The Dullest Phase of my Life

Ever since i got posted to Infosys MCity's bench , I ve just been whiling away my time . There have been no useful hobbies, no aims and generally no direction to my life. In school there was this mad race for marks. I came out on top . In college there was a good fight for grades and jobs . I came off well there too. The Infy training in Mysore was the place where I saw the first failures in my academic life. It was a jolt. I somehow came through.

After landing myself back in home Chennai , the time has passed off in the most fruitless, useless manner. My father insists that I develop a good reading habit . I resist coz I never have been hooked on to books . I have lost touch with my violin inspite of having attended classes for many years before. I dont have many friends to just roam around the place with them . I dont have a girl friend either. Its just been a lonely time. I roam around the city in the weekends. Mostly I go alone only.

In college it was a gala time with friends. We were busy catching up with the latest movies. Now everyone has moved on in life. It has become an ordeal to catch up with friends who are working in other companies. The contact with them has dried up. The occasional meeting with an old friend helps in reliving some of the good old memories. Mostly I ve become a LONE RANGER.

In the midst of all this , I get excited at times. The time when I rode a bike 10 days back after a long time, was particularly impressive. The car drives also boost me up nicely. I spend a little amount of time reciting slokas and doing my daily prayers. I have resumed weight training at home to stay rugged and strong.

My daily routine is something like this . Getting up at 6 20am . Catching the train at Guindy between 7 30am and 8am. Reaching office . Passing off the whole day chatting with colleagues , reading and forwarding mails. Then catching the train back home between 3pm and 4pm. Reaching home before 6pm. Browsing the net, Playing computer games , Watching Dvds . Getting the odd scolding from parents . Sleeping off b4 11pm .

Does this sound interesting ?? I bet not. My only hope for the future as of now is my plan to study journalism in 2009 maybe . My fascination with blogging has just fuelled this desire. I just wish I can succeed as a journalist . I fear I cannot survive in this world of codes,bugs,errors,tests etc etc.

But who knows ??? Life holds lots of twists, turns and surprises in store for us. My life might turn more exciting in the near future . This unpredictability of life only makes us live on.

The Most Underrated Cricketers in the present scenario

This list is not ranked in any order.It's just a random listing. It might vary from person to person too.
This is my opinion

Batsmen



1. Michael Clarke - very reliable, solid
2. Ashwell Prince - resilient, determined
3. A.B.DeVilliers - dashing, full of flair
4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul - never say die warrior
5. Ian Bell - classical technician
6. Mohammad Yousuf - elegance personified
7. Younis Khan - efficient run maker
8. Misbah ul Haq - doughty , tough to dislodge
9. Tilakaratne Dilshan - attacking entertainer
10.V.V.S.Laxman - style king
11.Rahul Dravid - the wall , need we say more
12.Brendon McCullum - the best dasher in world cricket now
13.Jacob Oram - supreme all rounder



Bowlers



1. Nathan Bracken - No.1 ODI bowler
2. Stuart Clarke - Good corridor bowler
3. Munaf Patel - economical yet efficient
4. Irfan Pathan - always among the wickets , very decent batsman too
5. Kyle Mills - consistent wicket taker after Bond for NZ
6. Daniel Vettori - among the best spinners in the world
7. Mathew Hoggard - the best swing bowler
8. Makhaya Ntini - fast approaching 400 Test wickets
9. Fidel Edwards - very quick bowler
10.Jerome Taylor - promising young bowler
11.Dale Steyn - serious competitor to B.Lee
12.Danish Kaneria - prolific leggie
13.Chaminda Vaas - the most underrated bowler of our times



I would be very happy if you guys share your views on this post .

IPL - A Shame on the Indian Economy

Though the recent launching of the IPL promises great entertainment, the repurcussions of it are huge. Just a look at the amount of money poured into IPL will result in jaws dropping. No one here grudges the right of the cricketers to earn money. But there is a limit to all this. A worthless no-show like Manoj Tiwary earning 625000 USD for a maximum of 16, 4 hr games is the height of insane stupidity on the part of all the rich investors. Why has so much money gone into an already cash rich lot of people???

I agree that it is the personal money of big business magnets like Vijay Mallya, Ambani, Ness Wadia or cine superstars like SRK,Priety Zinta. These people have been a value addition to our India. They ve brought glory to our country with their work in their chosen fields. But the avenue in which they ve invested is just not right. It sadly just projects them as greedy money making machines. Their responsiblity towards the Indian society is questioned as a result.



The Indian economy is hardly a flourishing one like the US of A or the European countries. People are suffering from unemployment, lack of food and other basic amenities. Poverty is hardly a thing of the past. It is a prevailing menace. Farmers are committing suicide due to poor outcome. India is a country of so much imbalance. On the other hand businessmen, cine stars rake in huge crores of money. The cricketers of the country also fall on this side. The amount of money they are earning from their playing and NON PLAYING avenues is monstrous. Sportspersons from hockey, athletics and other Indian sports are also suffering from poverty due to lack of sponsors, lack of good training facilities and lack of exposure.

The Sivaji film dialogue " THE RICH GET RICHER, THE POOR GET POORER " can't be more apt for India. In such a scenario comes this IPL with it's multi billion dollar deals for TV rights and player auctions. The people behind this are citing the idea of EPL and other cash rich soccer leagues. But they have conveniently forgotten that the majority of the European population is not reeling under poverty like the Indians.

This IPL ll only worsen the situation. The world ll just get to see this fine glossy side of India on TV. But all the dirt (poverty, hunger deaths, suicides) ll be easily swept under the carpet. These business magnets could very well have invested their crores in helping to improve the prevailing economic situation a la Rajinikanth in the movie Sivaji. They could have extended a helping hand to other sports. They could definitely have made a better impact with their crores. After all, money power cannot be underestimated by any means. Indian cricket is just becoming one fat rich cow which is being overmilked.

At the end of the day, I ll still watch the IPL action on TV or even in stadiums. But, as a responsible, educated Indian tax payer , I felt like highlighting the facts.

The Tennis Scene looks promising!!!

I guess this is a very good time to be a tennis buff . Both the men's and women's tours are brimming with possibilities in what promises to be a great year. Let us just look at what is in store for us, the tennis afficionados



WTA Tour
Ladies first.. The ladies tour is full of competition. Justine Henin looks the most consistent. Her game is beautiful . She plays with artistry. The Williams sisters are as always a big threat and a treat too. Their power game can demolish any opponent on any given day. But they need to focus more on their tennis and keep their off court activities aside for another few years atleast. The 2 glam dolls Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic are the best things to have happened to tennis. Maria has to rank as a very steady player. She handles pressure well. She can dominate the game as long as she stays injury-free. Maria is just 20. Another decade of top flight tennis success awaits her.



Ivanovic consistently reaches the business end of tournaments. She just needs to develop her killer instinct and mental toughness. Her game is quite solid. Nerves have prevented her from winning Slams till now. There are many more contenders in the game like Jankovic, Chakvetadze, Davenport (The Super Mom) . Our own Sania Mirza has improved a lot. All the Indians are expecting better results from this glamour babe(who can play well too).



ATP Tour
Roger Federer's domination is being stiffly challenged these days. The rise of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as players of substance, has started putting real pressure on The Fed(Fedex). Rafa remains the king of clay. I believe that Roland Garros shall remain with Rafa for some more time. Fedex ll win Wimbledon, but he ll be stiffly challenged by Rafa, Roddick and Djokovic on grass. In fact Rafa has been getting progressively better on grass.



Djokovic has risen as a superstar on hardcourts after his triumph in the Aussie Open 2008 and his final appearance in the US Open 2007. He is consistent on all surfaces. But the US Open and the Aussie Open ll be his main playing grounds I guess. Federer's climb towards the summit of Mount Sampras(Pistol Pete) ll become tougher as the years pass by. He is not young, at 26. Nadal and Novak are just 21 and 20, respectively. They might just be the future superstar duo like Sampras and Agassi were. Fedex might still surpass 14 Grand Slams coz of his amazing superiority at Wimbledon and US Open. But unlike the past few years, he has 2 realy tough competitors to his thrown from now on. There are other heavy weights like Roddick,Hewitt,Baghdatis,Safin,Tsonga,Blake,Davydenko etc etc who can cause an upset or two on their day.



All in all it ll be a great feast for all tennis fans. The action can't get better.
Fasten your seat belts and get ready to enjoy the ride of your life!!!

A Tribute to Adam Gilchrist

The name Adam Gilchrist is associated with unbridled aggression and of course entertainment. This man has always played his cricket with freedom. He expressed himself in a joyful way most of the times. He ll always be remembered for his attacking batsmanship and safe wicketkeeping. Some of his career highlights are -

• He holds the record for the most no. of dismissals in both tests and ODIs (400+ dismissals in both). This feat is remarkable for a man who started off in only 1997
• He has struck the maximum no. of test centuries (17) for a wicketkeeper batsman
• His strike rate was very healthy even in test cricket. His century of just 57 balls against England was breathtaking to say the least. This was incidentally the 2nd fastest ever Test century
• He has hit the maximum no. of 6s in Test cricket (100+)

Inspite of all his exploits in the Test arena, Gilly ll always be fondly remembered for his swashbuckling ways as an ODI opener. He was path breaking and trend setting.He changed the perception about wicketkeepers. Before, it was acceptable for a wicketkeeper to average around 20 to 30. But Gilly revolutionised the way wicketkeepers contribute. His partnerships with Mark Waugh and later Mathew Hayden at the top of the order, are the stuff of legends.

His 149 run knock in the WC 07 final in the Caribbean against SL has to be the highest point of his career. It was a one man demolition show from Gilly. He has scored 50+ in all the 3 WC finals he has played in. He has been part of 3 successful WC winning Aussie teams. An enviable feat!!!
His strike rate in ODIs is close to 100. Australia ll forever be inebted to Gilly for the gr8 starts that he has provided at the top of the order.



Off the field he remains one of the most likeable characters. He moves along well with all his opponents. He has earned the respect of all his contemporaries and former greats. He has played his cricket in a fair manner most of the time. His support for 'walking' was praise worthy.

While people all over the world ll be quick to label the Aussie cricket team as arrogant and unsportive, the warmth and fondness with which they regard Gilchrist is a fitting tribute to the man. His voluntary contribution to the Glenn Mcgrath Breast Cancer Foundation is indeed heart warming.

He leaves the game on his own terms. The game ll definitely become poorer due to his retirement. People all over the world are bewildered by his decision. This is the best way to leave ( full of grace). He ll be an Aussie legend like Bradman,Warne,Waugh,McGrath,Chappel etc etc. For the sheer fact that he changed the outlook of the cricket fans towards wicketkeepers, he ll be right at the top always.