Can't argue with Karthik on this point

 Everyone get a life please...If a batsman is out on a stroll inspite of being warned, does that count as being in the spirit of the game? 

Murali Kartik is not amused by reactions on his "mankading" to get rid of Somerset's Alex Barrow in the LV County Championship

Well, Manmohan Singh might

finally be caught in the UPA web; that is an irony!

The chronology of the allocation process tells its own story, and goes some way towards demolishing Manmohan Singh’s case that since his government was only abiding by the policy drawn up in 1993, the original sin lies elsewhere. Between 1993 and 2005, during which period, India was barely stirring itself out of the slow-growth orbit and demand for coal wasn’t as high (and China’s own demand for mineral resources from around the world had not yet become monstrous),  only 70 coal blocks were allocated. But between 2004 and 2009, with coal prices soaring  on increased demand, principally from within India and from China, the UPA 1 government went into overdrive, allocating 142 coal blocks.

More tellingly, a flurry of allocations was made around the time of the May 2009 elections. In more than a few cases, as has been established, they were not even companies that had a track record in the mining space. Clearly, the attempt was to corner the coal blocks before a transparent system of auctions was implemented, sit on the hoard that they had thus secured, and sell them at a later date when prices rose even higher. Mining the coal from the “wombs of Mother Earth” as P Chidambaram so colourfully put it, was farthest from their minds.

Ugra

Usually, I am not a huge fan of Ugra's writing. But this is once I totally agree with her

Sixteen years after all is an entire generation - in 16 years, toddlers turn into teenagers, teenagers into the thirty-somethings, yuppies into the weary middle-aged. Sixteen years can be life-changing. Like thatpartnership in Kolkata. They did it, remember? Turned 'bat the whole day' from idiom to reality.
It is why the first stirrings of India's 2012 10-Test home season will contain, before everything else, the hollowness of departure. Like the turning away from a farewell handshake, the shutting of a door, the quiet after a goodbye on the telephone.

Another part of

the great batting quartet retires. Well, now all we will have is Tendulkar.

Laxman was a great contributor to Indian cricket victories. He played THE Innings by an Indian batsman; I think it will take a lot to beat that innings. He played many great ones too in chasing totals which is something none of the Indian batsman have mastered, By retiring the way hed did he ha sent out a message to the selectors that they are not planning for the future. It is unfortunate that players have to retire to force the selectors to make changes. 

Anyway, for today it is goodbye to VVS Laxman, a soft spoken Hyderabadi who made batting look elegant and easy at the same time. Probably he is the last specialist test batsman from India. 

Now even the PM

is caught in the corruption scandals. Good for UPA! This ensures all their leaders are consistent. It does not matter that the aspect of their consistency is corruption!

Can't disagree

with Aakash Chopra on this one

India are about to begin a very long home season, and this selection could have been used to make a statement of intent. Unfortunately, the out-going selection committee didn't see it as an opportunity; maybe they looked at it as a liability.

Full piece here

Another decent piece on the topic by Manjrekar

 

 

 

Seriously?

The unprecedented ethnic violence in Assam and the subsequent riots in Mumbai have created a scare in the Bodos living in Hyderabad.

Over 1,000 persons hailing from the north-eastern state, mostly Bodo tribals and working as security guards here, have fled the city fearing attacks from a particular community. More are likely to leave in the next few days leaving the private security industry in the state perplexed.

I would like to call a spade a spade. if Bangladeshi Muslims attacked Bodos in AP why can't the new article mention that? why should they use the ridiculous veil of a particular community. This is just double standard reporting of news