To always be someplace else

I have been very restless for a few days now, not sure what to do with the little free time I have. Deep down, I want to just be able to jaunt from place to place. No, I do not mean that want to take a short trip. I want to be able to emulate Gulliver Foyle.

Confused? One of my favourite sci-fi stories is "The Stars My Destination", by Alfred Bester. The book introduced a mode of transportation known as jaunting (named for the scientist Charles Fort Jaunte who discovered/invented it) whereby humans travel from place to place on earth simply by teleporting (akin to apparating in the Harry Potter series).

Gulliver "Gully" Foyle, the main protagonist, is described as "A man of physical strength and intellectual potential stunted by lack of ambition.....He had reached a dead end. He had been content to drift from moment to moment of existence for thrity years like some heavily armoured creature, sluggish and indifferent.....but now he was adrift in space for one hundred and seventy days, and the key to his awakening was in the lock."

The story is about this man and what he does when he realizes what he is fully capable of. Gully Foyle's moment of awakening is a paragraph that always raises the hair on the back of my neck when I read the story. Here is the description.....

After thirty years of existence and six months of torture, Gully Foyle, the stereotype Common Man, was no more. The key turned in the lock of his soul and the door opened. What emerged expunged the Common Man forever.....The acid of fury ran through him, eating away at the brute patience and sluggishness that had made a cipher of Gully Foyle, precipitating a chain of reactions that would make an infernal machine of Gully Foyle. He was dedicated.

Eye on the ball

Changing a habit of a lifetime can be a daunting task. For most of the 3 decades that I have been playing cricket I have been batting with a particular grip, stance and foot movement. With time I have noticed that my reflexes are not what they used to be. Consequently I cannot work the ball around with as much ease as I used to.

This season I made a conscious decision to change the way I played. I religiously watched all the cricket I could, all the while focusing on what the batsmen were doing to be able to hit the shots they did. Laxman, Sehwag and Pietersen are exciting to watch but difficult to emulate. Tendulkar is almost always in balance but has not been at the crease long enough for me to pick up tips from. So I have been studying the two batsmen who are leading from the front these days - Dravid and Ponting.

Surprisingly, these two are not that dissimilar in their technique. But their mental make-up separates them. Ponting looks to attack and take the battle to the other camp. Dravid looks to play himself him and then expand his repertoire. In the end, a long innings by both of them invariably ensures a victory for the team.

So armed with the knowledge I have gained, I have been changing my batting style. It has been a slow process but it is not the first time I have revamped my style of play. A few years ago, while golfing, I decided to change from an overlapping grip to an interlocking one and during the transition my golf scores shot way up. But now I am a much better player and shoot lower scores. This memory is what I fall back upon everytime I get my feet into a tangle and get out in practice.

My teammates have been trashtalking and ridiculing my batting these past few weeks but they do not know that I am going through these changes. My captain, SC, knows what I am doing and the two of us (along with AV) have been putting in extra time working on the position of my feet when I drive the ball.

This evening for a couple of hours SC, AV and I batted while one of us threw the ball at the batsman. My muscles are starting to memorize the new style of play and it is starting to come. Towards the end of the throwdown session, for the first time that I can recall, I did not have to remind myself how to move my bat and feet when the ball came my way - I just moved on my own! Our season starts this coming weekend and I cannot wait to see how effective my new technique is going to be in a real match.

I will not have to wait long - after all I am the team's opening batsman!

Cricket fever is at hand

Tomorrow India begins another series against the West Indies. First up are 5 ODI's. My interest in them is ho-hum. I am waiting for the 4 Test series to begin in June.

A friend in the Windies (SM) and I have exchanged a few emails in anticipation of this series, though his interest has waned a little since Sachin Tendulkar is still not fit to play. We both hope that the Master will be back in time for the real deal and put some distance between himself and Ricky Ponting in the centuries column. Should he do so, India is bound to have done well in the series, too.

Falling from the sky

Books rarely get made into good movies. There have been many successful adaptations, too numerous to recount here, but most of them shared one common trait - the director took liberties with the stories to make a better pictorial account of the happenings. (Read the Godfather and then see the movie and you'll know what I mean - the book's legendary status owes more to the fine work by Francis Ford Coppola, than vice versa).

Ron Howard's predicament is that "The Da Vinci Code" has been read by too many people and that has tied his hands. I have not seen the movie, but I can tell you that it will not be received well by most movie-goers (and critics). Those that have read the book will nitpick the stuff he left out or changed. Those that have not read the book will not understand all the things simply because Howard does not have the time to lecture the audience the way Robert Langdon does in the book. In the end, what we will get is a movie that tries to hit the main points and relies heavily on the star power of the actors on the screen (Hanks, Tautou, McKellen, Reno, Bettany, Molina - to name a few) to pull it through.

I read JRR Tolkein's "The Lord of the Rings" during my trip to India a few years ago. If the book was a Test match, then the trilogy of movies were the highlight packages. JRR Tolkein famously said about his work - "The tale grew in the telling". The movies actually managed to squeeze it back into its skeletal form. An impressive and breath-taking skeleton, but a skeleton of the story, nevertheless.

Unfortunately for Howard, The Da Vinci Code is not a magnum opus for him to make the bones interesting enough. He will be skewered for making the movie. I just hope the huge paycheque he receives will compensate for it.

And yes, I look forward to watching it at the first available opportunity. I just wish the producers had hired Harrison Ford to portray Robert Langdon, especially since Dan Brown himself describes Landon as "Harrison Ford in...tweeds".

For richer or poorer

Akash Chopra's latest posting dispels the myth that playing cricket is a very profitable venture for Indians.

Four years ago, on Rediff.com a guest columninst (Subodh S. Chitre) did an interesting analysis to see who the most "consistent scoring" modern-day batsman was. Read on and enjoy. It is interesting to see how we view the same batsman today!

A close encounter

On Sunday morning I had a very close look at a fine specimen of Odocoileus virginianus.

Last Sunday I was driving on the highway at my cusomary 65 mph, on my way back from the airport. A car in the faster lane was hugging my blindspot and tagging along for a fair bit. About half a mile down the road I noticed a solitary deer ambling across the highway. At first it seemed like the deer would cross the road easily, but then for some unfathomable reason, it took an about turn and wandered back into my lane!

I braked harder than I ever have before. Eventually I squealed to a complete stop, sliding the last few feet, ending up at a 45 degree angle to the road. I looked out of the windshield and the deer held my gaze. She nonchalantly walked back across my lane and nodded at me before disappearing into the adjacent forest. I nodded back, took a deep breath, and continued driving.

The driver in the next lane did not overtake me during the remaining 40-odd mile drive, and kept a safe distance between the two of us. I wonder why...

The air is tingling in Touchdown City

It is not often that the WVU gridiron football team finds itself in a position of strength. Aided by what appears to be an easy schedule, a weak conference, and a very well-coached team, the Mountaineers are being picked by some people to be the leading college football team in Division I-A this year.

The spotlight is falling squarely on the shoulders of the coach, Rich Rodriguez, profiled here by Pat Forde. Last year the team began with low expectations and stormed its way to a #5 ranking, on the basis of its win in the Sugar Bowl. What will this year have in store for us fans?

The season begins in a few short weeks...

An instant response (on a plate tectonic timescale)

On Monday, December 26, 2005, in a post titled "The clock stops" I had mentioned that I was going to stop following up on two promises made by the BCCI:

(a) finding out who leaked the Greg Chappell email (September 27, 2005)
(b) Organizing a charity match to aid earthquake victims (October 18, 2005)

On April 18th, 2006, exactly 6 months after the promise was made, the BCCI and PCB conducted the promised Indo-Pak match, raising Rs 12.28 crores.

Unsurprisingly, there is no news yet on the leaked email front.

A cricket-writer returns from hibernation

Of all the current cricketers who are supplimenting their playing income by writing a column, Aakash Chopra, in my opinion, is the best. Here is his first column of the year discussing the oddly disturbing case of Marcus Trescothick's "mystery bug".

Atlas sighed

My favourite non-Indian cricketer ever (there...I have said it!) is now entering what could possibly be his final season. On the eve of the English domestic season, the man who had greatness in sight is the subject of a fairly personal interview. I shall follow Graeme Hick's scores, as I have been for decades now, and hope that he goes out with a bang.

Who knows, there may even be a phoenix-like resurrection in time for the next World Cup, what with England struggling to put together a decent batting line-up in ODI's these days. The odds of it happening are very, very remote, but I am an optimist by nature. Eternally so.

Maggi Noodle Review: Rang De Basanti

The colour of freedom

Last night I saw "Rang De Basanti". It had been recommended to me by many friends but, having missed its theatrical release, I consciously avoided reading about the movie and wanted to wait till I got an original DVD to see it. At EC-SB's house, I got the opportunity to decide for myself whether the hype was worth the wait.

It was!

By combining a "coming-of-age" movie with a strident message at its heart, the director, Rakeysh Mehra, has made a movie that should resonate for a while yet. Visually, the movie is breathtaking. And here I am talking about the colours that are used, not just the sceneries or sets. A sepia tone is employed to show events of the early 20th century, while a colourful canvas symbolizes the 21st century. Seamlessly transitioning between two parallel storylines, the story juggles between the past that the characters will be influenced by, and the aimless present that they currently inhabit.

The change in the characters occurs over a period of time and is quite convincingly written in. And even after they realize their calling, they do not do anything that belies their abilities or positions. From start to finish, the dynamics of the group are kept consistent and every character is given enough room and screen time for us to be able to distinguish between them. A fear I had was that Aamir Khan would take over the movie post-interval, a la "Dil Chahta Hai", breaking the dynamics of the story. He does not. Instead, the director makes the character with the most to lose, portrayed by Siddharth, the public voice of the group. Aamir, in keeping within the defined framework of his character, remains the physical heart and soul of the group without trying to become the emotional leader.

In a movie filled with symbolism, the most subtle one made the deepest impression. The mother is in a deep coma and finally shows signs of awakening from it. When she does, the movie intercuts this with scenes showing the main characters finally fulfilling their date with destiny, symbolizing the metaphorical awakening of Mother India from a long slumber.

Another masterstroke was to use two different narrators - a sympathetic English jailor for the 20th century and his documentary film-making granddaughter for the 21st century. By employing a British narrator, the director managed to suggest an outside view that somehow seems to emphasize even further how impressive the protagonist's actions were.

A final word on the acting. My simple test for an actors performance is whether I am seeing the character or the actor on the screen. Initially I could not help but think that I was watching the actors. After a while when I saw them on screen I was associating them with their movie names.

I would strongly recommend watching this movie, and would suggest that you give yourself entirely to the experience. So do not get up to go to the bathroom, do not answer the phone and do not talk to anyone else in the room. Otherwise the connection between you and the characters will be broken and it will become a less impressive celluloid experience.

Victim of expectations?

On CricInfo's blog - Wicket to Wicket - a group of writers have been discussing the apparent dichotomy in performance of the the Indian Test and ODI teams. The question being addressed is - why does the Indian Test team have trouble winning series while the ODI juggernaut rolls on, albeit in subcontinental conditions?

I will let you discover what the consensus opinion of the writers is. The wrap-up of the discussion by Anand Vasu is linked here. (By the way, I agree with most of what 3 of the 4 writers have written).

The List - per Jaunty

In a continuation of my previous post, I now present the top 10 Test innings by an Indian batsman (post-1980), according to me.

10. VVS Laxman's 75 in Brisbane against Australia in 2003. This was more important than his two centuries in the series. He not only stayed in there but calmed Ganguly down in the early part of the captain's innings. When he got out playing a cut shot to point off MacGill, it taught him a lesson that held him in good stead for the rest of the series and helped India hold its ground against the Australians - every time he crossed 50 after that, he scored a century, 5 in all (2 in Tests and 3 in one-dayers).

9. Mohinder Amarnath's 91 at Bridgetown against the West Indies in 1982 (out of a team score of 209). Of all his innings I remember this one the most. He got hit on the face, spat out blood, stayed in, and kept batting bravely. The bowling attack in the Test….Roberts, Holding, Marshall, and Garner represent, arguably, the greatest collection of 4 fast bowlers in one Test side!!

8. Mohammad Azharuddin 109 at Faisalabad against Pakistan in 1989. This changed the face of Indian cricket for the next decade. Why? Because he was dropped for the Test and made it in only because Raman Lamba was sick and could not play. He was out first ball in the first innings and appeared headed for obscurity. In the second innings he gloriously counter-attacked and, amazingly, two Tests later he was captaining the Indian team in New Zealand, and then resurrected India’s home fortunes with an unlikely troika of Kumble, Chauhan and Raju!

7. Sachin Tendulkar 122 in Birmingham against England in 1996. Important because the next highest score was 18, and it was in the 2nd innings of the Test match. Unfortunately, the others did not support him and we lost the match. Much more significantly, because of this batting debacle the selectors decided that Tendulkar desperately needed help from other batsmen. Their solution would alter the course of Indian cricket history. Two new batsmen made their debuts in the next Test at Lords – Ganguly and Dravid.

6. Sachin Tendulkar 114 at Perth against Australia in 1992. He was just 19 years old, playing on the bounciest pitch in Australia against a team determined to crush him. He had scored a century in an earlier Test in the series at Sydney, too, but this is the one that Richie Benaud often brings up when he reminisces about Tendulkar. Coming in at 69 for 2 he was 9th out at 240.

5. Sachin Tendulkar's 241 at Sydney against Australia in 2003. He was in the worst TEST slump of his career, and responded by grinding out an innings that Geoff Bocott would have been proud to claim as his own. He wore down the Aussies, and did so without hitting a SINGLE cover drive in the whole innings. Amazing restraint for him, and later on when historians try to figure out the innings that changed the master blaster into the master accumulator, they will point to this one. His Test hunger has changed colours – now he no longer looks to dominate attacks but rather to simply score off them, and this one showed even Tendulkar that he could do it sucessfully.

4. Rahul Dravid's 180 at Kolkotta against Australia in 2001. Not many people give it the credit it deserves. Laxman’s innings would have ended up being like his 167, a desperately brilliant one. It reached epic proportions because of Dravid’s stay at the crease with him. Also, Dravid continued on after Laxman was out, scoring some more runs that proved vital in the end.

3. Rahul Dravid's 233 at Adelaide against Australia in 2003 set up a monumental win by sheer will and perseverance, combined with a great technique against the Aussie bowling (which in hindsight, barring Gillespie, was not-so-great).

2. Gundappa Viswanath's 114 at Melbourne against Australia 1981. Set the stage for Kapil’s heroics with the ball and an away win in Australia. And also, the only century of Vishwanath’s that I can recall vividly, though I was at school when he scored the runs and my elder brother holds me responsible for him getting out.

1. VVS Laxman's 281 at Kolkatta against Australia in 2001. This is the innings by which his whole career will probably been defined, but it also represents a “turning point” innings not only for him, but also for Indian cricket. It is a testament to his drive that the 281 will be remembered by me as ONE of his great innings. I may be biased because he is from my home town but I think we have not heard the last of this Hyderabadi's exploits in the Test arena.

The List - per Buck

A couple of years ago, Buck and I decided to come up with our top 10 Test innings by an Indian batsman (individual). The criteria were simple - they had to be innings that were more than just numbers; they had to be innings that were enhanced by the context and their influence on the fortunes of the Indian team (and its future) and, a final caveat, these would have to be innings that we either heard/watched/read about by us as they occurred (therefore, innings played pre-1980 were not included).

We each came up with a list of 10 innings and did not know of the other's choices till we had both made ours. I went through my list recently and realized that my feelings were still the same and the many Indian innings that have followed since then have not (as of yet) displaced any on that list (some by Sehwag and Dravid have come close but did not quite displace the ones I picked).

Here are Buck's top 10 with his views on some of them (I have linked to the Tests should you wish to see the scorecard for those innings).

10. Sachin Tendulkar's 169 for a lost cause in South Africa in 1997 (when he did one of the important things required of a good innings - he was the last man out after adding 19 for the last wicket with a tailender who made 2).

9. Mohammad Azharuddin's breathtaking 109 of 70-odd ball s at Eden Gardens against South Africa in 1996 in a lost cause - barely makes it to this list because he did not adjust his batting once it became apparent he had a worthwhile partner in Kumble who was last out at 88.

8. VVS Laxman's 75 in Brisbane - prefer it to the pair of centuries he had later in this series and the 167 in the prior series (in terms of breathtaking innings for a lost cause, the 167 ranks behind Azhar's knock above and also his crazy 115 of 110 balls in S Africa in 1997 when he overshadowed skipper Tendulkar completely before being run out of all things ).

7. Gundappa Viswanath's 114 at Melbourne against Australia 1981.

6. Dilip Vengsarkar's 102 at Headingley (Leeds), vs England 1986 - I remember this as a superior innings to a century he made at Lords in the same series, but of course Lords being Lords, that one has received more play over the years...

5. Sachin Tendulkar's 241 at Sydney in 2003 v/s Australia - especially like the fact that he did not get out finally.

4. Sachin Tendulkar's 114 at Perth in 1992 v/s Australia (India lost this game but this is, in my opinion, his greatest test innings to date - even more than his double century) - fastest wicket in the world, young Sachin, etc...

3. Mohammad Azharuddin's 163 at Kanpur in December 1996 gainst South Africa.

2. Rahul Dravid's 233 at Adelaide v/s Australia - long innings that won a test - also his greatest test double century in my opinion (poor guy - so many of his great knocks ended up with him playing second fiddle that it detracts from him a bit. I was tempted to include the 91* in a later Test in the series but this is a greater innings).

1. VVS Laxman's 281 - enough said.

My list shall follow in the next post. As always, I will be interested in your opinions (and maybe your top 10, too. You will find that these lists are harder to make than you'd think).

Turning 40

"Mad Dog" turned 40 on Friday (14th April), joining a fairly eclectic bunch of personalities who have turned 40 this year (as a fellow blogger pointed out). Not surprisingly, there were many articles in the media written in praise of Greg Maddux. The one I liked most was this one by Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.com.

And then there were none...

David Quammen is a noted writer of essays in science (and other topics) and is the author of a well-written book "The Song of the Dodo", on applying the lessons learned from studies on island biogeographies, to understand species extinction and evolution.

In this book there is one particular paragraph that is quite haunting. David takes the reader along a hypothetical scenario where he describes what the final days of the Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) may have been like, reproduced here:

Raphus cucullatus had become rare unto death. But this one flesh-and-blood individual still lived. Imagine that she was thirty years old, or thirty-five...In the dark of an early morning in 1667, say, during a rainstorm, she took cover beneath a cold stone ledge at the base of one of the Black River cliffs. She drew her head down against her body, fluffed her feathers for warmth, squinted in patient misery. She waited. She didn't know it, nor did anyone else, but she was the only dodo on Earth. When the storm passed, she never opened her eyes. This is extinction.

"Inspired" movie-making

With each passing day comes an announcement that an Indian director is going to be "remaking" another old classic. The most recent example is of Amitabh Bachchan reportedly signing on to act in the Bollywood version of Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita".

I am surprised that another movie - "L.A. Confidential" - has not been made into a Hindi movie yet (or if it has, I am unaware of it). To save a potential producer the trouble of figuring out who to cast, here are my suggestions:

Ed Exley - Hrithik Roshan (with the "Lakshya" look and performance)
Bud White - Abhishek Bachchan (the "Yuva" look and performance)
Jack Vincennes - Ajay Devgan (must be clean shaven and suave)
Capt. Dudley Smith - Amitabh Bachchan (a tailor-made role for him)
Lynn Bracken - Sushmita Sen (perfect with the "Main Hoon Na" look)
Sid Hudgens - Boman Irani (ONLY if he does not make it a caricature)

I would also recommend that Farhan Akhtar be the director.

I think the movie would do very well, but getting this star cast will be the issue.

Fab Five to the fore

After three rounds of play, Woods, Els, Mickelson, Singh and Goosen are within 4 shots of each other at the Masters. A mouth-watering Sunday is in store today, and I am going to be glued to the TV watching it unfold.

My pick is still a man named Eldrick. He is the best under-pressure player I have ever seen (along with Michael Jordan) and this situation is tailor-made for him.

A Somerset man's view

Peter Roebuck puts forward his thoughts on the current Indian ODI team. I have been a fan of his writing style for some time now and this article reinforces why.

To sleep, perchance to dream

I have had an unusual night so far. I was dog-tired when I came home, and was glad to lie down on my bed. But after tossing and turning for what seemed like hours (more like 15 minutes) I gave up and began blogging.

Now (finally!) my eylids are drooping, and my fingers are getting lethargic. Sleep beckons. This time I hope the trip to neverland is swift.

Good night, dear reader.

Update: The not-so-manic Punisher

In the first 4 games of the ongoing series against England, the Indian team has twice chased a target and won an ODI , taking their tally to a world-record 15 consecutive successful chases. In an earlier post I had alluded to the role played by MS Dhoni in this amazing streak. In the two chases since my post he has contributed:

230/6, Dhoni: 39 (off 55 balls)
238/6, Dhoni: 10* (off 13 balls)

In the course of this streak his aggregate is now at 624 runs in 11 innings, dismissed just 3 times (average: 208.00).

Trring, trring

My office phone rings. It is KK at the other end.

KK: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
KK: Interrupting cow.
Me: Interru...
KK: Moo!

Yes, I have friends like that!

Our own Telestra Dome

One of the perks of being at a University where college sports is a huge deal is that they have many huge gymnasiums (gymnasia?). And when the University teams are not using them, other folks can "book" the space and use it to play their preferred sports.

In the winter, when the temperature drops, cricket becomes an indoor sport - with tennis balls. A few days ago I played for the first time and was shocked at how fast some of the fielders could return the ball to the wicket. Consequently, in true Inzamam-style, I managed to get 3 other batsman run out, before justice was finally served, and I ran myself out to end the innings.

Not surprisingly, the match ended in a tie!!

By the way, before you start looking for me in there, I took these pictures.

Silent whispers

Tomorrow, the Wimbledon of golf begins. It has been 10 years since my favorite golfer won the tournament on a day that is more famous for a Shark's meltdown. I do not know who will win it this year, but I do know this - my productivity over the weekend will decline to a near-flatline status.

And if I can convince CB to let me watch it on HDTV at his place, flatline status will definitely be attained.

A switch in time

After a gap of 30 years, the state of Indiana decided to adjust the clock to follow Daylight Savings Time.

In a perfect example of creating one's own market, an Indiana teenager found a way to make a profit out of this (and get visibly profiled by CNN, to boot).

The Fresh Prince

Yuvraj Singh has long been thought of as a flashy guy with enormous potential, but lacking the drive to buckle down and fulfill it. A few months under the new regime appears to have made a world of a difference, as evidenced by the mature responses in this interview.

Lotur Rotak

A few words for my regular readers (MJ style) -

I'm back!

The hiatus

For the past few week or so I have been extremely tied up and have neglected this blog. All I can think of when I come home is to measure the length of my bed.

In a day or two, I shall get back to my normal schedule. Until then, I apologize if your visits to my sphere have been in vain.

As Jack Bauer would rasp, " I promise you...."

Seeing is believing

A few days ago, EC-SB invited a few of us over to their house to celebrate PS's birthday (27 in case you were wondering). Since her husband (UK) is working elsewhere and could not be there, PS called him up just before she cut the cake to talk him through the proceedings.

And then we had a collective brainwave! So, I held a webcam, the others took turns holding a light and PS cut the cake. UK got to see it all on his computer and further, on speakerphone, joined in the chorus as we sang one of the most popular songs of all-time!

Viva technology!

Mad Dog once more!

My favourite non-cricketer is back for his 21st season!

A few of our cricketers would do well to learn from his longevity and also the way he conducts himself on and off the field.

Two sides of the coin

Amit Verma (who helms the award-winning blog - India Uncut) also writes for newspapers and was part of a discussion in the Pioneer on the pros and cons of having Greg Chappell as the coach. Here is his side of the debate/discussion.

Contrast that with the other side, all innuendo and intrigue-speak, provided by Debraj Mookerjee.

I am obviously biased towards Amit Verma, as I frequently read his work, but I feel that he did a much better job of supporting his side of the equation. I would like to know what an unbiased reader (if there is one on this topic) feels about the merit/demerits of both the articles. (I am talking just about the articles, not the issue itself).

Object in the rearview mirror

Ricky Ponting is on a tear and Sachin Tendulkar better watch his back! When November (2005) rolled around, Sachin had scored 34 centuries and had a healthy lead on Ponting, who had 23.

Since then Sachin has played 13 Test innings and added to his tally by 1.
Since then Ricky has played 16 test innings, and added to his tally by 7! In his last 7 innings, the Aussie captain has scored an incredible 5 centuries (all against South Africa who appear helpless to stop him).

Ponting is just 5 centuries from Tendulkar and in my mind it is inevitable (considering how many more Tests Australia plays, and how many more years Ponting has at the top) that he will cross Sachin.

I hope Sachin can keep Ricky at bay for a few more years.

Just in case you were wondering:

• Australia is scheduled to play 8 more Tests this year - one more against SA, two against Bangladesh, and 5 against Australia this year (at home).
• India is scheduled to play between 4-10 more Tests this year - 4 against West Indies, and a series against Bangladesh and South Africa, all away from home.

(In typical fashion, the Bangladesh and SA series have not been confirmed by the Indian Board, while the venues and dates for all of Australia's matches and first-class fixtures have already been confirmed).

Post script: As of March 27th, Sachin has been ruled out of the tour of the Caribbean after undergoing shoulder surgery. So strike those 4 Tests off, too. Now, it seems even more inevitable that Ponting will cross him within a calendar year or so.

AR goes to Hollywood

Last night I saw a Spike Lee directed movie, Inside Man. The movie has an enviable list of actors - Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Plummer - and it gripped me with the very first scene. And not because of what was on the screen but was playing in the soundtrack.

The movie starts with Swapna Awasthi singing the first two lines of a song, and then Sukhwinder Singh happily joins her. I never saw "Dil Se" in a theatre, but now I have heard the song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" in a movie hall over a Dolby sound system. And it is not just a token cameo. The whole song is played and then a remix version of it is played over the end credits.

Even more reason to go see the movie about a "perfect" bank robbery in NY, which is reminiscent of other heist movies but has some intriguing elements all of its own, bolstered by the excellent acting.

The day the Sphinx squints

Today marks the Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring.

So how do you view this date? Is it 12 hours of daylight or 12 hours of darkness?

Is your glass half-full or half-empty?

Paradigm shift

A fellow blogger, Buck, made a very pertinent comment on Tendulkar recently. His suggestion was:

Sachin Tendulkar (should be) batting at #5 so that some of the early pressure is off him and he can afford to play grave-digger for a while if the pressure is still on.

When you think about it, it is not that bad an option. Here are some reasons why I believe that playing at #5 may be the way to go:

• Obviously he suffers now because he is usually batting with Dravid and, lately, seems inclined to follow Dravid's lead on how to play the bowling. Most of the time Dravid is defensive and Tendulkar joins him in the same rut. Dravid knows hows to get out of it, Sachin does not. An Arjun-Abhimanyu case, for want of a better analogy.
• By playing at #5 Chappell-Dravid will have their alternating accelerator-anchor lineup in Tests, too. (Jaffer-Sehwag-Dravid-Yuvraj-Tendulkar-Dhoni). (If Laxman/Kaif come into the team, I'd play them at #6 for now. The tail wags long enough these days for them to feel secure about playing their own game).
• If the need is for quick runs, Sachin has the ODI experience to shift it into high gear from the start. If there is a collapse, he can revert to his anchor-role, and not get booed for it, because the situation demands a little stickiness.
• I think he needs a little jolt. A "demotion" in the batting order may be the catalyst needed to jump-start him for the next 5 years.

Personally, I think the second innings of the Bombay Test is going to be one for the ages. Premonition or hope,we shall find out in a few hours.

The girl from Leon

On Saturday night, I saw "V for Vendetta", which is about a man whose goal is to incite a revolution within one year. Set in London in the near future, it was surprisingly heavy on words and light on action (I had anticipated the opposite since it was written by the directors of the Matrix trilogy). Apart from having some memorable visual images, the dialogues were quite witty and fun to follow along, too.

This movie once again demonstrates that Natalie Portman is a fine actress. (Impressively, she speaks five languages fluently - Hebrew, English, French, German, and Japanese).

Now, if she could do something about that British accent which seemed to come and go at times - the only jarring note in her performance in the movie - she'd be set for good.

A slave by any other name

Sometime yesterday my cell phone service died on me. A little while later my cable internet service provider had a meltdown. Suddenly, I was without the services of both.

What was disconcerting was not that I lost both services but that I was felt helpless and unable to do anything without them. I could no longer talk to anyone or look up cricket scores or send emails or update my blog.

Order has now been restored in my galaxy and Jaunty-dom heaves a huge sigh of relief.

Yin and Yang

Michael Atherton interviews the "only real competition that Sachin Tendulkar ever had."

Dead rubber alert - part deux

A couple of months ago, I compared Sachin Tendulkar to Brian Lara, particularly with regard to Lara's tendency to hit big scores in the last Test of a series when the series was already decided.

In the current series against New Zealand, which the Windies are on their way to losing handily, Lara has failed in both innings of both Tests (with egg on his face after his remarks on Chanderpaul). The stage is now set for Lara to post a humongous score in the 3rd Test and end his tour on a high, making people partially forget the failures that came before that.

And when that happens, remember this - you first heard it here.

The big Little Master

In my list of top 5 all-time favourite batsmen, there is one outlier - a player whose career was (almost) over by the time I began avidly following cricket (1982 Indo-Pak series). Most of what I know about G.R. Viswanath is anectodal, mainly from my grandfather and my brother. The rest has been gleaned over the years by reading articles in print, and lately, on the Internet.

I watched him score the last 50 of his career and was once was held responsible for him getting out in Melbourne. I remember rushing home from school to find out the score (my brother was listening to the commentary). As I opened the gate he ran onto the roof and told me to hurry; Vishy was batting on 110. By the time I went upstairs, he had scored another four. I sat down and Vishy got out! Naturally I was to blame. He probably still hasn't forgiven me for that! It happened to be the last century of his career and was enough for India to win a Test match at Melbourne. (That incident had another long-lasting consequence - it gave birth to my supersitious nature when it comes to watching my favourite players!).

Here is an article that talks about Indian batting greats and has a good breakdown of the roles played by them in India's cricketing fortunes. I particularly like the way he deems that Vishy's career marks a defining period of change in the role of Indian batsmen.

Thus spake...

Rahul Dravid speaks about himself and other related topics on the eve of the 100th Test of his career. He continues to set a fine example for any kid aspiring to play for India.

His career average has crept past Tendulkar's and, as Amit Varma mentions, the fact that it does not seem to be an aberration is a measure of his greatness.

Sweet child of thine

My friends, KDK and MK, recently added a new kid to their family. An avid bird-watcher and fitness freak, Mikey is simply adorable. And I haven't met him yet! So, how do I know? Take a look at this photograph. I dare you to disagree with me.

A change in fortune

The recent West Indies-New Zealand Test match may have "swung" in the Kiwis favour because of a monstorous hit by Chris Gayle.

When I read the story I was reminded of a ploy adopted by the English bowlers in both Test matches. I noticed that the English bowlers were having a tough time getting the ball to reverse swing. Soon, Flintoff was repeatedly showing the ball to the umpires, supposedly complaining that the ball was out of shape. Twice (in both second innings, if I recall correctly) the umpires agreed and changed the ball to a newer one.

When the balls were later shown on camera, they did not seem to be unduly out of shape. (No matter how perfect a sphere a ball may be at the start of the innings, eventually the repeated contact with the ground and bat will cause a little bit of unevenness). I am convinced that this is a tactic adopted by them to change the ball if it is not helping the fast bowlers. I will be curious to see if they complain about the ball in the third Test match, especially if the Indian batsmen are on top.

It's a bat, bat, bat, world

The Australia-South Africa run-fest is being hailed as the "greatest ODI of all time". On Prem Panicker's blog, one of the other "posters", Manish Verma, has a very valid point to make. His post on this issue has this little nugget, which reiterates what I had touched touched upon earlier:

How can this game be the best ever, if the bowlers literally had nothing to do? Would anyone have given a similar title to a game where a top ODI team got out for 110+ and then got the opponent out for under 100? Even if it meant scintillating bowling from both sides?

He makes a fantastic point. All the people who have announted this game with the GOAT tag may have a hard time answering Manish's question.

Casting the first stone

Before the ongoing West Indies-New Zealand Test series, Brian Lara challenged Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the current WI captain, to score more runs as befits a senior player on a team that is struggling to be competitive, let alone win games.

Lara himself stood up to be counted, scoring 5 and 0, while lasting a total of 13 balls and falling victim to Shane Bond both times with a golden duck in the second innings when his team came up short by just 27 runs.

Methinks the title of this Saul Bellow book best describes Lara's verbal faux pas?

A matter of perspective

A few days ago when I suggested that India chase down 360+ runs in 90 overs (plus half hour, if necessary) in a Test match, I was in the minority. On various websites I read that this was not possible and would be a foolhardy attempt on the part of the Indians.

After hearing/seeing South Africa chase down 400+ in just 50 overs, I wonder how many of them have converted to my point of view? There's nothing more useful than an epochal incident to put the past into a different perspective.

R.I.P bowlers

In 1984, India beat Pakistan in an astonishing match at Sharjah. After Imran Khan bowled unchanged at the start to register scarcely believable figures of 10-2-14-6, India were in dire straits. But with every bowler chipping in, India won by a huge margin of 38 runs.

That day the Indian team scored 125 runs. The entire match produced 212 runs in about 76 overs. If that represented the mother of all low-scoring ODI's, the grandmother of all high-scoring ODI's was played today between Australia and South Africa. The match has left grown men flabbergasted, unable to put words to the mayhem they watched. In exactly 99.5 overs, 872 runs were scored. Eight hundred and seventy-two runs in 599 balls!

In 2003, I watched Ricky Ponting lace the Indian attack in the World Cup final to the tune of 140 imperious runs, an innings I thought was a once-in-a lifetime feat. On the very same ground, the next innings played by Ponting was a brutal 164 off just 105 balls. And he was overshadowed by Herschelle Gibbs, who scored 175 off 111 balls.

If 434 is not a safe ODI total any more, what is? I know this is probably one of those freak occurances that may never happen again (like a bowler taking 10 wickets in an innings twice in a single season against the same team as Laker did, or a batsman batting 60 overs in an ODI and scoring 36 runs as Sunny did) but an unhealthy precedent has been set. All across the globe ODI's are becoming a one-dimensional event. Batsmen come and plunder; then mercifully, due to an over limit, they make way only for other batsmen to come and plunder even more. It is boring, boring cricket.

With each passing year the pitches become more and more batsmen friendly. A pitch that has grass must be mowed, a pitch that is crumbly must be pounded into a concrete-like state. Any hint of moisture on the pitch is room for a "weather delay". I prefer the nuances of Test cricket as it gives more time for plotting and testing the concentration and other skills that are being robbed from cricket. Everytime a captain complains about a pitch being difficut to bat on, I get mad at the wimpiness of these players, whose cricketing ego's cannot stand to be tested by the fact that a pitch may be aiding a bowler more than them.

Dig up the pitch at the Wanderers. Let teams win games at the famed Bullring because of their bowling, fielding and batting, and not only because batsmen can launch balls into the stratosphere. But from the reaction of most people who I spoke to today, this was just the tip of the iceberg. Suddenly scoring 500 in an ODI seems doable. And an inordinately large number of people want to be there or see it when it happens. Incredible.

I personally want to once again watch a match where a low total is defended (the recent Under-19 World Cup final was one such match). I fear that my wait for a repeat match of this nature shall be a very, very long one.

Trifecta

Today is my friend, RP's, birthday. Not even she would have imagined that the week culminating in her birthday would witness so many cricketing feats worthy of books by themselves. Murali crossed 600, Kumble crossed 500, and my favourite pacer who is also the fastest bowler in the world - Shane Bond - is back!! (Yes, I know Lee and Akhtar are faster but I hope you get my point).

All three of them are men of a different breed. Murali has been abused and vilified for his bowling action and yet the man keeps chugging away. He bowls an inordinately large number of overs almost as if he is hell-bent on bowling his arm out before bowing down to the naysayers.

Kumble went through a phase where he was not the first choice of the former captain and even now, in a perverse way, Dravid ensures that Bajji gets the ball first, almost as if to prove to his detractors that he is not partial to his fellow Kannadiga. In spite of all that the leg-spinner, whose bowling arm injury was the catalyst that paved the way for player contracts from the BCCI, keeps attacking only as he knows best. He is still fit enough to play for a few years, and judging from the way he batted yesterday, his resolve to put up his hand when the team is in trouble has not left him.

Shane Bond is a rarity - a fast bowler that Australian batsmen fear. In the 2003 World Cup he produced spell after spell of devastating fast bowling, almost single-handedly leading New Zealand onwards. If a 10 over restriction had not existed in ODI's I believe that he would have blown away India in the Super Six encounter where he ripped through our batting order. By his own admission he is one more injury away from quitting cricket. His remodeled action looks quite good and, hopefully, those stress fractures of the back are a thing of the past for the Kiwi cop.

But all of their feats paled in front of an event that I did not even watch (more on that in another post).

For the want of a nail

The IKEA furniture instruction sheet, which I had (prematurely) ripped here, was not in 4 languages. In fact, it wasn't even in any language. The entire sheet had instructions in pictoral forms. The diagrams were clear and easy to follow. Now, if only they had provided a Phillips head screw driver, I would have been done last night itself.

Anyway, I have to finish one last thing and I shall have my writing desk and chair. Tonight. So I have said, so it shall be done.

Spice Girls hit - sort of

I once met a man from an ancient land. We spoke. He said,
"What I want, what I want, what I really, really, want.
Is to live life on my own terms."

Easier said than done.
Which is why it is called Life, I guess.
Hmmmm...but if you could, wouldn't you?
I know I would.

Midnight musings

The phone rings and wakes me up. The clock says it is 1:49am (at night). It takes me a few seconds to orient myself and pick up the phone.

Me: (in a sleepy, slurred voice) Hullllllllo??
SR: Hey, quick question.
Me: What?
SR: What was the name of that movie?
Me: Which one?
SR: The bounty hunter. "Jaaack...Jaaack".
Me: "Midnight Run".
SR: Yes! And who was the other guy?
ME: Charles Grodin.
SR: Right! Thanks. Now go back to sleep. Bye.
Me: Bye.

Yes, my close friends are like that!

Hammer and tongs

I went furniture shopping last night. To the IKEA, a good 75 miles away. I had seen a couple of computer/writing desks that I was interested in and wanted to see them first-hand, rather than purchasing it online and trusting the glossy photo that accompanied the description.

When I saw the two of them the same old question reared it ugly head. Style or simplicity? Should I buy the cheaper, nondescript one or the slightly more expensive, better-looking one? In the end, looks won (don't they always?!!). I also bought a simple looking chair to go with the table (maybe to assuage my guilt over having spent so much on a flat piece of wood with 4 legs). Naturally.

So this evening will be spent assembling the table, trying to make sense of instructions that are in 4 languages, but not really explicit or helpful in any one of them. We can send a man to the moon (or so they say) but we cannot write clear instructions on how to assemble pieces of wood into a table.

The 4th inning of the 4th inning

Yesterday I wrote about the Indians not showing the stomach for a fight. And I had suggested that the best way to wrest some initiative back from the English was by attacking the target.

The Indians adopted a different plan - a sort of a compromise between defense and attack. Until tea they were content to let the clock tick away, not taking any risks. At tea they re-assessed and decided to make one stunning assault at the target. They did not leave themselves enough time to really have a good shot at it, but they managed to rattle England. In the last hour Flintoff and Harmison, their two tearaway fast bowlers, were made to run hard and long, and their fielders were made to run around, while it was the non-regular batsmen - Pathan, Dhoni and Singh - who did most of the damage. The best innings of them all, however, was the one Tendulkar played. I hope this cameo convinces him that when he plays the ball and not the occasion or the bowler's reputation, he is still peerless.

Onto Mohali, where I hope they do not resort to completely shaving the grass on the pitch. I want to see a real contest and the Indian batting line-up against the English pace attack is a lip-smacking proposition! But I fear that the safety-first attitude shall win over.

Living up to my name

I am a batsman of limited skills - my best shot is a forward defensive push. I can recount to you ALL the fours I have hit since I began playing summer cricket in the Mid-West Cricket Tournament 8 years ago - and it will not take me too long to tell all the stories!

Until last summer I had never bowled in a match. Towards the later half of the season we were having a tough time getting 11 players to show-up for a game, let alone practice. So at practices I began bowling off-spinners (or rather straight balls with an off-spinning action). Eventually I progressed enough to be able to bowl them from a 15 step run-up. I bowled in the last two matches and even picked up a couple of wickets, much to my surprise.

The skill that I do possess is fielding. My reflexes and stamina are no longer what they used to be in my high school days, when I used to prowl the square-leg to long-on area all by myself, but I am still a decent fielder.

But that is not my best cricketing asset. My most valuable skill does not show up in the early part of the match and sometimes an entire game goes by without my team needing it. In the early part of the game everyone is enthusiastic and jumping about. Also, when wickets are falling, everyone is excited. Then, inevitably, comes a period in the game when the opposing batsmen begin to assert themselves. Shoulders begin to drop, hands start resting on waists, eyes start staring at the ground, feet start shuffling in the dust, and an eerie silence comes upon the ground. Ironically when the team really needs to be making some noise, nobody does. Which is when I begin to earn my place in the squad. When such times come upon us, our captain - SC, puts me at mid-wicket inside the circle and just smiles.

You see, I am a live-wire in the field, incessantly jabbering, clapping hands, jumping about, running around, calling everyone out by name, exhorting them to keep trying as hard as they can. After a while, slowly but surely, the smiles come back on their faces and even though the opposition has built up an unassailable position, our team does not look lost. Last year, we lost 6 of the 7 games we played but not once did our team go completely quiet and give up. I simply refused to let them do that. We may have lost badly, but we were never beaten!

Years ago, I watched Jonty Rhodes change the way fielders behaved and performed on a cricket field. He was the cricketing idol I felt I could emulate the most. (Not for nothing is Jaunty my Internet moniker. Get it?!)

Yesterday the Indian team descended towards a familiar going-through-the-motions stage and, shockingly, only let it get worse. They took an extra half-hour to bowl their overs as they were shuffling around waiting for the English batsmen to make mistakes. The fielding standards dipped, faces started resembling those commonly seen at a funeral, and all the players stood by themselves as if they had each contracted some contagious disease. I was appalled at that. How could they give up so easily?! Haven't they themselves collapsed when seemingly in charge? Why couldn't they expect the same from their counterparts? By allowing themselves to be lethargic, their energy levels decreased and England's attempt to dominate was made easier.

All the talk about the team spirit, heart of a champion, never-say-die attitudes, etc., doesn't mean a thing unless these attributes show up when the chips are down. It is very easy to be upbeat when the going is good. A true champion is one who does not lose before the game is over. I was disappointed with the Indian's on-field demeanor on the 4th day. If on the 5th day they compound it by defending their way towards a draw and still lose - I shall be disheartened, too.

I hope Dravid and his band of men do not let that happen. I really do.

Once more, unto the breach

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger:
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.
- William Shakespeare "Henry V"

The Indian team (assuming England declares overnight) has to score just over 360 runs in 90 overs to beat the Pommies in the first Test.

There are two ways to tackle this:
a) Play for a draw; bat slowly and surely, eschewing all risks
b) Play for a win; think of it as a one-day international, but with more overs and less fielding/bowler restrictions

Plan A just will not work (if you doubt this I present to you Karachi '06 and Bangalore '05 as the most recent examples). Once the Englishmen know that there is no risk of their target being attacked they will go all out, putting men around the batsmen, knowing fully well that their bad balls will not be hit to the fence and their good balls may well take some wickets. With each falling wicket they can exert even more pressure on the batsmen.

Plan B should work - the batting lineup (batsmen 1-7) is the same as the ODI lineup, with Laxman replacing Yuvraj. This situation it will not matter since Laxman's biggest problem in ODI's was that he could not accelerate as fast in the later overs as some others. Here, with an additional 40 overs in hand, that should not be a problem. Also, don't forget that he has (in the past) scored some very crucial 2nd innings knocks for the country when chasing a target, so for this time we will not miss Yuvraj as much as we may think. In addition to the 7, we also have Wasim Jaffer. So we have enough batting firepower to attack the target, utilizing the anchor-accelerator strategy that has been employed so successfully in the past few ODI wins. I suggest using Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dhoni and Pathan as the accelerators and Dravid, Jaffer, Laxman and Kaif as the anchors.

By attacking the target, they force the Englishmen to defend, thereby crating gaps in the infield, meaning that a mishit may go to a now-vacant 2nd slip, or a now-vacant short mid-off and so on.

If the Indians come out with a defensive mindset and show no inclination to go for the target I am going to be very disappointed. (Virender Sehwag will go for it, that I am sure of, I am talking about the rest of the batsmen). If that happens I shall not follow this time for a while. As it is their attitude in the field yesterday made me mad (more on that later) and this would be the last straw.

If I see Tendulkar go into that obdurate, stubborn, defensive shell that he has lately been adopting I may just blow my fuse!

Cleaning day

When I woke up I had no inkling that the day would involve a lot of cleaning.

It began with my weekly trip to the Laundromat. While my clothes were spinning around in the washer, I looked out and since it was nice and sunny (but a bit chilly due to the strong wind gusts) I took my car to the car wash. After throwing my clothes in my dryer I then went to work and took care of my needy research plants (did some "cleaning" there, too). Then I picked up my clothes and, rather than go home, swung by the department. I moved back into the building late last year but never got around to unpacking all my 18 (yes 18!) boxes of books and office knick-knacks.

My office mate took one look at all the stuff I had and promptly went home, clearly realizing that the office was going to be a maelstrom of activity. Three hours later here I am, sitting at my desk and admiring my shelves that are no longer barren (photographs shall follow in a few days; keep watching this space).

And lest you think I am done for the day, I still have to go home and finish cleaning my apartment. So dear reader, the vacuum cleaner and scrubs beckon. And after all that I look forward to a long, relaxing shower.

What a way to herald a new week. Or is it the end of the last one?

Raising the roof

The Coliseum at WVU is one of the loudest college basketball arenas in the US and I experienced it first-hand a few times this year. The last time I was at the game, I glanced up and saw the roof. Maybe the pattern on the roof has something to do with the reverberations of the screaming voices. Either way, if you stare at it too long you get disoriented and dizzy. Trust me, I know from experience!

The scoreboard at most basketball arenas is a huge box-like contraption that hangs over the court (see below). From my perch in the stands, the whole thing did not instill much confidence. Imagine running around like ants on the floor, knowing that above your head is this huge gravity-defying monstrosity that is held in place by just a few cables that stretch up to the roof.

A room with a view

I live on a hillside, about 1/4th of the way down from the top of the hill. The view from my bedroom window is one of the reasons I took this place. And when it snows, the hillside is draped in a white blanket that is very soothing to the eye.

The view from my department is not too shabby either. Here is a photo of me looking out towards Woodburn Hall, one of the most majestic buildings on campus.

A brief hiatus from cricket

Okay, okay...a few of my readers (the only readers?) have told me that there is an overdose of cricket in my blog. So to ensure that I do not lose them, I shall not write about cricket for a few days.

However, England is in India for a Test/ODI series so do not expect this break to be a long one!

Little drops of water

MS Dhoni gave us a glimpse into the way the Indian team approaches a target. Chasing 286 to win, Dhoni revealed in a post-game interview that "...the coach told me the score should be around 206 at the end of the 40th over, so I focused on that and then we went on from there.”

So the huge target was broken down into simpler, easier-to-chew-on pieces. With 60 balls to go, 80 runs to get was considered reasonable (they did it with 19 balls to spare!). By giving the players smaller targets to achieve, the bigger picture is de-mystified. This may explain why the players do not appear to be fazed by a rising required run-rate and speaks volumes about the behind-the-scenes contribution of the think-tank.

Oh, by the way, after 40 overs the score was 205 for 2. Strategic planning gets another notch in it's belt.

The not-so-manic punisher

The last 13 times that India have had to chase a target in an ODI, they have emerged victors. One of the reasons for this hot streak is the cool play of the wicket-keeper/batsman - Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Quickly targeted as a basher in the mould of Shahid "boom-boom" Afridi, Dhoni has shown that he is much more than a manic pulverizer of the cricket ball.

While he can smash the ball a fair bit (and does it very frequently) he is also adept at running quick singles and twos and possesses a cool head during tense moments. Consequently, it is no surprise that he usually stays till the end to ensure that the job is not left for others to finish.

In this 13 game streak, here are the teams' score and Dhoni's contributions (DNB - did not bat; * indicates he was not out):

279/4, Dhoni: 37*(off 26 balls)
255/6, Dhoni: 67*(off 63 balls)
123/2, Dhoni: DNB
303/4, Dhoni: 183*(off 145 balls)
262/6, Dhoni: 45*(off 43 balls)
197/3, Dhoni: DNB
245/5, Dhoni: 80(off 73 balls)
171/4, Dhoni: DNB
224/5, Dhoni: 12(off 26 balls)
266/3, Dhoni: DNB
292/5. Dhoni: 72*(off 46 balls)
162/5, Dhoni: 2*(off 5 balls)
287/2, Dhoni: 77*(off 56 balls)

That is an aggregate of 575 runs in 9 innings (average: 287.5). He has been dismissed only twice - his solitary failure being when he scored 12 against South Africa; his other dismissal on 80 was caused by his attempt to end the game with a six.

May he continue to punish bowlers for years to come!!

The articulate Wall

Some cricket captains lead in an imperious manner (Imran Khan); some in an unobstrusive way (Inzamam-ul-Haq); some adopt an abrasive mode (Allan Border); some instill an us-against-the-world "siege" mentality (Ricky Ponting); some will their men into great deeds by wearing their heart on their sleeve (Sourav Ganguly).

And then there's that rare breed that leads with a steely eye and calm demeanor under duress. Rahul Dravid is turning out to be one such motivator. All his best qualities are highlighted in this very expansive interview of his. Articulate, thoughtful and smooth - Indian cricket has found its poster boy for the first decade of the 21st century.

The future is now

India have wrapped up the ODI series against Pakistan. Which means that the last ODI is a chance to find out more about our bench strength. With Sehwag and Singh having already returned to India, there are 14 players still in the squad.

In my opinion, we should "rest" Pathan, Tendulkar and Dravid. Dravid can stay on as the "Supersub", a concept that will be in play for the last time in an ODI involving India. That leaves us with the following 11 (in approximate batting order):
Gautam Gambhir
Mohammad Kaif
Yuvraj Singh (captain)
Suresh Raina
MS Dhoni
Ramesh Powar
Ajit Agarkar
Zaheer Khan
Murali Karthik
RP Singh
Sreesanth

Rahul Dravid (Supersub)

This will be a preview of the Indian team of the future, and will give everyone a chance to show their mettle. Yuvraj Singh, who was appointed the vice-captain when Sehwag returned to India, will get a chance to have the "first game as captain" jitters out of the way and will be better prepared should he be suddenly thrust into the action in the future. Yes, we are a batsman or two short, but who cares about the match? And I have a feeling that this team will be ready for whatever Pakistan throws at them. The hunger of the unproven masses should not be underestimated. Ideally, we bowl first and (should we so feel inclined) Dravid can always substitute for Sreesanth when it is our turn to bat.

What do you think?

Occam's razor

Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid have been experimenting with the ODI batting order, seemingly randomly, and have left not just the opposition but also the fans guessing as to who would bat where. In particular they have targeted the #3 spot as one of the most flexible ones.

The IndianOil Cup in Sri Lanka was the first time Rahul Dravid was made the captain for an entire series, under the aegis of Greg Chappell. Since that time the following players have batted at #3 - Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, MS Dhoni, JP Yadav, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, SK Raina, and VVS Laxman.

The critics have been crying hoarse that such instability in the batting order is not good for the team's "chemistry". Chappell-Dravid repeatedly tell reporters that they are not experimenting but rather are indulging in "strategic planning". They insist that there is a rhyme and a reason for sending whomsoever they send in at #3 on a particular day. So, if indeed there is some method to who goes to bat where, what is the pattern? How do they decide whose turn it is to bat?

I searched for a pattern and I think I am beginning to see one. The Indian think-tank (Chappell, Dravid and Tendulkar) appear to have broken up the batsmen into two categories - the accelerators (Sehwag, Yuvraj, Pathan, Dhoni) and the anchors (Tendulkar, Dravid, Kaif). These 7 form the central core of their batting lineup.

The manipulation of the batting line-up is based on pairing an accelerator with an anchor as much as possible. Which role-players will go in to bat depends upon the state of the match:

The generic formula: Sehwag and Tendulkar will open. Sehwag's mandate is to accelerate, while Tendulkar's is to consolidate. If Sehwag gets out early - either Pathan or Yuvraj or Dhoni will go in. If Tendulkar gets out first - either Kaif or Dravid will go in.

Scenario 1: Batting first

• Corollary 1a: If India is batting first, and a wicket falls with a major portion of the PowerPlays still available to exploit, two accelerators will be paired up.
• Corollary 1b: If India is batting first, and a wicket falls with most of the PowerPlays having been consumed, the replacement batsmen shall be of the same category as the dismissed one.
  

Scenario 2: Batting second

• Corollary 2a: If India is batting second, and a wicket falls with a major portion of the PowerPlays still available to exploit, the replacement batsmen shall be of the same category as the dismissed one.
• Corollary 2b: If India is batting second, and a wicket falls with most of the PowerPlays having been consumed, the replacement batsmen shall be an accelerator if the asking rate is high or the replacement player will be an anchor if the asking rate is manageable.

(Naturally, the personnel will change due to injury/selectorial whims but I think the basic principles are in place. As time goes by, it will be interesting to see if I have correctly gauged the think-tank's intentions. I shall keep you posted on it.)

Now, the less obvious strategy appears to be in terms of marshalling the bowling resources. I admit that I have not really paid attention to that side of the equation. With the pitches being the way they are in most of the Indian subcontinent, I wonder if a strategy, other than to bowl a good line and bowl more slowly as the pitch wears down ,will even be necessary.

Menage e trois

I was talking to SM this morning when another friend, KK, called me. I switched lines and told KK that I'd get back to her in a few minutes. By the time I came back, SM had hung up. So I dialled her number, she picked up and said that she was on the phone and would call me back. So I hung up, called KK only to have her say that she was on the other line and would call me back. Turns out, the three of us had been calling each other with a phase difference of a few seconds, resulting in a comical call waiting scenario.

I decided to put an end to it when SM called me back again while I was on the phone with KK for the third time. I told SM to hang up and to not call KK anytime soon! Sigh! Isn't technology supposed to make things less confusing? In the good old days before call waiting (it was not too far back in the past in India) there would be none of this calling around in circles. You would get a monotonous beep-beep that told you the phone was 'engaged' indicating in a very straightforward manner that two people were conversing (so could you please hold onto your horses?) .

Back then, I could get lost in that idyllic two person island, where the only interruption I might encounter may be physical, such as siblings snatching the phone from you, impatient to travel to their own secluded islands....

The Broad sword of justice

Chris Broad had a chequered playing career, shining brightly during one glorious summer against the Aussies. Now he is a match refree seemingly on a mission to eradicate the menace of chucking from cricket. Everywhere he goes, a suspended bowler seems to follow in his wake.

Currently, he is the match refree for the Indo-Pak one day series. And Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh have niggling injuries that just don't seem to be healing.

Coincidence? I wonder.

Dream or nightmare?

A friend woke me up, very early, this morning.

"I have to tell you a dream I had before I forget it", she said. "I dreamt that Salman Khan, dressed handsomely in a sherwani, announced at a press conference that, henceforth, he would no longer be taking his shirt off in his movies."

"Wishful thinking", said I.

"I know", said she. "Too bad it was a dream."

I smiled. She giggled. I slept fitfully but woke up with a huge grin on my face!

It's Yesterday Once More

The website cricinfo (self-proclaimed "Home of Cricket on the Internet" and the world's biggest single-sport website) recently launched "Cricinfo Magazine", a print version featuring lots of columns, interviews and reports. I subscribed to it and received my first copy yesterday - and loved it!

Apart from all the interesting articles, it has a feature that is missing from mainstream American sports magazines such as Sports Illustrated or ESPN-The Magazine. In addition to providing a report of the games itself, Cricinfo included the box scores (scorecard) with the article. Growing up in India, I remember reading Sportstar and always liked the scorecards as it gave me a chance to view what happened during the course of the game more clearly.

I collected every Sportstar for almost a decade during my high school years. I look forward to doing something similar with Cricinfo.

To read, perchance to dream

I hardly watch the idiot box these days. (The only time I am glued to the set is on Monday nights, as my regular readers will know by now). Sometimes on Sundays I follow some sporting event (last weekend it was the Buick Invitational tournament, where Arjun Atwal frittered away a chance to enter the playoffs; next weekend it shall be the Super Bowl).

When I come home, reading a book (and cooking) relaxes me. Most nights, I usually read till I fall asleep. Within arms reach I can see a few books as I type this post. This material can be broken into some distinct categories:

a) Books already read (for casual reading on the days I don't feel like paying too much attention to detail). Right now the books in this category are ...

• The Collected Short Stories of Jeffrey Archer
• Asterix the Legionary (by Gosciny and Uderzo)
• Partners in Crime (Agatha Christie)
• Cricinfo - The Magazine (edited by Sambit Bal)

b) Books that I am currently reading (once again, the genre I read depends upon my mood; and yes, I have read a little bit of all of them).

• Foul Lines (Jack McCallum and L. Jon Wertheim)
• The King Must Die (Mary Renault)
• The Best American Mystery Stories-2005 (edited by Joyce Carol Oates)
• Two Lives (Vikram Seth)

c) Books that I shall read

• The Bull from the Sea (Mary Renault)
• The Last of the Wine (Mary Renault)
• The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
• Scaramouche (Rafael Sabatini)
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert M. Pirsig)

So what am I in the mood for tonight? I think it shall be Foul Lines, "an explosive, fast-paced satire that will do for today's NBA what North Dalls Forty did for the NFL a generation ago".

The Irascible Defender

"I am Federal Agent Jack Bauer, and this is the longest day of my life".

The inimitable raspy voice of Kiefer Sutherland introduced me to the world of "24". I saw the complete first season of this television show, albeit a couple of years later on DVD. I came to respect Dennis Haysbert as the POTUS-to be, while watching a show where surprises are the norm and no character (except Jack, of course) can safely be assumed to negotiate the day unscathed.

Now, years later (I think season 5 is currently in progress) I picked up this show again and every Monday from 9-10pm my friends know better than to call me, as I breathlessly follow Jack as he crashes headlong from one impossible situation into another.

Being in a dangerous situation has become so common place for this dude that he no longer even bothers to tell us that this season represents the longest day of his life!!

Sources say this post may get delivered late

All too often I read an article that quotes "inside sources" who are safely anonymous but reveal a lot about the inner thoughts of a closed room discussion. But all too often I wonder - what stops an intrepid journalist from making up sources, just so the report can seem more credible? Journalistic integrity? If you are pushed to write a column and want to sound more emphatic about the point you are making, the temptation to ghost comment must be immense.

(Sources close to me say that this post was written while I was simultaneously balancing a knife on my head and watching the Screen Actors Guild awards on TV).

Lets Goooooo....Mountaineers!!

The Coliseum at WVU is one of the most intimidating college basketball arenas in the US. After 8 years, I finally got to see the Mountaineers play the Friars of Providence University on January 17th. Here is a view from the first tier:


And here is a view from my seat. The students section (with the students decked in golden coloured t-shirts) is to the left side of the picture:

Lead foot in the grave

The VVS Laxman of circa 2001 is no more. Back then the trademark of his batting against spinners was his decisive footwork when he danced down the wicket to play with and against the spin. Shane Warne will be the first to attest to that.

Today, Laxman stays rooted to the crease, putting a long stride forward, looking to smother the spin and venturing to put the ball away off the pitch only if the bowler errs badly in length, premitting him to rock onto his backfoot.

Why has this happened? My belief is that it stems from two reasons - one physical and one mental.

Physical: After that 281, Laxman injured his knee while fielding in a one-dayer and went to Australia to undergo reconstructive surgery. He hasn't been the same since. He is cautious when he runs, cautious when he has to stop and turn, cautious when he has to come down the track to the spinners.

Mental: With the supporters of the recently-deposed captain circling like vultures, waiting for a crack to appear in his edifice, Laxman has eschewed flair for substance. Today he looks to bide his time, nudging and nurdling singles, the occasional couple, and the rare four, as he bats with one eye on the ball and the other on the safe ground of personal milestones. It is no coincidence that only after he crosses the 50-60 run plateau does he begin to get expansive with his strokeplay. By then he probably believes that he has averted a removal from the team for another Test. For he knows that a Sehwag or Tendulkar can fail a few times and not be culled from the team, but his place is in constant jeopardy.

Sad really. A batsman capable of taking a game away from an opposition in a session or two is now just another regular middle order guy. Seriously speaking, is today's Laxman any more dangerous than a Bell or a Kallis or a Chanderpaul? A huge fall for a person who once walked with the Gods.

I just wish that the fear of failure is removed from his line of sight and we can once again relish the free flowing willow that caresses the ball to the boundary. Against the turn.

Dead rubber alert?

Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar are considered the pre-eminent batsmen of this generation. For a long time I had the feeling that Lara made a lot of his famous centuries in dead rubbers, wherein the fate of the series did not hinge on his suceeding or failing. I put that hypothesis to test, using StatsGuru on CricInfo.

For the purposes of this analysis I considered that any Test match in a Test series that would not alter the final outcome of the series was a "dead rubber" Test match. For example, in a 3 Test series if one team had won the first two Tests, then the third Test was a "dead rubber".

Sachin Tendulkar has (to date) scored 35 test centuries, of which I counted 3 dead rubber tons:
114 vs Australia 1991/92 at Perth
177 vs Australia 1997/98 at Bangalore
176 vs West Indies 2002/03 at Kolkatta

Brian Lara has (to date) scored 31 Test centuries, of which I counted 7 dead rubber tons:
375 vs England 1993/94 at St. John's
132 vs Australia 1996/97 at Perth
100 vs Australia 1998/99 at St. John's
221 vs Sri Lanka 2001/02 at Colombo (first innings)
130 vs Sri Lanka 2001/02 at Colombo (second innings)
400 vs England 2003/04 at St. John's
226 vs Australia 2005/06 at Adelaide

I may be biased, but I think my hypothesis is supported to an extent. Lara has finished quite a few seires with a bang and is remembered for that.

On a whim, I also checked to see how their centuries stacked up with their team's results. This is what I found:

Wins - Lara 8, Tendulkar 12
Draws - Lara 10, Tendulkar 15
Losses - Lara 13, Tendulkar 8

Here, the picture is not clear as valid arguments can be made by supporters of both players.

Explanation

In a previous post I used the phrase - "GOAT discussions". The acronym stands for - Greatest Of All Time.

("GOAT" is the title of a recent, humongous biography of Muhammad Ali. When I say humongous, I mean humongous - GOAT, which is nearly 800 pages long, weighs almost 34 kgs (75 lbs) and is 50 cm x 50 cm (20" x 20") in size).

As Time Goes By

During my undergraduate days, 3 close friends and I invented a new game.

My university had an indoor sports facility that featured a TT table and a badminton court (usually unoccupied since shuttlecocks are well beyond a student's budget as the feathers break too quickly). The line for the TT table was always long and one day, tired of waiting for our turn, the four of us invented Tenniton. A game that is played on a badminton court, with a (plastic) table tennis ball, featuring lawn tennis rules. It quickly became our favourite sport and we spent almost every evening playing for hours till dinner time.

And we got really good at it - Sravan was as steady as a rock, Anand (the best TT player amongst us all) was able to produce exaggerated spin and bounce with his top and side spins, Verma (a Boris Becker fan) was a relentless serve-and-volleyer, and I was able to control the ball better than any of them and (in those days) was able to run down almost every shot.

I can count on one finger the number of times I lost a set in all the years we played the game. When it came to Tenniton, I was the undisputed, undefeated, and (unfortunately) undocumented #1 player in the whole world.

I haven't played the game since I left that place, but I have often thought of it. Everytime a player is said to be "in a zone" or is talked about in "GOAT" discussions, I have flashbacks to tenniton. Jordan, Tendulkar, Federer, Woods, Schumacher - I know exactly how it must feel to dominate a sport, knowing that on that given day no matter what new wrinkles an opponent throws at you, you have an answer for it. It is a feeling like no other. You do feel invincible.

Oh, how I wish I could play it, play it again for old time's sake...

For a few dollars more

They say everything evens out in the end.

Earlier today, at the grocery store, the lady at the check-out counter returned my change to me - but miscounted and gave me an additional $10 bill. As she was counting the money I knew she had messed up. So when she handed me the money, I told her that she had done so, and returned the bill. I could have walked out and she would not have missed the money till it was time for them to count the day's take. But I didn't.

And even earlier today, I renewed my membership in a scholastic organization and realized, after the fact, that I had been charged the student rate. I sent them an email clarifying that I was no longer one, and forked up an additional $22 to cover the difference.

Jerry Seinfeld once demonstrated in a memorable episode of his popular sitcom that things always have a way of evening out.

As I was driving home a thought occurred to me - what if it does not even out? In that case I am short by $32. Or maybe over the years I have accumulated a positive balance of $32 in my ledger and today was the day it all evened out.

Aiiyyaaayyyy, the idle mind is, indeed, a devil's workshop.

Words from deep within

A few years ago a friend went through some depressing times. She tried to talk to me about her situation but always became tongue-tied and frustrated that she was unable to describe it. So I encouraged her to write what she was feeling. Her attempts to articulate what she was going through resulted in many essays, and one poem. Here is the poem:

(And for those amateur psychologists out there - the "friend" is not an oblique reference to myself!!)

The River

The river makes me smile, it makes me happy and calm
it flows and winds and talks to me.
Nothing in the world can be better than the cool fresh breath of mountain air blowing over my body high on a bridge above the water...
and then I watch, just slowly creeping around the bend is a misty fog.
It is coming for me and it passes over me softly. Talking to me as it passes all the furrowed lines upon my brow...

The smell of trees and whitewater and earth...it's like medicine. But they dont try and they ask nothing of me - they just are....existing forever in every form imaginable.
Can't help but give in to it. It will be ok, as long as I stay here..but at that moment the fog - which came partially from the river - gets thick and the cold seeps in.

It knows what I want and turns me away...but not just yet..
The river jumps and swirls sending me back to the other place - where? Where I am supposed to be, I guess. I listen. It knows. Suddenly I know, too. And I go away.
But somehow driving slowly away, I hear it still, tilling my mind over and over.

I'll be back, I think...I'll always be here, it says.

-- J.S.
May 2003