This is very bad coming

from a professional writer
It assumes Harbhajan used the word "Monkey" in the incident. How can he assume that?
May be Bhajji should sue the writer !!

Interesting article

by Dileep on dropping Dravid and Ganguly.

I agree with him!!

Though I disagree on some aspects

of the article. Its a nice one by Vir Sanghvi !!

Hilarious

Read the nice article on taking sick leave at work

An excerpt

"One exception came in this gem forwarded to me: an employee’s text
message to his team leader. “I’m not coming in to office today because
I’m not well. Please don’t call me as I will be attending my
sister-in-law’s wedding.”

Now that kind of honesty, I am sure, made his manager sick."

Scary thoughts

on US dollar....

Lets see

Well, an interesting study

on gender based IQ differences.

Will I agree with the study results?
I am not answering that !!

Viru

Viru is back. He has played extremely well in the last 2 matches. It is very nice to see him back where he belongs.

Well done man!!

He deserved the Man of the Match.
Anyway!!

What is this?

Innings Batsman Scores Balls
1 Sehwag 63 152
1 Tendulkar 153 205


2 Sehwag 151 236
2 Tendulkar 11 36


The match ends in a draw and the Man of the Match goes to Tendulkar.

Why? I just can't understand. Soring runs on a 5th day pitch is much harder than scoring runs on first day. Any damn fool knows that. Except people who adjudicate the Man of the Match. On top of all this Sehwag also got 2 wickets!! I just can't see how this can happen!!
Add to this that no Indian batsman even scores 20. This is ludicrous.

Well good to see

some people from the other side accepting this

A very nice article

by Amit Varma.
I think his take is very sensible on the issue of national pride and honor.
Everybody should be free to do whatever he or she wants to do. Nobody should force individuals to do anything.

Running

Finally I crossed the 20 mile barrier. Today I ran 21 miles (I walked for a substantial distance!!)

But I think this will be my longest run till the marathon. Hopefully I will run longer on that day.

Adam Gilchrist retires

A great wicket-keeper batsman retires!
He was the greatest wicket-keeper combination that I have come across in cricket (may be the best ever in cricket!!)

More importantly he was a nice guy, a thing thats so rare in Australians

I wish him luck in whatever he takes up in the future.

A nice article

on the five great Indians

Hmmm

"I go to bed with the remote on my bedside table. Wake up and smell the coffee? No, wake up and watch the cricket. It's much more invigorating." - Soumya Bhattacharya

Do I agree?

No. But a very close one.

Can't believe what i am witnessing!

I am watching one of the greatest performances I have ever watched on the tennis court. Jo Wilfrud Tsong has played a match that would have made Federer proud.
Where do I start?
- Should I talk about his wonderful serve
- his skillful volleying (especially the drops and half-volley pickups)
- his amazing forehands
- his doublehanded crosscourt
- his attitude
- his charishma

You name it. Jo Wilfred Tsonga has got it.

The way he played was simply indescribable. It was reminiscent of Federer dismantling Roddick in Wimbledon semis-finals that made me a die hard Fed fan. Tsonga has nearly matched it (He was close I will tell you that much)

I have never felt sympathy for Nadal. Today I wanted to cry for him!

Tsongo where have you been man.

A small incident to describe how he played. (i can come up with 10 or so)

He served a good serve. Line umpire thought the ball was right. But the chair umpire over-ruled. By the time over-rule happened, Nadal hit the ball into the net. But Tsongo challenged the chair umpires call and won the challenge. However, the chair umpire asked them to replay the point. That was meaningless because there was no way Nadal would have played differently because the over rule was after Nadal's ball hit the net. And to add to all this, there was a small matter of a breakpoint against Tsongo. So he had a huge verbal argument with the Chair. but the chair asked them to replay the point. Well he goes back and hits 3 aces in a row. Nadal can only watch.

Tsonga on song!!

Well, was he on the hunk list yesterday?
I can't see why he is not.

India at Adelaide

It was interesting and welcome that Kumble won the toss and elected to bat. India went in with five bowlers (as I expected and hoped they would not). Irfan at openers slot did not do very well. But Viru played decently for his 63. Tendulakr's and Laxman's partnership was a crucial one. As always, Dravid and Laxman got out just before session ended (Laxman was about 10-12 overs left). Somehow that destroys the momentum. Anyway, I hope Tendulakr and Dhoni can bridge a partnership and take the score along to 450+

Tomorrow promises to be interesting!

Well, Ana does not dissapoint

It was interesting to see such a "girly" girl with so much grit and determination. Can't ask for more. Looks like I have two people to support seriously.
Well, it was a very hard fought match for Ivanovic. She came through. Now there is only one hurdle on the way. I hope she can cross it (though its a rather tall one in the form of Sharapova)

Five bowlers or four?

Well, this will be the puzzle that Anil Kumble the captain will have to answer before he picks the side tomorrow. Ishant and RP need to be there. Irfan bowled and batted well, so he can play the role of an all rounder. Then Bhajji can come back into the team. But with Sehwag in the team, having bhajji will just make it too many options for Kumble and one of the 5 bowlers is going to be under bowled. I know it might sound strange but I will go in with one spinner (Kumble), use Sehwag (and Sachin) judiciously and get Kaarthick in for Jaffar. This means the batting order is not affected. Kaarthick comes in for Jaffar and rest of the team stays as it is. But its not likely to happen. But lets see!!

When can I do this?

Dusko, from Serbia.......
"It's 5.25 AM in Serbia, but all we are in a front of TV, watching fabulous Serbs (ana anf jelena). Bravo, Ana! Go ahead, Nole!"



I hope to be watching an Indian like that in second week of the grand slam sometime in my life.

A woman tennis player

After Steffi Graff retired there was a small void in life. From then on till now I never had someone to cheer for in women's tennis. Today that has changed. Until she retires I shall swear my allegiance to Ana Ivanovic. I will admit her looks attracted me more than her game last year. But the way she defeated Venus Williams changed my opinion of her. Now that the void is gone I have an additional burden of taking two people to victories in grand slams.
So here I come Australian Open. I need to ensure my people win both the singles championships.

PS: Of course I am referring to Federer for the uninitiated in my fan following

How can you let such stupid things

happen

The spin trio

Tony Greg on his show said
"Kumble is not as good as Murali or Warne"

I beg to differ. Why is Kumble inferior to either of them?

The current generation of spinners have achieved things that most spinner earlier did not achieve. Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble have claimed more than 600 wickets. They are all great spinners in their own right. However, whenever the question about who is the best spinner comes the argument is always between Warne or Murali. What I find unbelievably hard to consider is Kumble is not even considered . The argument goes like, well he does not spin the ball. I will simply put it this way - Is it because his way of getting wickets is not glamorous. He might not be as good a showman as Warne, but he never got so badly trashed by the best team he came across (check Warne's average versus India and corresponding figures for Kumble against Australia and Murali against Australia). Kumble performs way better than Murali when he plays Australia (even if you look at home and away separately!!)

In fact if you are looking only at the number of tests Murali took lot fewer tests compared to warnie and Kumble to claim the wickets that he did. But among Kumble and Warne - surprise surprise - Kumble did it faster. So why is it so obvious that Kumble is inferior to Warnie? Another important aspect often neglected is McGrath was there for Warnie to pick the top order and get middle order exposed to warnie. Kumble had to face the brunt of every top order batsman. But I will never just say that Kumble is better than Warne. They are three different bowlers with contrasting styles of their own and genuinely great players in their own right. There is no reason to compare them and no logic to say one is better than the other. All I am asking for is treat the three equally. Everybody has their personal favorites but that does not mean you cannot appreciate other great players!!

An open mind when talking will help.

Getting back into my schedule

I am working hard to get back into my groove. It has been sometime since I put my work at the top of my list. Its probably been 4 months. I think I am starting to get it bak up there again. So i am happy and hope to continue the progress. Tomorrow needs to one hell of a productive day!!

Lets see!!

Guess what

Ganguly has been dropped from the oneday squad. The reason for that "It is necessary to have a younger side to improve fielding through youngsters". I don't have any issues with that reason. Only thing I want is someone else in the team also needs to be shown the way out for exactly the same reason. Be consistent is all I am asking for!!

Too good

8 ౮ ८ VIII ٨ ৮ 八 ח ๘ ੮ ೮ ൮ ௮;

8 wickets is all I ask for

btw - we did get the 8 wickets :P

Young lad shakes the titan

Ishant rattles Ponting

Watching sports

Off late I am realizing I become very anti-social when I watch sports - be it cricket or tennis - I seriously am interested in. There are only a few people with whom I can watch the match. The exact reasons I am not sure. But I do not feel comfortable in the company of people who comment a lot without understanding the game and also those who are not as serious as I am. When I watch the game I get seriously involved. I don't like banter and comedy going on. I know I should take a chill pill. But I prefer to be serious and alone!
Federer makes it to the fourth round.

Lets see how he and India fare in Australia from now on

Two good things tonight

India beat Australia.
So did Federer

What have we got here?

A test match in Perth - India don't stand a chance (with the pace there)
A four man fast attack - Indian batsman can't play fast bowling (Remember Shaun Tait's promise - he was planning to bowl a 170 kph ball. Interestingly he did not cross 150 and even tail enders screwed him)
Australia - After Sydney India is down and out (especially 2-0 down)

But against all odds we become the first team to defeat Australia in the last 5 years. Well the team to do it prior to this - India.

Australia streak of 16 matches ended again by India!!

India

on the threshold of victory.... Go baby

One of the most stupidest ideas you will find!

is here
Can happen only in rediff!!

Interesting facts on Kumble

Kumble Vs Warne comparison Kumble took his 100th wicket in his 21st Test when Warney took 23 tests. 200th wicket for Kumble came in the 47th when Warney finished the task in the 42nd test. 300 was touched in 66th test whereas Warne completed the feat in 63rd test.

Kumble reached the 400th wicket in 85th but Warne took 92 tests to reach there. The 500 figure for Kumble came in 105th test and Warne lagged behind to achieve this with 108 Test. The 600 mark was touched by him in his 124th test beating Warne’s numbers 126th Test.

More details here

Amazing piece on

Anil Kumble. I salute for you man!!

Gift

The gift has arrived. Its from Wimbledon and brought to me by a good friend.
What else do I have to say. It makes me happy!!

The card

The cards were amazing and made me feel special. Thats a feeling I will cherish!!

Back from DC

Was a nice trip. The entire week was hectic with me getting little sleep. Added to that access to internet was intermittent. On the friends side its good to see him in a different state with a relationship and all. I pulled his leg a lot. I feel happy for him and wish him well on that front. Also, I got to see something that blew my brains. It is still beyond my comprehension. But may be I will learn to understand such things.
Also got to meet another friend who I get to meet rarely. There is something that always makes me happy with that friend. Good to see as always!
Then coming to conference - the primary reason I went there for - it was interesting. I went with an opinion that posters are a pain. But realized its better than presentations in many aspects. I was fortunate to interact with a number of people and meet some industry and academic professionals. Some comments, criticisms and encouragements provided were valuable.

Have lots of stuff to take care now that I am back.
Also, surely I need to start looking at balancing my social life better. The last month I think I spent a lot more time than required. There were good reasons for that. But I feel I overspent time even for the reasons. Anyway, you learn in life and I hope to do s

Another article

that attacks the mindless ones brutally by greatbong

Ridiculous article

on Tata acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover

Nice one

on resolutions by GK

Quote

To invent an airplane is nothing; to build one is something. But to fly is everything - Lilienthal

Not bad

if you manage to get into one of these
Now that I know how to swim I deserve a chance. Don't I?

A very balanced article

finally by Sambit Bal

This says it all

about the test match in Sydney

What do you think Ricky?

This is hilarious

The thought of this happening in an international match. Oh God!

Hmmm

I am noticing something.
Am I correct? I don't know. Only time will tell.

I wish everybody was as sane

as Michael Epis

Where does the issue of money come from?

In every other sport writer's comments ICC is spineless because they have heeded to BCCI and removed Steve Bucknor from Perth test. To all the writer's I ask a simple question. Have you followed Indian cricket enough to realize that Bucknor has a very bad history with the way he umpires in matches involving India? I have seen him umpiring extremely well (infact unbelievably) when India is not involved. So, as far as I am concerned it is fare request in terms of BCCI. If ICC had done its homework in the appointment of umpire he would never have been allowed. Moreover, when ICC keeps track of the number of correct decisions made by umpires why can't it keep track of the decisions based on each country. You see that an umpire gets too many wrong over a matter of time its time to see that the umpire does not stand in the matches involving that country. If the umpire does not have a history its fine. As far as I see it,its common sense. Well, what I hear from writers makes me believe that common sense is not common. I hate to hear that ICC is just a puppet for BCCI.

Also, one more thing that I am not happy with is the way writers say Australians play their cricket hard. Well good for them. I would prefer if the writers will say they will attempt to win at any cost including stooping to strategies like provoking opponents, pressurizing umpires and choosing to define integrity as they want it. If thats playing hard well I have nothing more to say. India does not play hard. Actually no other team does that and I hope will never do that. Somehow, my opinion of Australia has taken a battering because of the articles I see in their press. Some of them are utter nonsense. Remember the caste article in Sydney Morning Herald.

Anyway I will wait for Perth test to begin.

Clearly, YSR is taking it too far

as described here
I hope better sense prevails in the next elections and congress is ousted in AP !!

Weird nights

Yesterday and today night have been weird. I cannot exactly point whats bothering me but something seriously is. Is it the cricket? Is it my work? or Is it the ridiculous fight? I know for sure none of these things are worth this loss of sleep. But I being I can't help!!

Hopefully I can get some work done!!

Kumble

The more I watch his interview the more I admire this man. Amazing attitude towards the game and life in general. Wish if I could take some determination and hard work from him!!

For those who haven't seen it

Good one

Something I never understand

People who are very good at making fun of others really miss the point when similar things are said about them. Why can't they see the fact that other people also can take seriously what they keep saying.

Anyway, its a matter of being sensible is all i can say.

One guy with sense

finally on the bhajji issue

Amazing article

Nails everything thats wrong with Australia and Australian cricket

A loss?

Note: Profanities exist. I am not responsible

The Australian team on display are the worst team you can ever find to have ruled cricket. They surely did not deserve the victory. More importantly, the man of the match must have been awarded to Steve B****** Bucknor and Mark B****** Benson for the way they umpired. They surely deserved it. To talk of this victory as they achieved it is ridiculous. If you get 8-10 important decisions all in your favor you better win or else you need to be a bunch of losers (Bangladesh would have won it with this luck). Even with so many decisions in Australia's favor they only won with 8 minutes to spare clearly highlighting how well India played.

Please spare a thought for Kumble. He bowls his heart out to get 8 wickets in 2 innings. Then he comes out to play 100 balls valiantly only to just miss out a draw. Its painful on Dravid, Ganguly and even RP Singh the way they were given out. If a guy like me who just watched the match feels so bad, I do not know how the players are feeling. Its a sad day for cricket. If you do not agree with me go f*** yourself

I have, till today, believed that umpiring errors will even out in a match. But today I feel it is ridiculous that with so much technology available such outrageous errors are permitted.

I am impressed by the way the Indian team has maintained silence over the umpiring issue so far. But the match is over and they better get it before the ICC and get the stupid umpires out for the next match

Surely for the way India played they deserved something better than this !!

Bullshit umpiring

This is the not the first time umpiring has affected a test match but clearly it is the first time I have seen such biased and ridiculous umpiring. I don't even have words to describe how stupid it feels.

US presidential race

Good to see Obama do well. Also interesting was Huckabee's victory on the Republican side!

2nd Test Day 3 update

India finally managed to overcome the Australian first innings score. Laxman batted superbly yesterday. Today Saurav looked very comfortable until he got out. He had a century for himself until he played the loose shot. Tendulkar however managed to get the elusive century. An important contribution also came from bhajji. His innings was very important in the context of the game. The tail did wag for India today.

Well, people who know me know how I feel about Sachin. Today he played a very important innings. However, his tactics after bhajji got out were not very clever. At least once Ishant Sharma was there he should have played his strokes. Its meaningless of him to expect Ishant to play 5 brett lee balls consistently for 6-7 overs. If he could do that he would be playing in the team as a batsman. He should have started playing some strokes. I did not see him injured or even try anything to see he was tired. I would have appreciated if he got out trying to go for the big one. Of course that would lower his average!!. Taking a single of the first ball and exposing tail to a fast bowler like Lee is ridiculous in my book. I give him credit for a wonderful innings but like everytime he leaves a sour taste with how he plays. This is precisely the reason why he does not deserve the respect of many of his contemporaries. Well, many won't like it but its sadly true!!

(It was good to see Harsha asking a question regarding this to Gavaskar and as expected Gavaskar patronized Tendulkar! He might be tired or he might be confident of Ishant. Whats the point of his being there when Ishant defends for overs without getting runs. Fortunately Ishant scored so it was not that bad)

Another disappointing part of today was Yuvi's and Dhoni's batting. They need to better than that!!

Anyway, India have a chance to exert some pressure tomorrow and lets see how it goes!

The upper class

problems in 5 star hyotels are highlighted here by Shoba Narayan

Well, Vir Sangvi

raises interesting questions in his piece for Mint

2nd Test day 2

Well, what a day. Australia worsened the situation with their batting. However, one thing was clear the pitch was a good one.
Indians started off badly with Jaffer falling cheaply. Laxman came in and what followed was an unbelievably elegant innings by VVS. He loves Australia and their bowling. Some of his shots were audacious. He easily flicked balls from outside off-stump to midwicket. It was breathtaking. At the other end Dravid was struggling so hard to get even singles. Somehow he managed to put up a good partnership of 175 runs. But both of them got out in quick succession leaving a lot now on sachin and dada. Hoping that they will deliver!!

Only Laxman can invoke such awe

from any writer, for now its Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

2007 and books

The last year was my best year of reading novels comfortably. I have read a number of books including fiction, classics and non-fiction. I hope I can read as many books even this year.
Some of my favorite books
Kite Runner
Captain Corellis Mandolin
Count of Monte-Christo
The curious incident of a dog at the night-time
Wisdom of crowds
Stop sleep walking through life

A hilarious one

by Amit

A good article

by greatbong

2nd test Down Under

It was India's day till Brad Hogg joined Andrew Symonds. Well, lets start from the start, India lost Zaheer to a heel injury and went in with Ishant. RP lead the attack well, by picking up Jacques and Hayden cheaply. Ponting and Hussey started steadying the Australian innings when Ganguly got Ponting to nick a ball on leg side. But, umpire Benson could not hear/see it. So Ponting continued merrily. By lunch Australia were threatening a huge score.
The post-lunch session is one of the weirdest you will see. Australia lost 4 wickets for around 20 runs. Ponting was given lbw of an inside edge. The irony was that Benson again failed to see the inside edge. The singhs worked well to get rid of ponting, hussey, clarke and gilly. Then Brad hogg came out and started to play like there was no tomorrow. That's when everything started to go wrong. Andrew Symonds was given not out twice on decisions that would have been given out 999 out of 1000 times. It was absolutely stupid to see such poor umpiring decisions ruining the spirit of Indian team. Well guess what, Symonds goes on to make a huge century and is still unbeaten. With that the chances of restricting Australia to a small total vanished.

Let's see if India has any luck on day 2.

Down Under

One of the worst umpiring days you will ever watch in cricket

2008 begins

I wish all my readers a Happy and prosperous New Year.

The new year's eve started amazingly with all the food and drinks. I enjoyed mixing a variety of drinks and i hope everybody else also felt the same. The discussion that followed was fun as usual.

The year began well on the personal front.

On the work front I hope I can be productive!