Silly M(a)id-on

So my whole theory of “Of course Dravid can play in the 2011 World Cup” went down the drain. (Thanks to Cheeka and his bunch of monkeys…BURN IN HELL you lot!!)

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.

I received an email from Nidhi Makhija of Experience Commerce, who are running a competition for Royal Challenger Bangalore.

Experience Commerce is a digital agency in Mumbai, and we’re currently running Club RCB’s Fanatic Fans Challenge. Fans are invited to apply for three positions – Chief Blogger, Chief Photographer and Chief RCB Fan. The winning three will tour Champions League with Club RCB next month and will receive preferred treatment at RCB matches! All expenses (travel, accommodation, incidentals) will be covered.

It’s a great opportunity for hardcore fans to meet the team up close and personal, and for budding sports bloggers, photographers, commentators etc. to get hands on experience and mass exposure! ..

You can apply online at the official RCB site – www.royalchallengers.com/FanaticFansChallenge. The deadline is September 27^th.

So all you IPL fans, here is your chance! If you are in India, go on and take part. Drop me a line and I will be glad to support your application. The only catch is that if you win the Challenge, you will have to get me Rahul Dravid’s autograph

Alert – This post might contain a LOT of cheesy lines, “duh” moments and stuff you might’ve heard and even written yourself already. Blame it on the break…

So, the Great Battle of the IPL is over. To be honest, I wasn’t too keen on following the whole thing. The kind of phase 1 BRC had did not help matters at all. Couple of weeks into the league and I had almost stopped the occasional score check, it was getting that boring. And then, this guy happened, there were a few awesome matches, teams’ fortunes started fluctuating with every match(except KKR’s i.e.), BRC revived under Kumble and what not. What is a girl to do! I had to follow the last few games

A few random facts and thoughts -
- Tendulkar is not a good captain.
- I saw the finals live on TV. You would think that having read enough about the atrocious commentary, the fugly trophy, all the Modi fawning etc. I would be prepared. But no sir! I died a little inside every time I saw the trophy or heard Pommie Mbangwa or heard a spectator/commentator singing praises of His Highness Modi. I had a funny vision (at least it made me laugh). People who have seen the movie Mr. India might be able to relate to this. I saw Lalit Modi on a throne, with a shiny black and gold uniform, his loyal soldiers and servants around him telling him just how great and awesome he is and how he will definitely rule the world pretty soon. And Modi is pink with barely controlled glee, muchlike Mogambo…”Lalit Khush Hua!!”. (Ya, I know it would be difficult to see the pink, but you know what I mean) Mercifully, I turned off the telly as soon as the match got over, and escaped the Closing Ceremony.
- Robin Uthappa has discovered new high levels of uselessness. Does that need explaining? FOAD Robin!! I never thought it would come to this with this guy.
- Rahul…oh dear Rahul…WTF?! How…I mean just how did you manage to drop that catch off Symonds?? And what about that godawful shot you got out to? What were you thinking? You remember that “not too many dot balls n taking singles” thing we talked about here? That works in T20 too…I swear….
- Some things never change. Hey Symonds, what’s with all the chattering on the field?
- Great turnaround for the Deccan Chargers! They did look like a completely different outfit under Adam Gilchrist. And, was AG on song or what..I could literally see the havoc he wrecked on Delhi in the Semi final even though I merely “read” it on Cricinfo.
- And finally, Anusha has dicovered the IPL algorithm. It is called LIFO. So worry not KKR fans. IPL 3 is yours
- 430 words on IPL. Wow! Didn’t know I cared that much….

Coming up shortly…T20 World Cup.

Update 1-
The move to South Africa was good IMO. I think there was a more even contest between bat and ball. SRK found a legitimate reason to run off to India and not be with his team. But most importantly, in accordance with Murphy’s Law, there were a few spots of rain in SA, but the weather in England was fabulous. Lots of sunshine.