. Also, I have one advice for Jose .... Mr Mourinho, you have to start accepting defeats more gracefully, sometimes it is we who don’t perform to the mark and not the referee.

Reservations reservations ….. May God save India!

Yesterday I was watching a TV show called 'We The People' on NDTV. The topic of debate was “Reservations in educational Institutes”. There were about 80% against the reservations and 20% for it (thank got there were no neutrals here). This percentage obviously cannot be generalized. In reality there may be around 50% opposing the “Reservations” and 50% for it. I belong to the former 50%.

Yes. I oppose any kinds of “Reservations” in any sector, leave alone the educational Institutes. I oppose the “Reservations” not just because I am from general category; not just because I have more than suffered the cruelties of it. Though these are small factors contributing to it, the reason why I am against “Reservations” is because I am a sensible human being; because I can see it crystal clear that “Reservations” are going to take India deeper into the hole it is trying to come out for last 50 odd years; because I can see that “Reservations” are going to bring anything but sense of equality in our society.

For me, the reason for the “Reservations” is as mind boggling as the reservations themselves. The reason why government is going to reserve even more seats is because n number of decades ago, people from so called Lower Caste were subject to atrocities committed by the people from so called Higher Caste. It seems now they are following the principle of “Injustice for injustice”. So, logically speaking, after some years the people from general category may get “Reservations” because they are subject to some serious injustice now. And the cycle will continue. What is going to suffer most in this is the development of India. In fact, I feel that “Reservations” one of the major reason why we are still a “developing nation”.

I just hope that people reading this are sane enough to understand that I am not against any particular Caste. What I am against is the whole principle of “Caste”. What I am against is way these politicians exploit this issue. I mean, the British invented the principle of Divide and Rule and our politicians are perfecting it. You don’t need to be a student of rocket science to understand that this is an ugly political game which is being played just before elections for obvious reasons. Guys, we have to be rational about this. There is a reason why so many big shots from industry are coming out and speaking against “Reservations”. Reservation in IITs and IIMs, 2 of the most prestigious institutions in India, is nothing but a crime.

If it is up to me then I will abolish this whole concept of “Caste”. In my society, there will be no BCs, no OBCs, no Bramhins ... there will be only Indians. In my society there will be only one category “Economically Disadvantaged”. These people will receive incentives like scholarships etc. But there will surely be no reservations of a single seat. But sadly we don’t live in ideal world :(

To end with I will say this ... I have heard that miracles do happen, and that is exactly what it will take for India to become a “developed” country if we don’t do away with this whole “Reservations” business.

Jai Hind.

Team to beat .....

Team to beat in One Day International Cricket (based entirely on current form).

1. Michael Hussey
2. Marcus Trescothick
3. Ricky Ponting(C)
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Andrew Flintoff
6. Andrew Symonds
7. Irfan Pathan
8. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk)
9. Brett Lee's
10. Makaya Ntini
11. Muthai muralitharan

Coach: Greg Chappell

12th man: Hershall Gibbs


Team to beat in EPL (again, based entirely on current form).

1. Petr Cech (Gk)
2. Gary Neville (RB)
3. John Terry (LCB) (C)
4. Jamie Carragher (RCB)
5. Asier Del Horno (LB)
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (RM)
7. Cesc Fabregas (CRM)
8. Frank Lampard (CLM)
9. Arjen Robben (LM)
10. Thierry Henry (Sk)
11. Wayne Rooney (Sk)

Manager : Jose Mourinho

Substitutes:
Edwin van der Sar
William Gallas
Steven Gerrard
Claude Makelele
Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Boring Cyrus!

Believe me ... this movie is an absolute drag. I don’t have a clue as to why this movie has got such rave reviews and has been acclaimed by the critics. Frankly speaking, I will suggest don’t even read this review. The movie is not worth watching and anything related to it is just not worth going through. But if u still want to venture ...

The setup is quite like this ... There is a Parsi family. Nasser and Boman Irani are brothers. Nasser used to be a very high profile pottery man but now is a drunkard. He lives in Panchgani. Boman lives in Bombay and is a real cheapskate with a much young wife (Simon Singh). Boman and Naseer’s father lives with Boman and is treated very badly by Boman. Dimple is Nasser’s wife who has an affair with almost every other guy in the movie. Cyrus (Saif) comes to Nasser to learn pottery and obviously ends up having affair with Dimple.

The story is quite like this ... Though Dimple has many affairs, her real affair is with Boman. So with help of Saif, she plans to kill Boman’s father and his wife. Then she plans to double cross Saif where in Boman will kill Saif showing that he as done it for self-protection. And as it is Nasser is a drunkard so he is never a problem. So if her plan is successful then she and Boman can live happily ever after. But there is a twist in the tail. Saif has not come to Naseer just to learn the pottery …. there are some other hidden intentions >:). He also knows about the double cross which Dimple has planned. So at the end he not just executes Dimple’s plans but does a bit more. A mystery unfolds which I am not revealing here.

Performance wise, Boman and Dimple have over acted to its limit. Simon and Saif are decent. Nasser’s performance is the only saving grace.

Though it is a 90 min movie it seems never ending. The story just doesn’t movie ahead nor does it move behind or side ways. It is just stagnant. And as Douglas Adams would have said ... Nothing happens in the first half. Then, in the second half, nothing continues to happen.

From me, it’s a strict no-no for watching this movie. If u want to watch something good, then go and watch Malamal Weekly. A real entertainer, it really is.

I deserve a medal for what I did last week ....

Some people could have suffered mental illness, some could have suffered a permanent depression, some might have undergone serious mental or even physical damages but I came out of it without any serious harm done to myself. No I did not climb Mount Everest, no I did not witness any horrific crime. I did something even more demanding than that. I watched “Fight Club” and “Taxi No 9 1 22” within a span of 2 days.

Fight Club:
It was Wednesday night. There was a huge soccer game coming on ESPN (Chelsea vs Barca) at 1:30 am. So I had to do some TP till that time. Got hold of a friend and forced him to come to a movie. Options available were “Fight Club” and “Chingari”. I did not want anything heavy on the brains before the match so I chose “Fight Club”. Also, it was a long time since I have watched an out and out Hindi action movie. I had heard very bad reviews abt this movie but I did not care abt the story. Only thing I had gone to watch was some serious action. I was hugely disappointed though. The action in the movie is more of a comedy. And incidentally, the comedy in the movie is more of a tragedy. The movie has people like Suneeil Sheety and Sohail Khan in it, so I think that will tell you abt the story. Overall, it is a typical hopeless Bollywood flick.


Taxi No 9 2 11:
I am a huge fan of Nana Patekar and after having seen Apharan and BluffMaster, I had very high hopes from Taxi No 9 1 22. There was also an added attraction of Sameera Reddy, my favorite item girl. But Alas :(( . The movie did start off with some promise but then fizzed out without any impression. The story, copied from some Hollywood flick, was different but not appealing. Acting wise everyone was decent but it doesn’t really make a difference when the story is so weak. For me, the best part of the movie was the song at the start by Bappi Lahari .... “bambai nagaria”. However, I will say here that this is the kind of movies that either u will love it or hate it, I did not love it.

One thing I must say is that even though both were really disappointing movies, the music in both of them was better than average.

So to end my review I will say that if you have got any extra money with you then do some charity with it but don’t watch these movies.

Sachin and his last 25 tests …… time has surely come for the inevitable

Here are Sachin’s stats in the last 25 tests which he has played.
Matches : 25
Innings : 40
Runs : 1616
HS : 248*
BatAv : 47.52
100s : 4
50s : 6

Overall these look to be impressive stats. However, when you dig deep, you will find that these stats are a huge deception. Below I have listed the scores which Sachin scored in last 25 matches and also the match situation when he came in.
Some of the crucial facts are:

• It has happened 24 times that Sachin has come in when India were in trouble. He has played well only thrice out of these 24 occasions. The 3 occasions are:
Sachin scores 55 when India were 2/14 against Aussies in 2004-05
Sachin scores 52 when India were 2/23 against Pakistan in 2004-05
Sachin scores 109 when India were 2/56 against Sri Lanka 2005-06

• 3 out of the 4 hundreds he scored where when he came in with India already being in a great position.

• On 24/40 occasions he has been out with a score less than 25.

• His average is boosted by his 2 not out double hundreds and one not out 194. One double was against Bangladesh, one against Australia when India were 2/128 and the 194* was against Pak when he came in at 2/173.

Is he still a great batter? Does he deserve a place in Indian middle order with people like Kaif, Raina etc on the bench? I guess the stats answer the questions.
Here I would like to mention that I am not against Tendulkar at all and I will be the happiest man if he gets his old form back. But being a true and ardent supporter of Team India, I had to bring this thing up.

Thanks to cricinfo.com, following are the stats.

Match: India in New Zealand, 2002/03, 2nd Test, December 2002
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/11
Sachin scores: 9
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/8
Sachin scores: 32
Result:
New Zealand won by 4 wickets

Match: New Zealand in India, 2003-04, 1st Test, October 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/107
Sachin scores: 8
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/97
Sachin scores: 7
Result: Match drawn

Match: New Zealand in India, 2003-04, 2nd Test, October 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/208
Sachin scores: 55
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/12
Sachin scores: 1
Result: Match drawn

Match: Australia v India, 2003-04, 1st Test, December 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/62
Sachin scores: 0
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: - DNB
Result: Match drawn

Match: Australia v India, 2003-04, 2nd Test, December 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/81
Sachin scores: 1
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/79
Sachin scores: 37
Result: India won by 4 wickets

Match: Australia v India, 2003-04, 3rd Test, December 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/278
Sachin scores: 0
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/19
Sachin scores: 44
Result: Australia won by 9 wickets

Match: Australia v India, 2003-04, 4th Test, January 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/128
Sachin scores: 241
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/73
Sachin scores: 44
Result: Match drawn

Match: India in Pakistan, 2003/04, 1st Test, April 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/173
Sachin scores: 194
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Result: India won by an innings and 52 runs

Match: India in Pakistan, 2003/04, 2nd Test, April 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/69
Sachin scores: 2
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/15
Sachin scores: 8
Result: Pakistan won by 9 wickets

Match: India in Pakistan, 2003/04, 3rd Test, April 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/129
Sachin scores: 1
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Result: India won by an innings and 131 runs

Match: India v Australia, 2004-05, 3rd Test, October 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/34
Sachin scores: 8
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/9
Sachin scores: 2
Result: Australia won by 342 runs

Match: India v Australia, 2004-05, 4th Test, November 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/11
Sachin scores: 5
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/14
Sachin scores: 55
Result: India won by 13 runs

Match: South Africa in India, 2004-05, 1st Test, November 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/294
Sachin scores: 3
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: Match Drawn

Match: South Africa in India, 2004-05, 2nd Test, December 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/144
Sachin scores: 20
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/60
Sachin scores: 32*
Result: India won by 8 wickets

Match: India in Bangladesh, 2004-05, 1st Test, December 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/24
Sachin scores: 248
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: India won by an innings and 140 runs

Match: India in Bangladesh, 2004-05, 2nd Test, December 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/273
Sachin scores: 36
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: India won by an innings and 83 runs

Match: Pakistan in India, 2004-05, 1st Test, March 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/216
Sachin scores: 94
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: Match drawn

Match: Pakistan in India, 2004-05, 2nd Test, March 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/156
Sachin scores: 52
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/23
Sachin scores: 52
Result: India won by 195 runs


Match: Pakistan in India, 2004-05, 3rd Test, March 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/172
Sachin scores: 41
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/108
Sachin scores: 16
Result: Pakistan won by 168 runs

Match: Sri Lanka in India, 2005-06, 1st Test, December 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/45
Sachin scores: 22
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: Match Drawn

Match: Sri Lanka in India, 2005-06, 2nd Test, December 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/56
Sachin scores: 109
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/42
Sachin scores: 16
Result: India won by 188 runs

Match: Sri Lanka in India, 2005-06, 3rd Test, December 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/52
Sachin scores: 23
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/9
Sachin scores: 19
Result: India won by 259 runs

Match: India in Pakistan, 2005-06, 1st Test, January 2006
1st innings:
DNB
2nd innings:
DNB
Result: Match Drawn

Match: India in Pakistan, 2005-06, 2nd Test, January 2006
1st innings:
DNB
2nd innings:
DNB
Result: Match Drawn

Match: India in Pakistan, 2005-06, 3rd Test, January 2006
1st innings: Sachin comes in when India are: 2/14
Sachin scores: 23
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/8
Sachin scores: 26
Result: Pakistan won by 341 runs

Its time to wake up guys …

When you are in goa on a vacation of just 4 days, spending 3+1 hours in watching a Bollywood flick is not really worth. But then again, when the movie is Rang de Basanti, those 3+1 hours become as good as the time spent on the beaches. This statement in itself tells my feelings about this movie. Simply put, RDB is one of the best if not the best patriotic movies I have ever watched.

The whole story is about 5 guys living life the way it comes, not bothered about future, just hanging out all the time; one incident changes their life and they sacrifice their life for the good of the country. So it seems like any normal patriotic movie. Why is this movie so special? The reason why this movie is special is because of just one man. No, I am not talking about Aamir Khan. I am talking about the director of this movie; Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who, I believe, is the real hero of RDB. He was writing script of this movie for around 3 years. And the hard work he has put in has paid off in a big way. Each and every seen of the movie is so well thought out. The scenes where the characters from the history (Bhagat Sing, Azad etc) are interlinked with the life story of the 5 guys is a real master piece. Reheman has given his typical music where in you don’t really like the songs at first time but as u hear them more u start loving them. Also, the way the songs are integrated with the movie is also worth praising. It is worth noting that no character actually sings any song. All songs are kind off background songs and add to the whole feel of the movie. Another plus point of the movie is the way Aamir Khan’s character is handled. When someone of stature of Aamir is in the movie, it can very easily happen that all the focus goes on his character. This has not happened in RDB. Aamir is just one of the 5 guys. Again, the credit for this must go to the director. Speaking abt the performances, all the actors have given a top notch performance. Mr Perfectionist, Aamir Khan, has lived up to his reputation and has given another flawless performance.

But this is not all. While watching the movie I was actually getting the patriotic vibes. I felt like life should be more meaningful than sitting in front of the computer and coding the whole day. This is a huge thing since there are very few movies which have managed to make me think about what I am doing. The feeling you get after coming out of the theater is something which cannot be put into words.

So those who have not seen the movie, please go, watch it, get impressed, THINK and WAKE UP.

Always remember that “Koi Desh perfect nahi hota, hume use perfect banana padta hai”(No country is perfect by itself. We have to make it perfect.)

Jai Hind.

Zinda hu mai ….. I wonder how?

The start was decent, till interval it did grip, after interval I felt like killing myself. This was the experience of watching the movie Zinda. How this movie got a 4* ranking in Sunday Times is a mystery. I don’t think I will write anything more about the story. I don’t want to relive any of those moments. I just wanted to alert you people before you even think of watching this movie.

I must confess that I was expecting entertainment from this movie. After all it was directed by Sanjay Gupta, the legendary director of films like Kaate and Musafir. He is the guy who makes the kind of movies which make u laugh ur pants off .... sorry let me rephrase it ... he is the guy who makes the kind of movies on which u laugh ur pants off. But anyways what matters is u laugh and when u go in a group, these can be real entertainers. Zinda was nothing like that though. It was such a depressing movie with such a gloomy feel to it.

In last few weeks itself I have watched Neal N Nikki, Sikhar, Ek Khladi Ek Hasina, Garam Masala, Dewaane Huve Pagal, BluffMaster and Zinda (There are few more which I don’t remember). Apart from BluffMaster all the rest have been more or less disasters. People might think that I am just a crazy guy who doesn’t know how to spend the money but that would be wrong thing to think. I have changed my strategy of movie watching. Instead of choosing the movies wisely, I have started to choose the theaters wisely. I watched most of these movies either at WestEnd (50 bucks balcony) or at Neelayam(40 bucks balcony). So if you want to do some time pass but don’t want to spend much then this is a good way to do that. Moreover, you always get the tickets. No advance booking, no standing in queue.

Coming back to the movie .... well lets not do that. Let me just stop by saying that watch Zinda if u feel that u r at the lowest point of ur life. After watching the movie u will realize that that point was not so low after all.

Its all about Shoaib ….. Pakraman-2

if(inform == shoaibAkthar)
{
bPakistan = bGetsAdvantage;
}
else
{
_tcscpy(tszIndia,_T(“Series Winners”));
}

People might think that the above made C statement is highly irrational and unthought-of. But I believe that in upcoming indo-pak war, it cannot be truer. I saw the Pak-Eng series and the kind of form Shoaib was in is frightening from India’s perspective. He always was a lethal bowler on paper but the commitment he showed against England has made him a real threat. Facts don’t lie. He bowled more number of overs than he has ever bowled in one series. Credit must go to Bob Woolmer for giving Shoiab’s aggression a perfect direction. I really hope that he returns to his old wayward self in this series or else it will be a hard fought battle for the supposed best batting lineup in world.

In series against England, Kaneria proved to be another star performer. However, I feel that if we tackled Murli with relative ease, Kaneria should not pose a major threat. Others like Rana Naveed and Sami are good bowlers and can be perfect second fiddle to Rawalpindi Express. But I don’t really see these guys winning matches single handedly.

As far as the batting threats are concerned, I feel there are 3 guys we should be really worried about. One is the big man Inzi. In outstanding form as a player and as a captain, he is one of the top 3 batters at this stage in the world. Second is Mohomad Yousuf. He is another class act and if he gets in then the we will not be able to win anything …. draw is what we will have to play for. The 3rd I feel is Salman Butt. His kinds of players have always troubled Indians. Last time it was Yaseer Hamid this time the un-exposing Salman. He is the kind of guy who just plays through line and for some reason we always face trouble to get these people out. On top of it he is a leftie and traditionally we have been poor against the lefties.

To end with, here is a food for thought for India’s batting. Sunil Gavaskar brought this up and I feel this is very sensible. Don’t pick Ganguly. Don’t Pick UV. Pick 3 openers instead. Jaffer, Ghambir and Sehewag will be our top 3 ….. worth a try for the first match at least !

Paheli !!! … a real paheli.

Being a big fan of SRK, I don’t normally criticize his movies however bad the movie may be. When Paheli got released I really wanted to watch it and I forced few other guys to join me. The movie, however, was a huge disappointment and I had to be on the receiving end of highly obscene language from my friends. Credit to SRK and Amol Palekar though for trying something different but, at least in my books, this effort failed miserably.

So when I heard that it was Indian nomination for the Oscars, I was shocked. Specially because of the fact that the kind of movies it had shrugged off. I have not seen ‘Parineeta’ but I have heard some rave reports about it. I can understand why ‘Black’ did not get a vote. It is basically a very western movie and even though it was new and novel for us, it might have been routine for them.
But for me, ‘Swades’ should have been home and dry. I mean, it has got everything. An Indian feel, story line is unlike Hollywood movies, outstanding performances and it is a real movie of substance.

Moreover it had huge chance of winning Oscars because of its theme. It shows that an Indian working in US comes back to India. If this movie was nominated then the US government itself would have promoted the movie in the hope that at least some Indians get inspired by this and return to India. :)

But I still hope against the ‘Paheli’ reaches somewhere and does not bow out in the first round itself.

Look, there is a road between those potholes!

This is almost the third month running in which my bike has suffered the misery of its life. It is crying out loud for a break. The Pune roads are killing it and I can do nothing.
During my college days, I have experienced something similar and I had to cremate my bike after 4 years. At that time I thought that one of the major advantages of getting out of the college is that I and my new bike will never suffer from roads which are not roads at all. But now it has got even worse. When in college, only a single patch of my drive-way fell in the category of non-roads. Now the patch extends roughly from my home to office, which is 11Kms.

The hike in petrol prices could not have come at a better time and along with the Pune’s non-roads (which are making the mechanic near my house richer by minute) it form a perfect recipe for making me bankrupt. The major problem however comes when there is a female driver in front of u. With the god-gifted skills of driving and the pot-holes in front of them, they can frustrate the hell out of even the most patient guy on earth.

Now that I think about it, there is a valid reason for why the government is not making really good roads which will not be swept away with a rainy season. If they do this then they will face so much difficulty in doing one work which they do … digging the roads.

On a bit of serious note, these roads are making Pune lose some serious business. This Forbes guy has written an almost perfect letter summarizing the appalling state of the non-roads.

Then there are guys who say that you should protest against such things. There are 2 points which I have against this. One : Do such kind of protests really help. I have never seen such protests really solving any issues. If there has to be a protest then it has to be across the whole city. Two : Why do we always have to protest to get such basic things. The problem has to be addressed at its root and one way of doing is making government people responsible for stuff.

Stand up and applaud the British brigade.

At lunch on the final day of ashes, English supporters might have feared for the worst. With McGrath and Warne with their tails up, even the most ardent of English supporters would have had their heart skipping several beats. But then came Pieterson. There are not enough adjectives to describe the innings he played. One might have forgotten the fact this is his first ashes series and he would have never experienced this kind of pressure in his life before. This was one of the best counter-attacking innings you will ever see. To tame the best fast bowler in the world and the best spinner which cricket has ever seen, specially when they are on fire takes not only great skills but also a huge heart.

Also not to forget the role played by Giles. There is no doubt in my mind that he is in this England side more for his lower order batting than his ‘help yourself’ spin bowling. I am not a big fan of Giles but I have to say that that man is full of resolve. He has played such kind of innings number of times for England but even he will say that this was the most important innings of his life.

The great leggie again was the pick of the lot and picket up six wickets. However, the catch he dropped of Pieterson when he was only on 15, I am sure, will haunt him for quite a sometime.

Man of the series was divided between the Freddie and Warne and rightly so. England would not have won the ashes without the phenomenal Freddie and the series itself would not have been so exciting without the living legend Warne.

Has England now become the best side in the world? All the English supporters sure would think so. On current form they well might be. But I still feel that there is still some way to go before they become number one. I will term them as number one side when they conquer the subcontinent.

This series has surely proved to be an eye-opener for the aussies and if they don’t find worthy replacements for McGrath and Warne then the number one tag will soon be a thing of past.

And for the final time, hats of to Vaughn’s men who have pulled of nothing short of an absolute blinder.

As good as it gets.

Sunday evening saw another nerve jangling finale to the 4th ashes test. It is quite hard to believe the way this ashes edition has panned out. I have never witnessed such a series where the margin for winning or losing is nothing more than skin of the teeth. After taking a hammering at Lords, the way England has bounced back is quite commendable to say the least. It indeed would have been painstakingly unfair if they would have not won the 4th test after putting in such a spectacular performance for most part of 4 days. Australia, on the other hand, will have to show what they are made of and, simply, have to win the last test.

After Lords test, many people, self-included, started to right off England’s chances in this edition. I had said in one of my earlier blogs that if England don’t learn to play Warne then they will lose 5-0. Though it is virtually impossible to completely master the bowling of the great leggie, in the last 3 tests, English batters have played Warne with great authority. This I believe is one of the major reason of their triumph. Another major factor is absence of McGrath. McGrath was England’s nemesis in the first test. Without McGrath, the Australian attack is looking, not toothless but surely much less potent. This just emphasizes the enormity of Australia’s dependency on McGrath. Also with Gillespie coming to tail end of his career and seriously struggling for form, they should start to find a worthy replacement for McGrath. Apart from that, the woeful form of Hayden, Martin and Gilchrist has contributed to Australian misery in a big way. I don’t remember a single series in which Gilchrist has failed this miserably.

On positives for England, the form of their openers seems to be getting better with every match. Ian Bell has started to use the thing called as bat in much authoritative manner. From nowhere, Giles has started to turn the ball. Peiterson has not disappointed his fans and has been a real positive influence on the whole England side. When swing is in the air, Hoggard is always a handful. And then there is Freddie. The boy has become a man. The way he has played in this series exhausts the superlatives. Hats off to the big Freddie.

However, England should look out because the wounded Aussies will hit back with full vengeance in the last test. Australia has always been my second favorite side (after India ofcourse). But in spite of that I will say that it will be absolutely heart-breaking if England don’t win this ashes series.

And to wrap it up, I will say that if there is any one out there who has not enjoyed this ashes series then he better not watch cricket at all. This simply is as good as it can get.

O yes, this officially is the worst movie I have ever seen !

Note : When I say worst movie, I only consider the movies from which I expected at least sense. So most of the Salman Khan and those kind of movies don’t count. These movies form a completely different league.

Before Sunday I thought “Raincoat” was the worst movie I have ever seen. Then I saw “Pulp Fiction” and I suddenly started to feel that Raincoat was not such a bad movie after all.

Pulp Fiction was released in mid 90s and I had heard quite a few good things for sometime now.
When I got the CD of this film I was really excited. I wanted to watch it for a long time and finally my wish was gonna come true. One of the main reasons why I was so excited abt this movie was because of its star cast (like Indian Cricket team, awesome on paper).
The movie started of very well with a dialog between Travolta and SL Jackson. At that stage I thought this is going to be one heck of a movie. However, what followed after that left me completely dumbstruck ! I am not sure about the thing I watched being a movie at all. I cannot tell you anything about the story because there was none. The only thing different in the movie was that the sequence of scene was haphazard. Infact I feel that this a an interesting way of presenting the movie. But this, as I said, was not a movie at all. It was a nightmare, a disaster, an absolute shocker. I can understand if someone like Parag Sarfare or Manoj Arya like it (because these are weird people when it comes to liking a movie) but why anyone else would like it and more than that, why this movie was nominated for 7 Oscars is absolutely and completely beyond me.

So if anybody gets a chance to watch this movie, for good god’s sake, skip it !!

Learn to play Warne or lose 5-0.

No surprises that Aussies stream-rolled England in the first test. All the hype that the English media had created, about this England side giving Aussies a run for their money, has gone to the cleaners.

To their credit, England bowlers did manage to take 20 wickets, but they should have restricted the Aussies well below 380 in second innings. But then if u drop 6 catches against Australia then there is no way that u can even put up a fight. For me that is not the problem area because I don’t expect England to repeat their poor performance in the field. The major concern for England is their batting. It was abysmal to say the least. No team can face McGrath on a pitch like the one lords had panned out this time around. But my gut feel is that on a better track English batsmen will be able to him. They showed glimpses of the same in their second innings.

The biggest problem which they have is facing Mr Shane Warne. None of the English batsmen had any clue what Warne was bowling. I have seen the great leggie trouble batsmen in the past but the way he troubled English players was something different. I thought that England will do their homework on Warne but it seems that they neglected Warne completely in their team meetings. There was no plan whatsoever on how to face the man. They were just not able to pick the straight delivery. The only man who stood out of was the debutant Pieterson. May be because of his Hampshire experience but he was the only one who was actually picking the straight delivery.

So in spite of the fact that Lee and McGrath pose great threat, if the English players don’t find a way to tackle Warne then there is no way they can even draw a match leave alone winning it.

Also why Michel Vaughan is in the English side is a mystery to me. He is worse than Ganguly !!

Just the one glitch !

The new rules in one day cricket have indeed come as a breath of fresh air. The pattern of play was really getting predictable with slam bam action in the first 15 and last 10 overs and a lull in the middle period. Also with the 20-20 cricket getting international status, time had come for ICC to make some changes to keep general public’s interest in the one day version alive.

The 2 main changes made are really interesting. The power-play will make the game less predictable and captain will have to be on his toes for full 50 overs. The idea of substitution will also most welcome. In spite of the fact that the recently concluded series between Aussies and England did not show the magic of the changes in the format in its full colors, the changes will surely make the game more interesting.

The rule of having 3 power-plays seems to be absolutely fine. The idea of the rule of substitution is also perfect, however there is a major glitch in this rule the way it has been implemented. According to this rule, the team has to give their playing 11 and the 12th man before the toss. Here is where the problem dwells. Instead of making the game more square, it gives an added advantage for the team winning the toss. For instance suppose that a track is perfect for batting first. England have Simon Jones as substitute who will replace say Solanki after the innings change. Aussies have Brad Hogg as substitute who will replace say Hayden after the innings change. Now if England wins the toss then their substitution will work perfectly fine but for Aussies the substitute will be absolutely futile since replacing Hayden before he bats will be a more than just a gamble (that is if Aussie bowling is in trouble). This is exactly what happened in the last match of the 3-match series with England being the sufferers. The solution to this problem is quite simple. The teams should name a 12 member squad before the toss and name the player who will be the substitute only after the toss. Due to this both the teams will be able to use their substitutes to the fullest.

Hope that ICC makes this one change after 10 months of trial period.

Pune … the city of aliens

(from 1st of July)

The date is 1st of July when Pune will start looking a very funny city. Everyone knows that Pune is one of the leading cities as far as number of two wheelers are concerned. I cannot stop picturing Pune after 1st of July. 100s and 1000s of people on two wheelers with their heads under the helmet. The fact that even the people on the rear seat have to wear the helmet makes it even more funnier. It would look like a city of aliens. The most unfortunate part is that I will be one of the aliens.

Just imagine, a couple going for some function. The guy has wore some kind of a kurta and the lady has wore a traditional Maharashtrian sari. And both of them are under helmet :) . Man, its going to make a great fashion statement.

On bit of a serious note, I fail to understand why this kind of a decision is taken. As far as safety is concerned, let everyone be concerned about their own. And even if that is the reason, I don’t think that helmet is the solution at all. First they should concentrate on improving the road conditions and then think of bringing this kind of stupid obligation. The only reason I can figure out is getting commission for each helmet sold. All this is going to do is increase the cynicism of the public in politics (if it has not maxed out yet).
Apart from that I have tried out putting that thing on for a week or so. And in this week I got a new hairstyle. I mean your hair become like a bear … all over the place.

I know the fact that people from ShivSena, RSS etc protest against absolutely anything and everything new which gets introduced but as far as this protest is concerned, I fully back them. Meri duvaae unke saath hai !

England to win Ashes …. not really !

The long build up to this most awaited Ashes has begun and as per the pundits, this England team has better chance of winning the tournament than any other England side ever had. I would like to gainsay this statement. I think, “this England side has better chance of winning a non-dead rubber match than any other England side ever had” would be an apt statement. The reason why the cricketing air is filled with the hype of ‘England winning’ is because of two reasons. Firstly, at this stage, this England side acquires an undisputed number two spot in the cricketing world. So we can say that Australia is by far the number one side, England is number two by some distance and then the rest follow. I don’t think that any other England side has ever been at an emphatic number two position just before the Ashes series. However, the matter of fact is that the gap between the two sides is still huge. It is surely less than other that on occasions but it is huge nevertheless. Secondly, this edition will be played on English soil and home advantage is always a factor. However, the side which can come to India and win in India, obviously, is not affected much by what happens in the stands.
Another important factor which makes me believe that England don’t have a chance of winning this one is the number of match winners. In Australia, without exaggerating at all, there are 11 match winners (I don’t think anyone will dare to disagree with this). In England there are 2 or at the most 3. Flintoff and Harmison are the 2 guys which can win matches single-handedly. Apart from them I feel that the young guy Strauss is a gem of a player. But apart from these three one cannot say that there are any other ‘match-winners’. There are lots of good players but one can’t really say that people like Vaughan or Thorpe are going to win matches against a fully fit Australian attack.
So I personally think that England can pull of a surprise by winning a non-dead rubber match but in a series consisting of 5 matches England are always going to end second best to the mighty Aussies. If this would have been a one off match or a 3 match series then I might have given England a chance but in a 5 match series, the strongest team will emerge as the champion and one doesn’t need to know rocket science to tell which is stronger of the two sides.

.NET on Longhorn

Most of the neutrals are scared about the working of .NET on Longhorn. For people who want to know more, check this baby out ...

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/04/coming-net-world-im-scared.html

... is it microsoft's strategy or a loophole.

Samay from se7en !

Sometime back there was a movie titled Samay (one with Sushmita Sen). It was one of the rare hindi thrillers I had liked. I had raved about the movie no ends and was absolutely flabbergasted that it had not done well on the BO. Last Sunday I saw a movie called “se7en” (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) and all the love for Samay was thrown out of the window. One of my most liked Bollywood thriller is a clear cut COPY !!. The whole story line and the plot is picked up shamelessly from se7en. If I had watched Samay after watching se7en then I would, at the most, made fun of the film and then forgotten about it. It would never have reached my top 10 Bollywood movies list. But now that I have come to know that it was nothing but another case of robbery of thoughts, it has not only lost its place in the top 10 list but I am feeling sad and sick about the fact that I had liked the movie so much.

Come on Bollywood people, is there nothing which originates from ur god damn brain !!