Match Day 1: Sunny Days ahead

It sure seems sunny for cricket. Everyone down under enjoyed a great celebration of cricket. At last, the Australians were challenged. The Indians came back hearteningly in the last two sessions of the day. One should say, India won the day 2-1! That's the way test cricket is analysed down under. Of course, you get the odd incident of rowdism and testosterone surges on the street but on the whole, this nation and especially the city of Melbourne enjoys a well fought day of test cricket.

The Ashes last year were dissappointing hence, everyone here was thirsting for some competitive cricket. If the Indians had been put in to bat and finished the day on 300 odd for 5, it wouldn't have been a quenching drink simply because greater things are expected from the famed Indian batting. Today, however, it was the unsung bowling attack and especially the man leading the attack - Anil Kumble - who made it a day to remember for the visitors. To understand the magnitude of his performance, please take a look at first day bowling performances at the G. Only Shance Warne will come up unscathed on that list among spinners. There is absolutely nothing for the spinners on Day 1. It is only class that can compensate for the unresponsive track if you are a spinner. Kumble showed his class and duly accepted the fact that it was one of his best bowling performances.

The true icing would have been the 10th Australian wicket, but then this is Australia we are talking about!

The Vibes look good!

I was down at the Junction Oval watching Dada and Dravid get some match practice. Sachin was unlucky to play on especially since he was looking to send a message prior to Boxing Day. The day was overcast which in turn helped the Victorian seamers keep the batsman honest. There wasn't much bounce and its likely to get lower and slower over the next two days. Not a great preparation for Boxing Day.

The most significant thing however was not the cricket. It was the energy emanating from the Indians on and off the field. For readers back in India, the Junction Oval is a small but open ground. The players' aisles are very approachable and one can follow the team in and out of the center. Everyone at the ground felt that this Indian contingent have come Down Under with a will to succeed. The nervous energy is almost tangible around the group. Even the senior pros look eager, ready yet conscious of the task at hand. Last time when Dravid was here at the same Oval playing a practice match before the World XI vs Australia series, the World XI team looked almost insipid. It didn't look like a team at all. There was no perceptible intent. This time around, as Dravid walked back with David Hussey exchanging pleasantries, everyone could see the steely look in his eyes as if to say - 'Fasten your seat belts, we mean business' !!

Down by the makeshift commentary box, Wasim Akram was out for a smoke before the rain gods interrupted. Signing autographs, he was his usual charming self. He was kind enough to answer my question, "Wasim Bhai, do you think India's got a chance?"; I let the question trail. He replied almost candidly, "A chance, for sure!!". Couldn't get anything more out of the great bowler, but he definitely left me with a lot of positive energy.

The Indian team will need all the positive energy they can find but for their part, they seem ready and raring to go. Good luck India

Waiting to watch carnage at the G

Thats what its called here. It is not known as the MCG but just as the G. Here in the sports capital of Australia, India begin their march to glory; unmatched glory it will be if India do manage to upstage Australia in the 4 test match series starting on Boxing Day.

I have booked tickets for the 3rd day and hope the match will not be over by then!! No, that definitely seems unlikely this time around in spite of the Taits and the Lees. Two very partisan issues have been raised in anticipation. One of them is an Australian conundrum: to spin or not to spin? Simply put, it would be a huge gamble to play Hogg over Tait. The Indians are accomplished against spin yet Hogg has had some success in the past in ODIs against India. I would punt on Ricky Ponting going for an all out pace attack. This is the first time that more cricketing voices are calling for all-out pace at the G than a 3rd choice, un-proven spinner. Secondly, Ponting himself has been effusive in his praise of Tait and no matter how many times the Indians batter a one-dimensional pace attack, the Australians will always believe the visitors are vulnerable to pace on bouncy tracks. Moreover, if one has it, they should flaunt it: Australia is veritably the only test playing nation that has four front-line fast bowlers who would make the first eleven of any test team around the world. The only dampener is the pitch at the G. It always gets slower and lower as the game wears on. The 2nd and 3rd days are usually best for batting barring any rain. If India's batting line up takes centre stage from the 5th session, it could be a long, hard toil for a 4-pronged pace attack.

India have a few tricky choices to make of their own. Sehwag has been picked but where will he play? If India pick two openers, who will make way in the middle order for Yuvraj? What will the bowling line-up look like. Call me crazy, but I know the only way to take on the Aussies is to take them head-on, especially if you have the quality in your side which I proudly admit, India does have. Therefore, I would like India to go all-in at the G! I would open with Sehwag and Dravid followed by Sachin, Sourav, Laxman, Yuvraj and Dhoni. Kumble will be the lone frontline spinner along with both newbies Pankaj Singh and Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan to lead the pace attack.

Shocked?... Read on....

My 11 does seem unfair on Jaffer but thats where I will be going all in with Sehwag. Sehwag gives Kumble an off-spinning option that could contain the left handers in the Australian line-up. Given Harbhajan's dip in form, it would be a better idea to pick him in Sydney where there is more bounce than the G. Down the order, I have dropped Pathan because there is usually not much swing at the G unless the clouds cover in. Usually, in summer, cloud cover means rain and once the rain's gone, the clouds are gone too. Basically this defangs Pathan and there is no point playing him as a batting all rounder. Ganguly can do that job. Again, I take a punt in playing both the newbies but there is a reason for this madness. The Australians do not believe in dawdling at the crease. They will come hard at the newbies. Pankaj and Ishant can both afford to stick to their natural lines outside the off stump. Trust the Australians to go after them and the extra lift that they both extract will come in handy! Moreover, they are young and fit and can bowl long spells without risk of breakdown. Lastly, the Australians have not been tested often by McGrathesque bowling. I do not mean McGrathesque accuracy but that kind of ilk - the height and the extra bounce; I would like to see Ponting play the hook and pull to tall young newbies.

No matter what Kumble chooses, I wish all the very best to India. Two days ago, the guy at the coffee shop promised me a 2-0 or 3-0 scoreline and added gravely that India would find it difficult to save a single test if the weather stays good. How much I would love to wave a pic of Anil with the Border-Gavaskar trophy held high next month. Just like the Indian team, I wait with a quiet confidence!

An ode to Forrest!

Probably one of the best movies of all time for its sheer simplicity! I am talking about one of my favorite movies: Forrest Gump. Whats most likeable about this flick is that it has something in it to attract theatregoers of all ages, backgrounds and outlooks. The reason is simple: Its a satire on human life. Its a cariacature of the manner in which we live, the way homo sapiens think, our mangled priorities, our prejudices and ideals and most of all, human naivette.

The movie laughs at human society and Forrest is the lead joker. Throughout the movie, he does what he is told; if forced to react, he acts on instinct. He is correctly portrayed as a retard, who in spite of being successful, is forced to live with being treated as a simpleton. His character reminds me of the Vidushak (joker) in street plays in India. The role of the Vidushak is one of joining threads together. He appears in interludes and connects storylines in the play. He is used as a message bearer cum compere and serves the aim of street plays in India: to spread a message among the rural public. Street plays deal with current topics. They seek to instigate a point of view among the public; they disseminate information among people unreachable by the mass media and by inference, also criticize current issues and keep them fresh in the social consciousness. The most common way to generate awareness on a particual issue is to proclaim it loudly and use every ounce of wit and sarcasm to present your point. This responsibility usually falls on the Vidushak. He is both, most loved and most irritating. The similarities with Forrest Gump are too strong to ignore. By simply following instructions, Forrest caricatures the seriousness in the person issuing instructions.

The movie, in particular Forrest, exposes the confines that apply to every aspect of human thinking. By merely listening to his hippie girlfriend, he reveals the shallowness and utter lack of meaning in her existence. By acting on human instinct and saving lives in battle, he quashes the myth of wartime glory. By pulling a reluctant Gary Sinise from certain death on the battlefield, he exposes the futility of sacrifice. Its not as explicit as I am writing it but the effect is the same. The next time someone talks about glory in dying in battle, you will be irrevokably reminded of Gary Sinise's tantrum on the battlefield and later in the hospital (destiny et. al. !!). Tell me, won't it feel comical?

Furthermore, the movie tries to answer an unanswerable question: "Why do we do anything at all ?". Remember the scene when Forrest is asked: "Why are you running ?", he says, "I just felt like running". Then the movie shows a guy who claims to know that "Forrest Knows"! That is the most hilarous scene in the movie. In fact, the whole Running event is uplifting to watch. It brings out the beauty as well as the tragedy of human existence. Humans need to keep doing something. They just cannot sit tight. If they try to stay put, the mind never does!. Inevitably, the mind is forced to think up reasons for the body to keep doing something; well, you see, another thing humans can never do without is justification for our actions!

"We just cannot accept the fact that there is no fundamental WHY question to our existence"

This is what is cleverly exposed by one of my favorite movies of all time: Forrest Gump.

Let the Games Begin!!!

The mind games have already begun. Harbhajan has fired the first real salvo targeting an individual: Bradley George Hogg!! As an isolated act, it sounds pretty cute. Here is a finger spinner who has not been among as many wickets as he would like, but before he is picked out by the Aussies as the fall guy in the visiting party, he goes ahead and dishes out a bit of Australian pie in anticipation!!

I was and still am a firm believer in the futility of mental disintegration which is almost doctrinal in the cricketing fraternity in Australia. This doctrine was first brought out of the closet in its cheapest form by Mr. Steven Waugh who, if truth be told, would have had a lot more success as an army strategist than he had as a captain. His success as captain had more to do with his team of Galacticos and feeble opponents than with his purported nous as captain and master strategist. Nevertheless, his techniques, especially the doctrine of mental disintegration (which was given full support by the Psych. arm of the ACB for obvious reasons!!), rode on the success of the Australian cricket team and rose up the pecking order of mandatory skills to be possessed by a cricket team.

Teams all over the world fell for this ruse. They started giving credibility to tactics like sledging by following the Australians. Let me quickly add that on-field verbal exchanges have been a part of cricket and most other sports since their inception. However, accepting them as a necessary skill in a cricketer's armoury is not only ludicrous but shameful too.

In cricket, like any other sport, there is an internal locus of control and a much bigger external locus of control. A sportsman can perform tasks in his locus to the best of his ability. Nothing more, nothing less. Out in the middle, every great batsman will tell you to let the instincts take over. It is quite the reverse of mind over matter, yet, it is necessary and true. Steve Waugh might disagree, but we all know where he was rated on Mr. Warne's hall of fame!!

Weblog RaMiFiCaTioNs: why do people blog?

That's the question, isn't it? The answer presents itself if the question is rephrased as 'why do people create networks?' In a nutshell, the answer is socializing. Then again, there is no human 'touch' when one is online but it seems, the virtual presence is enough! The nascent research field of haptics could well put an end to the lack of touch, but that's for a future post.

To continue this post, let me repeat an age-old cliche: Man is a social animal. When I heard this the first time in primary school, I did not realize its complex ramifications. Then years later, when I dabbled in psychology, I read about the horrors of solitary confinement. I was surprised to know that even hardened criminals dread 'the hole'; some even go mad in there. It was only years later that I could put the two seemingly uncorrelated facts together and appreciate the necessity of social interaction for the survival of the human species.

Aspiring to be part of a group is not just a survival tactic but its a far more fundamental drive. It is as basic a need as food and water. Typecasting this drive as a conscious effort to improve one's chance of survival is a Darwinian outlook but more pertinently, it is a wrong outlook. The correct term for this drive would be a 'basic need'; not a 'tactic for success'. It so happens that individuals who are part of a group do much better in terms of surviving therefore the Darwin school of thought gives such individuals 'credit' for choosing to be part of a group. This is a typical example of an erroneous a-posteriori conclusion.

Paradoxically, the same people who love to blog, also like to hold steadfast to their views in their weblogs (just as I am doing here!). It would be logical to expect controversies emanating over a weblogger's views and opinions. This could be seen as compromising the blogger's chances of success in online interaction. This tendency to assert one's views is usually put down to establishing one's identity; in other words, creating personality at the cost of social acceptance.

In the complex dimension of needs and drives, every concept is intertwined with its apparent counterpart. At times, the intertwining is so intimate that it seems impossible to tell them apart; at such times, the counterpart appears complementary - just like the drive to socialize while maintaining one's identity and individuality!