Closing In

After a series of one sided affairs and rain affected games it is heartening to see some close encounters. The fever is slowly catching up and the teams are finding themselves all over the table swapping positions after every game. No one except the last year flop teams Hyderabad and Bangalore are playing predictably, the former winning consistently and the latter losing consistently after their inaugural victory over the last year champs.

So the contest is definitely closing in and yeah Sri Lankan troops are also closing in on the LTTE camps and the NEWS is that the LTTE and Prabhakaran would be history in a couple of days from now. I wish that the story ends forever and both the Sinhalese and Tamilians lead a progressive life in future. What is difficult to comprehend is why is Indian government intervening now? If we wanted to do something we should have done it during the 48hour cease fire break last week; not at the stage when the war is almost nearing the end. We can suggest the Lankan government to ensure the safety of the civilians but there is no way we could hamper their plans of trapping the tiger to restore the much awaited peace in the area. Anyways it is too late for the sleeping Indian government to do anything silly and I hope that Lankan government just go according to their plans.

Masterful Beginning

The NRI version of the cricket carnival begins today much to the respite of many like me who are finding it hard to fight the boredom … and what a beginning this is!!! There is absolutely no hangover from previous edition as both the finalists of the first edition were humbled on the very first day by the two great batting maestros of the Indian cricket. So any punters betting based on previous records beware.

Absolutely dream beginning with both Sachin and Rahul winning MoMs to start the tournament. The run feast is there to stay for a month and I hope the Indian youngsters make the most of this ‘special’ opportunity … special because thanks to Chidambaram and general elections in the country – the players have a chance to play on foreign wickets. I wish this time the franchises play more competitive cricket unlike last year where Hyderabad and Bangalore teams were virtually out of contention for semifinal even before the halfway mark of the tournament. If there is anything I can ask for after such a great beginning it is Hyderabad and Bangalore teams making it to the semifinals if not finals … ok jokes apart. I would be surprised if this edition will be as bright as the previous one – courtesy absence of Indian crowds but I can always wish that it provides good exposure to the young players both Indian and foreign and lots and lots and lots of entertainment to the billions of the cricketing fans glued to TV.

Musical Chairs and One India

With fewdays to go for the public verdict for the 15th time after Independence, we have atleast two dozen aspirants from various parties for the coveted prime ministerial post. If the scene continues so we might see a different PM each month as part of their power sharing program. Scary ..isn't it? During this period of economic insecurity, political instability is the last thing we would want to have. I wish people become prudent and vote for one of the two biggies or their pre poll alliance partners .. in short UPA or NDA and put an end to the dreams of the selfish small party captains - They are anyways not in a position to provide a stable government. As some one said Third front is just a parking lot before the elections every one joins it and leaves it to choose their partners after the poll verdict.

Meanwhile this elections made sure that Lalit Modi had tough time MODIfying the IPL schedule to make it feasible and finally the summer cricket bonanza is moving to South Africa. And the publicity of the mega event is in full swing. If last years ad showed IPL as mano, ranjan ka baap... this time it says that it is possible to see one billion people doing the same thing at a given point of time i.e, watching IPL. Nice Concept, however the ad has few glitches, for example - it shows that all Indians are reacting similarly after a runout dismissal ... a Mumbaikar would feel low after Sachin's dismissal where as a Bengali would rejoice on the same and hence it is not true that one billion people will react similarly - Remember people take sides and only then they can enjoy this shorter version cricket festival.

Hmmm with both the elections heat and IPL fever catching up media must be licking its lips to cover these events and increase TRPs!