A Tie Maker #CWC2011

The infamous cricket World Cup has already begun and it will be a real sin from my side to not write about it. I could have probably controlled this temptation for a maximum of one more week but after yesterday's Ind vs Eng match in Bengaluru, I reached the tipping point. The satisfaction of writing this post is similar to that of holding it in for 5 hours on an uncomfortable bus journey after downing 4 pints and finally taking a leak in your own toilet, thus admiring the beauty of natural phenomenon.

After some really boring games at the #CWC2011, yesterday's game turned out to be one of the best games among all of the WorldCups. Not just because of the runs scored or the domino like batting collapse or the result of the game, but also because of the controversial UDRS. This match thoroughly emphasized the fact that cricket is a team game and just individual contributions aren't enough( I forbid Ravi Shastri from copying this line as its is copyrighted under my name). 

The top order from both the teams set up the match beautifully but the middle and the lower orders made sure that there were enough twists in the tale, ultimately ensuring that the end would sound like a story from one of the moral science books. Tendulkar was cautious to begin with but paced his innings in a classy manner to get his 47th ODI hundred, thus crawling close to that 50 mark. Strauss's innings was nothing short of brilliance as he made all the Indian bowlers beg for mercy. He got every bowler into his favorite position as he slowly and steadily, with the use of a lubricant did them where it hurts the most, thus disfiguring their figures.

More than 675 runs were scored for the loss of 18 wickets totally. The UDRS seems to be the most complicated system used to make things simpler, thus making the situation even more complicated. It is like giving a student tips on cracking an exam and giving him a book also on how to crack these tips but restricting him from using not more than 3 tips. If it looks like LBW, if the Hawkeye says it is LBW, then raise that crooked finger. I really couldn't get my head around that 2.5m clause in the rule. In that case, KP(Pietersen) who bats couple of feet outside the crease can never be judged out LBW if he is playing on his front foot. We shouldn't be surprised to see a "LBW factor" coming into play, based on the length of the batsman's stride, his height, weight, Zodiac sign, skin tone, sexual orientation, no of previous partners, no of followers on Twitter, and finally if the ball is actually hitting him in line and going on to hit the stumps.

While both teams deserved to win, they equally deserved to loose. No doubt, there were some nail biting, heart pounding and nerve crunching moments which made up for the fabulous game of cricket, but both teams walked out after breaking even. A tie at the end looked like a fitting result. I never thought I would say this, but Ravi Shastri's typical dialogue, "At the end of the day, cricket was the winner" actually is apt for this situation. But it surely wasn't when South Africa chased down 434 against Australia and definitely not when India won the T20 match against Pakistan in a bowl out. I surely missed watching this game in the stadium, as it would have easily gone down as one of those "I was there" moments.

P.S - Can someone please tell Yeddy that the victory symbol that he uses irrespective of the situation(even in a tied game) is not the same as \m/ .

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Cricket, Commentators and KP

The most awaited Ashes rivalry is back and does England look a better team or what. Pietersen has got his old touch back. Guess his antibodies act only against the Aussies. Its also good to see that India have finally, after months and months of research and consultancy and after BCCI outsourcing its brains to a some island in Fiji, finally decided that the future of the Indian cricket lies in playing against any other team other than Sri Lanka. Hope New Zealand isn't the new Sri Lanka.

With a new opponent comes new guests in the studio. Vengsarkar is actually making Amarnath, Arun Lal and even Arnold(Russel) look like Boycott, Greig and Jackman. Even 15 minutes of Vengsarkar might make you feel like blowing your brains out. When we all thought the era of bad players turned bad commentators ended with Aamir Sohail, the world got a taste of Russel Arnold who raised the bar to a totally different level. Infact the bar has gone so low that even the best limbo dancers are shying away from the challenge.

I've had my fair share of playing cricket and captaining a team as well. But its actually an understatement to see that Ponting's best day this year has been worse than my worst hungover day. The bowling attack looks the weakest it has ever been and the punter doesn't have Hayden to go and hide behind him. Guess he has also run out of bars to go and pick fights within. Surely his career is over and the only thing that can salvage his dying cause will be when he can finally set a record for getting through a test match on a single chewing gum. 

The tattooed Johnson was dropped after the selectors finally realized that he couldn't pitch anything even remotely close to the batsman's half. They should have probably realized this when he couldn't even get Ishant Sharma out who looks like someone wearing stilletoes and panty hoses while batting.

With all the mocking apart, India look great even with this 2nd choice team and McCullum needs to start playing those scoops to get back into the groove. Cook is dishing out centuries like fish and chips in a takeaway. Guess his purple patch for getting laid has started. While Pietersen looks like he can score another hundred with one hand tied behind his back, wouldn't it be great to see Warney back for an over, atleast in the commentary box?

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