India Vs England: A Preview.......

 You don't need to be a psychologist to read whats in the minds of both India and England before the start of what is undoubtedly one of the most eagerly anticipated India vs England series in quite a while and i dare say one of the most eagerly anticipated home test series for India in a long while. The last time this much anticipation was there when these 2 countries met, England went on to win the series 4-0 and snatch the Number 1 ranking from India. I am sure that if you are reading this then you must surely know which 4-0 spanking I am talking about here. If not, then I am afraid that you were probably spending your vacation in Mars. I don't think there has ever been a series between the number 1 and number 2 sides in the world which was as one sided as India's tour to England last year. Quite simply, India got smashed both physically and mentally by England. And so deep were the wounds that were inflicted by England during that series that India went on to lose 4-0 in Australia as well even though they went into that tour in a confident frame of mind. I doubt that those wounds have healed even after more then a year has passed. And these wounds wont heal unless India finds some mental peace. And that peace can only come in one way.......return the favour to England...beat them 4-0.

                        Not many countries are as strong as India are in their backyard. Its no secret. The difference in the body language and mental frame of the players is like chalk and cheese in comparison to an overseas tour. Its like as if Harry Potter has cast a spell on the Indian players which turns them into dragons at home and well,.... mice abroad. Of course, India have vastly improved as a touring nation compared to what they were in the 1990s. But the last two disastrous tours have raised a question..."Are India going back to their days of Tigers at Home, Mice abroad now with Dravid and Laxman retiring and Sachin soon to follow???" or was it just "a fluke and a flash in the pan." And this series is the first step in answering that question even though its being played at home. India are going into this series as such overwhelming favourites that anything less then a series win could mean the end of Dhoni's era as a Captain and the end of  Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan's carriers. India have a lot at stake in this series and i dare say much more to lose then England. As to how desperate India really are can be seen from the warm up games that England have played on this tour, mediocre opposition and more importantly no exposure to quality spinners for the England batsmen. I find  this extremely unsporting from the BCCI.

                         On the other hand, we have England whose progress as a cricketing powerhouse has only gone downhill since they took over the Number 1 ranking. They got beaten 3-0 by Pakistan in the Middle East, drew 1-1 in Sri lanka (a credible result, mind you) and then lost their Number 1 ranking at home by losing 0-2 to an extremely well polished South Africa. Andrew Strauss has retired now and Alastair Cook has now taken over the reins and for an England side I don't think there is a tougher tour then a "Tour of India" even though in terms of importance, the Ashes tour wins it hands down. Make no mistake though, England aren't going to be pushovers. They weren't the Number 1 side for nothing and their biggest strength lies in their preparation before a big series. The biggest reason for England's 1-3 win over Australia down under was in the way they went through the process of conquering the conditions and the opposition. In Andy Flower they have one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best, who leaves nothing to chance. A man who knows the value of hard work and who is probably the main reason behind England’s success in recent years.  I have no doubt that Andy Flower would have been preparing for this series for a long time and especially after the 5-0 ODI series defeat to India in India last year his resolve to do well this time around will be much stronger. Just like “Chokers” is the perennial word which the South Africans hate to discuss, “Playing spin” falls in the same category for England. And this is the backbone of what scoreline this series might end.

                           Coming to this series, the prospects are endless and the individual battles that will unfold are fascinating to say the least. For me there are a few key areas and battles that I think will decide the series:

1.      Alastair Cook Vs Zaheer Khan: This battle at the top of the order should be one of the battles of the series for me. Zaheer likes bowling to left handed opening batsmen and Cook is one of those guys whom you don’t want to get off to a start. Plus, that he is now the Captain makes his wicket one of the biggest in this series.

2.      Kevin Pietersen Vs Pragyan Ojha and Yuvraj Singh: Another big battle. And its one battle that England will have to win if they are to do well in this series. Pietersen’s habit of getting out to slow left arm bowlers is well known around the world. One thing for sure is that this battle won’t be boring. KP will take the Indian spinners on. Its either Boom or Bust.

3.      Virender Sehwag Vs James Anderson:  The most destructive batsman in world cricket on his day versus the best swing-seam bowler in test cricket. England’s biggest weapon in this series is their fast bowling and Anderson has had good success against Sehwag recently. Plus, Sehwag has been struggling for form of late. So, an engrossing battle on the cards here.

4.      Sachin Tendulkar Vs Graeme Swann:  Swann will have to do a lot of bowling in this series and I am pretty sure that when Tendulkar comes out to bat then England will bowl Anderson and Swann at him to start off. And I expect Sachin to respect Anderson and look to take Swann on. Quite frankly, the way Sachin bats in this series is going to be one of the talking points of the cricketing world. I personally hope to see Sachin bat aggressively and take on England’s bowlers. The cricketing world and the whole of India seems like a better place to live in when Sachin is in full flow.

CONCLUSION: Its no secret that India go in as clear favourites in this series. But India aren’t going to find it as easy they might have hoped. England will have their moments in this series but eventually the turning ball on turning pitches might be too much to handle. I am secretly hoping for a 4-0 win as an Indian fan but I am also hoping that England have an Ace under their sleeve and reveal a new and surprising tactic to counter India’s spin bowling. What I also hope for is some brilliant umpiring (with no DRS in the series). It’s a big series and nobody wants the talks of DRS and poor umpiring to spoil the party. My prediction is a 2-0 or a 3-1 win to India.  

                         

The Journey..

Waking up in the morning , to feel the Sun’s rays.

It doesn’t matter for how long the clouds allow it, or for how long the tide stays.

The sand on the beach has turned from silver to gold,

And the time has come for me to leave, as everyone had foretold.

I will be on my way soon, to the place which is not unknown,

there have been bad days, but there have also been days when I have felt like a King on his throne.

I don’t know what the day might bring, as I venture out to the playground of the one best known,

I hope that I am able to return safe and sound at night, to the place everyone labels as my Home.

But there is no word in life like “Guarantee”, although we have freedom we are never really free.

If I never return, would you miss me? Every single day, you don’t even say goodbye to me.

Life is tough but tougher still is death; I hope you never find out that I had fallen prey to fate.

I will try to come back best as I can, until then I will just keep on walking till I cross hell’s gate….

The Test.........

Through the tests which time took,
here I stand, above everyone else.......as I should.
The didn't like what they saw me do,
and I don't care one bit where time leads me through.


I have been through worse, when times were really bad.
I had no time to lie down and to be sad.
I conquered them all, during those tough days,
and yeah, I am sure as hell gonna dominate even today.



The journey wasn't smooth, as I had predicted
but the end reward was just the one I expected.
Life tried to put me down once before, as I hesitated,
but today, I wouldn't  make that same mistake as people calculated.



The Goal is still far away, even further then my dreary eye could see.,
but it doesn't matter how far the goal is, if you have the heart to rise above thee....
There will be storms in the way, and there will be jungles as they say,
but if you have a glimmer of hope lit in your heart, then you might not have to wait till the month of May.



The legs and hands will tire, the closer that you get,
but you will have to force your mind to cancel out that aspect.
You will be rewarded with more then what you deserve,
if you  have the will to just persevere.



Nothing in life comes easy,
we even have to struggle to hold our own  in  our very own family.
The obsession with money will soon engulf everyone else around you,
And if you don't keep up, you might be the one who ends up in fatality.

The Moon..........

The darkness of the night is gently disturbed,
by the moon emerging from beneath the dark clouds.
No matter how much effort it takes, yet unperturbed
it continues on its journey through the mazy crowd.




It doesn't have the regalness of the Sun, nor does it have the Sun's power.
Yet in its own silent way it controls the tides, accurate to the hour.
The Sun gives out more light and it breeds life, commanding respect
but for a romantic, there is nothing quite like the moon when the question is of "being perfect".




It comes out only at night when its admiring strangers go to sleep,
yet it never feels lonely, as the mighty stars give him company to keep.
It doesn't give us much warmth, neither does it make us feel cold.
But do be on your guard, because it can so easily take away your soul.




When the darkness arrive after the Sun sets, the world descends to black from white.
And when all hope is lost, he appears and fights the losing battle, but doesn't give up without a fight.
It teaches us all about life and how to live and fight it,
at night, it lights our paths just enough so that we can walk on our own two feet.

The Cripple..........

I picked up the gun that was lying deep in the drawer,
checking, whether time has rusted it from the inside.
I know that emptying its contents won't give me an answer,
but at least it will make me presentable to the world outside.




I have been fighting a lost cause ever since the day I was born.
Every passing year seems to pierce me just like a rose's thorn.
I never vented out my emotions to the people who matter,
in the fear that I will become a joke, and my sentiments scattered.




Time has passed by and its numerous tests have made me numb,
and I am afraid that when the real test comes, I will fail to recognize it like a dumb.
I have almost forgotten that I am the only one who is capable of winning this battle.
In this world we are all controlled by an invisible force, just like the way we control our cattle.




You never came to my rescue, when you knew that I needed to be dazzled.
You watched me struggle through every stage of this crossword puzzle.
I am the one who will have to live my life through this misery,
slowly slowly, I am losing power in my battery.



I ask the one above, why you made me a cripple for no fault of mine ?
Am I paying for the sins committed once upon a time ?
Is there any cure for this torture that I have been suffering since nine ?
At least give me a taste of your sweetest wine.



I hope to wake up from this nightmare which I hope is just an extended session,
Why do we all hope that everything bad is just a dream from which we might wake up anytime.
Making the best of all we have got should be our only life's mission.
otherwise there will be no satisfaction for us, at least not in this lifetime.

The journey........

I can feel the sea calling me out,
inviting me without even giving me a shout.
Beckoning to me, asking me to test myself out.
Am I brave enough to clear out all of my doubts ?




The time has come, the time has come to build a raft,
I don't want a boat, because I want to feel the Sea up close.
I want to see whether I am really good at my craft,
Will I survive, on this journey which I chose ??

The stare in the rain.......

I can feel the warmth of your stare,
those anxious eyes watching me, questioning me....
asking me, whether I have what it takes to dream ?
will I save her soul from the depths of society ?


Time seemed to have stopped,
and those seconds passed like hours,
My mind was starting to play tricks on me
Is she really the one ???
Is she really the one for whom I have been waiting so long ???
My entire life I have waited.
Is the wait over ???



That stare, that stare made the hair on my hands stand.
It was as if those small strands of hair were stung,
and now they wanted to burst out of my hands.
The rain was now starting to fall
but it made no difference, as I didn't notice it
till the raindrops started to roll over my eye, slowly.


The wind was staring to pick up speed,
and her hair was now starting to slowly float.
Floating as if an invisible hand was caressing it....
It looked like it wanted to fly away to the end of the horizon,
but was being held back by the reality of life.


The people were all starting to run away,
run away to the shelters of the nearby shop
hoping to escape from the increasing rain,
and from the wind which was now blowing like a wild fire.
But she wasn't moving and nor did I,
the feelings and emotions were at an all time high.
Nature seemed like an ally,
helping to bring us close by slowly removing the obstacles of life.

Money and Life...........

No use in this world by being a nice soul,
because in the end you are the only one left all alone.
No matter how hard you try to do others proud,
they will always say that you are one, wretched, useless tree sprout.




Never be nice in this world of ours,
because nice guys finish last.
In the end its the money that matters,
and if you don't earn, even your own will treat you as one of the "untouchable" caste.





Ahh, I feel so lonely today, lonely as the full moon.
I should not be surprised, because I was naive to have not realized the universal fact soon.
I learned in school when I was young , that character is all we have,
but today I learned that its money that defines you, and thats the new fact.





All relationships are a myth no matter how close they look on first glance,
They will all treat you well for a day or two, but when your troubled times come they will all turn away on first chance.
Everything will be alright and everybody will treat you like a King if you turn out in your own suit,
but if you seem like a stupid dependent, then they will kick you in the heart with the strongest boot.




Everybody will believe that you are a criminal,
and you will be unfairly judged.
Your very soul will be pronounced guilty,
just because you are one fat fuck.




Even the corrupt politicians get away because they are rich, no matter how moral-less they are,
I am trying my best to do everyone proud, yet I am pronounced a demon who has come from afar.
Its better to not live a life where you know opinions will vary proportionately in relation to money,
I can't wait for this tide to turn, for I will go away to a place that is sunny.

The Blind Man........

Are you the one who took away my sight ?
and left me all alone to suffer this horrible plight.
Though I am in a room filled with the Sun's light,
yet its darkness that I can see and all I can do is fight.




Are you the one who broke my heart in two ?
knowing fully well that it can't be repaired by glue.
Now you are enjoying this and I know its true,
but try looking at it from my point of view.




The ghosts of the past still dance all around my mind,
and its a dance which can be seen by a blind.
Its tune has got me all spellbind,
and I am struggling to be in the right frame of mind.





I can see the blackness in your heart,
and how you lured me in is a credit to your art.
You knew that I wasn't all that smart,
and you made me give my eyes for an imaginary part.





Now you have come back to see whether I am alive,
after all these years have passed numbered five.
I would rather die then go with you for a cliff dive,
I have been dead for far too long in this hive.




Your voice now sounds to me like a Lion's roar,
and the number of times you have killed me, I haven't kept a score.
And yet here you are coming back to hurt me more,
you can't stay here and when you leave better close the door.

The Prisoner...

Is there anybody out there waiting to save me ???
Do try your best, but don't fail to unbind me.
I have been shackled for too long in this world of the mortals,
Are you brave enough to defy God and free me ???



Bounded in chains, I have suffered for too long,
I haven't felt any sunlight and there is no difference between the dusk and dawn.
We are all nothing but puppets, controlled by fate like its pawn
and are then thrown away after their lust is satisfied, just like a circus clown.




I can feel my hands and legs moving, even though they are tied by a strong chain.
In my dreams I am a free man and they can't push me out into the rain.
The eyes of unknown guards gaze at me burning my skin,
Swords and bullets don't hurt as much as the absence of freedom to move one's own shin.




I hear the dogs barking and the sounds of the soldiers marching outside.
They too are bounded in chains just like me, though of an invisible kind.
They have no freedom nor any liberty, and all they do is take orders from the devil who presides.
And they pay that devil with their lives, just as I am about to pay mine.




I hear everything that goes on outside these walls as I cannot see,
The only music I hear is of the falling rain and the buzzing of a honeybee.
I was sold away by the ones I used to call as my own,
and I wonder who is to blame, my so called friends who betrayed me ?? or the one who made me just like a clone ??




I don't believe in death anymore, nor do I believe in life.
Time has passed, and so has the seasons and it cuts me slowly like a knife.
There isn't much time before they hang me and watch me die,
but before they do that, I will tell them that "Heaven's a lie", "Heaven's a lie."

The grey haired soldier..........

Its been long since the hair on my scalp has turned Grey,
but not as Grey as the character of people alive.
My soul has been long lost, just like a needle in a stack of hay,
fallen prey to the corrupt ministers who congregate in a hive.




I have watched the village kids grow up and become men,
and watch them dreaming the same dreams as I.
I hope they realize before it gets too late,
that these dreams will never be allowed to fly.




I remember my glory days vividly,
when I used to be a soldier who played in the dirt.
I made huge sacrifices for them, and killed people happily,
but in the end, they made me feel like a stain in their clean white shirt.




Me and my friends left our friends and family behind,
hoping to be of service to our motherland.
But what we saw was an utter abuse of mankind,
by the ones whom we trusted to lead us to the promised land.




I can still hear the cries of agony of my friends,
and see them in my nightmares over and over again.
Those old, wrinkled politicians with white hair and shaky hands,
pushed us towards the edge, hoping that we will fall off never to appear again.




My friends are long gone and I somehow survived,
growing old with the passage of time.
I think about their families and for how long they have been deprived,
and realized that the time has come for their kids to shine.

i got some good news yesterday that the internet should get fixed soon.....if we are lucky, then it might get fixed today itself....hopefully, that happens.......i had written 2 poems a few days back and i can't wait to post them here once the internet gets fixed....till next time...see ya

apologies everyone......work is going on in our road, as a result of which they have cut the phone lines.....thus, no internet connection these past few weeks.....hopefully, it gets fixed soon....and i can get back to blogging....till then, see ya all........

The man who sits by the fire...........

Downed my last drink for the night, contemplating life.
Hadn't talked to my parents for a while, nor..... to my family of five.
Sitting here by the fireplace all alone, staring at the beehive,
wondering whether she is thinking the exact same thoughts, the one whom I used to call "My Wife."




A log of wood from a tree in my backyard was crackling in the fire,
I was staring at it for far too long, and it made my eyes tire.
Though my eyes are tired now, my spirit has been long gone.
It is the end of my life's Summer, and it is the Autumn that has dawned.





The fire was slowly starting to burn away and I started to add more wood.
Added two, hoping its enough and that it would do it some good.
Didn't add any wood to my life's fire when I was young and able,
I am still paying the price of my life's mistakes, and it should be made into a fable.




The fire started to burn alright and began licking the leaves of the adjoining tree.
The insects and bugs began crowding around it, as if in a trance from which they can never be free.
The dance of the flames reminded me of a life I will never be able to forget.
The first time we danced was during our marriage, and I was behaving like a drunk hornet.




The moon came out from behind the clouds, and it was a bloody cold night,
and the sudden breeze made the flames stretch, and gave my old heart a freezing bite.
The cry of an owl somewhere in the woods reminded me that it was getting late,
I got up from my everyday position, reminded again, that time doesn't give a damn about my fate.




Had my dinner of yesterday's prawns, made by my newly appointed maid.
I ate my fill and left some for her, though how many I didn't calculate.
Went to my bed and slowly crept under the blanket, keeping some raw prawns as fish's bait,
and then stared upwards towards the ceiling and watched the blades of the fan rotate.

The Stormy Beach....

Staring at the sky, listening to the crashing of the waves.
Bracing myself, for whatever nature might throw my way.
The night was stormy and the rain added to my misery,
but it was nothing compared to what I had to endure today.



The beach was sandy and the shopkeepers were busy,
the pesky kids were all going crazy.
The gale didn't stop nor did it slow down,
and I am sure that tomorrow morning will be hazy.




Ain't no cheese, ain't no soft breeze....... in this cursed land.
The angry clouds won't spare you in their mood, even if you have an umbrella of a top brand.
The waves were crashing with their full force, and there is no escape.
If you thought that you can hide away, then its your first big mistake.




I could see the funny irony, when this storm came.
The mothers took their children away, yet they didn't stop the game.
Can't blame the children here, as they are all just kids.
But if something were to happen to them, then its the seniors who will have to take the hit.




And there were the trees, the mightiest of all,
rooted to the center of the earth, standing tall.
But even they weren't a match for this nature's call,
swaying to God's music, as if dancing in a King's ball.



And I thought, as calmly as I could.
Am I a fool to be sitting here when I should be running as everyone would.
I would have made a cave for others too, as all should.
After all, we are all equals in this world of the misunderstood.

The Forest.....

The path was decorated by dead leaves as if its autumn,
and I was twisting my way around it, to join the buds beginning to blossom.
The broken tree on the way reminding me of nature's unmistakable power,
the thunder of the black clouds unmistakably is of the coming shower.



The tire marks on the road were a guiding light,
just as in life its our morals that allow us to put up a fight.
My destination is still far enough for me to take a nap,
I better find a suitable place so that my fingers don't get snapped.




And there was She, a simple village lass,
heart of Gold, but looked brittle as a glass.
Found myself defenseless against that attack from her eyes,
couldn't control my heart, couldn't even stare into the skies.




Found myself losing my mind, after all I am a normal man.
But never mustered the courage to coax my heart, and ask her for a milk can.
She stared at me and gave me a customary smile,
and so lost was I, that I imagined myself amongst the divine.



The skies opened up, as if in robust denial,
and the clap of the thunder made me realize....... the power of the celestial.
Gone was She in a blink of an eye,
and I didn't even had the chance to bid her a final goodbye.



Never had I felt such emotion, such an extreme sensation,
a feeling of desperation, and I can now see the obvious complication.
No point now in trying to find her as she would have taken shelter in some cave.
Suddenly in front of me, I could see an ancient cemetery of graves.

The Struggle.....

The thread of life ties down our good side and evil side together,
forming our very true self, one not separated from the other.
Destiny does play its part, and no matter how hard we try,
its hands always seem to pull us back to be fried.



I want some wings, some wings to fly.
If I had been born an Eagle, to reach the end of the world I would have at least tried.
But then, may be I had committed some sin for which I am being punished,
I may have been born naive, but I am definitely not foolish.




I can feel the sharpness of the knife that cuts through my heart.
In today's world, to succeed you definitely need a head start.
No need to shed tears just because you got stung by fate's dart,
in order to earn respect, you have to play your own part.




Its a shame that we keep fighting amongst ourselves for petty gains.
Compare that with the vastness of the Universe, its such a shame.
Civilizations had come and gone before us,
but I doubt they would have had to endure such pain.




They say, the lines in our hands tell us our future,
and along with the lines in our brow, people normally say that its secure.
If you believe in that, and sit on your ass,
I can assure you that you are not mature.



The past is gone and now the future beckons,
pulling you closer every second.
There ain't no use putting up a struggle.
Coz you will end up digging your own grave and putting yourselves into trouble.

Love Song........

The wind seemed to change its course whenever you walked,
and you thought I was just another one of those who stalked.
Winning your love wasn't a mission,
as I know that you became mine when Cupid's court was in session.



The fragrance of the flowers became meaningless,
as your aroma had already knocked me senseless.
Those eyes of yours held the deepest mysteries of your soul,
and I could keep staring at them......... as time unfold.



Your smile and laughter would make me realize,
how much happiness there is in this wretched world.
I am not the one for any compromise,
when fate asks me for my Soul.



Its been long since I last saw you,
and I know that the chances are increasingly becoming less.
But I do believe that there will be one last cue,
to relieve me of this destiny's stress.

God's Game.....

The heart doesn't seem to beat anymore,
Do take pity on my soulless soul.
Ages have passed since blood flowed through these veins,
Nowadays, even a snake's venom doesn't seem to leave a stain.



There was once a time when life seemed simple,
the sky was blue, and my life had principle.
Came from nowhere those heartless people,
they destroyed my life and made my wife a cripple.



Life played its worst game with me and I had no chance,
I had to become the devil and make fate dance.
Charged I truly was after that unforgettable day,
and after a few months, God cut short my wife's stay.



Never had I contemplated violence till that moment,
after that day, people came to know me as a merciless giant.
The smell of gunpowder started feeling like a flower's aroma,
Satan himself came to give me Death's diploma.



Time passed and my hair became gray,
I had my revenge and made my enemies pay.
I built a new house near a bay, with Destiny's say,
never did I imagined that my soul would just fade away.



The thirst for blood can never be satisfied,
my heart now doesn't even wish to be pacified.
Its already too late to be getting mystified,
afterall, I am soon to be crucified.

Hi folks...........I am back....I have been gone 2-3 days.....but now I am here and I have spent these 2-3 days by writing some poems in my spare time....And here they are...I hope that u all like them..

Keys to playing spin bowling....

I had predicted a 1-0 win for Pakistan in my preview and who knows, this scoreline might remain the same at the end of this series. But then England's shortcomings in the subcontinent have once again come to the fore. And England and Andy Flower would be foolish if they haven't realized by now that England have a serious problem in the subcontinent. Since they are the No. 1 team now, one can expect them to possess decent bowlers. More importantly, bowlers with heart. And we saw that in this test. I will have to say that after the 1st day's play I was expecting Pakistan to make 400 comfortably . But England's seamers have surprised me a bit with their heart and quality on these dead subcontinent pitches. The problem for England lies with their batting. I am not saying that England have a bad batting line up, they don't. But the thing is that when you come to the subcontinent, you have to make a few minor adjustments to your technique. Many great batsmen have come and had massive failures in the subcontinent. Its one thing to score heavily at home and in Australia where the conditions aren't alien to England's batsmen but its a completely different thing to play quality spin, with men around the bat in the subcontinent. Its just the same thing as when subcontinental batsmen go to England or Australia, they struggle for a while. All it takes is some getting used to, learning from experience and understanding the finer nuances of batting (these finer nuances will only make them overall better batsmen). Like, take Jacques Kallis for example, whenever he plays offspin in the subcontinent he always takes an off stump guard and this allows him to play with the spin on the legside and this forces the bowler to shift his line outside the off stump . Now what it does is that it allows Kallis to leave balls outside his eyeline as he knows that he has his stumps covered and thus he can't get bowled. Being a bit of a batsman myself (albeit not a very good one), I am gonna try and become a batting coach for England and gonna lay down a few things which overseas' batsmen need to do when they come down to the subcontinent................


1. Play with soft hands: The first basic in playing spin bowling is to play with soft hands. All great batsmen of spin bowling have this one thing in common. I saw Eoin Morgan nick one off Abdul Rehman today and I thought he did this mistake. He pushed at it. In the subcontinent, you have to allow the ball to come to you and play with soft hands .

2. Watch the ball and play it late: This is one basic which is helpful in playing all sorts of bowling, whether swing or spin. England's batsmen were pushing at the ball a bit, especially in the 1st innings. Like Kevin Pietersen in the 1st innings. He planted the foot forward and pushed at it. You can't do that here in the subcontinent, KP....

3. Use your feet: England batsmen are more prone to playing the sweep shot . This is due to the fact that they don't play spin bowling a lot back home. As a result they haven't quite perfected their footwork against spin and are scared of getting stumped. Let me remind you all that "Coming down the track" isn't the only way of using one's feet. One can go deep in the crease and turn a reasonable ball into a short one . Positive footwork often destroys the confidence of even the best of spinners.

4. Be positive in your attitude: England got stuck whenever the spinners came on. If you defend too many balls , you only end up digging your own grave. They allowed Pakistan to bring the fielders close in and built pressure for themselves. The great Aussie side were so successful in all conditions because their batsmen wanted to dominate the spinners the moment they came onto bowl. Don't allow them to settle is the mantra.

5. Play with a cool and calm head: England seem to lose their cool whenever they see the spinners coming onto bowl. They panic. You can never make the correct judgment if your mind is clouded. Playing with a cool head is the best way of taking pressure off you. Even the opposition don't feel comfortable if they see you batting calmly .

6. Rotate the strike: The best way to play a bowler is by watching from the nonstriker's end. One doesn't need to hit boundaries every over. Simple rotation of the strike helps a batsmen in more ways then one. It will keep the scoreboard moving, it will take the pressure off you and it it won't allow the bowler to settle.

I will be away for 2-3 days ..So, I wont be able to post any new articles till I come back..Of course, I will try to write a few things while I am away....Hopefully, when I come back, I get to see the blog reach 1000 views...Till then, be safe everybody...........

INTERACTION:2

Well folks, its been a while since i have communicated with you all. Firstly, i would like to thank you all for visiting my blog . Seriously, when I first made this blog I had no idea as to whether anyone would even bother visiting it..But now, after close to 850 views I can safely assume that you all like what I post. Secondly, I would like it even better if you guys join this blog as members and comment on my poems and other stuff. It will be an honour to interact with you all. It can only benefit us if we discuss about some serious topics in life. Till next time folks...........

The world of politics..........

Staring into the horizon trying to find the meaning of life,
and the harsh reality cuts into my soul, just like a knife.
No point trying to fight it, like you would if you were in a war
because in the end, its just like a Lion's roar.



The tombs of soldiers lie unmoved, testing the potency of time,
and their sacrifice has been ignored by all of us who wake up at nine.
The people who matter never do care, as to whether the soldiers live or die,
but when dark clouds gather from the arrows of an archer, all they do is stare into the sky.




"Don't worry", they say.....we are doing our work for your own good,
but when the results come, we can see that the majority don't even get the basic food.
I pay my taxes and my bills so that they are used for everyone's benefit,
only to find that the government is just one big misfit.




No use criticizing, if you just talk from afar,
dive into the muddy waters to clean them, and you will truly become a star.
Governing and ruling isn't easy, afterall thats the way they are
but if you believe that you can make a change, you will definitely start from par.



Dictatorship, Aristocracy, Democracy
yet none can survive if it doesn't have the support of the society.
Entering into politics isn't another form of lunacy,
but eventually it is just another one of Satan's conspiracy.



Wake up, the time is past........we have slept for far too long,
If you want to live a better life, then you have to start singing the song.
Ain't going to do anyone any good if you think that you don't belong,
because slowly we all realize that we were all wrong.

THOUGHTS AND DREAMS: a poem........

Thoughts,......they always want to run,
we can't control them, but thats wherein lies the fun.
Sometimes they bring us joy.....of old, pleasant memories,
and at times they make us smile through endless possibilities.



If ever it were possible, I would want to live within those thoughts and dreams,
afteralI, I am just another slave of Life's endless streams.
But, Life is not my greatest friend......it keeps reminding me of the harsh reality,
and my dreams just fade away like my very own spirituality.




Some thoughts never go away, because they were meant to last,
till my last breath, I will make sure they don't blow up in a mental blast.
The painful memories of yore keeps coming back thick and fast,
and I can only laugh at my mind's plight, suffocating within a cast.




If I were an eagle, I would have soared away high and far,
away from it all, away to a distant star.
I wouldn't have thought about hiding my scar,
because I will be my very own czar.




There my mind goes again running with the flow,
looking to free itself, it dug itself a hole.
One should never rein one's mind and make it slow,
because then we will only dig ourselves a burrow , just like a mole.



My dreams are my very own and nobody can take them away from me,
when we die, the only thing we can take back is our very own creativity.
Whats the use then of any further delay ???
because its better to burn out then to just fade away............

CHANGE THE WORLD: a poem...........

They say that we are not meant to live our life in misery,
but then, don't they know that in this world there is no equality ???
The rich keep getting richer, whereas the poor continue to live in poverty,
eventually we are all left with nothing, not even our own property.



The world was meant to be a place of orthodoxy,
yet we all live without any tranquility.
There is no serenity,
because we all want to make our own identity.



How I wish, there was no division amongst us all,
because in the end no matter who our friends are, we will all fall.
There is no use in standing up tall,
afterall when its all over, we will all end up in the same stall.




He said "You are black and I am white",
we can't be friends, as my mom will get a fright.
I can feel the noose around my neck beginning to get tight,
because after all these years I am still suffering my forefather's plight.




Life is dictated here by our very own society,
even if we know they are wrong, we continue living in anxiety.
Why seek peace in spirituality ???
when we all know that its just another form of brutality.



The world can be made a better place if we choose to,
if we change our own hearts, and stop being wild animals of a zoo.
Don't be late , as the bird has already flew
because the only person that can change the world is you.

WAR..................

The pain of loneliness is a bit too much,
even if the the hospital bed isn't uncomfortable as such.
Trapped in hell is my remorseful soul,
the days felt like nights .........and it was bloody cold.



Its been ages since my hands and legs have stopped working,
and I feel my life slowly slipping away with the clock's tick tocking.
The corpses of my fellow comrades remind me of the setting Sun
and that soon, I too will be joining them after I am done.



War is an event that no one should see,
Am I the only one who has conquered destiny ???
The morning fog of the battlefield was what shielded me,
after I had shot the one whom I label as my enemy.



Only the edge of the knife was built to kill,
yet when it takes a life, its the entire blade that goes in.
The colours of red and green is what decorates the entire field,
mixed with the cries of agony it makes for an unforgettable scene.



Oh, how difficult it is to let the family of a comrade know,
that their loved one will never ever show.
No matter how much you try to dodge this fate's throw,
the scar made by it will always be visible in your brow.



The politicians are the ones to start this row,
but why should it be us who should become the hated crow ???
Even God shies away from this show,
and here I sleep having taken destiny's last blow.

The dark side of life........

I walk through a path which I know is true,
yet I shiver at the thought,
of what might happen if all I believe in fails to come through.
People will say that I am a fool,
but I believe that in the end, the world is just another tool.


The Player plays games with us all,
yet we believe that we are the mightiest during our winter's fall.
Destiny has many different routes,
but if you don't have the patience there will be no fruit.


Years roll on and one day you find that you are growing old,
and they will ask "Why didn't you do just as we told ?"
Nobody will walk with you after the road comes to an end,
And I will try to find some shelter in a Lion's Den.


The night will be wet , and it will be very cold,
but when the Sun's rays touch the horizon, everything will look like Gold.
No time to have breakfast, or to have tea,
because you have to swim the bullish sea.


In this journey, you will meet many foes,
but will they be honest enough to sing you the hated prose ?
Nobody will warn you when you are about to slip,
because everybody just wants to see you get stripped.


I will close all doors and switch off the light,
because nobody cares if I had put up a fight.
I won't be the one who will crawl,
because in the end Life fucks us all.........

steps in how to achieve one's goals.........

Ah well. Let me make it clear that I am just an amateur writer as I believe most of you all are. But I do carry a certain disadvantage and its that I am an "Arts" person which means that I like to write long and boring paragraphs one after the other, instead of writing point after point. Now that I have exposed myself its only fair that I write something up to save my pride. So, I have thought about writing the various steps which are necessary to be accomplished in order to fulfill one's goals in a particular year, say for this current year 2012.:

1. IDENTIFY YOUR FINAL TARGET: Its very essential before starting out on a particular task that we all identify where we want to be at. In this case, its necessary that we recognize the position where we want to be, at the year end. If we don't know what we are aiming for then whats the use of starting ???

2. TAKE IT ONE STEP AT A TIME: Quite often, we think too much about the end product and as a result we forget about the steps that are necessary to be accomplished. In order to reach the final goal at the year end its necessary that we take it one step at a time, setting oneself small targets.

3. HAVE NO DISTRACTIONS: Man is quite prone to distractions . We might have noticed that quite often in our daily lives. Television and Parties are probably two of the biggest distractions in modern life. So, in order to achieve our goals we have to make sure that we don't get distracted too often.

4. LISTEN TO ADVICE: We often tend to look to accomplish things in our own way. i.e. we don't look for help even if its provided to us by someone. Thats alright, as long as you know that those people are not going to provide you with good advice. But when advice is given to you by your closest friends, your parents, your elders etc it does one no harm whatsoever if we listen to them every once in a while.

5. BE EFFICIENT: Efficiency often goes a long way in accomplishing one's goals. There is no use in just beating about the bush. You might not give your final target much time but whatever time you give, better make sure that you use it to the best of your abilities.

6. INCREASE YOUR WORK RATE AS YOU GET CLOSER TO THE GOAL: Its in our nature that whenever we see a task of ours nearing completion , our confidence and self-belief goes up . And this is the best time for one to press home the advantage by increasing the work rate. Work-rate as in the work that we are doing in order to achieve our goal.

Thierry Henry : The King is back..........

                          There are few players in the world who have a statue built of them outside their stadium. And there are even fewer players who get to play for their club after the statue has been unveiled, Thierry Henry is one of them. I see no need to explain to you all who Thierry Henry is because if you are reading this then surely you know a little bit about football. And if you know a little bit of football, then its imperative that you would have heard the name "Thierry Henry" .

                          Legends like him arrive once in a generation and we are really lucky that we have got the chance to see him play for Arsenal ...............TWICE. And when it was confirmed that he will come back to Arsenal FC for a 2 month long loan deal, the joy or should I say the relief was too much. Yes, its just a 2 month loan deal but this deal is not just an ordinary transfer deal, this deal is beyond football. It doesn't matter how long Henry will play, the only thing that matters is that he has come back "HOME" and the faithful fans of all age groups will get the chance to see him ............again. It was an opportunity for young Arsenal fans who haven't seen Henry play LIVE  before to get an idea of how great the Arsenal side was in Arsene Wenger's first 8-9 years as manager. It was also an opportunity for these young gooners to respect the fact that how lucky all us gooners really are to have a legend like Henry .


                            That the script was out of any popular blockbuster movie was a given once the scores were still  0-0 at HT yesterday.  He came on in the 65th minute and what an irony it is that the player he replaced was Marouane Chamakh . Yes, he is not the Henry of 6-7 years ago. He has lost a bit of pace and he does look a bit "OLD", if i dare use that word. But, one thing that was unmistakable was that he has the class. Its a popular term that "Form is temporary, Class is permanent." and thats what we saw yesterday. Arshavin had a good game yesterday. He gave it his all. He showed the desire that has been missing for most parts this season. But he was unable to finish the many chances that he got. On the other hand Chamakh, who I wonder as to whether he will get a starting place in any other Premier League team , kept on messing things up as only he can. How many chances does a player need to prove that he has got it ??? i think chamakh has gone way beyond those deserved chances. Anyways, when Henry came on the first thing I noticed was that he knew his limitations. He knows that he is an old man now, in footballing terms, and he has lost a bit of pace. He wasn't experimenting or looking to prove to his innumerable fans that he still HAS IT. All he did was play his normal game, he played exactly the way he would play for NY Red bulls. And, he has played too many big games in his carrier to be overawed by the stage. 1 chance, thats all it took...............1 chance,      1 chance = 1 goal. All those years of  Thierry Henry were immersed in that goal. If there was ever a signature Henry goal then that was it. Throughout his carrier, if the defenders and goalkeepers of the world has seen or known 1 thing its this..........that if Henry gets into "THAT" position , then no matter how good a goalie you are, 80% of the time Henry would score that.


                             And thats why we needed Henry . He would provide all those years of experience to the lads. Too many times we have seen our players mess things up. Too many times we have seen our guys not scoring from very good positions. Henry's signing has been done so that he can resolve a few of those matters. Yes, he can play a huge role in these coming 2 months as a player. But  one of Wenger's primary intention was that Henry could share his experiences with the squad and bring in an atmosphere of calmness and composure.  Its only to be seen how Henry can combine with Robin Van Persie in these 2 months. But one thing that we can be assured of is that if Henry gets a chance to score , the 80% of the time he would take it. That David Beckham along with his "Gooner" son was there to watch him play and the joy that was there on Beckham's face when Henry scored the goal says it all. Beckham and Henry had been bitter rivals during there glory days, but when you are talking about legends there is no such thing as rivalry, all that there is "RESPECT."

He is back.....The King is back......How much we missed him....A dream script.. of a hollywood movie....Come on you ARSENAL.....

The Hunter..........a poem ...

The sun wasn't shining in the evening sky,
And then there was me walking to prove someone right.
The wind kept howling like a drugged wolf,
and along with the fog it made a horrifying sight.


The grass was moist with the evening dew,
and though there were dry patches, they were quite a few.
The trees were singing their silent tune,
and then rose up slowly........ the bright, new moon.


Out came the bug out of its tiny home,
woken up, by the calling of of its own.
Crawling through the leaves , it made silent progress,
And climbing up the tree as if it were in distress.


"Don't go there." warned me he,
but if he had known me better, he wouldn't have made that anxious plea.
The slopes of the hill weren't that slippery,
but even if it were , would that have stopped me ?


The monkeys started to chatter, as if to warn me
telling stories of the tragedies that had befallen thee.
Out came their tormentor , from the depths of the previously abandoned cave
Staring right into my eye, turning me into its slave.


Its roar was loud and clear,
as if commanding me to disappear.
But I was no fool,
as I had brought with me my trustworthy tool.


I took my aim , hoping I wouldn't miss,
'cause if I did, then the blame would fall on my friend "Chris".
Sweat started to pour down my chin,
as I pulled the trigger , hitting it on its shin.


He is not called as the "King of the beasts" for nothing
as it pounced on Chris , and I was caught reloading.
Loud and painful was Chris' cry,
as I was his only reliable ally.


The forest shook , as the Tiger uttered its last roar
as my bullet hit him in its heart, it rolled in pain.......on the floor.
I could see that Chris was shaken,
but if I had hesitated he would certainly have been "TAKEN".


The moon chose to hide behind the clouds,
As the village folk came running in huge crowds.
My job was done, as I now started to roam,
and I could feel my hands shaking when I started my way back home.

Pakistan vs England: a preview........

Well, 2012 has arrived and even though we have had the customary new year tests, there is nothing quite like the first series of the new year. And what a cracker of a series it promises to be........England, the new world No.1 touring the middle east (U.A.E. , Sharjah, Abu Dhabi etc) to take on Pakistan . And that these two are arguably the two most inform sides in the world gives this series an extra edge. High stakes are at risk for both these teams. Neither would want to lose. I dare say there is more at stake for England here as they are the current and new world No. 1s and their record in the subcontinent, notwithstanding their series' wins in Pakistan and Sri lanka in 2000 under Nasser Hussain isn't the best . People rightly say that getting to No. 1 is the easy part, its staying as No. 1 thats hard. And this entire calender year of 2012 is a very challenging one for England. They have series' against Pakistan (away), Sri Lanka (away), West Indies (home), South Africa (home) and then India (away). If England end 2012 still on top of the perch then England will truly earn the respect of the entire cricketing world. England are indeed the No.1 ranked Test side in the world currently but many , including England fans do have their doubts over how England might do in the subcontinent. Its very, very important from England's point of view that they don't lose both these subcontinent test series' as they might lose more then their No. 1 ranking. If England have to stay as No. 1 and earn the respect of the entire cricketing world then its imperative that they do well in these 2 test series. So, in that respect this series against Pakistan is huge from their point of view. England are also coming to this series after their winter break with no match practice and that may well be a disadvantage for them.


Pakistan, have come to this series on their best run of form for quite some time. Since the World Cup, they have played and beaten Zimbabwe , Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and have drawn against the West Indies. I admit that except Sri Lanka, the rest are not very tough competition but we have to respect this fact about sports that "Winning gives you confidence." And Pakistan have come to this series with a truck load of confidence. Chipping-chopping in the squad and controversies are a part of Pakistan cricket and that adds an extra edge to this series . The spot-fixing saga has left everybody with a sour taste in their mouths. And Pakistan would want to prove to the world that they have forgotten all about it and are ready to only play cricket .........in the right spirit. Misbah-ul-haq wasn't the most popular choice as captain, to put it mildly but he has earned the respect of not only his teammates but also of the entire cricketing world. The fact that he is mostly a quiet sort of a guy and helps quite a bit. He prefers to not make any big statements and rather lets his cricket do the talking. His batting too has progressed a fair bit.



Coming back to the series, this series promises to provide us with some intriguing battles. Here are some of them which i think will play a big part in deciding which way this series might go.......


1. CAPTAINCY: Both Andrew Strauss and Misbah-ul-haq are both of the quiet, calculative sort and in a series like this where both the teams are evenly matched captaincy often decides the result. Andrew Strauss has more experience of winning , he has also won most of the big series' that he has captained. So, when the crucial times do come then I expect Strauss to be slightly more positive then Misbah. Misbah too is a smart captain but i do feel that he has the tendency to slightly go on the defensive a bit too soon. I feel Strauss will win this battle.

2. BATTING: No need for me to say that Pakistan's strength is their bowling and often its the batting which has lead them down. England , on the other hand have a very strong batting line up. Also, the depth in the batting of England has won them many matches in the recent past. So, on first glance it looks like England should win this battle too . But, we have to bring the conditions and the pitches into consideration too. In the subcontinent , England's batsmen have a tendency to struggle against spin from both ends and Pakistan knows that. So, this battle should be an even one as i expect the U.A.E. pitches too be quite flat and in these pitches the Pakistani batsmen will score quite a bit of runs too.

3. SEAM BOWLING: This is an intriguing battle. England's experienced bowling line up of Anderson, Broad, Bresnan, Finn and Tremlett against the slightly unorthodox and varied line up of Gul, Cheema, Riaz and Junaid Khan. I am pretty certain that there will be no grass whatsoever in these pitches , so that negates the threat of Anderson and the new ball slightly. Pakistan , on the other hand are masters of reverse swing and are used to bowling on these sort of pitches with high levels of success. Plus, with their added variety i feel Pakistan will shade this department.

4.SPIN BOWLING: Swann vs Ajmal.....This battle may well decide the series . Swann is the orthodox, classical off spinner . Whereas Ajmal is the unorthodox type who relies on his doosra. There is no doubt though that these 2 guys are the best 2 offies in the world now. Pakistan may be a subcontinent side but for me, they are probably the worst of the subcontinent teams in playing spin (except Bangladesh). So, I feel that Swann will take wickets and will play a role for England. As for Pakistan, its not only Ajmal . They have Abdul Rehman and Mohammed Hafeez too. I wont be surprised if Hafeez takes the new ball too . Pakistan , for me takes this round as they have 3 spinners who are definite certainities in the team compared to England's 1.

5. FIELDING: England are a clear winner of this round. One of England's main reason for their success has been their fielding and catching. Andy Flower has done a lot to improve the fitness of the England players as a whole. Pakistan, on the other hand are amongst the worst fielding sides of the world. And even though they have a few good individual fielders most of their players are slightly unfit in comparison with England's players.


MY PREDICTION FOR THE SERIES: I feel that England's bowlers do have it in them to dismiss the Pakistan batsmen twice in a match. But will they be able to do that in all the 3 test is doubtful. Pakistan's bowlers on the other hand are well capable of taking 20 England wickets at least twice in this series. And as you all know, its the bowlers that win you Test matches. It remains to be seen how do England's batsmen cope against spin and that may well decide the series. If England play spin well then I expect them to not lose this series. All in all, I feel Pakistan will win this series 1-0 as the wickets are going to be quite flat and i expect 2 tests to be drawn.

DAY 3

Ahhhh.......Day 3...12.20 am....and i have 160+ views....Thank you everyone once again for taking time out to visit my blog and to read my bulls**t.......he he....Anyways, lets see what i can write today...i am thinking of writing a preview for the pak vs eng cricket series....But lets see what my mood is like after i wake up in the morning......I am thinking of another poem too.....Hopefully the words come out alright...In other news, Thierry Henry has come back home for 2 months...brilliant news that for any gooner like me....

Main reason for the Indian Cricket team's downfall.........

2-0 down , 2 more to go. I am not pessimistic but ask anybody who knows a bit about cricket and they will say to you that this series is going to be a 4-0 whitewash.........again. The disappointing thing about it all is that in england when we lost 4-0 we had an unstable squad with players injured and all that. Also, we stayed No. 1 in the rankings for close to 2 years. We had also played brilliant cricket for the last 2-3 years under Gary Kirsten and Dhoni, won the World Cup, so a bad tour was due and it didn't hurt that much. But whats going on in Australia currently is a bit too much. Serious questions need to be asked . Even more worrisome is the performance of "THE FUTURE TORCH BEARERS".....Gosh, its painful now to think what will happen once Sachin, Dravid and Laxman retire. I had high expectations from Gautam Gambhir for this tour but the way he has been getting dismissed is clearly down to faulty technique. Yes, he scored 83 today but by then the writing was already on the wall and the pitch was super flat. I couldn't find much difference in the way Gambhir is getting out and in the way Raina kept getting out in South Africa and England. Whats even more worrisome is that Gambhir is our opener and he is expected to have a decent technique, even more so when at the other end we have Virender Sehwag who has no technique and relies mostly on his raw talent (no disrespect to veeru) . As for Kohli, I had been crying out even before the 1st test that Rohit Sharma should be the one who should start. Of course, its all hindsight now and there is no guarantee that Rohit Sharma would have been a success.


An important point i would like make as to the main reason for this current predicament is that the wounds which were inflicted during the England tour has opened up. Those wounds , we knew in august itself would take a long long time to heal . In that context i would like to bring to your notice that the Indian side is an old one filled with pensioners. They all have proven quality no doubt. But when you become old, wounds take a longer time to heal then it normally does when you are young. And by wounds i am not just talking about physical wounds . We have to remember that these cricketers are not just old physically, they have grown old mentally too. These guys have been playing cricket since their childhood and haven't done much else during those childhood days. Most of them have lost out on the joys of being a teenager as they were busy practicing in the nets from dawn till dusk. As such, they have grown mentally mature much earlier then normal and thus are mentally a lot older then normal people of their age are. Since they have grown mentally quite old what happens is that when the spirit of the mind takes a hit , it takes a much longer time to recover then it normally should. Just like physical wounds which take a long time to heal when one grows old , similarly mental wounds too take a long time to heal. And this is what i think is a prime reason for our current failures in Australia. Also, if for instance India had played the england tour with all the youngsters, i.e. without dravid, sachin etc those youngsters wouldn't take too long to forget about their mental scars. Their mental scars will heal quicker then the mental scars of the senior players because these guys are still young in every sense of the word, i.e. physically or mentally.



Winning the MCG test was very important, we were sure then we are even surer now. We competed quite well for the first 3 days but when the aussie tailenders swung their bats and took what should have been a target of 250 to a target of 290 , these mental wounds reopened. The human spirit is a fragile thing, it hangs on a thread . And when you have slightly recovered from the england tour by winning the home series' comfortably it doesn't take much to sow the seeds of doubt again. And once these doubts come back its all one way traffic.

Human Mind

Well, i thought its time that i write something out of my comfort zone. And i think the best place to start is the "Human Mind".....Its not a scientific explanation or something.....its more in the philosophical side....so here it is.........


There are days when we want the world to come to an end . And then there are days when we just cant get enough of it. Why is that ??? The most simple and logical answer would be that us (humans) are made that way and that we can do nothing about it. But its not that simple. The reason why we humans are the dominant species on Earth is because we have the power of "THOUGHT". And its this reasoning which has made us the "TOP DOG" of this earth. Now, this "reasoning" power that we have is a dangerous one. No amount of nuclear bombs can surpass this power of the human mind and yet scientists say that the normal human uses only about 12% of his brain's power......Albert Einstein was said to have been able to use around 30% of his brain's capacities. This is a frightening thought. The complexities of the human mind are many. Even after more then 100 years of trying from modern science, we have only managed to scratch the surface. There was this movie titled "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" starring Nicholas Cage (a fine actor). In that movie they showed that the Sorcerers could use their entire capacity of their brain, i.e. 100% and thus are able to control matter...........scary stuff that...



"EMOTIONS".............probably the mastermind behind all our acts. If we had been emotionless, even if we had the power to use 100% of our brain's capacities .......without emotions we would probably not have been where we are today. Emotions control everything that we do. For eg:. It was the feeling of being threatened that led the human mind to invent the Atom Bomb. And its these "emotions" that answer the question that i asked in the first line..........Love, Hate, Jealousy, Elation, Happiness, Sadness...etc......these are all emotions. And its these emotions that dictate our pace of life. And its these "emotions" that are behind the ending of life too......like suicide, murder, homicide etc. Its unimaginable how the world would have panned out if we didn't have the power to "FEEL".


Human mind is capable of unimaginable things. And the catalyst is "PASSION". If one has the passion for it , then one is capable of much more the one thinks he is capable of. Its this passion that has changed the course of the world. Adolf Hitler had passion to rule the world, so did Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte etc.........On the other hand it was the passion of Mahatma Gandhi that got us our independence. And it was the passion of Martin Luther king and Nelson Mandela that has almost eliminated Racism from this planet. Sports persons are probably the best example of passion, adrenaline plays a part too. In sports, its this passion that has led to impossible things happening. The human mind is the center of it all.

2nd day........morning chit chat

My 2nd day of the blog......I must say , this blog thing was completely unplanned....i had never given this thought of starting a blog any seriousness....But then things happen and its good that finally I have started a blog...All that now remains is for me to do justice to this blog by staying active..70 members have visited my blog on the 1st day itself , and its more then i could have expected....THANK YOU all for visiting my blog..Hopefully, i can cross the 100 mark before the end of today...As I had published 7 articles yesterday, its only fair that I write up at least 1 article or poem for today other then this one, of course. Lets see what comes from my heart this time....One thing that I would like to stress is that I write original articles, nothing is copied from anywhere.......Also, my articles are spontaneous, i.e. I write them up the moment i feel like writing....Its not that I plan for them a week in advance or so......All I do is just sit down , think and then write......and whatever comes out......well, comes out....

standard of english football.......

On 28th May this year at the Wembley Stadium in London we witnessed one of the greatest team of all time demolish the English Premier League champions Manchester United, to win the UEFA Champions League. We all gasped at the sight of this Barcelona team dismantle the English Champions. We all know how good this Barcelona team is, no need for me to remind anyone about that but the question I want to ask is “ Was Barcelona too good or were Manchester United poor ? “ . Let me rephrase this question ...” Is the standard of English Football really as high as we all think it is?”.



To answer this question perfectly is an impossible task. The opinions and views of people differ. So I know that my views will be met with mixed reviews. To start off, one thing I would like to say is that most of the eminent journalists and football experts are of the view that the EPL is currently the most competitive league in the world, and I don’t disagree with them. The EPL is currently the most closely contested among all the big leagues of Europe. Since the last 2 years there have been 6 teams all capable of winning the title. And before that there has been 4 teams fighting for the coveted prize. In Spain, it is always going to be one of either Real Madrid or Barcelona. And in Italy, it’s a fight among the Milan sides, Juventus and AS Roma.



But the question I want to ask is “Whether this highly competitive EPL producing a higher standard of football? “ Are we fooling ourselves to thinking that just because the league is competitive, the standard is going to be high too ? . I know that only a few years back (2008) Man Utd won the UCL. They then reached the finals next year (2009). Chelsea meanwhile were Manchester United’ opponents in 2008 and Chelsea has reached the semis quite a few times of late. But then in 2008, both Madrid and Barcelona were very weak and in 2009 it was Barcelona who beat Manchester United.



What is the best way then to judge the standard of football???



Let us look at the performances of the England National Team. No need for me to remind you all the performances of England in the World Cups and the Euro Cups (England didn’t even qualify for the last Euros). Now, some of you will not agree with this argument of mine. Many of you will say that we cannot compare International Football with Club Football, and you are all right. But the thing is that I am not comparing them, what I want to bring to notice is the quality of players that play for England in the big tournaments. Some of the biggest names in Football like Rooney, Terry, Gerrard etc represented England in the World Cup of 2010 . But what happened? England got outplayed by a young, vibrant German side in the 1st knock out round to lose 4-1. Of course, Lampard was slightly unlucky to have his goal disallowed which would have made the match 2-2. Also, England somehow managed to limp out of the Group stages. In comparison, Uruguay managed to reach the semis and they even stretched the strong German side in the 3rd place match.



My point is, are these English stars like Lampard, Rooney, Gerrard overrated??? After all, how do we judge the quality of these big players? its through their performances in the big matches and the big tournaments. The English players rarely do well in a real big stage. And by performance I am talking about their individual performance. Now, when these players play for their clubs they are legends but when they come up against a Barcelona, they all come to naught.



The other night I was watching Man City play Swansea. Swansea, we all know will be in the relegation battle in this EPL season. But then, the quality of Sergio Aguero was unmistakable. He really looked like a player who has the potential to win City the league this year. Of course, it is difficult to judge a player from only 1 match but his vision and his shots were all there to see for everyone. Similarly, Luis Suarez has come and has transformed Liverpool. But still, it’s the English players who get all the attention. Aguero and Suarez has shown the true standard of English football. These 2 players were considered as stars , but they are not as big a star as say a Lampard is. Another player that comes to my mind is Rafael Van der Vaart . Van der Vaart has come to English Football at the autumn of his career, nowhere near his peak as he once was. But still he has become a legend at Tottenham. Van der vaart’s skills, experience were no match for even the big, physical defenders of the EPL. What these guys have shown is that when it comes to the true world stage, English football is still lagging behind. It is only the media that labels the players and the British media is well known for overrating. Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and Terry are all very good players but in comparison with the world I still think they fall short.



So, is the standard of EPL and English football really that high as we thought it was? Or are we guilty of just blindly following what we hear from the commentators and the press? Now that we are comparing leagues in general, it is also essential that we compare the teams that finish in the bottom of the league. Blackpool got relegated last year even after playing the most entertaining football that we have seen for some time being played by a newly promoted team. The reason for their relegation is no doubt their defense. Their defending was among the worst standards possible. Now if we are to ask ourselves how they would have done had they played in the La Liga or the Serie A we have to consider all aspects of the game. La liga is an attacking league where the defense of teams is pretty average, but they all attack well. Blackpool at a glance might have stayed up had they played in la liga. But then we also have to consider that Blackpool will have conceded more goals there. As a result, its not easy to judge whether they would have stayed up. In the Serie A, Blackpool might not have conceded many goals but they undoubtedly would have found scoring goals tough too and considering that the Italian football is very tactical, Blackpool would have struggled there too.



Thus, we find that English Football is not necessarily of the highest standard that we all think it is, of course opinions will differ. But then that’s why I am writing this to give a different view altogether.

rise of football......

As Indians we are all expected to love cricket , nothing wrong in that but what is wrong is the fact that people and friends from abroad seem to think that we can't love any other sport. Most of them seem to think that INDIANS=CRICKET LOVERS, BOLLYWOOD LOVERS, MASALA FOOD LOVERS and what not.........the list goes on and on.......Due to this false conception unintentionally what people are doing is harming and restricting the growth of interest of other people in other fields of life.

This brings us to the growth of interest in football among the Indian youth. Its not that people didn't love football in India, even my Dad loves football to an extent. People always loved Football in India. West Bengal has been the "Football Capital of India" even before we got our independence. But the love for football that we see now among the youths is very different from the love of the previous generations. People of the previous generations followed international football, mainly the World Cups whereas people of my age group follow club football . I can't describe the extent of my frustration whenever the International Football friendlies and the various Euro Cup or World Cup qualifiers come in to disrupt the momentum which my favourite team so painfully gathers. And this frustration goes to a completely different level whenever the morning after an international match i find out that Mr X & Y (key players of my favourite team) gets injured .

Now, why is that ??? why do we love club football more ??? and why do our parents love international football ???
The best answer that i could find has nothing to do with football, rather the answer lies in the deep , dark world of Politics and Finance. As we all seem to know that cable television isn't a thing of the distant past. Its, only in the early 1990s when the doors of our economy was opened that cable television came into our lives. And therein lies the answer. As we all know, rather frustratingly that Doordarshan has for long been an outdated and stagnant channel. The advent of cable television , thanks to our current Prime Minister and the then Finance Minister , exposed us to a whole new world which we never knew existed. ESPNSTAR became the favourite channel of the people , especially the youth, and not just for cricket.........the broadcasting of the English Premier League managed to gather an audience which i am sure even the ESPNSTAR bosses couldn't have predicted. A whole new species of human beings was born.............

Yet, this new species was nothing in comparison to its elder cousin , the cricket fans......Nobody is opposing anybody from following and supporting cricket . Even I am an ardent follower of cricket. But, what we don't want to see is that this "elder cousin" bullying its younger brothers. The progress and commercialisation of cricket has been like "VISH" (poison) for all the other sports in India. Hockey, our National Game (don't know how many people know that nowadays) has gone backwards at a rate which is even faster then a Bullet train. Other sports like Badminton, Tennis , Motor Sports have tried to oppose this "Bully" by giving us superstars like Leander Paes, Saina Nehwal etc. but these games in general are still run in a state of neglect.

But, Football has somehow managed to, slyly and in a very encouraging way, managed to keep itself away from the strongholds of cricket and has now formed such a base whereby i have no doubts that after cricket, football is the biggest sport in India. That in such a short span of time ( since the early 1990s) football managed to attract so many fans is a testament of how great the game truly is. Football isn't the "King of World Sport" for nothing. But still, its not easy being a football fan. Cricket goes on all 12 months of the year but the Football season lasts for only 9 months (aug to may) . These 3 inactive months can test even the most recent footie fan. Although, the transfer market activities are on at full swing and the pre-season matches start from july , the tension, anticipation and pressure can really take a toll on oneself, especially if your favourite team hasn't had a good season last time.

All in all, in our country we can't seem to take defeat nicely when it comes to sport. Football, in that sense has risen above this "Win and Lose" philosophy. Of course, we all get disappointed when we see our team not doing well and this feeling gets 10 times worse when we see our rivals doing well. But, we all know that no matter what happens, there is always the next season.....A new season fills us all with hope and anticipation and we forget all of our disappointments of the previous season. Football, thats why you are great......