Interesting Times Ahead...
Neither Dravid and his boys nor Bermuda could answer to the 'billion' prayers and India crashed out of the world cup. I thought we sent our best team, but unfortunately our best wasn't good enough. So our players get an extended break till May - but I am sure this is one break they didn't want and wouldn't enjoy.
So what next???
These are interesting times for Team India. It could get a new captain, a new coach and a different core management team. It is difficult to single out anyone for this collective failure but am sure a few scapegoats would be sacrificed.
Could this be a new dawn for Indian Cricket? It could well be.
We are eternal optimists, we even believed this team was going to bring back the trophy :)

Bengal Tiger roars again!
The Bengal tiger aka Saurav Ganguly roared again and scored a majestic 98 in his comeback. Self belief, confidence and fighting against all odds has always been the man's strong points and thats what I believe has pulled him through. [come on guys, we all know how much talented he is as a fielder anyway]The comeback could not have been scripted any better than this and he deserves all the plaudits that he is getting now.
Everything happens for a reason--he was dropped, humiliated and now he has come roaring back and has a even more stronger support.
But again, he just believed in himself and wanted to play for India again. Did he really care what other "experts" were thinking and writing about him? NO.
If he did, he would have turned to an "expert" by now and been seen on TV with a mike in hand.
Thankfully, he listened to only one voice - the inner self!

Adieu Warne, McGrath...
It is already a week since Warne and McGrath played their last days of Test cricket for Australia. Australia has always had replacements ready for most players who are either out of form or about to retire. We thought Bevan can never be replaced, but they hardly seem to miss him from the outfit with the introduction of the ever-flexible Mike Hussey. In fact we did not think it was possible to replace even Ian Healy, but they got an even better deal with Gilchrist. They always seem to have someone ready. But I believe it is difficult even for Australia to find someone to fill up Warne's shoes.
He was a total entertainer with his magical wrist and a true Aussie attitude. He might not be a role model, but do you think he wanted to be one? I don't think so. He lived life his way and I bet he has no regrets about it.
However you look at it, he will always be remembered as one of the greatest bowlers of all time, if not the greatest.

Thank you Shane!

Cud this be the real reason??
This funny video could explain India's not so good performances of late.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8339640590907806297&q=india+cricket&hl=en

Thanks to my friend J for sharing the link.

Losing the battles and Winning the war!
The last couple of years could have been extremely tough on the man, but the fighter that he is, he proved that all is not lost. He would have lost many battles along the way (captaincy et. al.) but I am sure he will be a winner when the war ends (as a cricketer).
Saurav battled to score a 50 in the first innings, which neither batsmen on either side could achieve. He also played his part in the second innings with a short cameo. The odds were stacked against him and even his ardent fan (including yours truly) would not want to bet their money, leave alone lives, on his batting skills against fast, short-pitched bowling. But he did manage to surprise all his critics and fans alike. Not that he has overcome those shortcomings by any means, but he will fight and learn from his mistakes.
After all, experience did count!

Quote: Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. - Oscar Wilde

Saurav is back!
After weeks of speculation, Saurav was included in the Indian cricket test team. Yet another comeback and yet another chance. The stage is tailor made for the fighter rather than the batsman in Saurav - alien conditions, awkward bounce, lethal pace bowlers, a not so friendly coach, fans' expectations, critics' pressure and many more...
We all hope that he is back with a bang this time!

an interesting video...Thalai pola varuma? - Is there anyone like the "head" - Saurav?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf2HH6IV7Y4

PS: Thanks to Rocket for the video

Are quitters losers?
Winners never quit;quitters never win!
Agreed, quitters never win. But are they losers?
Yes, Trescothick cannot win (or be a part of winning team) , because he is not even playing. It is difficult to win when you are not playing!

Trescothick had to quit the Ashes team and return back to England due to a stress related illness. I think England is better off now and it could have been even more worse if he did hang around in Australia and perform poorly. He has at least given an opportunity to another player who can commit 100% to the team and game. The media has been very understanding and respectful of his decision so far and I hope it stays that way. He can still win a lot of things. Win back his strength and resolve, his self-confidence, his place in the side and his team mates trust.

He cannot lose, he cannot win, but he will also never know if he could have made the difference to the scoreline!

Yet again!
Certain people refuse to go away without a fight. Few others refuse to go away even after the fight! For most people Saurav Ganguly is a closed chapter in the Indian team. For a handful of people like me who follow his travails - we refuse to read his "cricket obituary" though we know its already written. It can be secured inside the envelope, atleast for the time being.
Yes, Saurav is amongst runs!!! atleast at the domestic level. He scored a fluent century for East Zone and did what he does best - throw open passionate arguments. Given the recent performances of the Indian team and the form (or the lack of it!) of some of the batsmen, maybe...just may be we can see light at the end of the tunnel.
Can he make another comeback?

Interesting Quotes!
"I don't need to watch myself. I know what I am already - flamboyant. if I were to watch myself, it's going to be pretty, definitely. It's got to be pretty."

-Chris Gayle

This is called Konfidence.

"The draw will take place on 30 November and winner will be notified by 2 November 2006. "
-http://iccchampionstrophy.indya.com/

and guess when the prize is given away, November 5th 2006.

"You know, education - if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

-John Kerry

Jay Leno remarked yesterday that Kerry should atleast be happy that people are listening and responding to his speech unlike his election campaigns.

"I have an old-fashioned view, I judge sports organisations on the basis of three things: 1. How the team performs. 2. How the board looks after its stake-holders in terms of facilities on the grounds, and 3. How well they use resources like population to produce great cricketers."

-Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive

Game on...I am very sure there is going to be a retort from Lalit Modi.
But can the Indian cricket team respond??

Different Day, Same Result!

Yes! You guessed it right...its all about the MEN IN BLUE yet again! On Oct 29th 2006, I was one among the many Indian supporters who woke up early on a Sunday morning; gearing up to see the all-important knock out game against arch rivals Aussies. This was a week long goal/hope/desire to make sure that I get up right in time for the game! The first four hours were absolutely satisfying to see the Indians put up a decent total on the board against some quality seam attack. Also given the behavior of the pitches for the tournament so far, a target of 250 looked like a good contest on the cards. Well......a weeks desire for me, the hope of millions back home....everything ceased in the next hour of play, making a lot of people think twice "is it worth watching and supporting yet another Indian game?"

Lack of penetration from our "young guns" in the bowling department helped by some lazy display of fielding took the game away from us in a couple of overs. It was too late to even make a come back of sorts, especially given the Aussie line up and the fact that a batsmen like Hussey, who holds an average of ~ 78 in ODIs, was set to bat at number 7.Anyway all said and done, yet another painful defeat for India who have now just managed to have 2 victories over the Aussies in the 15 matches played against them after the 2003 World Cup. As Ravi Shastri rightly mentioned out, its high time that the Indian think tank stops taking chances around with the number three slot, though they dint do it on Sunday.

Taking a look at the World Cups so far, you can see that the men who made a difference, Amarnath in 1983, DeanJones in 1987, Inzamam in 1992, DeSilva in 1996 and Ponting over the last 2 world cups, were all the number three batsmen on most of the occasions....It was also disheartening to see all sub continent teams being thrown out of the tournament even before the semifinals. I just happened to see a statistic couple of days back, that among the top 5 leading run scorers in ODIs this year, four are from Srilanka. So it makes things even worse ...does it not??

With the team for South African tour announced today, I hope the bowling department would gel into a strong unit with the likes of Zaheer and experienced Kumble. Also eager to see the top order fire more consistently from now on, given the fact that the World cup countdown has already started. So, I sincerely hope that the team performs well in South Africa and all future series leading to the World Cup. I always feel Cricket is something special and supporting India is all the more special and exciting. How many ever Sundays pass like this, I still would never let my hope die - we would be at the top, one fine day! That's Cricket and that's what it is to support Indian cricket!....Wishing the MEN IN BLUE Good luck!...

Normalcy returns!
A couple of days back Bob Woolmer had commented that there was a sign that reads "Normal services will be resumed soon" perennially hanging over the Pakistani cricket team. Normal services were in place today, and they were bundled out cheaply to let South Africa grab a semi-final spot.

India also returned to normal services and lost to West Indies, and as I have already written (India can make it happen!), we did compete. and guess who was the inspiration for West Indies victory, according to Lara- -our very own coach 'guru' Greg. He promised to build a team and inspire them to the next level. We assumed it was going to be India. But Greg has kept up his promise, West Indies are certainly improving with every game.

Could we expect normal services when we meet Australia this weekend?

Triumph in adversity!
The "cornered tigers" did it again. You can count on the Pakistan cricket team to provide drama and they did just that today against Sri Lanka. After weeks, may be months (years...I don't remember a settled and peaceful team) of turmoil, internal conflicts and drug scandals, Pakistan pulled off a tight game quite admirably. Even a neutral follower (am not very neutral;)) would feel happy for this team that always adds that mysterious touch to the game.
Such things makes one believe that "adrenaline" alone can somtimes make up for everything else.
You tend to push yourself over the limits when you are cornered and bounce back with full might.

On another note, the last month of drama culminating with this win could make up for a wonderful masala movie in India. The highlight is the happy ending that everyone wishes to see:)

India can make it happen!
India won the opening tie against England today in the Championship Trophy. We made a match out of what should have been a no contest. Agreed, I did not watch the match to comment on the conditions. But is this the first time that we faulter chasing a mediocre score? I would think we are the most 'competitive' team. We manage to compete against the best-Australia and sometimes even pull off a victory and also 'compete' against a lesser team, making them believe they have a chance and create a contest. Will we ever be ruthless and demoilsh oppositions? Will we ever decimate bowling attacks and instill fear in the minds of opposition teams?
I believe we are very nice people to ever achieve that.