Who can forget the swashbuckling T20 finals between India and Pakistan that was played in South Africa, a couple of years back? You can’t, you really can’t especially if you are a cricket fan. All right, that was two years back and that’s history and let me not brag about that anymore. Now, with 4 days remaining for the T20 World Cup to begin, the mood in the Indian camp is already very upbeat and the champions are quite sure that they are the clear favorites. They might be the clear favorites this time around, but defending the title is no cinch. The Men in Blue belong to Group A which consists of Bangladesh and Ireland. It is quite evident that India won’t be facing a tough time in the preliminaries, the real competition will start only when the second round commences. India has tough competitors this time but I reckon it has a slight edge over the other teams. But whatever it is, I can’t wait to watch India play, I really can’t.
May 31, 2009
May 29, 2009
IPL over, what next?
It has been a week since the conclusion of the second edition of the Indian Premier League and this conclusion has virtually created a void in my life. The results weren’t that good either. I had a hope that Chennai Super Kings would make it to the finals but unfortunately they didn’t make it in the end. At the same time, I had a presentiment that something unpredictable would happen. When Chennai crashed out in the semi finals, my next hope, if there was some, was on the Bangalore Royal Challengers. With Shane Warne holding the trophy and posing for the cameras in the first edition, I didn’t want another Australian to do that again. I really didn’t want that to happen. But alas, here’s another Australian with the trophy again! IPL aside, it’s now time for the T20 World Cup and it will be more exciting than the Indian Premier League. Hope we have a cracker of a contest!
May 26, 2009
Indian Premier League going places
When the Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalith Modi announced that the second edition of this one-month tournament would take place in South Africa, the cricket loving community was all agog to welcome the event over there. It is just not the players, the South African economy too benefited a lot from this. It also gave an opportunity for the bootylicious lasses from South Africa to act in a Bollywood film opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Miss Bollywood South Africa would have been over the moon when her name was read out. I never thought Bollywood would go so far and be so competitive. Thanks to the Indian Premier League! In the meantime, Lalith Modi has hinted two IPL T20s next year - one in India and one overseas. However, it has not been finalized. That country is anybody’s guess and that country will definitely have a ball.
May 24, 2009
Deccan Chargers the ultimate winners
What a dream run for the Deccan Chargers in the second season of the Indian Premier League! Tagged as the underdogs because of their dismal performance in the last season, this victory took everyone by surprise. Spare a moment of thought for the Royal Challengers as well. Even they played fantastic cricket throughout the tournament. They have even proved that age does not make a difference in this curtailed version og the game. Coming back to the Deccan Chargers, let us not forget that they were one of the two beleaguered teams in the first season and from the 8th position in the points table in the first season, they have reached the number one spot in the second season. Now how is that for a performance? Remarkable indeed.
May 20, 2009
Prabhakaran, where art thou?
On May 18th 2009 the Sri Lankan government alleged that the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was killed by gunfire when he was trying to escape from the Sri Lankan army. However, the very next day LTTE claimed that the LTTE leader is still alive and he didn’t die in the gunfire. This piece of information came as a shock to eveyone. It was even hard to believe that he was still alive. Many websites had even put up the information that his death day was onn the 18th of May, 2009. Had he been alive, it would have been a real bummer and all those websites would have been forced to edit the contents on their site. I can’t stop imagining how ridiculous it would have been. Meanwhile, the information regarding the whereabouts of the LTTE leader is still inconclusive. Prabhakaran, dead or alive, time will tell. It definitely will.
May 14, 2009
Did you vote?
I know that in order to be a responsible citizen, it is necessary to vote. I also know that it is not just a right, it is the responsibility of every citizen to exercise his franchise. Having said all this, I myself didn’t vote this time around. Reason? Well, let me say that just like the group of people who didn’t find their names in the voters’ list, even I didn’t find mine. It was exasperating when I had to go from one place to another searcing for my name. With the sun scorching like never before, it was even more exasperating. Moreover, I had to work on that day. That was even, even more exasperating. Eventually, I had to give up my search. My fervent desire to have that indelible mark on my finger will only be a dream. I still have to wait for another five years. Sigh! By the way, did you vote?
May 6, 2009
Emotional outburst
I hate this arrogance in people. Was it all necessary for that team leader to patronize me in the office? Was it all necessay for me to blurt out those harsh words at him when all my colleagues were watching? Not necessary at all. A couple of weeks back, some team leader in my office asked for trouble. He was always under the impression that only he knows to demean other people but on that inauspicious day he was at the receiving end. I don’t know how others would have reacted to his comments, but I certainly couldn’t stand all that. I was piqued and lashed out everything that came from my mouth. Given another chance, I will unleash my sarcasm on him. Hope I get that chance pretty soon.
May 3, 2009
Easy win for CSK
The encounter between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils was a crucial one for both the teams, more crucial for the Chennai Super Kings because they were languishing at the bottom of the points tally and one win could put them back on track. As expected, the CSK has won the game and this is not a mere win, in fact they won it quite convincingly. The competetion is wide open even now and with this win, the Chennai Super Kings has reached the top half of the table. In the meanwhile, CSK has won two matches on the trot and three wins altogether. Hope they remain unbeaten till the end.
