KRITISWORLD : All the rock n cricket stuff ahead!

CALYPSO SAFARI

2006-05-13T06:45:00.000-07:00

This is regarding the TEAM INDIA selected for the Caribbean tour 2006.I take this opportunity to analyze this 15 member strong team and its prospects for the 5 ODI starting from 18th May.

Disclaimer:
The views expressed here are stictly of the blogger!!!Any resemblances to other blogs is purly co-incidential!!!

The Team:

Rahul Dravid (captain):As is the case with India, first the captain gets selected and then the rest of the team...(unlike Australia where the reverse happens...).However Rahul is the pivot around which the Indian team revolves (courtesy:Siddhuism).How vastly this man has improved especially in the shorter version of the game.Only thing that has to be decided is his slot.I personally dont like him in the opening position.Let someone let loose and try out a few things at the top of the order with Sehwag before sanity returns through Dravid.Thus a very key player.

Virendar Sehwag:Automatic choice considering his butchering skills...add the docile WI pitches and mediocre attack...You can rest assured we are going to have fun...however will really appreciate if those fun moments are a bit extended and not like those against England.If he gets going,India can definitely win matches while batting first also(which they had been doing so beautifully before the Chappel era!).

Robin Uthappa:Greenhorn...Impressive debut...may play in the first 2 games...from there on depending on his performance and team position...may be dropped.Really impressed with his performances in the Abu Dhabi "desert storm" tournament...though Shikhar Dhawan overshadowed him .Lets wait and see.

Yuvraj Singh:Desi Bevan plus the flair and the power...Certain key figure...Has an almost impeccable record of winning matches whenever he scores a fifty.Betting on him to be the Man-of-the-series again for the fourth straight time.Yuvi ...all eyes on you...As Ganguly famously quoted: "The next best thing to happen to Indian Cricket"(...obviously after Sachin Tendulkar).

Mohammed Kaif:The doubting Thomasses had their knives out...and since there seems to be no dearth of batting talent...this guys place was in danger.However faith and past records speak out and he managed to board the bus(...err plane) to WI.Who can forget that match winning 87* one fine day in Lords?Come on Kaify…show the critics their right place.

Suresh Raina:The new crown prince of Indian cricket…real asset while chasing bit totals…another in the long list of teenage assets to break into the national side...keeps things simple…loads of talent (obviously…since in the current setup one cannot get into the Team otherwise!!!).His batting style…reminds me of Saurav Ganguly!Though I have one queer thing about the thinktank...when will they utilise his bowling rather than playing with 5 bowlers!!!

Venugopal Rao:Again very talented….but my retort is that if Venu is in the team, then why not Ganguly…We all know blend of youth and experience is essential for success…this is not to discredit the young Venu…just to highlight the double standards introduced by Mr More.In the current lineup will struggle to find a place. Also I wasnt impressed with his laborious 60 odd runs in the Abu Dhabhi match against Pakistan.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni:Has been one of the major reasons for the turnaround of this current ODI team…especially while chasing…adds muscle to the lineup…Would really help if he can clean up his act behind the stumps,but considering his exploits in front…nobody can complain…another key element..in case Lara gets going and we have to chase something big…

Irfan Pathan:Batting or bowling…its debatable which one he likes more…according to him…its bowling…and agree that we would be requiring more of his early breakthroughs considering the inexperience of the pace attack.Putting him as the pinch hitter will definitely be on Chappells’ mind…Very very key member!...in both departments…

Ramesh Powar:Impressed everyone with his classical mould of of-spin.agreed he needs to lose a few kilos…but has also contributed with the bat…really a great asset to have…but considering the West Indian pitches…the thinktank may decide to go with one spinner only…Would really relish his duel with Lara.

Harbhajan Singh:Handy batting down the order mat take him forward…but the Powar guy is giving him a few scares…the first choice in the Ganguly era maynot find it that easy if he doesn’t come up more often with performances matching those against England.Good opportunity against the WI lineup considering the string of lefties in Gayle,Lara,Chanderpaul,Devon Smith,etc.

Ajit Agarkar: Umpteenth opportunity to seal his place in the side…Should take inspiration from Pathan how to realize his potential both with the bat and the ball. His experience with the new as well as the old ball will help India in the slow WI wickets.Come on Ajit…make sure that your fans are not dejected one more time!

S Sreesanth:Really impressive with his variations…reminds me of Waqar Younis in his early days…(maybe I m going too far…).Great prospect regarding his knack of picking wickets at regular intervals…Gayle would be a great challenge at the top of the order(so many times has this guy taken the match away from us due to the inability of the new ball bowlers to get him…lets not repeat that Sree!!! )

R P Singh:Just few days back he was the most prolific wicket taker…now with some lackluster performance in Abu Dhabi…RP is considered as also rans…Good performance in the Carribean can only help him cement his place…doubt him to be in the starting eleven.Munaf may just creep in if he is fit.

Munaf Patel:Need for Speed…and we find Munaf…(Sreesanth is also there…).Impressed in the Test matches…though appeared to be a bit lost in the shorter version…Really anticipating India going full-throttle with Munaf and Sreesanth with the new ball.Exciting prospect!!!Maybe the trump card for India!!!

Lets put the speculated starting line up for the first ODI:

The Lineup:

Virendar Sehwag
Robin Uthappa
Rahul Dravid
Yuvraj Singh
Mohammed Kaif
Suresh Raina
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Irfan Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
S Sreesanth
Munaf Patel

Warning:
However the Indian team’s strategy to go with five bowlers may see Ramesh Powar in place of Robin Utthapa.

Verdict:
Exciting series with scare line 4-1....(if the rain gods allow all the matches to have results...though maybe shortened!!!)

PUNK-ROCKs:AVRIL LAVIGNE

2006-05-11T23:38:00.000-07:00

Having your first name implying the month of April in the calender (Avril is April in french...got this from my 40 days FORCED training in ILP... ), you make the audience associate sweet croonings from a teenager.....But the reality is something....err not sweeter....but exciting.

This is AVRIL LAVIGNE....the heart and soul of punk-rock....With a necktie customarily hung across her lithe neck and no girlie goodies associated with her get-up...here is a complete package of entertainment in this genre!

Here goes the necktie trivia....(courtesy Wikipedia)
Until 2003, Lavigne travelled with a bag full of about 30 neckties. Some of them she bought, and the rest of them she took from her father and some were sent to her by fanmail. Lavigne stopped wearing neckties completely in 2003, as she was horrified at the constant media references to them overshadowing her music and that she was starting a fashion trend amongst her fans.

Forget about the biographies...(Google is there for that!!!), she is unique...unique she got a great voice and the gift of variation....Comparing the "Complicated" and the "Nobody's Home" tracks, you will realise what I mean.Also her rendition of the cover of "Knock Knock..Knocking on heavens door" is simply superb.

One trivia I would like to share...Avril Lavigne co-wrote the unparalleled "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson...(another gem of a singer...makes me wonder at the disparities between American Idols and Indian Idols...no offences to Abhijeet Sawant!!!).

Well something from the grapevine...
In 2005, Avril revealed her new clean image...(the most awaited for many of us...not me though!!!) Once a "grungy" pop star, Avril showed her femininity in her new look, becoming the new face of Chanel in 2006. She signed as a model with the Ford modelling Agency and appeared on the cover and in a feature article in Harper Bazaar's in February 2006.
Good fodder for those who look at only one facet of her personality...

INDIA vs WEST INDIES:AN ODI LOOK

2006-05-11T07:06:00.001-07:00

All cricket buffs are aware of the fact that India has avery poor record overseas....especially in tests.....My assumption was that the ODI record will be slightly better.....However when i checked the stats I found this:

INDIA in the Carribean:
P :15 W:4 L:11

Only won 4 ODIs over the years and that too the last 2 ODIs during the 2002 tour......

Agreed that winning in the gloden era of Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards, Malcolm Marshall,etc. was unthinkable....but India should have capitalised on the weakness of the susequent teams in the 1997 and 2002 tours.....But capitalizing and Indian Cricket never used to go along nicely.

The reason behind my post is that I am eager (maybe too eager!!) to see India trounce the West Indies (the team is in a hole nowadays)..in a big fashion...

Comparing both the teams on paper...(which I do before every series India plays...and then dream some match situation ...and how India comes out of the rut..and such stuff)..India is far far better...but wasnt this the case with India over the years?They had 3 of the best batsmen of our times!I am obviously referring to the great Triumviarate of:
1)Sachin Tendulkar ....the GOD himself
2)Sourav Ganguly.....remember the first there is god and then there is SG stuff?
3)Rahul Dravid

But still so many dreams shattered...so many dreams unfulfilled....so mant hearts nad remote controls broken...

However, as always the weather is going to hold a great sway on all the matches.Remember the previous tour where the second match was reduced to 25 overs a side match.would have been totally irritated had the match been not played.India started as to score 200 runs in those 25 overs ...ended up getting 120 odd...and that too getting all out within the 25 overs....

A brutal attack by the dangerous but no "feet" work, Chris Gayle, ensured that we wasted one more night-out on cricket and flunked the studies.

Okies...This time around the youth brigade under the tutelege of Greg Chappell is expected to re-write the history!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE OTHER LOVE: MAROON 5

2006-05-11T04:04:00.000-07:00

"This love has taken its toll on me
She said Goodbye too many times before
And her heart is breaking in front of me
I have no choice cause I won't say goodbye anymore................"

Wou ou ou....wou ou ou......"

I dont know how many times i have tried the rock act crooning these lines in my own dinstinctive style(dinstinctive because inspite of my effors to copy Adam Levine, I couldnt manage to come anywhere closer).

For starters...and the ones not interested........

These are the lines from the song "This Love" by Maroon 5 from the album "Songs about Jane".

Agreed all the songs including the Grammy Winning "She will be loved" (My second favourite...) add apinch of salt to your tounge.....but these were the songs that healed me (n my buddies)...
when we had a rough day wid our better halves!!!

One really has to start listening to Adam Levine and his Gang (Maroon 5).....to understand my craving for his brand of music....touches hearts...maybe souls....

Now lemme add somethin from the personal front.....
This guy Adam Levine recently had a hook up wid one of the most attractive women of all time....Maria sharapova.....Got really jealous..(u know boys would never grow up...the craving for WTA started in school with Steffi Graf to Martina Hingis to MS.)...Luckily the alliance broke up...Huh..Sigh....Relief...

The second Trivia....
In the video of the song "She will be loved", we had some really steamy scenes involving Adam Levine and John Travolta's wife (ex or current dunno!!!).After taht in a public conference, the band promised not to repeat such steamy stuff in the future...

Steamy or not...I m gonna worship you guys....

having said that I m signing off my first tribute to my most heard band.....

happy Rockin...

THE INDIAN CRICKET TEAM

2006-05-11T03:35:00.000-07:00

How many of us are overjoyed with the recent performance of the INDIAN cricket team?I bet all of us are barring a few doubting thomasses.Only 2 weeks back every learned Indian cricket Guru was jumping for the jugular of Greg Chappel and his ways.And now he is being hailed.This is the same old story that Indian cricket is so accustomed to.However lets look at the brighter and promising spots in this TEAM.I will analyse the dream eleven based on current performances:

1)Virender Sehwag:Has already proved his mettle.May be a bit inconsistent in his one-day game vis-a-vis his test game.(This might have surprised him also).The talks of no footwork, bad techniques have vanished in thin air with the triple, double hundreds.So attacker no. 1 for our side.

2)Sachin Tendulkar:Every Indian will kill me if I omit this GOD from the lineup(even resting is not allowed).But he has time and again shown that when it comes to opening no one knows better how to compose an innings.Maybe Sehwag can take a cue from his HERO.We should not waste our energies further analysing on this best thing to happen in Indian cricket.

3)Rahul Dravid:The most accomplished should bat at this pivotal position.And with the ever increasing strike rate, longer he stays at the crease better it is for us.Also he doesnt have the burden of wicket-keeping from the Ganguly era.So dont try to do an Inzamam and contribute the most as you have always done.

4)Yuvraj Singh:Great example of converting promise into performance.Always regarded the next best thing to Sachin in Indian cricket.Has certainly proved it now.Most elegant player in the lineup.Can attack as well as defend."Pied piper of Punjab" continue with this trait.

5)Mohammed Kaif:Not much to write home about his recent performances but no one will root for his expulsion who has witnessed the Natwest Final.Apart from his fielding this guy has got a great tempermant.Though a bit crude in his shotmaking but in the end we need couple of good crunch players.And Kaif fits the bill.

6)Suresh Raina:Limited opportunities.Maximum performance.This is what this extremely promising guy has done so far in his ODI career.Great fielder.Why not we utilize his bowling also so as to maximise his utility to the side.bright prospect.Need to follow the Yuvraj Roadmap to success.

7)Mahendra Dhoni:Best wicket-keeper batsman India has ever had.Maybe doubtful on livlier track against quality bowling.But on the occassions he comes off India would be on a roll.No better option anyone can think of.

8)Irfan Pathan:India's first genuine allrounder since the legendary Kapil dev.Really a great asset.Fires with the bat more often that not.Really impressive batting technique.Utilizing to the full potential.

9)Ajit Agarkar:Another prospective allrounder.Oddles of talent.Need to convert them into consistent performances and not just bursts.Great asset.Can improve on his bowling.Still missing those days when he used to invariably end the Jayasuriya terror inside the 10 overs.C'mon recreate that magic once again.

10)RP Singh:Has the knack of picking wickets at the worst time(for the opponents, not us!!!).Reminds me of Agarkar in his beggining years.Also has batting potential.Good option as first change because if he opens with Pathan we will lack variety.

11)Harbhajan Singh:Atleast we need one spinner in this line up of good fast bowlers.Who better than this turbunator.Has shown great discpline in the one-day variety of the game.Also his histrionics with the bat are very enterprising.

2006-05-11T03:25:00.000-07:00

Audience

Myself Kritisundar Paul,a hardcore cricket fan n Rock Music enthusiast....
So my posts would be on those lines......

So lets start blogging.......