A series of unfortunate events

Yup that is what life has turned into..."A Series of Unfortunate Events" like the title of them kids books...
OK I am being a tad dramatic, but consider this:

Got the pink slip a month or so ago (lived in denial about it for a while) + India exits out of the ICCT20 + had a falling out with a "star-crossed" friend which has put me in a bit of a Meena Kumari type funk + graduated summa cum laude (Er... wait, that's a good thing) + got into Jhansi Ki Rani mode for the sake of MSD and had argy-bargys with others (but no, I don't regret it, and do click on the link-great poetry with translation) + have a "family emergency" in India which could put a bad Bollywood script to shame!

Sigh!
But the good news is I am running away to Sainikpuri, Secunderabad, India.
YAY!
For two months!
I guess the perks of being unemployed!
I might even indulge in a bit of Bharat Darshan!
So if you see a woman sitting alone in an airport lounge, watching cricket.. while her family watches from afar (slightly exasperated) -- feel free to swing by and say hello.
Yup that would be me.

You know what this means right?
.
.
.
Yup... not-so-regular blogging for a while :-(

(maybe...)

But hey, I might be sooo happy at watching a match for free, that I might even post something on the Ashes. I might.
In the meantime talk amongst yourselves.
(And also a good time to look at my old posts. You should you know ;-))

In two months time people... I'll be back.
It has been a pleasure.
(*Sigh*)

E-x-i-t questions for India

Some questions for Team India as they take the flight back home:


* Can't play the short ball on a fast pitch, can't play spin on a slow track. Where can you play?
* Why did Pragyaan Ojha not play today?
* Why was Ishant playing? In this match ... perhaps even in this tournament.
* Where did that fearlessness go?
* In today's match, why couldn't you just consolidate during the spin overs and save your wickets?
* Is Kirsten right about fatigue?
* Why was the thinking so muddled as far as the batting order is concerned?
* Should we blame the IPL & Lalit Modi, and not you?
* Should we blame the media & not you?
* Why was the fielding so bad throughout the tournament?
* Why was the pace bowling so bad throughout the tournament?
* Why did you i.e the "new stars" of Indian cricket seem not much more than faulty bulbs bought from the local store?
* Dear Prince, what happened to your fielding (thanks for your batting though)?
* Quo Vadis Mahi?

England rule India!

The number 153 to haunt us again.

And England showed us how to defend.

CONGRATS ENGLAND!!

Now the knives come out.

:-)

Alternate ending!

Y'day I spoke about a telling statistic:

Gambhir Out at 4.2 Ov, Score= 3-29
Dhoni Out at 12.1 Ov, Score= 4-66
1 wicket for 37 runs.
Final score = 153.

Today a similar thing happened:

Redmond Out at 4.2 Ov, Score = 2-33
Styris Out at 12.3 Ov, Score = 5-73
3 wicket for 40 runs.
Final score = 99.

Reader TG, to his credit, first mentioned the importance of consolidation.

The Pak bowling was SUPERB and deserves its own post.
Later.

Where the game was lost (Ind v. Windies)

So India lost.
Sigh.

Of course we'll have the customary post-mortem all over the world. And why not.
And while we are all aware who goofed up big time (yes, yes MSD), a telling statistic from the (somewhat) middle overs of the game:
Gambhir Out at 4.2 Ov, Score= 3-29
Dhoni Out at 12.1 Ov, Score= 4-66
!?!?!
Meaning, in around 50 deliveries, 37 runs were scored!!!
Yes!
In a T20 match.
After playing the IPL for the last like, 9000 days.
And MSD of course had a SR of 47.82.
!?!?!

All you can say to the West Indies, I guess is: Bravo!

P.S. The only bright spot? The Prince.

Being an England supporter... for a day

Usually when India is not playing a match, I support the underdog in a clash.
Which meant I had to support England in today's Super 8 encounter.
Hmm.

So I did the next best thing and tossed a coin.
My bad luck, someone up there wanted me to support England. (I have to admit, I cheated a little; whenever Rudolph bowled well/fielded, I cheered!)
What a performance. Tch tch.

You know when KP does not fire, its usually a pretty ordinary performance by England.
Though, their bowling was much better I admit.

And then the post-match analysis by Nasser H and Ian Botham.

Uff!

Nasser went on and on about how its not the experience in the IPL, but the fact that you need "big lads" like Smith, and Gayle to hit those big sixes and then the "wristy" players like Dilshan to nudge around and take singles.
(I might be watching a different Dilshan, because he has been hitting sixes and fours alright!)
I thought that the "big lads" issue was put to rest in the last T20 championship. Wait who was in the finals? Hmm. India and Pakistan.

Anyway, too much of a headache this being an English supporter.
I need some tea and crumpets to cheer myself up.
Ciao.

Finally, an answer to the #3 position.

And it makes sense too.
Check out this post.