T20 World Cup Fixture is Buggy

The fixtures and schedule for the ICC T20 World cup 2009 are faulty. The concept of pooling them into groups based on the previous world cup rankings is pretty justifiable but ranking them this time based on their last world cup's performance is sheer stupidity. For instance, even though England and South Africa have topped their respective pools this time they have been named as B2 and D2 and hence they have to play against the tougher teams A1 and C1. So for the super eights you have a pool which has teams like India,England,South Africa and West Indies. Three out of these four have topped the tables this time around. And the other pool has Pakistan,Ireland,New Zealand and Sri Lanka, only one pool topping team among the four. Ideally the pools for super eight should have been decided based on what ranks the teams achieve this tournament. Now, this has resulted in huge imbalance among the pools for the super eights. Another effect of this mistake is the the last few matches have become inconsequential. For instance, the match between West Indies and SriLanka and the match between New Zealand and South Africa. They just served merely as a practice match where teams tried to seize the momentum as they go into the next round.
I believe the reason for making such fixtures was to boost the sale of tickets and advance bookings as it was known well in advance where will the teams meet for super eights match unless there is a upset like the ousting of Australia. It is time the organizers think beyond petty gains like this which kills the competitive spirit of the game and makes the series a lackluster one.

Memories down under in Coimbatore

Well, somethings don't happen when and where you wish . They just happen when they are destined to. And till then you have to wait for the moment. I had been thinking of going and visiting my college and the beautiful city of Coimbatore where it is situated ever since I completed a year into this corporate world but then the thought had a wait time of 4 years before it finally materialized.

Yes, indeed this weekend I visited Coimbatore and more importantly spent a time of full 2 hours inside the campus taking snaps and recollecting memories of lost times, of times which will never come back again. It was really bad that there was no one in the college except some staffs who were invigilating over some exams happening. So, here I had an unrestricted access into all the hostel and department blocks. Of course, the labs were closed. The Coimbatore weather in June, stayed true to its expectations and was at its typical best. It was breezing all the while with intermittent drizzle now and then. Many things have changed and many new things have cropped up new. Like the new Civil Engineering block. But some things are rock solid and unchanged. Like the hostel and the greenery around. It goes to the credit of the college administrators for not giving in to expansion at the price of greenery. As for around the college, there are a lot of new bakeries which have sprung up. Also, noteworthy for me was the new snooker,billiards and pool outlet which has come up. Brave move by the owner I would say knowing my college mates finances. Nakshatra has become Ponnusamy, K.R Bakes has become K.R. Restaurants , I think this change is all across Coimbatore. Somethings have vanished, like the all famous Karthick mess.

Life has to move on and so have we. But some memories remain etched in ur minds forever though in dormant state. It was like hitting the rewind button on the remote control and then watching the highlights of the play again.

Hits and Misses of IPL 2

I know this one is quite late. But it had kept me too busy to write one here. I am talking of IPL 2. Here is my own list of bests and worsts of the season 2 of IPL starting from the worst.

• Kolkatta Knight Riders: Yes, this is indeed the worst thing that can happen to a sporting extravaganza of this magnitude. Right from the point of Ponting pulling out and the team losing out on it's Paki players to the continuous losing streak and the never ending controversies in and around the team, this has put IPL2 to shame. KKR are in news always and always for wrong reasons.
• Loss of form of Rajasthan Royals : May be due to key players like Shane Watson and Sohail Tanwir or may be b'cos of off the colour Greame Smith making a comeback after injury, the champions are not in true color. It was sheer fun to watch a young team led by an inspiring leader making it to the top the last time. The same doesn't seem to happen this time around. Adding to their woes is the loss of Shane Warne now.
• Kevin Peterson and Andrew Flitoff : If you think they are on this list b'cos of their huge pay cheques which everyone envies ( including me) you are not entirely wrong. These are players who did not perform worth their money. Both were out of touch throughout their stay and after the exit of these two players the respective teams appear to have strengthened.
• See-Saw Mumbai Indians: Very much like the season 1 of IPL, Mumbai Indians are having a see-saw in their fortunes here. Starting with a win against the runners up of the last year, they slumped to a defeat failing to chase 120 runs on the board and some inexplicable captaincy in another match from Sachin. However, recently they seem to have regained the touch and are in contention of the semi-final spot yet again.
• Re-charged Deccan: On papers Deccan were and are one of the strongest side. Just that they couldn't perform as a unit last time around. The Chargers this time with changed jerseys are a different unit altogether. From being the bottom team in the last edition, this time they are right on among the top teams.
• Daring Daredevils : This is the case of old wine becoming tastier. If they were good in Season 1 they are the BEST this season. Being on the top of the tables consistently they are an amazingly strong side with players of calibre Glen McGrath and Danile Vettori warming the benches.
• Namma Chennai : After initial hiccups, Namma Chennai looks all set to reach semi-finals in style and are a very formidable unit. With Hayden,Raina and some other new timers like Jakati and Tyagi in top form all I can say for Hayden case is Australia's loss is Chennai's gain.

The best things about IPL are undoubtebly the unlimited entertainment they are providing. Hence, the top three feature entertainment as their major contributor.

• Unlimited Entertainment: With doubts of the season's success, IPL 2 shifted to SA. But what a tournament it has been so far. If IPL 1 was more to do with Batsman only, this season has been even to both batsman and bowlers. Matches turning either ways like the turn of the page in book, each match is so damn exciting to watch. Due to smart marketing strategy, it has managed to pull in crowds to the stadium and make the whole season a success.
• Fake IPL Blogger : I need not introduce this guy to you for sure. Beleive him or not, Agree with him or not, He is speaking truth or not , who really cares. All he speaks is so much fun to read and is guaranteed entertainment.
• Vodaphone ads starring ZOZO: Now this has to top the list. I call it innovation at its best. Vodaphone has always been keen on making ads without big stars and this one continues the trend. But I believe by the time all the ads are out, ZOZO would have become stars. The ads are so much fun to watch. The best was the "Make up alerts".

Well, skeptics may list out negatives of the tournament. But negative and positives are just two sides of the coin and is bound to exist in everything, IPL is no exception.

Is India ready for Nano?

Nano has been unveiled in India amidst huge hulla and it has all the build up for a blockbuster. But, IMHO India and Indians are not yet ready for Nano. Why? Here are the reasons:
• Indian roads and infrastructure are not yet ready for something like Nano. Imagine people buying a pulsar today buying a Nano(cost difference being only around 25k) and driving it instead of Nano. Even though the car is just 3 mts in length and has a turn radius of 4 mts it still is much more than the volume occupied on road and parking lots than of a pulsar. Considering the current scenario of traffic in India and the number of two wheelers getting registered daily, the image I see terrifies me.
• Indian social and economic climate still considers cars as a mark of luxury and not a necessity. In fact, Indian climate is also conducive to the fact that cars are not necessary.
• If we go by the logic, that each guy buying a pulsar buys a Nano, then the requirement for petrol will double assuming Nano delivers the promised mileage of 25 kmpl. This indeed is not a good news for already fuel crunch country India.
• There are claims that this is the birth of Indian technology and that it is a great step for India in the field of technology. I agree, but there are many other spectrums where India can and has to prove its technological power. Let us concentrate on those areas.
• I am no auto expert to be writing this comment. But from what I read and heard from my friends, the car design is not very good in case of any unforseen event of it crashing. The front hardly got any mass to tolerate the impact of the collision and hence, it can be fatal for the driver.

I do not mean to crash all those having a Nano dreams. All I want to say is it is a no no for Nano from me.

Me and my cricket fetish

This one goes to me. A personal recollection of my cricket fetish. I am a self acknowledged ardent cricket fan. But it was not always so. Like all our famous cricketers I too had a lean patch in my cricket fetish.

The very early memories of me enjoying cricket was of 1992 world cup. I was a Martin Crowe and NZ fan back then. I watched all the NZ matches waking up in wee hours of the morning. And I still remember how I felt when a deserving NZ lost to Pakistan in the semi finals.

Then there was a period when I supported teams like West Indies for merely Lara and Pakistan. I know it sounds odd , but then those were the days when bowlers like Wasim, Waqar used to create havoc and then there was a period of Shoaib adoration. His body language,his style,his aggression all appealed to me.

Somewhere on these lines, I became a Aussie fan and was one till very recently when the India bug bit me. Talking about the lean patch, well it actually began when I decided to take a dip into my HSC books, the dip which was a bit longer and then the college days when we lacked both time and the logistics needed to follow a cricket match. It is during this period that I somehow lost both interest in cricket and my Aussie adoration also died off. This dormant period had some activity in the form of occasional matches I watched like the 2003 world cup.

However, the passion or the fetish , was back when one particular match changed the way one day cricket is played over. The day was 12th March 2006, when Australia amassed a record score of 434 only to lose it to South Africa by 1 wicket. I must confess I did not watch this match too fully live but I managed to see the recorded version so many times. And with the advent of 20-20 cricket , cricket has generated whole new interest in me. Not only 20-20 version, I watch all versions of the game.

Even the test match once considered boring , has got new life infused into it by the fighting spirits of teams like Australia,South Africa and to certain extent India also. The recent SA-Aus series in Australia first and then in SA, have been one of the best test matches ever played. So, thanks to 12th March 2006, I will continue to haunt you with my write ups and rants about cricket.