Posts filed under 'Current Affairs'
Mumbai Indians
lost horribly by 10 wickets against the
Deccan Chargers yesterday. Gilchrist struck a mammoth 9 sixes for the Chargers scoring the fastest hundred of the tournament in 42 balls to blow the Indians away. This makes Mumbai Indians the only team to have lost all their 4 encounters in the
Indian Premier League (IPL). Being a true blue
Mumbaikar, I support Mumbai Indians whole heartedly although my loyalties are wearing thin after the successive losses and the
Harbhajan controversy which is the saddest thing to happen in Indian sports. On the other hand the team doesn’t seem to be gelling together and there seems to be a complete lack of strategy and decision making. The openers Ronchi (pronounced ‘Ronki’) and Jayasuriya are waltzing to different tunes. Ronchi in particular got out to a wide R P Singh delivery yesterday trying to hit it over the slips. As for Jayasuriya, in the 90s he along with Romesh Kaluwitharana were the dashing Sri Lankan opening pair who instilled fear in the opposition with their explosive batting style in the first 15 overs. The match was normally won during that period as well. At present he seems to lack a good batting partner at the other end and looks over burdened by the huge responsibility and expectations of scoring big runs. Everyone is aware that if he gets going with Sachin, there will be enough runs on the board to demoralize any opposition of the day. I believe Sachin’s recovery would coincide with that of the team’s as well and that’s the best that I can hope for.
Other than Jayasuriya, Shaun Pollock and Dwayne Bravo are the two well-known match winners in the side who have failed to keep up with their reputation. We also have Dilhara Fernando who surprisingly has not been included in the playing XI uptil now — we have been relying more on the unimpressive Ashish Nehra. Including Dilhara would mean leaving a batsman out of the side since one can only play 4 foreigners in the final XI and Shaun Pollock has the ability to turn matches as a handy all-rounder and cannot be ignored. The promising young lads making their T20 debut like Saurabh Tiwary and Ajinkya Rahane will likely need time to accustom with the international standards of this faster version of the game. The question that begs an answer is whether Mumbai Indians which was bought for a huge sum (by Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries Limited) lagged behind in bidding for the right mix of professional players who could perform and inspire others to take up the mantle of winning. Whether we lack the right combination of talent or an inspiring leadership role model — only time can put all these questions aside and rest all the doubts forever.
We play the Kolkata Knight Riders next who went down to the Chennai Super Kings in their first loss of the season. They will be looking to hit back confidently against a depleted Mumbai Indians. At present, we seem to be lacking the grit and the initiative to push for a result in our favor. However, it’s imperative that we start winning now - 8 out of our remaining 10 matches to be precise to make ourselves worthy of qualifying for the semis and start worrying about the net run rate in case we are tied in the standings list. Time is running out for the Mumbai Indians. The road ahead seems to be tough and strewn with impossibilities.
Mumbai Indians - What’s in a name.
The name “Mumbai Indians” is devoid of any creativity, is dull and very uninspiring. It seems like a last ditch choice after an unsuccessful brainstorming session. If you note, every team in the IPL has chosen to highlight their regional or cultural taste (Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals) or let their name depict the underlaying character of their team or company (Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Bangalore Royal Challengers). On the contrary the title ‘Mumbai Indians’ interprets to be representative of a national side when in reality it is not “national”. The team has a good combination of both International and Indian players. It sounds odd then to have foreigners playing under the title of ‘Indians’ for Mumbai and therefore difficult to comprehend the rationale behind the name.
The title should have exemplified the dreams of the million strong citizens whose city is a participant in this regional league. The name could have been adjectives that highlight the diverse regional culture and ethnicity — the two strong points of this city. Mumbai is also a contrasting city which is modern, cosmopolitan, trendy, world class, et al apart from being traditional. A neutral name could have played a big role in charging up the morale of a team comprising mixed cultures and languages and boosted the excitement of the fans as well. Talking of which, in a tournament that involves rival metro cities from across India — Bangalore, Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai, etc., any fan supporting the Mumbai IPL team would consider himself to be a proud Mumbaikar first. We surely deserved a better designation along with a win.
Technorati Tags: mumbai indians, mukesh ambani, indian premier league, t20, cricket, bcci, sachin tendulkar
April 28th, 2008
As I was focusing on some work of the day, my colleague came running towards me and announced the launch of the much hyped Tata Motor’s 1 lakh car aptly named ‘Nano’. I was waiting for the event for a long time to come. It was being shown Live on TV from 11:30am onwards but by the time I reached, the ceremony had got over and the journalists and photographers had started crowding around the small car (I could only see the rooftop). After few minutes, I got the first glimpse of the white ‘Nano’ which was driven by Mr. Ratan Tata himself (coincidentally in gujarati ‘Nanu’ means small although pronounced differently). Just yesterday some channels were busy speculating the name of the small care - Atom, Jeh, etc.
Post the car launch there are discussions on the effect on the environment and the stress that it will put on India’s infrastructure, etc. On one hand I am happy that the Tata’s have launched a product which specific to a particular segment of the society. On the other, I shudder to think about when the car would flood the roads of Mumbai and the high possibility of a traffic snafu that it will generate. For this moment though, I am waiting to see the car run on the road pretty soon.
ยป Visit the Tata Nano Website
Technorati Tags: tata, nano, tata motors, ratan tata
January 10th, 2008
After the celebrations are over, this young Indian team will realize that they have etched their names in the annals of history forever. When the tournament started, nobody — the selectors included, ever thought they could win the inaugural edition of the T20 world cup. It’s a sign of good things to come for the Indian cricket — this young nextgen cricketers have no fear of reputation and just want to consistently perform for their country. We last won a world cup in 1983 in England and today we have done it again after 24 long years. Chak De India!
At one point in time of the match, India seemed to be losing the plot. In the last over though, the pakis needed just 5 runs of the last 3 balls and I had already given up hope. Just then I stared in complete disbelief at my TV screen when Misbah-ul-Haq hit that uneventful shot right into the waiting hands of Sreesanth, when he could have just played a straight bat shot. The commentators went ga-ga over his ” sound cricketing mind” but the Indians held their nerves to pulloff an incredible win. Everytime I went inside my room in complete disbelief, a wicket would fall for the Pakis. Considering this odd coincidence, I have decided to NOT watch cricket when India’s playing, to ensure that they win everytime. Here’s a summary of India’s road to the final victory.
Technorati Tags: India, ICC, BCCI, Twenty20, World Cup, Cricket, T20 World
September 25th, 2007
India and Pakistan never fail to entertain when they play each other. Be it Hockey or Cricket, their performances are keenly watched and scrutinized on both sides of the border. Yesterday’s match at the
World Twenty 20 in Kingsmead, Durban (South Africa) proved to be a nail-biting event unlike all their previous encounters.
First, it looked like India would be bowled out within 15 overs as they were tottering at 36/4 after Mohammed Asif picked up four Indian wickets. However, the Indians managed 141 in their 20 overs thanks to some hard hitting by Robin Uthappa who scored 50. Then defending their modest score, the Indians were gaining some ground early before Agarkar gave away 17 runs in his penultimate over and the match went down to the wire with 1 run required of just 1 ball. Sreesanth then bowled the last over of the match superbly to end the Pakistan innings at 141/7 in their 20 overs and the match was tied — a first for any Twenty20 International. A ‘Bowl out’ method — much similar to the penalty shootouts in Hockey and Soccer — was applied for an outcome despite both teams already qualifying for the Super8s from Group D.
The rules were simple — each team nominates 5 bowlers to bowl at the stumps. The team with the majority hits wins. Sehwag, Bhajji and Uthappa made no mistake to help India win 3-0 and keep its winning record against in world playoffs against Pakistan intact. The young Indian side maintained a characteristically cool head till the last ball which helped them snatch victory from the Pakistanis. The sad reality of going into a big tournament without a regular coach hasn’t come to hassle the Indians and the way they performed yesterday it seems there’s no requirement for one at the moment if they keep winning consistently. Great performance surely and I hope they bring back the world cup and with it the glorious days of Indian cricket.
Technorati Tags: bcci, world twenty20, icc, cricket, south africa, india, pakistan
September 15th, 2007
The law caught up with Sanjay Dutt but the timing was horribly wrong. He was sentenced to 6 years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs. 25,000 fine. A decade ago, he was the ‘Khalnayak’ who caught the imagination of the media, a skirt-chasing-long-hair poster boy who seemingly cared less about societal norms while stacking guns at his home. Today Sanju baba is Munnabhai who preaches non-violence - the darling of the masses, the mellowed middle-aged actor who’s a class apart from his Page 3 rivals, if he has any. The film industry stood firmly behind him this time than before - Ravi Chopra cancelling the premiere of his colourful saga ‘Naya Daur’ and co-stars writing odes on his character in the press. He might not be in the same class as his father, but Sanju is the hero of the common man.
The real jail isn’t going to be easy for an actor of reel life. He’ll appeal in the Supreme Court and cross his fingers tight for a reprieve from the judgement. With over 100 crore INR running on him, even the film fraternity would want him out quickly. Let’s hope and pray things turn out well and we are able to see another sequel of Munnabhai.
Technorati Tags: Sanjay Dutt, Munnabhai, 1993 Bombay Bomb Blasts
August 1st, 2007
