To review or not?

What a test match we had at Trent Bridge! One of the many examples why five day cricket is exhilarating. However, a few supposedly sour incidents did occur which threatened to take a bit of sheen of the amazing display of cricket we had in all the five days. The UDRS.

It was never meant to be a strategic move up a captain's sleeve for Clarke to lament in the post match press conference that he didn't use it wisely. It was supposed to correct blatant mistakes committed by the on-field umpire. Therefore, why not spare the captain and let only the umpires refer it a few said. If I remember correctly, umpire reviews for lbw were tried once in the early 2000s. If we want to go back to that then we must consider why it was discontinued in the first place. If this decision to review rests with the umpire then, like in the case of run out reviews, he may review everything, just to be 100% sure. Also, we must remember that the DRS is not accurate enough to give the correct decision in close situations. Therefore, an umpire review in this case may seem more like a game of luck where you hope the DRS will give a decision in your favour.

If the aim of DRS is to eliminate the howler, expecting the on field umpire, who himself gave the decision, to review it, seems a bit absurd. Either the players should have the option of challenging the decision or the third umpire must be allowed to overrule any decision.
If the players are given the power to challenge decisions, they would obviously take it every time(pertaining to LBWs) hoping the ball might have pitched outside leg, hit outside off etc which is fine. What the system has to prevent is that they do not review the most obvious of dismissals.
Here some sort of a decisions upheld count can be maintained for each player and team. A bad reviewing history can attract penalties which can act as a deterrent.

DRS is obviously just a very trivial part in cricket. The battle between bat and ball is far more pleasing than watching a 3D illustration of the ball's path or the heat generated due to friction between bat and ball. However, to ensure that a player's character isn't questioned and no team gets a raw deal, technology must now be an integral part of the game with the ICC standardising and paying for it.

The F-word in cricket

Last week, I happened to be at Kanpur appearing for an examination. I didn't crack it but, something unexpected happened that day. Allegations of the F-word, Fixing against three IPL players. One of them, who I felt, if nurtured, could have achieved a lot for India. To say, we are surprised to hear about a fixing scandal would be naive but, yes, disappointment would be rife. In a country where stuff as trivial as fodder to as intangible as airwaves can be milked for personal gains, cricket was the only positive news left to read. How soon would this bubble burst was what everyone feared. Sadly, we had this coming too.

Last year, we had a 'rotten apple', Mohnish Mishra. He too was discarded under a misconception that the other apples are fine. We had accusations of auction and election rigging. There is a case of the cricketers being paid more than their bid value by means of gifts. No inquiry was ever conducted(or, at least the findings of it were not made public, or may be, the allegations are indeed correct), just false promises from the "caretakers" of Indian cricket.

If there were a list of the top opaque sporting bodies in the world, very few eyebrows would be raised if the BCCI is somewhere near the top. But hey, isn't that how our country functions? How can we expect the BCCI to be any different? In a "chalta hai" country, where you aren't guilty unless you are caught red handed, where the parent body is accused of rampant corruption, will our cricketers be able to resist the temptation? If he does, he is an honorable man. If he doesn't, he is just like us, an opportunist, a realist, a person who made the most of the situation at hand.

Our cricketers, who, some day were somebody's neighbors, someone's classmate, someone's 'that kid across the street', who were brought up just like us, be any different from us, loving the game we love? Wouldn't we mind earning an extra buck, if it literally doesn't hurt anybody? Add to this, the possibility of not getting caught. Isn't that an incentive for sportsmen who have just a few years to earn their livelihood unlike the more fortunate salaried class who can do so till the age of 60? It is difficult to guess what we would have done had we been in his place. However, if he were in our shoes, he might have jumped the traffic signal if a policeman wasn't around, he might have bought an item or two from some of the 'illegal' street hawkers, he might have asked for favours from a nepotist to smoothen some process.

The rot seems to be endemic and would take something more than discarding the rotten egg to cure it.

On a positive note, maybe our film industry could learn a lesson or two on scripts from some of our cricketers, administrators and bookies. Follow a well-made script and reap a lot in returns!

A look at Indian cricket...

1990's : India is considered the strongest batting lineup. India tours abroad. India lose the series but for some brilliant individual performances.

2000-2008 : India's batting is considered best on paper. India tours abroad and wins a test once in a while.

2008-2010 : India is rarely tested abroad. India find themselves at the top of Test rankings. After all India can boast of the strongest batting lineup in world cricket! Dhoni becomes some sort of a talisman who can do no wrong(mainly because of winning a few T20 tournaments which is considered cricket by some and the world cup on pitches where even Yuvraj Singh managed to pick five wickets)

2011 : Two tough foreign tours. It's time to get the rankings in order.

Help us get Facebook to unfriend coal | Greenpeace International

Help us get Facebook to unfriend coal | Greenpeace International

Autonomy, anyone?

63 years and counting... When will Jammu and Kashmir get the honour it deserves? If you ask any Indian whether J&K should be a part of India, the answer is always a scornful yes. As long as J&K is shown in the political map of India, most of us are happy. The thing which our political class forgot is to win their hearts.
For the Kashmiris, the army is the enemy and the politicians, mere opportunists.
If we want them really to be a part of India, we should treat them in a much better manner. There are numerous incidents of humans rights violations, young Kashmiris taken to the local police station for mere "questioning" only to never return again...
Yes I know that the rulers of Kashmir decided to be a part of India back then but it does not mean that we can make their life a living hell.
I believed Omar had it in him to give J&K a better future but alas, Kashmir is a riddle that no person can solve.
Also, one must feel for those armymen who are out there serving their country(??) for a negligible salary living in near inhospitable conditions.
Give greater autonomy a chance, these many years have done no good to them...


A peaceful heaven will ensure a peaceful earth...

Jose Mourinho and the art of winning

His critics may think he is ultra defensive, he might have taken the word "beautiful" out of the beautiful game, or you may simply put him as "boring" but HE DOESNT CARE!
He knows how to win games, how to beat opponents which are far superior to his on paper... but games are not won on paper, it is won on the field and he makes that happen.
Boring teams win games by a margin of 1-0, Jose wins 2-0, what more do these critics want? He has been excellent throughout his career.
The game against Barcelona was one of the best I have ever seen. That is the way a two legged game is played. An Inter side playing with 10 men against a rampaging Barca with 62 minutes still left on the clock deserve the best. One got to see both sides of Inter's game over the two legs. They were at their attacking best when they won coming from a goal down at home and were completely organised in the away game where they only had to defend their lead.
Had Roman Abramovich been a bit more patient, Chelsea would have won that elusive Champions League title which Jose has now won for Inter Milan.
He is a meticulous planner, astute thinker... a gift to the game.
The next big test for the Special One will be Real Madrid if he does go there as a manager. Even Fabio Capello had a torrid time there and it will be interesting to see how Jose plays his cards because unlike his previous teams, Porto, Chelsea and Inter, this team has no dearth of stars and it will be quite different for Jose to serve Real's never ending demands to win by playing attractive football.
A salute to this genius...

Everything is coming to an end...

These four years at SKNCOE have been nothing less than marvellous for me.  Four years I have been living in the same hostel with some of the best friends I have ever had.
Starting from the days when there used to be just one common radio, one common room(which usually would end up being Sunny's room) to the days where there are least 2 laptops in every room... It has been quite a journey. The cakes, eggs and everything else that were thrown at us have made our birthdays worth remembering. Those late night movie shows at Mangala when we used to walk all the way back to Swargate was quite an experience. The road cricket matches which we played were nothing less than exhilarating.

I would like to thank Amit, Sunny, Pratik, Kiran, Piyush, Sagar,  Sumit, my room mates, Rohit and Maddy, my ex-room mates, Chetan, Mahesh, Vishu and every other person from our hostel for all those wonderful times we had together.

Moving on to the friends from my college...
those Awesome 21 + others

They are simply superb... Masters in some field or the other... be it 'chid chid' or choosing fanta as a possible alternative to water or crackin some of the lamest jokes ever, everyone has a specialisation. You people are LAI BHARI!!!
A special thanks to Manasee for being a Narvilkar!!! She made the exam a tag team match between us and the question paper. I am glad that you are my 2 AM friend for patiently listening to all the crap that I talk about.
Amol Gaikwad deserves a special mention because if it had not been for him, Ruchira may not have talked to us ever!
Why didnt we become friends earlier??? :(
Now to those friends who have been with me right from the second year...
The parties that we celebrated together where the minority vegan group always had some problem or the other was just awesome.
You guys have checked off a lot of restaurants in my "to visit" list.
Trips to Panshet, Khadakwasla, Baneshwar, Tamhini Ghat, Malegaon would have been boring without you guys...
I will miss those really long walk back to the parking lot from our college when we used to take atleast 3-4 stops in between to decide what we are planning to do next.

wish we people could have had more time together...

Obituaries:

My dear Nokia 5200, which was stolen right under my nose(literally!),  I am sorry, I couldnt care for you as much as I loved you. I hope that you are happy where ever you are.

Also, Nokia 6320i which was stolen while travellin to Kerala, wish you the same.

PS: I am hoping that things will remain the same... well, at least I can wish that u people remain as awesome as u are now and all of us remain FRIENDS FOR LIFE!!!

Leave her alone

Sania Mirza is in the news again, and this time it is not for her early exits or injuries.
She is getting married(again!)... :(
The problem that every one seems to have is that she is marrying Shoaib Malik.
Yes, even I am thinking that Sania deserves a better husband than Shoaib. But come on guys, it is her choice. She knows what is right for her and what is not. The thing which I find very shocking is that her Indianness is being questioned, people have lost their respect for her (Ummm... excuse me! may I know why?)! That is totally uncalled for. She represents India and it is always an honour to represent your country.
These Sainiks think as if this is the first time two sportspersons of different nationalities are getting married! The best example is of Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi. The Germans didnt call her treacherous!!!
So sit back, enjoy the wedding and hope that Shoaib brings her some luck on the court!!!

Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger is one of the most respected football managers in the world today. He has been at the helm for arsenal for the past 10 years. He is a firm believer of "beautiful football" that we get to hear these days. He thinks that he can make his team play like Barcelona.

His frustration was clearly seen when he accused Aston Villa for playing the long ball game. He thinks that only his side plays in a manner which is pleasing to any football lover.

For him, the manner in which they play is more important than winning. Yes I know sportsman spirit etc. is all there but what matters in this competitive world is the number of trophies you win and sadly Arsenal are not winning any.

One may argue that this is the same manager who has won many laurels for them in the past but one must also see the team he had at his disposal back then. The likes of Henry, Bergkamp, Ljunberg etc. they were masters. The current team is very young and inexperienced and they have only Cesc to rely upon since Van Persie is out injured.

Arsene needs to spend this summer if they have to compete with the big boys...

Best football league in the world...

This season the English Premier League seems 2 b d most open league. At least the top 5-6 teams can still think of winning the title whereas in the other leagues by this time at most there will b 2 or 3 contenders. Also the relegation battle is also heating up. The difference between 10th and 20th position team is just 7 points. That is the beauty f English football where no team can be taken lightly... Hail FA!!!