The crowing glory - The ICC World Cup

Fear seizes most of the Indian fans, when their powerhouse openers are back in the hut with very little on the board. What hurts bowling teams that bowl first are not the attritional batsmen of the likes of Gambhir or Clarke, but more of bulldozers like Hayden and Sehwag, and even more devastating are silken assassins of the kind of Jayawardene and Anwar. At the end of the first half, the momentum was very much with the Lankans with Zaheer reliving the blues from the 2003 final. You could sense the jubilation in the Lankan camp vis-a-vis the despondence that was written on the Indian fans faces.  While this Indian team ( I haven’t gone through the stats as yet) might be relatively good at chasing down totals, chasing more than just competitive total in a world cup final is a different ball-game altogether. Add to this cauldron, the desperation of the billion fans and one cold reality that this really is the last chance for Tendulkar, the gnawing fact that we are so agonizingly close to world cup glory. Phew….it takes nerves of steel and an eternal struggle to stay afloat and give it one good almighty heave. Dhoni did just that with the winning six!!

Its hard to maintain one’s equanimity during the cricket matches and I did feel the adrenaline pumping during the 2003 game against Pak and the knockout games in this WC. Probably I will never get over these feelings and to be honest, I don’t want to get over it either.  It took a while for me to settle down and adjust to the reality of India featuring in a WC final after 2003.

MS's candor has come in for lot of praise, even as his detractors hail him as one plain lucky dude. While its hard to pass judgment on the latter, one must say that his two major decisions today were backed by reasonable logic:

1.       Playing  enfant terrible Sreesanth over a more complete cricketer such as Ashwin:

It is common knowledge that the Lankans are comfortable against spin and there could be potential problems from the dew factor if we were to defend a score.

2.       Bringing himself ahead of Yuvi:  This was obviously to negate Murali's past success against Yuvi and his own ability to read Murali's doosra much better. Secondly, allowing two southpaws against offies would have enabled the Lankan spinners to settle into a nice rhythm.

From the Lankan front, there were as many as 4 changes that raised a few eyebrows. Sanga probably thought he would spring a surprise on the Indians by bringing in Randiv in place of Mendis (whose recent record against Indians hasn’t been noteworthy). Nuwan and Perera's inclusion were prompted by their collective all round ability to plug the gap left by Angelo Mathews. Kapugedera in place of Chamara Silva surely seemed to be a gamble, with not much separating the two except the former's electric fielding.

The final denouement was a fitting climax for many, especially for Sachin and not so great for another legend: Murali. The form and mental fortitude shown by the younger brigade augurs well for the ODI side at least for few years to come. What distinguishes champion sides such as WI of the 70-80s and Aussies in the 90s-00s, is their consistency across all competitions and the sense of fear they instilled in the opposition until the final ball was bowled. While India still has a long way to go before scaling such heights, we have reached some significant summits in recent years and pray that we build on these successes without starting all over again under a new coach.

Personally the last one week has been a mixed bag for me: the graduation, a job, and on the flip side - the reality that my college days are over and there won’t be any more back slapping and goofing around with my college buddies. This victory is thus sweet tonic for me and I would definitely savor it for sometime to come.

Chak de India !!

Unstoppable - A Denzel tour de force

It was a tossup between a 3^rd row from the front viewing of Harry Puttar against the charisma of Denzel Washington in “Unstoppable” form from the back rows.  One dude was pretty hung up on seeing the former even at the cost of the rest of the gang suffering the towering screen presence of Daniel Radcliffe from very close quarters. Few plates of egg chilli and tandoori chicken helped us pacify him and finally he did come around to see Tony Scott’s “Unstoppable” at Inox, Jayanagar.

I have been accused (albeit unfairly) of dragging my classmates to proven blockbusters such as Inception and Shutter Island, which they didn’t appreciate the least bit. It is a different matter that these movies called for undivided attention during the screen time and we mostly went for night shows following late evening classes/exams. Few of us dozed off, and few were in inebriated condition. And I get blamed for all that!!

Thankfully, this true story (based on events in 2001 in Ohio) of a train on the loose (Train # 777) in Pennsylvania proved to be a no-brainer from the plot perspective. The story begins with two railroad employees unwittingly unleashing a train carrying toxic and combustible content that progressively gains speed and is headed for a disaster within the city limits of Penn state. Denzel Washington, a veteran, and Chris Pine, the understudy, are seen ferrying cargo in another train somewhere in other part of Southern Pennsylvania. The two don’t get along too well, which is further compounded by Chris adding unwarranted additional coaches to the end of the train that proves to be an inflection point in the storyline. Meanwhile, Rosarie Dawson, the railroad control room supervisor, tries to reason with her boss Kevin Dunn not to attempt derailing 777, based on Denzel’s counsel. 

The duo of Denzel and Chris, attempt an overtly ambitious plan of chasing down the hurtling 777 by travelling at incredible speeds of up to 80mph in their lone engine coach. There is the usual family heart strings attached, running on top of the train, and near death experiences for the lead pair. While the movie is replete with clichéd dialogues and twists, the performance of the lead protagonists, coupled with some spectacular cinematography of the wilderness and winter of Penn state manages to engage the audience for the entire duration. The movie doesn’t have a very intelligent plot, instead relies on the visual impact and sound effects to make up for the predictable story line. If you are one of the "Independence Day" fans and don’t mind enjoying popcorn thrill ride, Unstoppable is a must watch.

Bday Bash @ Legends of Rock, Bangalore

The original "Wellness Committee" founder and now affectionately referred to as the "Ring Leader" celebrated his birthday with us hoodlums on a rainy Wednesday evening, instead of doing his rightful duty of a familyman. So more special the evening, the better will it be for him to drown the domestic disturbance later. The painful drive to Purple Haze was a damp squib when we figured that the shutters were down on this one for good, and GP looked like a very realistic proposition. One of the deep guzzlers in the gang suggested "Legends of Rock" and few "punk" dudes amongst us forced the idea on the rest of group.  Our Page-3 contact,. using his extended network, got us a good corner side of the bar to go with a 10-15% off the final bill ( the percentage was contingent on how much we splurge on F&B). The starters and power drinks flowed, and a special recommendation for the tandoori chicken, wedges, lollypop and the paneer tikka. The bar had a juke box and predicatably we dedicated few of the legendary rock anthems to the birthday boy, and cried ourselves hoarse in the name of lip-syncing few lines we knew from the songs. To make matters worse, there were the actual videos of the songs being played out which encouraged people who otherwise would not have opened their mouth, to cause more misery. At around 11:30 we were politely and symbolically ushered out of the bar, and the usual culprits who were always suspect in handling their drink, caused quite a ruckus. It was a while before we got back to our apartments, instead we went chose to hang out on the streets with the cops manning the streets giving us a good stare. Oh...by the way this episode was ages ago ( So this is in a way anachronistic !! )

The art of "lazy" living

Caveat: Nothing do with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar!! More to do with spending a lazy Saturday morning when you know that next 3 days are there to catch up whatever reading we are expected to do. Vish, Sushant and I helped ourselves to dosas with Gun Powder (Idly podi) for side dish, and followed that up with 3 cups of ilachi flavoured chai over some general gossip at my place.  Having been denied this pleasure for some time, it was quite invigorating to sit back and just absorb in the mundaneness of doing basic things in life. Life is made up of these small moments than the adrenaline pumping survival instincts - one which have been the basis since the beginning of the course.

Vish, a connoisseur in true sense, brought along the traditional “Dosa Kal” (Tawa) and we borrowed another sophisticated contraption from Kavitha needed for the complex art of making paper thin dosas. The batter was sourced from the convenience store within the apartments, and so was the gun powder. We couldn’t help gush about the experience of having dosas made at home, compared to the ones we have been having at the Shiv Sagars and the staff canteen in the college.

Earlier yesterday, due to the sudden downturn in my healthy disposition, I couldn’t join my classmates for a second show of “Knight and Day” at Inox, but made up for it with a partial screening of Guy Ritchie’s “Snatch” on my laptop. The tablets took their toll and I dozed off with the lights and laptop on, and woke up to the sounding of the door bell by our maid at 6:30 AM.  

Still trying to figure out the arrangements for watching the world cup finals on Sunday mid night. 

Shutter Island - Sans the review

The much anticipated Shutter Island put me to sleep in the plush seat of PVR Cinemas in Bangalore. I have never gone this long (2 months) without catching up on a movie and the excitement post all the trailers and the personal guarantee from one of my close buddies on the quality of the movie (He had watched it 4 times already and was planning on watching it for the 5^th time @ Sathyam Cinemas). The momentum for the movie built up gradually, with no takers initially, but I ended up making 7 separate reservations for 17 of my friends. The look of the girl behind me in the automated ticket printout queue at Forum Mall conveyed the message that I was crackpot to have done so many reservations when I could have done it in one shot. Forum mall was abuzz on the Friday night and it was just good to be out in the normal world after a 1.5 month hiatus. I tried hard not to give up on the movie more than once, but such was the plot and the flashing delusional images, that I doubted my then existence on the face of the earth. It was a night show post a hard exhausting week, and the pit-stop at firangi paani didn’t help matters much.  The initial euphoria of getting out the campus and venturing into a mall died down, thanks to Martin Scorcese’s convoluted plot that seemed to me as a rehash of earlier movies of this genre. The most insulting impact came from one of my classmates who along with his walked out in the middle of the movie, and then later paid for the tickets as well!! The great guy that he was, in order to reduce my misery to tolerable levels, remarked that he liked the movie but had pressing reasons to stage a walkout.

CSK - Third time lucky

Despite the course work, I couldnt miss CSK batting in  IPL finals for anything and the plan was to just watch Chennai bat and then hope that Mumbai falters. But one thing led to another and I ended up squaring-off with the Mumbaikars in Milind's apartment. There were friendly jibes plenty  from the Mumbai supporters when CSK was going slow with the scoring and it continued on, until we saw the back of the little master. (He was in such sublime form all through the tournament that anything seemed possible with him around at the batting crease)

Dhoni called right at the toss and he made the most of a slow and turning pitch at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, by first opening with Ashwin and then employing Murali to further tighten the noose.  It must have felt special for the CSK team to exorcise the demons of losing the first year final narrowly by conquering Mumbai in their own backyard. Moreover, given the spate of injuries the team just didnt seem to have the right combination at all and struggled for most part of the tournament. I personally had not entertained any hopes of CSK of even making the semi-final cut, but thanks to some brutal assault by MSD against KXIP, we just about managed to get there. The show of emotion from the otherwise "cool" captain, just went on to show how much it meant for him to take CSK through. His post match comment hinting that he owed it to India Cements for paying such a handsome salary to the players goes onto show his "straight" from the gut talk. I felt extra special for not having to listen to Srikanth with his over-the-top comments while sporting the hideous shades.

Vijay, Raina, Bollinger and Ashwin shone quite well at the IPL, while the likes of Hayden and Morkel flattered to decieve. Bollinger (now nicknamed just "Eagle" instead of his earlier name of "Bald Eagle") bowled few hostile spells and capped it off with a stupendous catch to dismiss Yusuf in one of the critical games. Raina looked ill at ease while playing the short stuff, but he managed to survive long enough to keep the score moving at a brisk pace. Vijay stood out for his pick up shot of his legs and majority of the sixes that he hit, were over the midwicket/long-on region as the bowlers just fed him length balls on middle and leg. Hayden's Mongoose reared its head only once at the beginning of the tourney, and thereafter it retreated to its shell. While rumours are strife that Haydos may not play the next season, I hope he would be associated in some capacity or the other with CSK, given the reason that he is likely to open his academy in "namma" Chennai. Another notable point is that unlike other teams studded with superstars and ultra-glamorous owners, CSK collectively reflected the austere perception one associates with India Cements. Hence it came as no surprise that the CSK players mostly gave the post-match IPL parties (which are now in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons) a skip, or at the most made the perfunctory appearances before retiring to their rooms. While the younger players and even some senior pros from other teams found it tough to resist the temptation at these parties, a seasoned "party" animal like Warne alone outdid his off-field performances with some fruitful on-field performances.

The Tharoor-Modi spat has reached dizzying levels, with both to blame : the former has been coined as the good looking Appam C (from fakeIPL blog), while the latter just assumed that he was bigger than the game. Both came crashing down and hope that they are away from controversial tweets long enough to realize their follies. On a positive note, India made it to the super-eights of T20 WC without any major hiccups, but only time will tell if we are able to regain the crown we lost to Pakistan.

P.S : Thanks to Milind for hosting us !!

Old times sake

Another trip to Bangalore, but it was for just two days and we were exhausted by the time we returned to Chennai on Sunday morning. Vasant and me had been planning to attend Sunil’s marriage in Delhi and had gone to the extent of coaxing another 5 from our office to join us.  During this trip, we had set our sights on 4 days of Rajasthan royal experience and 2 days of Delhi daredevilry.  Brother’s marriage reception date was fixed too close for the Delhi trip comfort and hence we had to abandon the North Indian sojourn.

To appease Sunil and knowing very well that he might become even harder to reach in the future, we landed in Bangalore on the 26^th March morning. We proceeded to Sudha didi (Sunil’s elder sister)’s apartment off Hosur-Sirjapur road. Tucked away quite far from the core city, the apartments in that area were huge and luxurious and for those fancying an apartment in Bangalore, they don’t come cheaper. We got the usual bear hug from Sunil who was all smiles and it brought back flashing memories of our school days in Chennai.  Uncle and Aunty were their usual loving selves, and we were glad to see the entire Sharma family on this trip. Their granddaughter - Saira, wasn’t too amused with our presence and didn’t chat up with us, but her poses for the pictures made up for the disappointment. 

Sunil’s mom makes amazing food, and so we didn’t waste much time in kicking off our breakfast with some parathas, kofta curry, aloo sabzi and sweets. We were very keen to know more about Shikha (Sunil’s newlywed wife) and we connected really well over the course of the day, in spite of Sunil butting in with his horrendous jokes J. She briefed us on the wedding ceremony which stretched over 4 days and made it all the more miserable for us for having missed such a fun filled ceremony. We proceeded to the Forum mall to do a bit of shopping and catch up on old times, and the biggest purchase came from Vasant : he bought a Puma shoe very similar to the one I had. Well its another story that he picked an ill-fitting one initially and roamed around flaunting it for a good 3 hours, before returning it to pick the more comfy one.  The lunch at the Forum food court featured an assortment of dishes from various parts of North India – Dhokla, Samosas, Masala Rotis, Aloo Parathas, Chole Bhatura, and the best dessert that I have tasted so far – The Rajasthani Malpua dipped in Rabadi. Shikha, seeing our laggard figures, mentioned that we were in a food “coma”, and true to the word it seemed to have lasted for a good 3 hours. Constant pit-stops at the coffee shop helped us stay afloat, and we dragged our weary souls to the apartment with a steely determination to go easy on the dinner. More tasty Chole and unique Shikha style parathas followed, and we let things adrift only to end up staying overnight at Sunil’s place, which wasn’t part of the original plan.

After seeing off Shikha and Sunil to Delhi, preceded by a 6:30AM breakfast, we hopped onto a cab and navigated our way to Vasant’s Uncle’s house. More hospitality was in store for us and second round of breakfast featuring plain dosas followed. Sudhi, (our KOH and he seems to be getting worse day-by-day) whose birthday I missed narrowly, was waiting in ambush and after being fed some cakes by him, we met up with few of our friends for lunch at the uniquely named “Gufa” restaurant. The restaurant is a glorified version of “Rainforest” Adyar restaurant and the decor (including the waiters’ attire) was well done to heighten the feeling of being in a cave located in the Afghan North-Western province.

Vasant was gung-ho about the shopping and I had serious problems in walking after all the food that we have been consuming. We roamed the MG and Brigade roads doing a bit of shopping, and not before long we seated ourselves @ the “Donut Baker” – the best doughnuts in the whole world. (Pardon the exaggeration - I have tasted doughnuts elsewhere as well. But the truth is the ones in Blore beat Krispy Kreme hands down.) After having spent nearly 4 hours on the prowl in the shopping malls and lanes, we went to our usual SLV for typical Kannada food. In all this mayhem, we just assumed that our train was scheduled for 10:45PM, and on the way to the station I realized that it wasn’t. In fact, our train wouldn’t leave Blore at least until 11:45PM, which meant we had to kill time at a rather spacious restaurant where we were the only customers to be attended to. We were absolutely shameless in sharing one coffee pot, while watching the IPL game on a giant screen...all for Rs.29, ie until it was time to catch our train.

Thus ended another eventful, fun-filled and nostalgic rail-trip.