On my terms

March 17 would be considered as one of the darkest days for Pakistani cricket. In a must win match in Jamaica, they went down terribly in front of the Irish team which is playing in the World Cup for the first time. Now having lost their first two matches they have no option but to go back home and start from scratch again.

Similar things happened to India on the same day in Port of Spain. Bangladesh stayed on top through out the match and gave star studded Indian line up no respect at all. It was quite an eye opener for me. Last time I saw Bangladeshis play was a couple of years ago in Dhaka. At that time they were a pity figure. Having not looked into the progress they have made in their cricket since then, I was expecting this to be a heavily one sided encounter where the big Indian stalwarts would try their best to prove their form.

Yes it did turn out to be a one sided affair but the other way round. Bangladesh outplayed India in all departments of the game. It was a treat to watch the Bangladeshi body language. Its a good thing for cricket that minnows like Bangladesh, Ireland have started coming of age. They seem to be enjoying their game and are giving it their best. If they maintain their progress, I am sure that the power equations in this game are going to change soon.

However being a hard core Indian fan I am definitely very disappointed with the way our team played yesterday. One more loss and Indian team would be shown the door much like the Pakistanis. What amazes me is that when both these teams perform at their full potential they look so invincible. And suddenly they go all flat.

You would have heard a lot of times from the coach and the team management that we are preparing for the world cup. I think the approach goes wrong right from there. We are trying to prepare for one particular event, one result. What we should be trying to do is to work on developing those traits which lend this result as a formality. We should be working with the aim of developing into an outfit which performs more consistently than Australia. Be it World Cup or any other series, every match should be of equal importance.

But call it good or bad, we Indians are emotional people. We play emotionally as well. We dont look at a cricket game like a task that needs to be done clinically.

All in all, lets hope that India wins the next two matches and reaches the next round of the World Cup. We can screw them later for having lost to Bangladesh.

Another humiliating defeat!!

South Africa 274/7 (50 ov)
India 168 (41.3 ov)

Reminds me that before the last world cup in South Africa, things were not too different with the Indian team. We had gone to the New Zealand for a 5 match tour I think, and were badly beaten (to put it mildly). However, things got back in shape in time, and the team did a good show in the World Cup.However, I am not sure if any of thats going to happen this time. I am just simply disappointed and disheartened. Now dont say that in the last post “Death of a Fan” I had said that i am over it and all, then why this tantrum again. See its been a long relationship, it will take some time, I guess.

It was in Germany around 5 years back when I first laid my hands on a Hayabusa. The rider, dressed in all black with innumerable number of piercings all over his face, warned me “Its a beast.. You should know how to control it, or it will kill you” in a typical German accent.

Though I get a lot of beating for the way I drive/ride, but I think its just me. I love doing it. And I am just waiting for the day when I get my own Hayabusa.

I have this wierd observation that how you drive your car, and how you live your life has a strong corelation. I have verified this a number of times and somehow has always proved to be true. (Wierd things happen, trust me :). The world isnt as seriously made as you think. God had a great sense of humor.)

Some people drive extremely safe : They live extremely safe, invest money in the safest places, keep away from untested waters.
Some people drive safe, but dont mind skipping a few signals if required : Calculated risk people.
Some people dont think safety, they drive for fun. (They might be safe as well, but thats not the intention) : These people live for fun. They invent their ways, live without the fear of losing. They might just seem to be doing everything right as one would feel, but thats not the intention :).
Some people drive rash : They live rash. They know what they are doing, and dont give a **** about how it might affect others. There is a very fine line between the last two I have mentioned.
Some people avoid driving as and when possible. In a group, they would prefer somebody else to drive and would rather sit and enjoy : These people always prefer to have somebody in front to take the blow, so that if the thing they are doing is wrong, they get time for corrective action. These people live on tested waters. Discovering new ways is not their way of having fun.

Wierd? Told you so.

Today it has happened for the first time that India has lost the match and my mood is not spoiled. For a long time, after every humiliating defeat I have tried to made this happen, but it never did. And today I didnt even bother.

I know of all the theory about how Indian fans are mad, and cant take defeat. They worship the players when they win, but when they lose they just cant take it. How indian fans dont seem to realise that even the cricketers are humans and are bound to fail sometime or other. However I know i am not that kind of a fan. I have accepted defeat well, and have always been a fan of good cricket.

But you know, when everyone expects you to lose, and you lose tamely without the slightest hint of a fight, thats one defeat which is there to stay. And when this happens time and again, riot happens. A lot of passionate fans die in the riot of their feelings, in the riot of their hope that this was just one bad day, or we dont have it at all. And yes, today its me.

When i was a kid i read this line in Times of India, “Sports dont build character, they reveal it”. And I think I will never forget it. Till date whenever I play, whether i am playing well or not, I pay attention to what I am feeling though out the game. And that really gives me good insight into my own character. When i dont like something, I try to work on it, and play again. And it works.
Dont know where this last paragraph came from. Probably I was trying to hint at the character of our cricketers. Probably they are not tough enough. Or probably they come tough, but something kills that fighter in them. I guess its for the Respected Coach and the Team Management to figure out. If the process that they believe in is killing the character of their sportmen, I guess they need to think it again. Or else the riots will never stop.

It hurts so much to even think of these lines, but the question comes to my mind again and again. Whats wrong with the sporting acumen of our sportsmen?

I think I will just go and sleep.

Just witnessed the most exciting one day cricket game ever played in the history of the game. There can not be a bigger mockery of statistics, and records.

VB Series
Aus vs. SA

The teams come into the game with a 2-2 score in the series. SA took the first two, Aus came back strongly to clinch the next two. And to me, Aus looked the favorite for this final game as well. However tired I might be of watching Australian supremacy on the cricket ground, but I still can not stop admiring their cruelty when it comes to crushing a rising opponent.

But this time, Australians just went a bit ahead. Cruel winning is one thing, but this was Insult. Slap on the face of SA cricket. 434/4 in 50 overs. Can you believe it? I could not. This was mad. SA is no Kenya.
You know at moments like this I feel in such a “*#&*” way about Australia. Can’t describe the feeling. You cant get bigger than the game. But little did I know how big the game actually is.

SA started their chase, which was only of academic interests to most of the cricket lovers around the world. Dippenar left early. It was fine. I could relate to so many run chases against mammoth totals I have seen in the past. But today mammoth meant different. One ought to say MAMMOTH.

Smith started his fight. I never appreciated him as a great batsman but today he laid the foundation of the most unbelievable chase ever done in the history of the game. Smith crafted a lovely 90 of 55 deliveries. Good one. If mate one innings like this could win this game.

Another came. Gibbs went mad. 175 of 111 deliveries. What do you call that? Would the cricket’s classical greats ever feel comfortable commenting on that. Anyways, still nice one. If heroes could win the game today.

Kallis came in. Best batsman in the world. Left soon. SA started losing momentum.
See what I said.

Things changed. Van Der Vath (you dont know him? Do not worry, he will figure in the history books soon) after settling in for a while creamed Lewis for 3 sixes.
Did I not mention about Lewis, the Oz bowler. Let me not mention, he is also going to join VDV in the history books. Most expensive ODI bowling spell ever. 113 from 10 overs.

Boucher took from there. And I could not realise the equation which once read 435 runs from 300 balls, now read 2 runs from 3 balls.

SA 438/9 from 49.5 overs.

Ricky Ponting, the genuine sportsman he generally is, could not believe whats just happened to his team. Give ZIM 434 to defend against Aus on some sane cricketing day, and they would do it anytime. And Aus could not defend 434, the highest (before 2130 IST today) total ever made. Ponting would not be remembered for his 165 of 105 today. He would be remembered for the captain of the side who could not defend 434.

We really can not get bigger than the game.
I love cricket.