Despite having the best side among other teams, it is rather disappointing to see Chennai Super Kings lose again. And if you are a CSK fan, it is even more disappointing when the team has managed to win just one out of four matches played so far with the final one being washed out. Coming to the playing eleven, they couldn’t have asked for something better than this. They have the likes of Matty Hayden, Suresh Raina, Andrew Flintoff, Albie Morkel, and MS Dhoni in the bating department. Their bowling isn’t bad either. Flintoff and Morkel can bowl as well and when you have Muralitharan who can deceive and bamboozle the batsmen, what else do you need in a team? Having managed just one win and with the last one being wahed out, the Chennai Super Kings are reeling at the bottom of the points table. It could have been a close encounter with the Knight Riders and if the CSKs had snatched a win yesterday, things would have been better but unfortunately, rain played spoilsport.
Coming to their encounter against Daredevils, it was a close one. Matthew Hayden and Parthiv Patel set the perfect platform for the team but once Hayden departed, the team couldn’t capitalize from there. Much was expected from Andrew Flintoff and Albie Morkel but they flattered to decieve. The pitch was conducive for batting and 190 though daunting didn’t look that impossible. If hadn’t they panicked, they could have won convincingly. Coming to the unavailability of players after a couple of weeks, can’t imagine how they will manage when Flintoff leaves for national duty and teams relying on England and West Indian players will suffer a huge blow. Having said that, we don’t want to see any abysmal performance in the tournament especially from the Chennai Super Kings who were the runners up in the first season. Meanwhile, let us expect some change of fortunes for the CSKs in their forthcoming matches.
After losing the first match by 19 runs to Mumbai Indians, it was common sense when the Chennai Super Kings’ skipper MS Dhoni introduced a couple of changes to the team composition in the second encounter yesterday. The first match that was played in Capetown didn’t have a single South African in the playing eleven and surprised one and all. When the team has excellent players in the side, why making them sit in the dug out and reserve them for later matches? Why didn’t they make full use of it? Had they included Albie Morkel in the opening match, they could have easily got two more points. And now from the matches played in the last couple of days gives an impression that spinners have a big role to play in the tournament. Having said that, it is not necessary that the quickies will face a tough time in this format. These South African pitches are conducive for seam bowlers as well. Remember RP Singh’s impressive bowling spells in the T20 World cup last year?
Okay now coming to the CSK - RCB encounter, it was a one-sided performance. Chenai Super Kings who elected to bat first made good use of the conditions. The openers made a splendid start - thanks to the first wicket partnership between Matthew Hayden and Parthiv Patel. The start they provided was more than enough to say that they are at their sublime best, especially Matthew Hayden. Meanwhile, the news that Hayden is available for the whole tournament is ominous for the other teams. We all know how destructive he can be, don’t we? Coming to the scores, though they played very well in the first ten overs, they could only reach 179 at the end of their innings. Bangalore Royal Challengers’ batting wasn’t that good either. Though they made an impressive start, they could not turn things on its head. Ultimately, 179 was too much for the asking.
Having said that they were one of the formidable teams in the second edition, they proved one and all wrong with their abysmal performance in their very first encounter. With a power packed batting line-up, no one expected them to fall short of 19 runs and the fact that there wasn’t a single South African in the playing eleven came as a surprise to everyone. Of course, even I was taken aback when Dhoni prefered Thushara over Muralitharan. Or he could have at least gone for the all-rounder Albie Morkel. However, the CSKs weren’t comfortable right from the word go - 166 wasn’t a formidable total but the players panicked and that wreaked havoc in their first game. Hope, the skipper goes with Albie Morkel at least in their second encounter. True, they are a fantastic combination in this second season but the selection of the players is very crucial.
Bollywood flick Aa Dekhen Zara starring Neil Mukesh and Bipasha Basu was released a couple of weeks back. And guess what, watching the stars on the screen together people can’t be without batting their eyelids. You might be wondering what the reason is? Well, Bipasha Basu, as a matter of fact, is 3 years older than her male counterpart Neil Mukesh. Now that was news to me! It’s just a matter of 3 years and I really don’t understand why people are making a big fuss about it. It only surprised me when some one pointed out that Bips was older than the hero. (But apparently they don’t look so, do they?) Otherwise, of course not many would have noticed that. And when the actor doesn’t have a problem sharing the screen space with a female counterpart who is slightly older, why should others really bother? And no matter how the film has fared in the box office, the talk of the town is undoubtedly about this age gap. I don’t know that much about Bollywood, but tell you what, just fly down to south and take a look at what is happening in Kollywood and Tollywood. Actors who are nearing their 50s and 60s and who are supposed to play the role of a father are paired with lasses who are just in their early 20s. Now how is that for an age gap? Not just a few years but decades!
Older heroines romancing young male leads is queer but the reversal is accepted without batting an eyelid. How weird?! That is after all in reel life. Now what about men who marry women in real life who are actually younger, age-wise? Do people bat an eyelid or do they dismiss it as something usual? Seriously, I haven’t a clue.
Indian Premier League (IPL) is round the corner and cricket aficionados can’t wait to watch it. Come April 18 and the fiesta will commence again. Of course, it is exhilarating to note that what seemed impossible has been made possible but the fact that India won’t host the second edition because of the clash with the general elections ‘09 is a trifle unfortunate from an Indian perspective nevertheless people are happy that they can at least watch it live on the screen. However, this has left a bad image on the Indian government when it said that it can’t provide security for the players. Okay, if IPL is played outside India, should we rename it to something else then? Who cares, really? On a sad note, some Australian players have opted out of IPL citing hectic schedule but aren’t they aware of the fact that the franchises have spent millions of dollars on them? Very worrying indeed. Worries apart, the IPL is just less than a week away and we cricket lovers are eagerly waiting for the second season to kick off.
Coming to the IPL’s first edition, Shane Warne and his men took everyone by storm. Tagged as the underdogs before the tournament started, ultimately they emerged as the best team among the lot. With the likes of Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Yusuf Pathan, and a couple of other players, it is amply clear that they are the clear favorites again but considering the fact that Cricket is a funny and unpredictable game, which team emerges as the ultimate winner this time around is anybody’s guess! Oh and what about Sohail Tanvir the purple cap owner and the player who single-handedly won many matches for RR? It is indeed unfortunate to note that Pakistan players won’t be seen this time around - IPL in SA can give them some hope. Now veering to the teams which put up a dismal show, lot was expected from Royal Challengers (Bangalore) and Deccan Chargers (Hydrebad). True, they had the stalwarts but things didn’t click for them last time but with the inclusion of new players in this season, let us hope they can turn it around this time at least.
And last but not the least, let us also hope that the second season be a fantastic one in South Africa!
No matter how many times you read Wodehouse’s novels, something will certainly prompt you to pick up the novel again from the library shelf. Last month I went to the library as usual and rummaged the shelf for a PG Wodehouse novel I haven’t read so far. Now, to tell you about the library it’s a small one in my locality and there are not much much books available over there. If I ask the librarian for a particular book, she will seldom reply in the affirmative. Okay, not veering anymore. Having read PG Wodehouse’s novels for the past 3 months, my heart didn’t refrain me from going for a change. Took ‘Very good, Jeeves’ and kept it on the desk and was waiting for her to enter it into the log book. Seeing my account number chronicled successively for a fair number of times, she looked up and shot a glance at me. Excerpts from the conversation:
Librarian: Sarin, you have been reading Wodehouse’s novels for quite some time now. Why don’t you go for a change? Try something else!
Me: With a ‘Oh-I-can’t-do-that’ look I said, well?
L: Agatha Christie novels are pretty good, what about reading one this week?
Me: Fine but will they make me deliriously happy?
L: Of course, detective stories. Will keep you glued till the very end.
Me: Heaving a sigh, I left the place.
Now what was the need for her to recommend another author to me? Was it bothering her in some way or the other? Does she dislike Wodehouse novels? Or ain’t I paying for the books I read? I haven’t a clue. Meanwhile, I have a couple of Wodehouse novels at home and nothing is going to deter me from reading it umpteen times.
