what the ME thinks!

Lucky win for India! No doubt the bowlers did a great job but really, nowadays being able to defend 203 is a bit lucky. Harbhajan bowled the way he should always. He was flighting the ball nicely, kept the line and lenght tight. Actually he seemed to have got his groove back in the 3rd Test itself. He didnt get many wickets but it was obvious that they would come sooner or later. His contribution with the bat was as important. His batting still has a lot of risk and cheekiness but what the heck, it proved very useful today! Wont call Bhajji a handy bat. If he gets you runs consider them as a bonus and hope he bowls even better.

The bowlers surely dominated this match but that was because they did their job well while the batsmen didnt. Sehwag’s bad run continues with no signs of improvement. Gambhir was batting so well and then again let go a good start…He’s a good bat but needs to get the formula of consistency for Int’l cricket, something he has for domestic cricket. The catches he took were neat. Dravid was doing right when he was done by a good one from Plunkett. Yuvraj-Kaif disturbed their good string of scores recently. Today was Raina’s big chance of making an impact and he didnt. He showed a lot of promise but was out of his depth. A little more experience and he will prove more than handy. D&C did well by sending Pathan ahead of Dhoni. I am no Dhoni-hater. In fact when my college friends used to argue over Parthiv and Karthick, I was the one who proposed Dhoni’s name. But sadly this guy has tasted super-stardom a bit too soon. He is already considered a complete batsman whereas he still has a lot of learning to do. He doesnt look very comfy against the moving ball and line & length bowling. With a good attitude and experience he should come good. RP and Sreesanth did nothing right while Pathan was bang on target. He first contibuted a useful 28 runs to the total and then removed 3 Poms, 2 of them in his first over itself. Pathan is going through his part of struggling but whats good to see is that he’s taking it in the right spirit and learning from it. He ofcourse swung the ball as always and he also got the ball to land on the seam more often and even better, he upped his pace from 79 mph to around 84. Am pleased as a punch with him and Bhajji. Yuvraj bowled well and once again showed why he should get the cherry a bit more often.

India have a 1-nil lead and the batsmen will have to get a lot more runs if India are to win this series. I guess RP will again have to go back to warming the benches and make way for Munaf. D&C will have to assess who are the better two amongst these RP-Munaf-Sreesanth. Tendulkar has been ruled out for 3 months. A word for the fringe players and youngsters-Buck up guys! This is your chance, pull your socks up and make your presence felt. We want you people to take the baton now, Common!

Saw ‘Zinda’ yesterday and was disappointed. The concept was good. A man locked up in solitary confinement for 14 years for no reason and then let out to find out why. Apparently ‘Zinda’ is Sanjay Gupta’s version of a Hong Kong movie. Well he didnt get the screenplay right, neither good performances from the actors. While Dutt and John Abraham were average, Lara Dutta was below average. A very avoidable movie. Watch it only if you belong to the Sanjay Dutt or John Abraham fan club.

I hate it when the media still refer Tendulkar and Lara as the best batsmen in the world. Sadly, they arent the best anymore. The best batsman is Ricky Ponting, Dravid coming at the second position. Ponting is enjoying the best form of his life and he’s making good use of it. Ponting is the king in both forms of the game. He’s making a lot of runs for Australia and very quickly. He’s 33 and the fitness levels he’s maitaining, he can easily carry on for atleast 3-4 years. I think he’s time to move on will come when Michael Clarke comes of age and can take over captainship. Until then Ponting will make an avalanche of runs and break plenty of world records. Yes, he will surpass Tendulkar in terms of test runs and centuries. Tendulkar is actually younger than Punter but neither he has the form nor the fitness. Tendulkar will have the satisfaction of retiring as the highest run-getter and top century-maker in ODIs. Though Ponting is doing very well in this form of the game too but he’ll have to do a lot of catching up.

Just finished listening to the movie-Gangster’s song and once again the Bhatt camp (Vishesh Films) has come out with a winner! The album has 6 numbers and 3 of them are absolute gems. ‘Tu hi meri shab hai’, ‘Bheegi Bheegi’ and ‘Ya Ali’ are going to rule the charts for sometime now. Vishesh Films enhances its reputation with Gangster’s music. Pritam has done an outstanding job and so have the singers he chose for the above mentioned songs. ‘Tu meri shab hai’ has Kay Kay lending his voice and what a great job he has done. Then you have ‘Bheegi Bheegi’ by James. Ofcourse you haven’t heard of him! He’s from Bangladesh and very popular there. As per some sources he doesn’t follow a single word of either Hindi or English! So the composer had to get the song written for him in Bangla! He has the voice of a rockstar! Don’t know whether he’ll pursue a career in India or not but this song should get composers knocking at his doors. And finally you have Zubeen from Assam who is the voice behind ‘Ya Ali’. Another rocking voice! And lastly, hats off to lyricists-Sayeed Quadri and Mayur. You can listen to these songs the whole day without getting bored. This album has come as breath of fresh air as it will soon knock Himesh Reshamiya off the charts! Nothing against Himesh, just that we have had too much of him these days!

Pops and Su-B (!) are in the drawing watchin’ Indian Idol. I detest these talent search shows. They definitely are good for the participants but are plain boring to me. Show after show you have these participants crooning hit numbers or should we say imitating the original playbacks! Yes that’s all what they do and add some drama and there you are-no not India’s next singing sensation, but high TRPs for the producers which is equal to lotsa cash! Not to forget the mobile companies taking their piece of the cake through the millions of SMS being sent to vote. Don’t get me wrong, I am no communist or some jerk sitting alone in his dark room banging the keyboard! It’s just that I can’t stand the false praises the judges lavish on their favourites who just did an excellent job of imitation. And then you have the people giving a damn about the participants talent and voting for their local boy. Yeah, just the local boy, not the girl! I would prefer watchin’ a contest wherein the singers performing their improvisations of hits and being judged only and only by the Jury. Forget public voting, it is and will always be biased. These shows churn out hundreds of singers and I’m yet to see any of these make it in Bollywood. The problem is that these guys never try to be original. Who wants an Udit Narayan or Sonu Nigam-clone when you can get the original? There is no place of the clones. To make it you have to be distinct, hatke. All these programs are nothing but clone-factories. Anyways, who cares! Atleast they keep my folks and my pesky sis glued to their seats in front of the TV. I get all privacy I need to listen to Green Day with the volume at max! Cheers!

The 15-member squad for the ODI series was just announced. Was surprised to see Ajit Agarkar in the team and the names of Anil Kumble and Dinesh Mongia missing. I don’t understand the logic of having 5 seamers in the squad when you are playing in India. But I still consider Agarkar as allrounder material. Don’t know when the team mngt. and he himself will realise this. Anil Kumble’s exclusion is baffling. He’s India’s no.1 spinner and no slouch with the bat. Yes, he is 35 but so what?! He’s giving the team his all and in my opinion that is all what matters. Really will be sad if he doesn’t play the WC2007. And why was Dinesh Mongia kept out? He’s been the the top performer this year in Indian domestic cricket. He’s 28, so is in the form of his life and is making good use of it. If we have a look at all Indian domestic cricket statistics, one name will always figure on the top of most batting lists and it belongs to Mongia. He has been the most consistent batsman this year. Not only this, he has been regularly picking up wickets. Venugopal has pipped him to a place. Venu will have to justify his selection. Munaf Patel is the new face in the squad and will most probably make his debut in the 1st ODI itself. Welcome aboard Munaf! But I’m still waiting to see the batsman in you, heard a lot about him. Tendulkar has opted out due to a shoulder injury and will be out of action for atleast 8 weeks. Hope he uses the time to not only to recuperate from injury but also to banish the demons in his mind. We need you Sachin, more than ever before! Here’s wishing you a speedy recovery!

Saw Peter Jackson’s ‘King Kong’. A very well made movie but you can give it a miss! Jackson is in great form and has actually carried over some of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ touch into this movie. Don’t get me wrong. What I meant to say is he has actually made ‘King Kong’ a bit too ‘artistically’. You feel as if you are watching some classic, some very movie whereas King Kong should have been the kind of movie you would label as a Summer-hit, a Hollywood-masala movie. If you are looking for great movie for the perfect weekend, avoid ‘King Kong’! No doubt it’s a well researched and well made movie but it surely does fall short on the fun and thrill meter.

I’d rather recommend the Reese Witherspoon starrer-’Just Like Heaven’. A romantic comedy, interesting story, good direction and good acting. ‘King Kong’ will definitely be remembered as a technical masterpiece but it’s a movie which falls short of expectations. ‘Just Like Heaven’ is cool and you’ll get your money’s worth.

Was just having a look at an old article about the stars of the Indian U-19 that won the 2000 U-19 WC in Sri Lanka. Lets check what are they all upto now. Captain Mohammed Kaif is now an ODI regular and is trying to break into the test side. Man-of-the-series Yuvraj Singh is a certainty in any Indian side now and may go onto leading the side one day. Man-of-the-finals Reetinder Singh Sodhi did play some ODIs but could not register the same impact he had in junior cricket. He’s just turned 23 and has enough time to make a comeback, which I think he will some day. I’d like to see him projecting himself as a batsman who can bowl a lil’ bit and not an all-rounder. He’ll never be an all-rounder. But he surely can be a very useful batsman in ODIs. Neeraj Patel was the top scorer in the Ranjis last season. Will have to continue making runs to attract the selectors. Venugopal is now on the fringes. This guy may turn out to be a pretty good bat in both forms of the game. Keeper Ajay Ratra kept wickets in ODIs and tests but was unceremoniously dumped for an even younger Parthiv Patel. Wasn’t treated very well and may never really play for India again. The quicks of the team- Shalabh Shrivastav and Mrityunjay Tripathi. Shrivastav seems to have disappeared completely. Tripathi is a regular for UP and most likely wont be playing for India. Was V. Sivaramakrishnan in that squad too? Don’t remember. Well he started off as a left-arm spinner and a handy lower-order bat. And like NZL’s Mark Richardson, he’s completely given up bowling and is now an opener and unlike Richardson, a hard-hitting one!

My heart really goes out for two very hard-workers and very committed players-RP Singh and L. Balaji. RP’s only fault is that he is ‘another left-arm seamer’. So he’ll be back only when he ups his pace by a yard or two or if Pathan goes down. Really say about the later. C&D (i.e. Chappell and Dravid!) see him as an all-rounder. So RP should continue the hard work he’s putting in and also increase his pace. He will get his chances. Balaji was doing great and then came the much dreaded injury pulling him out of all competitive cricket. Dunno when he’ll be back. Indian cricket needs personalities like him. Zaheer and Nehra need to work on their fitness and attitude or else there is no future for them with the Indian team, period. Bowlers to watch out for? There is J&K’s Abid Nabi. He really isn’t a big name in the Ranjis but has been earmarked by C&D for his pace and the control he has shown. Then we have Bengal’s SS Paul and Ranadeb Bose. Both have been taking amongst wickets and both are medium pacers which is why the selectors don’t seem to be very keen in them. One person who’s slowly getting back into his groove is Mumbai’s Avishkar Salvi. Watch out for this guy. VRV? He’ll have to work a lot on his fitness and control. Should look upon Munaf for inspiration. One bowler who isn’t getting his dues is Punjab’s Gagandeep Singh. He’s quick and has pretty good control too. Another one to watch out for. Not to forget Gujarat’s Siddharth Trivedi and UP’s Praveen Kumar. India’s quick bowling future hasn’t looked better!

Nooooooo! This couldn’t have happened! India lost the 3rd test by 212 runs, being bowled out for a 100 runs. This is a big win for the English. They not only managed to level the series but also retain their no.2 spot in the Test rankings- all this without Trescothick, Simon Jones, Vaughan, Giles, Harmison…To describe India’s performance in one word- pathetic. Dravid began it all by choosing to field first, God knows why he did that. Then our fielders kept dropping catches with amazing consistency. Then out batsmen show absolutely no application, in their own backyard. Damn you India.

C&D have a lot of wrongs to correct. Chappell needs to take this aggression thing a bit lightly, atleast for now. Don’t know how you can just play 5 specialist batsmen when most of them are woefully out of form. I am a supporter of the 5 batsmen-5 bowlers theory, but only when your frontline batsmen are in good touch. Except Dravid, all Indian batsmen looked out of their depth. Too much faith is being shown in the batting prowess of Dhoni and Pathan. Dhoni can bat and bat well. But he’s yet to really get a taste of good fast bowling. He has blasted SRL-PAK bowlers who would spray the ball at the first instance of being hit. Dhoni flopped against SAF and now ENG- both teams boasting of quicks who not only bowl fast, swing the ball but also maintain a good line & length. With a lil’ more experience Dhoni will come good against quality attacks but until then he shouldn’t be made to shoulder the responsibility of being the ‘6th batsmen’. Pathan is a technically superior batsman but again he too is being fast-tracked into being India’s Andrew Flintoff. Both of these players need to be allowed to grow at their own pace. A lil’ patience and India will have two world class allrounders. As for the fielding, the coach definitely needs to kick ass-literally. And that includes the captain. Tendulkar will get a good break and he needs it badly. Hope he utilises it to the hilt. As for the rest, they need to focus and focus hard. ENG are not SRL or PAK. They have tasted blood and they will hit hard now. If India keep making these costly errors ENG will return home with the ODI series in their kitty.

By the look of it, Jaffer prefers domestic cricket to int’l. If not then why the heck isn’t he making runs? Just because your were the leading run-getter wont help. Averaging isn’t great. You ofcourse will fly to the Caribbean but whether you play a test match again depends on how Gambhir does in the ODI series. If he’s a hit, you can enjoy the sun ‘n’ sand and taste the best rum on Earth. And then comeback and join your mates at the ‘Had Been An India Test Opener’ Club. This is your last chance buddy. Practice and pray hard. It’s now or never and you very well know it.

I for one, don’t like Kaif but he’s one guy who missed. His grit and determination to stay there and value his wicket were much needed. Won’t say that for Laxman. He wants to be an integral part of the ODI and Test team. He already has lost place in the ODI squad and now the Test playing-XI. And maybe, very soon his place in the test squad too. It’s good that the team management is practicing the the no performance-no place policy. Ganguly will most probably never play int’l cricket and rightly so. Unfortunately Laxman is following his footsteps. I haven’t given up hope on him but his time is slowly running out. He can’t expect to keep getting selected coz he’s very talented and has played some outstanding knocks. What matters is the present and only the present. He better make the most of the next break he gets. India’s success depends a lot on Tendulkar. He is one player who cannot be left out. So if he performs, nothing like it. If he doesn’t he’ll pull the whole team down and make a youngster wait for his turn unnecessarily. I don’t care what he does to become Sachin Tendulkar again but whatever he does he needs to do it quick. And you fringe guys-Kaif, Raina, Venugopal and now, Laxman-make the most of Sachin’s absence. Make runs guys and lots of them. Opportunities like these don’t keep coming. The team is in distress, make runs and make a career.

Have only words of praise for the Indian bowlers. Kumble is a gem, hope he hangs around until Piyush Chawla can confidently take the baton from him. Harbhajan looks better now. He’ll be the no.1 spinner in the ODI team and will have direct competition from Ramesh Powar. I’d like to see Bhajji in the test team and Powar in the ODI side. Munaf-Sreesanth are the find of the series. I didn’t expect a lot from them but both have surprised me. Way to go you guys! Keep up the good work. Pathan didn’t live upto the expectations. Chappell says Pathan never will be an express bowler. Alright, but how about a swing bowler who can average 85 mph? That isn’t a very big ask, is it? He is landing the ball in the right areas and getting a lot of movement but the pace is lacking and that is affecting his ability to take wickets. Common Irfan, you can do it. Forget about being our Flintoff, you have it in you to go a lot farther.

And hearty congratulations to the England team. The spirit you have shown is truly praise-worthy and inspiring. Hope it’s infectious and rubs off on our team! Well played, if you guys carry on this way the ODI series is yours. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen, Cheers! And curses to the Indian team for letting England win a test here after 21 long years…

As I’ve said earlier, I am with the Mumbai crowd on booing players who keep disappointing us. But I’m certainly not with them when it comes to jeering the opposition. Mouthing expletives to the guests is not Indian. I was shocked to hear some sections of the Mumbai crowd telling Flintoff to f**k off, that England sucks, ‘etc’. This is crap. Not only it creates unnecessary tension and unpleasantness but also may encourage miscreants in other centers to do the same and make this part of our cricketing culture. The English have come to India expecting great hospitality and warmth from the local public and that is exactly what they should get. The sad part is the authorities may not be aware of English expletives and so may be ignorant of this. But what about the times when the crowd swore in Hindi? Someone needs to take this matter and complain. Hoping that ’someone’ isn’t a part of the English contingent. If that happens, it really would be a very sad day.

Should Sehwag be brought back into the middle-order and get a specialist opener? I say no! Sehwag is no more a middle-order bat. Not after you have hammered tons against the best attacks in their own backyard. Yes he is not doing well and losing his wicket in the same fashion. That doesn’t mean his technique is faulty. Its just lack of focus and application. All he needs is some serious man-to-man talk. Chappell & Dravid need to tell him where he is going wrong and what corrective action he needs to take. Add a lil’ motivating stuff too. If Sehwag still doesn’t get the point then I guess the way out is the only way. Tendulkar? Frankly speaking, if there is anyone who can get this man back onto his feet is none other than Sachin Tendulkar himself. He needs to sit down and give it a serious thought. No I’m not talking about that retirement shit. He’s only 32 now and still has more than a couple of years in him. Sachin needs to reinvent himself, reignite the passion. Stop trying to be Dravid or Sehwag. He’s a batsman who has the good qualities of both. I just hope the competitive spirit in him doesn’t die and he continues to strive to take his game to the next level. I won’t say his booing by Mumbai fans was wrong. We are fans, we make heroes and it is out right to give them the intimation that we may bring them down. Hopefully Sachin will take it in the right spirit and play knocks will make us wag our tongues in admiration only.