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The fever is on!!

Many were skeptical about the new version of cricket , the 20-20 version. With the first world cup coming to an end , I want to put my points in favor of the newer version of the game. So here I go, why 20-20 looks better to me.

1) 20-20 means less time and the match would end soon. Hence you won't have to sit through 7 long hours to finish the match. And which would in turn mean you can do your normal chores on a match day . Which also means fewer advertisements.

2) 20-20 means full entertainment. Not a single over can be take for granted saying nothing important will happen. Just imagine what would have happened if you would have missed the over in which Pathan got Afridi out , it was in the middle of the innings.

3) 20-20 means more focus on youngsters who are physically fit and mentally tough. Yes , this is not a game for chokers. You have to hold your nerves throughout the 40 overs of the game.

4) The onus being on the team effort , individual milestones are of lesser importance. The importance of centuries and individual contribution takes a back seat. For instance, west indies lost the match inspite of a century ( the only century in this world cup ) from Chris Gayle.

5) There is no place for complacency. You just simply can't take things for granted. Every single run counts, every single dot ball counts. Take this for instance, there were matches were 13 runs were scored of the last 4 overs by Australia and matches were 36 runs were scored over a single over.

6)Dynamism is the need of the hour. You just can't simply pre-plan things. The decisions on the bowling, batting line up, fielding etc have to be taken dynamically. Harbhajan Singh was kept shielded for Shahid Afridi to come on is the best example of this.

7) 20-20 cricket is set to make its impact on the bigger version of the game as well. The way one day cricket changed the test cricket , esp. the way Australians play a test match.

8) "20-20 is a batsman's game". I would counter this argument with the logic that bowlers won all the crucial matches for India. Just that the desired level of performance from the bowlers is different now. If he bowls a 6 run over , among the last 3 he can well be the reason for the team's victory.

9) All rounders have come to spotlight. We no longer need specialist batsman or bowlers who can't even manage to do the other thing reasonably well. We need batsman who can chip in with an over or two and bowlers who can bat reasonably well .

10) And the biggest reason why 20-20 will be in spotlight , India are damn good at it. We are the champions.

Lets hope 20-20 fever catches on everyone.

Me:A part of History

There are times when you are short of words but you have the strong urge within you to express. I did not know how to start this blog but then Shahrukh Khan came to my rescue with a statement of his. " I am a part of history". True indeed. Yesterday all those present in the Wanderers and all those who witnessed the breathtaking T20 finals sitting in their house or at office or wherever through whatever means are a part of history. India had surpassed arch rivals Pakistan in a humdinger by 5 runs , a match which went on till the last over and which was equally poised throughout the match. I bet there can't be any one who did not feel the pressure. Two teams knocked out at the first stage in the world cup held in West Indies, what would have one expected out of them. But destiny had different plans. A team going through crisis had in its fate the most coveted trophy of all. And what a way it was achieved. With 13 runs required of the last over and a very tense but firm Joginder Sharma began with a wide delivery all of us had our heart in our mouth. A dot ball followed and then a six on a full toss. Indians held their nerve and Joginder Sharma bowled the decisive ball which was a slower one and Misbah-Ul-Haq , the Pakistani Star of the day tried a backward scoop, one of the recently invented shots in one day cricket only to find Sreeshant who held on to the heaviest ball he had ever held in his life. He had weight of crores of Indian fans on his shoulders and his able shoulders did not fail India. As Misbah knelt on the ground out of disappointment the Indian celebrations began not only at the Wanderes but throughout the world. One of the sample of the celebration in Bangalore. A mob stopped a moving car in the middle of the night and asked everyone to shout "Hindustan zindabad" before letting them go.
The youth and freshness of the Indian team did the trick for me. The way each player backed each other and Dhoni held his nerves at all crucial junctures made us all witness history.
Jai Hind!!

Movie review of Manorama Six feet under

The trailers itself was enough for me to watch the movie. Very simple and next door characters and a weird but interesting title. So here I was in innovative multiplex watching this taut thriller with my friends. We were six of us and including us there were only 25 of us in the gold class :( .

Abhay Deal as Satyaveer Singh , a small town PWD officer and a flop novelist ( how many heroes would have accepted to play this character is another question which lingers in my mind) suspended for taking bribe for the first time. His wife played by Gul Panag is a typical middle class woman constantly bragging over her husband's joblessness and stuff. And their kid.
Enters Sarika , wife of the irrigation minister of the state asking Satyaveer to spy on her cheating husband and hence begins a treasure hunt for Satyaveer. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep the viewer at the edge of the seat. It has the intelligence to make the viewer think at the same time it is not a very complicated stuff. It was very difficult to find any logical flaws in the movie.

As far as the performance goes, Abhay comes around with non-designer clothes throughout the movie and pulls off a stellar of a performance. He plays the man next door with complete ease. Other actors all play their part brilliantly. Special mention must be made of Raima Sen. Music front, only a couple of songs which run in background in the movie which are hummable.

The only thing I found lacking in the movie was pace. I savor movies with this pace but not many ( which was evident from the fact that only 25 people were there on the 3rd day of the movie release). If only the screenplay had been more taut along with being flawless it would have been a better bet for the producers of the movie.

People who savor sensible and realistic movies.. Do not give this a miss.

A Wonderful Weekend

After nearly a month I am spending a full weekend in Bangalore and it proved out to be an excellent weekend. Great entertainment from all quarters. First and foremost , the best moment in Indian cricket as far as I have seen, India entering into the finals of the first T20 world cup beating none other than the world champions Australia. It was a breathtaking match and we were having so much fun late into the nights. Indians all over India celebrated it with equal fervour as I could hear the sound of crackers bursting.

Next to this comes a movie which I saw over the weekend. "Manorama Six feet under" a rather strange title for a bollywood movie, but it is indeed a movie to show that bollywood is going in the right direction. A top notch movie with a flawless screenplay coupled with excellent performances , it had all to woo the hearts of movie goers. But it was sad to see only 20 people in the multiplex i saw it on this Sunday just after 2 days of its release. Of late I am very impressed with this guy Abhay Deol. He stands true to his name "Abhay" as far as his choices of movies are considered. Take this for example, which hero do u remember wearing checked shirts throughout the movie with a simple trouser (no jeans nothing). Twists and turns in the plot catch u unaware as u sit at the edge of the seat. I only hope such movies make some money so that people become "abhay" to make such movies in future.

The joy continues!!

Back to back..this is my second post on cricket which shows I am excited. Yes I am indeed. T20 cricket fever is catching. The new format of the game the twenty twenty cricket or T20 cricket is a fun to watch . With matches ending in about 3 hours we are guaranteed full entertainment. For the first time cricket appears more to be a team game than individual game. Players no longer bother about their personal milestones of 50s and 100s. With more importance to all rounders and team effort this appears like a corporate culture using the scrum model. After a lackluster world cup of 2007 ( not only because of India's early exit but because no team dared to challenge aussies) we have this T20 world cup is a good break. Just when we thought aussies supremacy is over after their humiliating loss to Zimbabwe , we saw them bouncing back with victories. When we thought they had found their way back they suffered a surprise loss to a determined Pakistan yesterday. With "minnows" like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe putting up a good show, one thing is guaranteed, T20 world cup will be entertainment and pure entertainment.

Joys of Watching Cricket..Rediscovered!!

I must confess... After a really long long time I was tense during the last few overs of a cricket match and all that paid off. India pulled off a spectacular win to bounce back in the series and to enter the Mecca of Cricket with a confident frame of mind. We shouted and celebrated like kids after the match was over. Indians showed professional ruthless approach throughout their batting . Sachin and Saurav threw open the gates of heaven for India followed by sensible knocks from Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni. But the man who stole the show had to be Bangalore based Uthappa. (Bangalore is not famous for Uttappam but bisi belle bhath.) He played the gem of an innings under very tense circumstances maintaining his cool and ensuring India were home with just 2 balls to spare.
Hope India performs in the same spirit at the Lords and pulls of a win very similar to the one in Natwest trophy finals which we cannot still erase from out minds and heats.

Learn from mistakes!

How often we hear this phrase " Learn from your mistakes". But no one tells us what to learn from these mistakes. Thats why we learn to do the same mistake all over again. I am referring to the incident of tying a 10 year old to the horse he shooed away as a part of his daily chore. This incident happens within a week of another such incident where a petty thief was beaten mercilessly for over three hours by a mob which included a policeman.

Hence, we should go back and revamp out moral lessons and change the phrase from "Learn from mistakes " to " Learn from mistakes not to do them" for more clarity.

And I thought Indians were one of the sharpest brains around!!!