India’s ‘hyped’ World Cup 2007 dreams….Where’s your crown,King Nothing?!

Two words summarize what I am feeling right now (after India’s pathetic pathetic performance against SL)--- livid and disappointed

Talking with me mate, Amit, yesterday after SL’s innings, I told him that I was getting this gut feeling, that something’s just not right for India. But, I somehow thought, it would be wrong, considering India performs well in such situations (backdoor entry).

Indian innings started, Robin played a couple of brilliant shots and then it all began, Robin c&b by Vaas, Saurav followed and then Sachin, the maestro strode on to the center. Only to last for 3 deliveries. It was real pain watching him ‘Clean’ bowled for nought! Couldn’t believe what was happening. The hero, The God of Cricket in India was walking back without scoring. India 44/3. That moment, I thought of switching the TV off. But being an ‘eternal optimist’, I thought, I would watch more….After Yuvi’s wicket fell, I decided-enough is enough. Switched off the TV. Put an alarm in me mobile for 2:30 am and soon was in a deep slumber. At 2:30, I saw that my dream, (should say a billion dreams) was shattered. SL had won by 69 runs.

Is there something about 23^rd March and Team India? I am not superstitious but this very day, four years back i.e. 23^rd March 2003, we had lost the World Cup finals to Australia. That was a different story. It was the finals then. Now we aren’t even in Super 8s! And we are virtually out of the cup! (again eternal optimist that I am, I hope, Bermuda wins by a big margin, but I dismiss that thought for now)

Many questions have to be answered; Should Indian team bank on the old players? Do we need to jettison some of them? What’s the use of experience if we lose critical matches? Do we need new young blood? Bloody Oath we do!…Well, whatever the answers are…One thing is quite clear-As much as it was hyped, it was a pipedream for India to win the cup. Coz it was all Hyped up…nothing else….There are better teams to win the cup. OZ still rules and NZ is looking very ominous and so does South Africa. I guess the WC will go to Southern Hemisphere this time too.

This song by Metallica - King Nothing comes to mind. The lyrics are very apt for Indian Cricket team…..

Then it all crashes down
And you break your crown
And you point your finger, but theres no one around
Just want one thing
Just to play the king
But the castles crumbled and youre left with just a name
Wheres your crown, king nothing?
Wheres your crown?

Oh, youre just nothing
Wheres your crown king nothing?
Oh, youre just nothing
Absolutely nothing
Off to never, never land

Arranged Marriages - India

I have been to nearly half-a-dozen weddings and missed as many, since Dec last year….It’s wedding season they say, this time of the year…
When it comes to ‘tying the knot’, in India, getting married the traditional way-a la “Arranged Marriage” is a THE way to go it seems.

The concept of Arranged Marriages is still a mystery to me. Frankly speaking, I am stumped by the logic behind arranged marriages. The most obvious question still bothers me- How can a person marry someone he/she doesn’t know?! It’s true; we don’t know the person (read personality/character) whom we are marrying. Simply because we haven’t known him/her for long. Did I say for long?…oops…Correction, we just meet him/her once and that’s it!! We decide whether to marry him/her from that one meeting which is nothing but an introduction. So it all comes down to just one basic thing and a set of typical questions in that meeting (or introduction or kanda pohe or whatever).The basic thing of course is the looks and the persona and it’s quite easy to get tricked by that isn’t it?! Whether we got fooled or were plain lucky can be decided only afta marriage!!!

Anyways, afta the so called introduction, both sides give their verdict…Obviously if it’s a ‘Yes’ from both, we proceed to the next stage..that is matching of kundalis …or does that take place before…well doesn’t matter…I can’t figure that out either. Coz even if the kundalis don’t match and the families like the boy/girl, the astrologer has to match them someway!!! Alrite, forget that…Engagement follows which is a normal thing in any marriage and then the World Cup finals-Wedding i.e.

I must say here that I love the wedding celebrations in India. The feast, the colorful crowds, the traditional ceremonies, the fireworks et al make for great day out.

But But But, HOWWWW do we decide from that meeting…still pondering on that one and I guess will continue to do so…Coz it's only after marriage that manifestation of the true character occurs and we get some not so pleasant surprises unlike love marriages where we know a person very well.

Pepsi Cup 2007! India vs WI, 3rd ODI!

What a pathetic score! 268 all down!! Thought India would get a minimumof 340 odd, the way Dravid and Tendulkar were milking the West Indian bowling half way through Indian innings…And ppl who saw what Robin Uthappa did to the West Indian bowlers in the first 15 overs would have thought India was aiming for 400!

Paul Allot’s comment --“After Robin Uthappa’s brutal innings, comes cultured brilliance from Dravid and Tendulkar” sums up the diversity of Indian batting line up….

Powerful as the lineup maybe, it was a sloppy effort from the middle order not to capitalize on the fantastic foundation that the top order had laid out for them.

Anyways one thing worth realizing from today’s game is that,
no matter how badly you mess up at the start, if you keep fighting with the right attitude, Lady Luck will surely smile on you (case in point Dwayne Bravo’s first over costing him 19 runs, courtesy Robin Uthappa 0,4,6,4,4,1…and Dwayne Bravo finishing on 39 runs and 4 wickets in the end!!)…. The corollary is true too….Good luck and Good starts can be easily squandered away if complacency and laziness creep in ….(Classic example- India’s collapse today after a blistering start)