- Howardgate

- Yoyo MoYo indicating a return from “retirement” (they should come up with a whole new word for this state of “hibernation” Yoyo goes into every few months..)

- Issues galore for Pak on and off the field (losing a test match, captain resigning, general amusement via news items like this…link via Achettup on twitter)

- Chris Broad ignoring Aussie misdemeanors and reprimanding Asian players

- the whole Modi-IPL-BCCI saga

Do I hear you ask “So, what’s new?” Yeah, my point exactly…

What’s happening over the next 30 days?

Aus vs Pak – not worthy of any discussion

Bangladesh in England – yawn

Ind vs SL – unless the rain/run-fests turn into a semblance of a contest magically(or India is in a winning position due to some bizarre reason), count me out please!

Ind vs SL vs NZ – groan

Eng vs Pak – whatever!

Time to catch up on some reading…any WWII-related recos will be gratefully received

I wanted to write a detailed post on India’s chances, players’ forms etc but I haven’t had the time for that yet. So, instead, I will leave you with this appraisal by SP, this not-so-hopeful-of-India’s-chances post by Achettup (kinda how I feel as well) and Homer’s wise words on Twitter on why India should at least get to the semis -

small grounds.. spin… and the draw

Till later people. The match is getting interesting!

I mean I have to get back to my studies…

(Previous mini rant on the mind-numbing regularity with which these two have been playing each other here.)

Straight Points paid homage at BCC!, 3 Idiots style.

Paddlesweep didn’t like it when people said “No one deserved it more than Sachin”

There are loads of people claiming that if anyone deserved it, it was Sachin. I disagree. Not because he did not deserve it, just because saying such a thing oozes empathy towards the person in question. Sachin Tendulkar needs, nor wants any empathy, sympathy or any other relevant pathy.

GreatBong -

The old Sachin radiated heat. The new Sachin gives light.

But he still remains the sun.

Ayaz Memon @ Cricinfo Magazine -

If Tendulkar were to retire tomorrow, a long queue of the game’s greatest batsmen would await him near the dressing room: Hammond, Hobbs, Hutton, the three Ws, Richards, Gavaskar, Dravid, Sehwag, Ponting, Lara, Chappell, Miandad, et al. And at the head of this queue would be Bradman, first to shake his hand and say, “Gosh, you little bonzer, I would have loved to play an innings like that!”

Meanwhile, somewhere in London, I raised my glass in Sachin’s honour. And not knowing what else to add when so many have done such a wonderful job… in true BCC! style, I simply said “Thank You Sachin“.

(You may…nay…you must join the Facebook group here)

I was at the Nehru Stadium on 31/03/2001 when Sachin became the first batsman to cross 10000 runs in ODIs. How I wish I was in Gwalior today.

Congratulations Sachin. Congrats Team India. Congrats India!!

There is work to be done yet. A match to be won to make this innings truly memorable. But this is going to be one record to cherish all life long

…how sadness turned into rage on hearing the same old cliched quotes, on seeing the same old inefficient response to crisis…the whole “I cannot eff-ing believe this is happening”

…how bravely a few people fought, regardless of being ill-equipped to do their job

…how a few went above and beyond their call of duty to help those in need

…how life changed dramatically for a few, who lost people they loved

…the promises I made to myself, what I can do to play my part in ensuring this does not happen again.

To all who were affected by 26/11…I haven’t forgotten anything.

And on this special occassion, dear Silly M(a)id-on would like to say a few words to you all…

Ga!!

Ok, that was just a word..but she’s just one..what did ya expect?

On a serious note though, a few special mentions are in order-

Samir Bhaiya and his entire blogroll – all that reading got me started in the first place.

©hinaman and Gaurav – for the opportunities to go beyond Silly M(a)id-on.

Homer – for the kind words on and off the record (I mean on the blog and on gtalk )

Leela – for letting out the fangirl in me to the world!

Thanks to everyone who has read/commented/advised/inspired over the last one year. It has been a lot of fun. Don’t let it stop.

For purely selfish reasons, I think Dravid should call it quits on the one day side of things. He might be a tough guy, and might survive another one of these jokes at his expense, but my poor heart, which isn’t getting any younger might not survive another heartbreak.

Anyways, the Champions League was a lot of fun. First the Deccan Chargers crashed out. Then Banglaore failed at the next hurdle. And then they decided that if they are not going to qualify for the semis, no Indian team should and promptly spoilt Delhi’s party. Such petty thinking I tell you! Ham to doobenge sanam, sang tumhe bhi le doobenge….

Meanwhile, the Cape Cobras had their own problems. They were winning all their matches and looking good to win the tournament. But thankfully, they were reminded of the reputation they were expected to live up to. And then they promptly choked in the Semifinals. And all was well with the Universe again. We know for sure  now that these South Africans are taught to choke right from the 1st class level.

Moving on, the much-awaited, just-the-right-number-of-matches, not-pointless-at-all Ind vs Aus 7 ODI series is here. Just out of curiosity, does anyone know who the vice captain is for India?

ODI 1 – India managed to make a match of it, after all. Jet-lagged me didn’t start watching the match until India were 6 down and then I gave up once Bhajji and PK were on the crease. But,  there were persistent cheering sounds coming from the house across mine and I realised that India wasn’t going down tamely after all. Good on them! (The batsmen in them i.e. ..not so much the bowlers)

ODI 2 today was a different story. India batted big, riding high on Dhoni’s century. Dhoni batted like his days of yore, leading one Rishi Bubna to say on cricinfo “The Old Dhoni – He’s BACK! Its Raining Sixes!” and I went into a Rakhi-esque mode “Main janti thi…mera purana Dhoni aayega…Dharti cheer kar aayega…aasman ka seena phadkar aayega…mera purana Dhoni aayega..“

(Don’t worry..I have an appointment with my psychiatrist next week. I’ll be fine.)

So after this match, I now predict a 4-3 win.

For Australia..

No, India

No..Australia

No..India

Uh..ok..India.

Finally, before I sign off, I missed out on quite a few Blog-a-versaries and Happy Bored Days of fellow bloggers. My best wishes to all of them. Leela, SP, Prafs, Bhaskar. (and anyone else I missed out..sorry) Hope you all had a good one and here’s to many more.

And while we are on the subject of family, may I also point you towards a post that describes my mom’s evolution as a cricket fan. She is the Type 1 fan, just to clarify

1. Improvised cricket – the gear, a ping pong “bat” and ball. The location, my aunt’s living room. The rules, only legitimate delivery is a full toss. Once you score 75, you retire. If you hit the wall below the tube light, it’s a 4. If you hit above it, it’s a 6. And if you hit the tubelight…you run away as fast as you can!!

I never reached the retiring score in that one.

2. Book Cricket – That does not need much explanation, does it?

3. Leg Cricket – Don’t know if anyone else has ever played this one. My PT instructor used to say it was his invention. So basically, it was played with a volleyball. The bowler rolled it to the batter, ten pin bowling style. And the batter(kicker?) kicked it away for runs.

The acceptable modes of dismissal were bowled, run out and caught (yeah, no lbw’s here ). If a fielder caught the ball on one bounce with one hand, that was out too.

I did rock this one!

4. Cricket on top of Rala Mandal hill – OK. This one was a lot of fun. A bunch of us college friends hiked up the Rala Mandal Hill near Indore. Playing area was very limited (think of a badminton court). Due to lack of space, the rules were
- if you managed to put bat on ball you scored a run..unless of course, you were caught.
- You were out caught if the fielder caught the ball after one bounce.
- You could get bowled out.
- Nothing like a run out ‘coz you are not actually scoring by running. You just switched strike at the end of the over.
- It was important not the slash hard at the ball, coz if a fielder could not stop it, it would defo go down the hill and that would be the end of the game! And then you would have to treat everyone to Ghamandi’s Lassi (a popular place in Indore)

“Ok…this is fine” , I hear you say. “We’ve all done that or something similar…but have you ever played real cricket? The 11-players a side, being played on a field, with the normal rules applying?”

Ladies and gentlemen, I have…and here is the story of The Day I Played Cricket