The Art of Winning

Congratulations to Australian Cricket team for winning their fourth consecutive CWC. There are many records that tumbled as Aussies marched their way to lift the cup.But one record can never ever be taken away from them.This record can never be broken.
That record is - winning two consecutive WC in record time of less than 30 mins, thanks to ICC.This will go down as one of the mega events that can be staged with as much holes/pitfalls as possible from day one of banning musical instruments in Carribean (yes you read that right) to getting the event to continue after losing one of the best coach the game had in the middle of tournament and mega-finally goofing up on the very basic guideline of how to handle a match if it gets truncated.

If there is going to be a book on the topic-"The Art of Winning", a study of Australian Cricket team for the past decade will be worth the time.
Winning is sedative. It keeps us yearn for more and more.
Winning so consistently like this team is so astonishing that at times we get bored too to keep seeing the same winner. :)

As a cricket fan, the next thing i would love to see is this Australian team being tested, over-powered and dethroned from #1 spot for a while.
This will be good for cricket too :)

Nothing to be taken away from Australia. The way they beat their last three opponents were literally stunning. When the stakes are high, this is the team to bet on.

But to make this game more interesting and less one-sided the other teams need to keep winning Aussies session after session, over after over. Lets see if that happens and which team does that more consistently.

My picks from this event:

Best Player: Ricky Punter Ponting.

Best Captain: Stephen Cool Fleming.

Best Bowler: Glenn Pigeon McGrath

Best Batsman: Michael Pup Clarke/Mahela Jayawardena

Best Fielder: Jayawardena/Collingwood (see their catches and reaction time they had)

Best Team: Ireland

i did not touch on the opposite part as the list will be bigger.

As the curtains are being drawn on this CWC, lets salute two big legends the game has produced. Brian 'Prince' Lara and Glenn 'Pigeon' McGrath. You made the passion for this game to grow more.There were other retirements, resignations,step-downs and push outs as an eventuality of this event.But these two deserves a bigger round of applause and salute than rest.

Something strange for you to know (courtesy ET): none of the Australian cricketers are brand ambassadors or endorsers. They are in fact not cared for too much with respect to endorsements in their own country. Its other sport personalities like Ian Thorpe and Scud Philliphosis who appears in commercials.
I know this would trigger some interesting questions/debates as I sign off on this topic.

Oooopppsss... i am sorry. This article is not complete without the below picture.
Nothing much for me to say as most of us saw this 'man for the occassion' to stand and deliver,demolish and demoralize the opponent within an hour of the game getting started. (pics courtesy: cricinfo)

Time for New Look???

First a big round of applause for the Bengal Tigers for beating yet another #1 ranked team.SA will be wondering what went wrong. But Bashar used his available resources extremely well.Its know fact that except Gibbs most of the proteas are very vulnerable to slow/spin bowling.If they dont have great start by attacking pacers, they are in trouble, and thats what happened on Saturday.

Next time, if a team aspires to be #1 and if they have Bangladesh tour, let them be prepared for it :).Excellent attitude from each of the 11 players of Bangladesh team. That won their game.Special mention and accolades for Ashraful. He is the man for occasion. Aussies still remember him.So are going to be proteas.
Let others stop calling them minnows anymore. Atleast for Bangladesh sake, i dont want Dav Whatmore to be the coach for our team. :)

A big sigh of relief as BCCI ensured the best-coach in the cricket-world now, does not part once for all.He has been given the role he will enjoy most. Coaching the future talents of our team at NCA.Good job there by BCCI.

Greg <-> Shastri, Robin, Venkatesh Prasad ?
Not exactly. But collectively their areas can be more focussed and it will be only augmenting our team's growth further. Lets wait for the board to come out with its long-term plans post Bangla tour next month.

Another excellent move is retaining Dravid as captain and that too announcing right upfront.He is one of the three consistent player and captain for the past 18 months in cricket world.Indications are pointing to INDIA boarding plane to Dhakka with a young team under Rahul's captaincy.All eyes now on Apr 11th 2007.

Hey man, look at this figures. Dhoni-13, Sachin-12, Dravid-11, Yuvraj-8, Sourav-8.No, its not their average scores in WC.Its their no. of  commercial commitments. I am sure i am not accurate here with the numbers as this could only be the minimum no.s.Thanks for the policy on endorsements too. Though the players have their own right to earn professionally, it irritates fans like me when we see commercials featuring them after recent performance in WC. I am sure Rahul and Ravi can maturedly work this out with the board with neccessary changes. But let the focus be on moving the team forward.

And finally with 35000+ runs between three of our batsmen and 5 of them having a strike rate of 85+ if you are still puzzled what could have possible gone wrong for our dismal performance in our one-week party at Carribean, read this article. (Thanks to Jay). It pulls out some interesting, very stunning stats and evidence about our key players' form. Enjoy the reading. You will for sure be surprised.

With Bangladesh winning against SA, its opened up chances for England / WI to make it to top 4 more brighter. Lets see if they make use of it. There is one team which is watching all these equations and number games with a big smile as they have nothing to worry. They are not much bothered even about Aussies. In fact its Aussies who are surely worried about this team. I am sure you would have guessed that team by now which could make it for the title clash with Aussies in which case i will be ruthlessly and selfishly supporting THIS TEAM. Lets see what next two weeks has in store in this unpredictable game.

As blank as it could be

My thoughts are as blank as above. What else to say with hopes of billions having sunk in deep doldrums. Of course, this is what happens when we play for 'not to lose' than 'for win'.
Players themselves will feel bad for whatever happened.

Its really comical now to look back at TV Shows who were analyzing Ind Vs Pak match in this WC. Thats cricket ! Its pulsating, amazing, pressurizing and more importantly unpredictable.

Ok my picks for final four - Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, WestIndies / Sri Lanka.
Lot depends on how SA handles spinners and i am sure their opponents will exploit on this weakness. But for the likes of Collingwood and KP England will be brushed away by these sides comfortably.

Again it could be funny to realize half of my Semi-Finalists picks gets knocked out by 'Surprise' elements.

Though my heart says its going to be first-ever hat-trick of WC titles for THAT side in the game's history, i want to be proved wrong. Let me enjoy this next phase of WC.

My player picks who could make the difference:
Pollock, Gibbs, Smith, Kemp - SA
Silva, S'kara, J'suriya, M'tharan - SL
Ponting, Clarke, Tait, Symonds - Aus
McMillan, McCullum, Vincent, Fleming - NZ
KP, Collingwood, Flintoff, Monty - Eng
Bravo, Smith, Samuels, Lara - WI

May the best and worthy team WIN it.

Our Women who made us all PROUD

Women's Day is not a day to recognize Women around us.
Yes. Its not the only day.
In fact its a day to remind ourselves that we need to respect, celebrate and recognize womanhood all the time.

Hillary Clinton launched recently her campaign to be the first Women President of US.
Indira Nooyi, is going to be the first Chairwoman of PEPSICO in another few weeks.
Here is an interesting compilation of FIRSTs by Women in INDIA.

List of pioneers among Indian women in various fields: (courtesy TOI today)
GRADUATES: Kadambini Ganguly, Chandramukhi Basu (1883)
LAWYER: Cornelia Sorabjee (1924)
PHYSICIAN: Kadambini Ganguly (1886)
OSCAR WINNER: Bhanu Athaiya (1982)
TO SWIM ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL: Miss Arati Saha (1959)
PRESIDENT OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: Annie Besant (1917)
UNION CABINET MINISTER: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (1947)
CHIEF MINISTER: Sucheta Kripalani (1963)
GOVERNOR: Sarojini Naidu (1947)
SPEAKER OF STATE ASSEMBLY: Shanno Devi (1966)
ASIAD GOLD MEDALIST: Kamaljit Sandhu (1970)
OLYMPIC MEDALIST: Karnam Malleswari (2000)
IPS OFFICER: Kiran Bedi (Haryana) (1972)
WOMEN'S COLLEGE: Bethune College, Kolkata (1879)
TO CLIMB MT. EVEREST: Bachendri Pal (1984)
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: Punita Arora (2004)
AIR MARSHAL: Padmavathy Bandopadhyay (2004)
ARMY MEDAL WINNER: Bimla Devi (1990)
COMMERCIAL PILOT: Prem Mathur (1951)
AIRLINE PILOT: Durga Banerjee (1966)
JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT: M Fatima Beevi (1989)
CIVIL PILOT: Beant Kaur
PRESIDENT OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Vijayalakshmi Pandit (1953)
CHIEF JUSTICE OF A HIGH COURT: Leila Seth (1991)

Actually the list goes ON... There are many more who are not recognized/noticed yet.
Lets take a moment to applaude them and many more who will be joining this list soon.

Those Little Moments in Life

A forward email i received, which is worth your reading time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. It was a cowboy's life, a life for someone who wanted no boss. What I didn't realize was that it was also a ministry.

Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and weep.

But none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night.

I was responding to a call from a small brick fourplex in a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an early shift at some factory for the industrial part of town.

When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.

"Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said.

I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

"It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice."

I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.
"Nothing," I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered.
"There are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient at the end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware--beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, ...
but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Carribean Fever ... Starts Now !

Time is a great leveller. Need evidence?
Look at Aussies now and how they were just few weeks back.
Matter of few weeks, Australian side considered to be #1 (even now i feel it is so) by leaps and bounds. They were leading the ICC rankings by a huge margin. After their recent maulings by England and NZ, they have been pushed to #2 with SA taking honors by 3 points.
(More details here)

End of the day these could be mere numbers.
But that does not hide the fact that how well the stage has been set for WC 2007 to kick off. Aussies were considered to be unbeatable as they kept bagging series wins and trophy wins again and again. In fact they demoralized England throughout their tour down under both on and off the field. Strangely its this England team that triggered off the most interesting story of Cricket world in recent times to unfold. They had beaten Aussies thrice in a row, in their home turf and bagged the Tri-Series trophy. NZ almost did what Aussies did to England in Australia from Nov-06 to Jan-07. NZ gave away 13 wickets in 3 matches and did a first-time white-wash of Aussies in a bilateral series invovling NZ. What more. They now have the second best (successful) chase in ODI history.

The stage is well set for an ideal Cricket extravaganza because
>> Australia has been wounded deeply & licking their wounds with a vengence now.
>> They have something to prove to this world beyond their consistent master class.
>> They are in the same group as SA which took(kicked) them to #2 for the first time.
>> Australia has now conceded top four successful run chases in ODI history.
>> Four teams have been beaten Australia convincingly in the recent past. (NZ,SA,Eng and WI).
>> 12 points separates teams between #3 to #8 now.

Its not other teams Vs Aussies. Its not at all.
Cricket followers will be a fool to write them off as yet.
But still with the recent happenings there is a new excitement that has been built-up.
It can only get better from here.

Its a World Cup and its anybody's Cup.
Cricket lovers could not have asked anything more than this before the start of this mega event.
More to come in this space ...as we inch closer to Carribean Curtain Raiser.