T20 : Definitely Here To Stay

Those of you all who have read the preceding post of mine, well this can be called a sequel... In that previous post, i had speculated upon whether T20, the new format of cricket would be a major hit or not. Today I'm gonna give my verdict on the same... Going by the heading, you must have got my stand on the issue.

First of all, a hearty congrats to India for winning the first ever T20 World Cup, and that too in the most fearless and stylish fashion possible. I followed all of India's matches till the end. (Unlike those so-called "true" Indian fans who switch off their TV sets the moment India goes into trouble and praise 'em like hell when they perform well) This win will definitely bring a new lease of life into Indian cricket. After 24 years, we've finally become the world champions again.

So getting back to the point, which is the format of Twenty20. I've had some doubts about the format of this game which were completely washed away after I witnessed the entire series. One of them being the loss of technique, the genuine method of playing cricket as it used to be in Tests and ODIs. But now I think there's nothing much to fear. The Indians have clearly showed that T20 is not just some game where all you do is slog and win. The bowlers have had their share of game. Only those batsmen who played methodically have survived. If one prepares bowler-friendly pitches in future, then definitely T20 will be a game of clear wits. Those who can think clearly and quickly, make quick decisions and adjust themselves quickly to blitzkrieg change of situations, can survive.

T20 asks more of the players than ODIs or Tests did. It requires the best of batsmen and bowlers. Cos now, any new batsman, coming in to play does not have time to take 4-5 overs to adjust himself and then start playing. All he can get is max 2-3 balls (that too if the situation is relaxed enough to allow him to do so). The bowlers, on the other hand have to bend their backs more, make sure each and every ball of their four over quota falls right into the proper place. One over-pitched ball or short-pitched ball(or any other ball except good length and yorker for that matter); will be punished for sure. So, the discipline the bowlers will need to inculcate in themselves will be higher. Much higher.

This format doesn't even spare the fielders (if you think that's not being talked about anywhere). It was said in cricket (when T20 was not in existence), that every run matters. But that sentence did not have so deep an impact on the masses. Now the essence of each and every word hits deep in the minds of viewers. Fielding can't be loose. One run could change the game completely, cos the matches have ended real close.

Another good thing T20 has done in that it has raised interest amongst those people who never used to follow the game. It has also found viewers in American and European nations where cricket is almost non-existent. We might see new teams coming up in future to take part on international tournaments. Maybe cricket might become an international rage in the truest sense, as football is today. And viewers are truly enjoying it. Very close finishes were seen in almost all of India's matches, but the heart pounding final really gave the viewers the best of excitement, what T20 had promised. And this is how a final should be. Cos if you have two teams who have reached the finals, then the match should be really close.

I, for one, was tired of watching World Cup finals earlier where Australia had got a comfortable win in all one-sided matches against Pakistan, India and Sri-Lanka. Here, no team gets a chance to capitalize on the game. It's your day if you're extremely good, else it's not.

And man! I tried to watch the first ODI of India vs Australia that was held in Bangalore yesterday. I swear I couldn't sit in front of the TV to watch the entire innings. Just the thought of going thru' the entire innings made my dizzy. Seems I'll have to get used to ODIs instead of T20.

All said and done, T20 is here to stay. It poses a serious threat to the existence of the older versions of cricket and it shall definitely reign over its other two counterparts in the days to come...

Twenty-20 : The New Face Of Cricket

September 2007 witnessed a new chapter in the popular game of cricket, i.e. Twenty-20 (T20). The first official, international world-cup for T20 took off in South Africa and people welcomed it with open arms. What does T20 have in store for us? Sure, the main thing it's built upon is the entertainment factor. It has been given a baseball kind of feel in many ways and has been reduced to a three hour stint, where people come, have a blast, enjoy the game with balls raining all over the stadium, and go home with a definite result in hand. (Unless the rain doesnt play spoil-sport for a very long duration, that is)

But the real question is.. "Is Twenty-20 here to stay for the good or for the worse?? Is this game here to give what ODIs and TESTs could not, or to take away what they had to offer??" And as any situation generally has it, there're two sides of the coin here too.

Firstly, I personally feel the players in T20 do not require any methods or techiniques to play the shots. If the ball hits the bat and fetches you runs, then it all counts. Some teams or players display more of negative batting and bowling skills, which is harming the reputation of cricket, as a game and its modus operandi. So the real technique is being lost, if one sees it in the long run. There were categories of shots and proper ways to execute them, which youngsters learnt from the cricketing heroes of the likes of Tendulkar and Lara. Now, what do they have to look upto?? The way any international batsman is playing the game is the same as any child plays gully(street)-cricket. Hit the balls no matter how and score. So the youngsters would see their heroes (in new avtaar) hitting blindly, and they would ape that technique itself.

Besides, the new players would be selected on their ability to slog, rather than play correctly, following proper cricketing rules. They wont grow as a batsman and would fail in ODIs or TESTs which test the real endurance of a cricketer. It's spoiling the batsmen and challenging the bowlers to improve their bowling by conceeding as little runs as they can, in their quick spell. But what's the solution to pinch-hitting?? Bowl full length and yorker balls. That's what, or rather, that's all the bowlers will learn.

But apart from that, it also is lending a new definition to the batting of experienced players. There are natural sloggers who are stripped off their natural talent by the coaches who ask them to play with a restrained attitude. So most of the times, they do not get a chance to actually free up their arms and really hits shots when the situation demands them to, in an ODI or a TEST. Here they can play their natural game, and they'll be applauded for their talent. So it's a great platform for born sloggers such as M.S. Dhoni, Virendra Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and others to be themselves on the field.

Besides, the other batsmen, who are not born hitters, also get to learn how to hit shots, which can later be useful in the ODIs or TESTs if the situation requires. So, in a way, batsmen are learning how to be more aggressive, through this medium of cricket.

This also means that we might get to see a further increase in the total runs scored scored by any team in an ODI, owing to the aggressiveness lent to them in T20. Already the average score in an ODI has increased to twice its orignal value since the advent of ODIs. Now a further increase in the score also means ODIs would be more interesting henceforth.

One grim question everybody has in mind is, "What's the future of Twenty-20?" People, everywhere are having mixed feelings about the game as well as the audiences are giving mixed responses. The tournament that's going on currently is the World Cup of Twenty-20, but still there's no hype or feel of the world cup, that's generally associated with a conventional tournament of such magnitude. Whether Twenty-20 is here to stay or not, that is something only time will tell. Maybe this new style of cricket may disappear into the dark some night or maybe this may change the face of cricketing forever, as ODIs did when only Tests were prevalent...

Relearn Love

Artist: Scott Stapp
Written For: The Passion Of The Christ (OST)


On a dark and lonely highway
I need the sun to raise my head
I come before you, I am naked...
The man I am now must be shed

I've weathered storms and I am broken
My beating heart is in your hands
What I really need is shelter
And a chance to relearn love

Teach me all over, all over
To relearn love
Show me again…
So I can relearn love

The comfort of your arms around me
Your tender hands caress my head
I lay beside you, I'm not worthy
This jaded man's not who I am
I touched the flame and I've been burned
All I need is a second chance
Give me eyes of a child
And teach this man to relearn love

Teach me all over, all over
To relearn love
Show me again…

To relearn love
Teach me all over, all over
To relearn love
Show me again...

So I can relearn love

I was selfish, but you still loved me
You gave the greatest gift of all
And you set me free

When time means nothing
And your world is standing still
...but still the world is calling
If you feel me drop and kneel

Can you feel it?
Just remember
Oh remember
…to relearn love

To relearn love (show me again)
Show me, show me to relearn my love
Teach me now, now, teach me all over (relearn love)
To relearn love
Relearn my love (show me again)
So I can relearn love

The Freshers' Party Saga

The saturday that went by (i.e. 1st September, '07) witnessed a freshers' party of U.V.P.C.E. I was pretty much excited about going to the party this time. Firstly, b'cos the new crowd was supposed to be better than that of previous years, and secondly, this was the last freshers' party for me. Besides, i had attended only one party earlier, and that was when I was a fresher. So I decided upon going this time.

As expected, the crowd was pretty good. The juniors sure are better than what they were in the previous batches. The whole atmosphere was energetic and lively when i entered the venue. It was dark and hence couldn't make out who all were present. Found a couple of friends with whom I went on the dance floor. We were having a great time, dancing and doing all weird and odd steps. Hey! Noone can realise in the darkness, how bad it can get when you try new steps.

The UV lights illuminated the whites in the crowd, and I was unfortunate enough to be a huge source of illumination. I was wearing a white coloured shirt, and to match it, a white turban. Boy!!! As they say in Hindi, "Main toh chamak raha tha!! (literally)..." Why did it not occur to me earlier?? Anyways, nothing could be done about it then. (But Hey, we could still try out odd steps, cos the UV lights were not placed everywhere)

Leaving all that aside, I was having a great time dancing, matching moves and sometimes, leading the pack. The air circulation, at such places is usually defunct. I mean, it is working, but for namesake. So as expected, with the increase in the number of people. the amount of CO2 increased drastically and the circulation of fresh air was not keeping upto the mark, hence, causing suffocation. I left the floor a couple of times and headed straight to the dining place to breathe. And man; the atmosphere was all sweaty. Whew! Talk about intimacy in discs. I never knew it could be so disgusting.

Anyways, everyone who was dancing was all sweaty.. Then came the dinner-time... It's a shame to call it a dinner, 'cos all we had was fried rice and manchurian. Hello!?!? Doesn't food count for anything in the party?? We've paid an exorbitant amount of money for the pass.. Atleast we deserved a proper meal. And to top it all, it didn't taste good at all. Anyways, I was hungry since I could not eat much during the entire day, owing to a hectic schedule. So, even bad food can taste decent for a hungry man. I ate a bit, making sure to strike a balance between hunger and taste.

Then the party resumed. The DJ was out of his mind, I guess. Ok, the tracks were good. But he was kinda repeating the same thing again and again. that made it monotonous after a while. He had a particular fascination for darkness, cos after every ten minutes, he had the line playing, "Battiyan Bujhado..." from the song, Pyar Humein Kis Mod Pe Le Aaya, from the movie Satte Pe Satta.

The best part of the night came when he played the song, Sutta by Zeest. And, boy did the crowd go wild!!! He used to mute the song many a times at those crucial places. But the ecstatic crowd filled up the gaps in between, as they were singing that song on top of their voices. Professors exhaust themselves, trying to focus all the energies of ths students onto one thing and channelise it. Well, they should certainly check this out. What can be a better example (he heh)!! It was so much in tune, synchronised and well sung.

Me and my friend had a whale of a time laughing our hearts out on seeing all our college-mates go wild. There were a few innocent girls who were dumb-foundedly staring at the entire scene, wondering what's in the song?? Boy, they sure need to revise and re-build their sources for more GK. One such confused girl, one of my friends, was standing besides me. Just to add more to her anxiety, i added, "This is perhaps the most famous song, you've never heard. Listen to it carefully."

The mood was set once again. The DJ managed to save his dignity with that stunt of his. Soon Mr. and Miss Fresher were announced and the party ended peacefully, and well on time. All in all, I had a good time. The last party of college-life turned out to be great, if not awesome. And I was back home, getting fresh and preparing to sleep, and carrying with me, memories of some good times from college days.

The Poor Man Who Cried !!

A joyous moment, a gala time,
We celebrate it with cake and wine,
But what about those who are wretched and desolate?
What about the poor, starving man who cried?

Upon a street, I, once was walking,
In my own world, nothing compelling enough for me to stop,
But getting me out of it, on the street, was a poor man,
With eyes dug in deep, & a body no good than a carcass.

He lay there helplessly expecting a bit of mercy,
Torn and tattered, weak and grungy.
His lanky legs, hardly able to bear his own weight
Made me wonder if he had the memory of seeing them last, straight !!!

He dragged his body towards the wall,
The poor little creature wasn’t even strong enough to crawl,
He lay on the pavement, expecting a few alms in sympathy,
But people passed by him; displaying nothing else but apathy.

Those mechanical bodies, the slaves of time,
So much engrossed in themselves to pity & give a dime,
Just walked by as if he wasn’t present there,
Their faces unmoved, as if they just don’t care.

Some children finding their joys in him,
Pelted stones, pebbles & flung lots of sand.
The helpless being didn’t even have the strength to defend,
He lay there begging and pleading; waiting for his life to end.

I searched my pockets to check if a helping hand is what I could extend
Gave him some money and bought him some bread,
He managed a weak smile to express his gratitude,
I smiled back, and left that place, to continue with my walk amidst the numb multitude.

On my entire way after that scene, I couldn’t get him out of my head,
Instead of feeling a bit satisfied for helping him, I felt very sad.
I couldn’t do much to make a difference in his miserable existence,
Which will be back to same old struggle; soon after this temporary affluence.

Sometimes, dealing with life’s realities can be so harsh for the heart!
But then you have to learn to accept it as your life’s daily part.
Hope he keeps finding someone like me, until he has to survive,
I pray to God, seeking blessings for the poor man who cried.