total timepass...

After almost 7 years, I went into the Lords stadium recently. It is visible from our living room, so honestly its doesn't seem as exciting now. But still seeing India-England play gives it a certain sense of newness which I enjoyed... Thankfully, the match we saw was the only one in this Test Series which India won. So the whole experience turned out even better for us. Would have been terrible if we had got tickets for any of the ones after this one... Anyways couple of interesting observations based on my day out in the field: Watching a match at Lords feels a bit underwhelming. Its something about the crowd but its very formal and subdued. There are very few spectators holding posters, no Mexican waves, and no loud cheering. All the cheering is what you would call 'stiff British upper lip' type with the men in jackets standing and clapping, saying 'Well done boys, well done'! Its just not how I am used to seeing a cricket match and it just felt too boring...

Indian cricket and Sachin have been synonymous for so long now; and our fascination for all kinds of statistics related to Sachin have been talked about for so long now, that a new one coming out does not make us bat an eye anymore. On top of that is the hotly debated question on when he should retire, its been a national obsession for long now (after how Abhi-Ash got married and what Aradhya looks like that is). It doesn't matter anymore what people write about Sachin, most of it doesn't matter. He is going to do what he wants and play how he wants. Thats it, what can anyone do about it? But then I read this today, and again felt like laughing. Everytime Sachin scores a duck, Mumbai wins . Hahaha! Do the statisticians really have no work other than coming out with such stats? And honestly, to give a complete picture, they should also mention how many times does he not score a duck and Mumbai wins! Anyways, I found it funny, so thought of posting it to my blog.

The Grand Indian Tamasha (IPL) is back again! A couple of months of total entertainment, that's what it is. Hate it or like it, its here to stay! And to enjoy:) I have been a follower of IPL almost since the time it started, more so since I was staying in Mumbai during that period. And when in des , its tough to not get involved in the whole hoopla. I have been a Delhi supporter since the beginning, because of staying in Delhi for a long time, plus being a Sehwag fan. Not because he is the best Indian batsman out there (he isn't) but just because there is no one like him out there. To be fair, Delhi did perform well in the first couple of seasons too. Never winning the trophy or getting close to it, but putting in a decent effort at least! And so was a lot more fun following the IPL. Last year was different though, they sucked thoroughly, and were at the bottom of the heap. And with it, went through the window, my interest in IPL too! It's tough to follow so many match...

We've won it! 2011 Cricket World Cup is India's! Dhoni and team have done it for the country:). After years of watching world cup after world cup and being disappointed everytime, its finally happened! And Sachin finally gets his hand on the elusive trophy. Still can't believe it, still hasn't sunk in.. but its true!! We are the world champions now.. Finally, and after so long...!!! Will remember it for long, we were there when it happened.. Following India through the initial stages, where they struggled many times. But when it came to the big matches, the team stepped up! Australia beaten at Ahmedabad and Pakistan beaten at the high profile match at Mohali. And the final.. cheering and following each ball with waited breath.. ! This is one match, one win our generation will remember!! The unhappiness with Mahela's century.. the lost hope when Sri Lanka made 274.. the panic when we lost Sehwag and Tendulkar too soon.. and then the rocking knock by Gambhir...

Just posting some funny cricket pics I found online..

This is a new mode of advertising that Virgin Mobile has used, possibly for the first time? Introducing ads on the net rather than showing them on TV. Found these quite funny to watch actually, fans of different IPL teams talking to each other on the phone trying to crack jokes on the other team. The jokes are mostly PJs, a lot of them have a tinge of truth too though! The swearing at the end of each phone call could have been avoided, but still good fun.. Watch them (Given below are the ads in three parts)... Indian Panga League Part 1 Indian Panga League Part 2 Indian Panga League Part 3

IPL is over.. phew.. !! Though obviously the aftermath isn't yet:). Once the Shoaib-Sania daily updates finished, started the Modi saga, giving enough work to the Indian media.. This latest saga will continue to give us many more 'manu-ranjan ka baap' moments for sometime.. but we still need to wait and watch for the end to this.. Anyways, this article is more about the IPL stadium experience again. Most of the earlier IPL league matches that I saw were in Braborne stadium (of which I have already written before in detail ). They were fun to watch and so I kept going again and again to see those matches. Saw the IPL final in the DY Patil Stadium however and it was a different experience. Not sure if I would want to go there often though! The stadium is beautiful! Very well constructed: its huge and there are no columns blocking your view at any location. Any seat you sit on, you get a complete view of the ground (and this was quite different from Braborne). The sound a...

For the last month of so, IPL 3 has been the best entertainment source for a lot of us, if not the only source! Its sad that even good hindi movies have dried up for this period. It helps though that any restaurant or club you go to would have the match playing, so at least we are all still going out!! Anyways, this year have managed to see multiple matches at the stadium too and they are real entertainers, a good evening out... The 'Grand Indian Tamasha' is what IPL should be renamed as:). Increasingly I have come to realise that the IPL is less and less about cricket and more about entertainment. In the stadium, the atmosphere is electric. Loud music playing continuously. Cheerleaders, mascots, dhol wale. The entire gamut of entertainers only to please the crowd. And the cricket being played in between:). Thats what the IPL is all about and it works well too. The crowds absolutely love it and have a ball at the matches. Watching IPL has become a good ev...

Got this as a forward, after Tendulkar made his "unbeaten 200". Am not sure if this is genuine or not, but still a good one... "When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam. When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to "open" the Nehruvian economy. It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had le...

Read this article on cricinfo by Sidharth Monga , about the sudden rise in cricket matches between India and Sri Lanka to such an extreme level, that it has lost all interest it had for the cricket fans. Some gems from his article about how everyone is protesting against these frequent matches in their own creative way: "......until they get a written assurance that India and Sri Lanka won't play each other for the next five years. Not in Tests. Not in ODIs. Not in Twenty20. Not in women's cricket. Not in carrom. Not in women's carrom. " "I have no doubt that Vijay Bahadur Mishra and Daljit Singh grew sick of it all, and took the only route left for men of honour and dignity. They rolled out a monster of a pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla, making sure at least one of these matches was called off. " "The best rivals bring out the best in each other; India and Sri Lanka have for months been excavating the worst out of each other." "Tillakara...

After the brilliant performance by Sehwag in the Test match against Sri Lanka yesterday, lots has been written about him.. I'll just put here, some stuff that was forwarded to me, or I read on some website.. " I have asked him (Tendulkar) many times what the zone is. He tells me that's when "I see nothing except the ball". I ask how that is possible. I have never felt something like that. I have asked Rahul Dravid the same thing. He says sometimes when he is in really good form, he sees only the ball - and not the sightscreen, the non-striker, the umpire or who is bowling, he just sees only the ball. But I have never entered that zone even if I've scored triple-centuries twice. Maybe I will enter that zone they talk about in future." - Can we imagine what would happen if he does start going into 'the' zone??? " Hard as it is to believe, Sehwag had scored just 15 runs off the first 31 balls he faced in the Test." - Such a statement, a...

Here are some (emotional) quotes from a function to honour the Fab Four of Indian Cricket (Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble)....... Kumble on Sachin “You’ve had the challenge to prove everybody right, I had the challenge to prove everybody wrong...” Sourav on himself: "“Over the past 12-13 years I’ve made good friends and made some enemies, but it was all for the good of Indian cricket and, hopefully, you’ve enjoyed walking the path with me.” Kumble on Sourav: “Enjoy the last four days (of Test cricket)... You’ve been fantastic and it’s under you that we learnt to win Tests abroad,”