Skip to main content

Pakistan edge out India 1-1

Oh yes, you have read about this one all right. Notwithstanding the huge expectations of a 3-0 whitewash, Inzamam-ul-Haq has played it right. As the commentators had been saying over some days, this series has been a test of character for both the teams. And although the series is drawn from which we can technically conclude that both the teams are as good, I personally feel that Pakistan have been able to step a few rungs up the ladder, and India have bowed down a little down the ladder to be able to meet midway and play to 1-1.

I must say that Inzamam has done his job well, although in some cases it might have been done better. For example, when they were cruising along smoothly for the loss of just a couple of wickets, they could have stepped up the gas and accelerated the run-rate, so as to get another psychological blow on the Indians. Sometimes, as per the commentators, he should have brought some bowler into the attack and rested the other... and all that. But all is well that ends well, right? And how much do you expect of a 13-match old captain (as captain)? That he has been able to draw the series is an acheivement in itself. If you want to see the perfect captaincy, wait and watch. More is yet to come!

On the other hand, if there is a man who ought to take the blame for getting the result 1-1 and not 2-0 or 3-0 from the Indian side, it must be Sourav Ganguly! I know, I know, that I am ruffling amny feathers by saying this, but then that is the truth! He is the only man in the series who did not contribute either with bat or ball! Come on, we know that you are the best captain around... but how can you win a match with 10 players against 11? Having said that, I must say something in his favour, too! He has been trying, trying very desperately to get back to form. Look at the way he steps out to charge at a bowler if he is foxed once. Look at the agression in his face when he tries to give it all on the field. Alas, his desperation is his undoing! The opposition, the media, and almost everybody has been singling him out, and sometimes quite rightly so, and therefore every time he goes out into the field, he tries to answer all those armchair critiques tooth and nail, an eye for an eye! And it is this desperation that locks his mind and he cannot see through the ploys of the opposition! That is how they get him...

Wake up, Sourav! You are the best player of spin we have! You are the person who is held next to God on the off-side! You have not lost your touch... you simply have been convinced that you have. The grace, the beauty, and the grandeur of your shot and timing is always with you... the only thing that has happened is that it has become veiled. Nobody can tell you how to do it --- it is you who must wake up! Shake off the delusion that you have lost touch! Come up, O tiger... roar like the lion and throw off the sheep-skin!! You are the man for whom the off-side field used to be set 7-2 ... If you have done it once, and since it is you who has done it, it is you who can do that again!! Arise, awake o Maharajah of Calcutta... the whole of India is waiting to celebrate your return!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Maa khuh chihal a panjam hastam

The hit counter on my blog reached 20074 today. Why you may ask, is that news, and why hadn't I cheered myself up when it was at 20,000 for example? Well, it is news because 20074 has been a very special number for me during my entire college life: it was my admission number, and my system-wide unique identity. It is strange, and surprising, how these numbers become a part of our identity. The social security number, the passport number, the id number in the college, or even your roll number somehow becomes an almost innate part of the day-to-day life. As soon as I see the same number somewhere else: maybe on a telephone, on a hitcounter, maybe somewhere else... a thousand memories are triggered. As my eyes struck the hitcounter showing 20074 right now, I was thrown back to memories of filling up exam answer sheets, hostel admission forms, library recall requests, and so much more! I believe that number was present on almost every official form which I filled in college: even when

Swami Vivekananda and the Indian Renaissance

The following is an article I sent to my mother based on which she presented at one of her conferences. Do read. =======================================  The common perception of Swami Vivekananda as the religious leader who preached Hinduism to the West and established the Ramakrishna Mission in India is a very limited definition of the impact he had on the collective psyche of the common Indian. Besides his direct impact in adding steam to the Indian Renaissance, a large part of his thoughts and writings also affected the other stalwarts of the movement. While fathoming the entirety of his impact on the Indian Renaissance would be impossible, we will briefly explore some aspects of his influence in the following pages. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is generally credited with ushering in the revolution. His numerous ventures that contradicted the prevailing religious opinion of right and wrong broke the stranglehold of the prevalent quasi-religion, the norms of society and its sole autocrati

Say aye

Hi fellas,   I need an ego boost, seriously. So if you are reading this, please drop a comment. Even if to say "hi" or "never commented - like your blog", etc. Other things like what you like in the posts, what more you wish to see here, and what can be done better around here: please, anything... even if you are one of those hunting for a link back at any cost. Just say "aye".  Cheer me up, and I promise I have some cool ideas waiting to be converted into posts! :)