The missing link in Ram-Sethu » cricket

Interesting twitter tweets on V V S Laxman and India win

Rajaram S — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:48:44 +0000

#Flash: Home Ministry has issued advisory for all people named Laxman against traveling to Australia

#I wont be surprised if Laxman is made honorary Australian citizen: better to have him on your side than a constant thorn in the flesh…

#I hereby declare that I am starting proceedings to find Laxman Janmabhoomi so we can build a Laxman temple.

#Last week belonged to Ram. This week belongs to Laxman

#Lets demolish the hospital where Laxman was born n build a bhavya Laxman mandir!

#aussies will have answer for everyone but for vvs laxman(very very special) they crumble and cry like a child .

#Sydney se 50-50 kos door gaon me jab koi cricketer rota hai..toh uski maa kehti hai beta chup hoja nahi toh laxman aa jaega

#Dear Kalmadi, if u have an extra gold medal pls give it to VVS Laxman, he deserves!! And a Silver to Ishant & a Bronze to Raina for running

#The day VVS LAXMAN retires from Test cricket, it will be a National holiday in Australia

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Football is a stupid game, a waste of time

Rajaram S — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:11:04 +0000

Nowadays, it is football fever everywhere. Any mall you go, any shop you visit, even the small road-side kiosks have football related promotions. But, I just don’t understand the craze for such a stupid game. The game of football is a dumb as it can get. You have a ball and there are 22 men running around trying to kick the other guys and sometimes by mistake, end up kicking the ball. There is no art in the game. You get the ball, you kick it. Ok, you have to kick it in a particular direction, but how difficult is that?

The name “football” is itself so ordinary. Yes, the game is about kicking the ball with your foot, but can’t you guys come up with a more innovative name. Look around for examples. Would you ever be able to guess what the games of “cricket” or “golf” are about? Imagine, how boring it would be if they were called “batball” or “puttballhole”? Well, “puttballhole” wouldn’t be as popular as golf is, that is for sure!

Football is too strenuous a game to be played by everyone. Compare it with cricket. In cricket, you just have to stand in one corner of the ground and pray that the ball never reaches you. Whereas in football, you have to keep running even if the ball is half a kilometer away from you. Cricket is also a stupid game, but it is played by 22 and watched by 22000. But in the case of football, it is played by 22 and watched by 22 million! Imagine the loss of man-hours (person-hours, to be politically correct) because of this.

The game of football has infiltrated (more than terrorists from across the border) so much into our mainstream that even ascetics are not able to avoid it and concentrate on delivering speeches and hoodwinking the masses

Football is also such an unfair game. Imagine the state of a midfielder who brings the ball all the way from the middle to somewhere near the goal and then the “forward” who was until then trying to fix up a date with the pretty girl in the crowd, pushes the ball into the goal and gets all the glory! Such players are also given the so-called “golden boot” award. They should rather be given the boot and kicked out of the team.

And there are the football hooligans. Football hooliganism has become so popular that it is nowdays recognized as a profession in UK where there are football hooligans clubs with practicing hooligans as members. This is probably the only sport which has a fan following of hooligans. Have you ever heard of hooliganism in sports like Billiards, Chess or Carrom Board? Imagine a situation where a fight breaks out in any of the matches in the world cup in South Africa and the football hooligans start breaking the walls and fences around the stadium. Who knows, in South Africa, that wall could be shared with the wildlife reserve next door and wild animals could be released into the city because of this.

America has always wanted to do something different. So, when they saw football, they changed it and invented American football. This is the probably the only good side-effect of the game of football. Scientists from all over the world go to all the superbowl games to watch American football, as they believe that they could solve the mystery surrounding the missing link between apes and humans by watching the American football players in action.

So, my dear footballers, take your balls and go somewhere else!

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Ball please!

Rajaram S — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:54:04 +0000

It is just 7 am and a cricket match is on at the Margappata grounds. While many fielders are just ambling around still trying to wake up from their sleep, there is one soul shouting, clapping his hands and trying to motivate his team. He is one of the best fielders in his team and has been strategically posted at deep mid-on for stopping the quick singles as well as to take those sky-high catches when the batsmen slog towards long-on.

Suddenly, his ever alert eyes catch the ball rushing towards the boundary to his right. He runs towards the ball with a spring in his step, does a full-scale dive, catches the ball, does a perfect roll-over (He prides himself on having watched hundreds of cricket videos to learn the perfect dive-and-stop) and throws the ball at the non-striker’s end. It is a flat, hard throw and the aim was perfect. The ball hits the top of the leg stump, sending it into a cartwheel. He is delighted! He shouts in exhilaration and runs towards the pitch punching his fists in the air.But…..

But, no one else from his team is running towards him. He reaches the non-striker end, picks up the ball. Everyone else is looking towards the third-man and the batsmen are nonchalantly taking the second run! He then hears the dreaded words…

“BALL PLEASE”

Welcome to the world of cricket, in India! A world, where it is not enough if your fielding skills are good enough to stop the ball and throw them back, but good enough to stop the “correct” ball, the one your group is playing with!

Usually before a match, teams huddle together and discuss strategy. But, in matches in India, the teams huddle together and pray, because they need all the luck that they can have. Luck, that will ensure that the balls hit by their batsmen reach the boundary avoiding the dozens of other people standing in the ground and luck, that will ensure that ever-so-willing fielders from other games would stop the balls hit by their opponents!

It is not only for luck that they have to pray for. They also have to pray for their safety as they not only have to fear the fast bowlers in the opponent team but also the hard hitters in the match going on few feet away from them.Cricket, and not Hinduism, Islam or Christianity encourages so many prayers. No wonder cricket is considered the number one religion in India!

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Introducing Drahul Dravid

Rajaram S — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:15:00 +0000

Yes, it is official now. Rahul Sharad Dravid, the ace Indian cricketer has officially changed his name to Drahul Dravid. Drahul called a media conference yesterday and announced this to the world. A few days back, Rahul Dravid and his family had gone to their native temple in Indore, Madhya Pradesh for this name-changing ceremony.

Rahul was very emotional about this ceremony and he wanted to attend the function in his Indian cricket wear. As seen in the picture above, the moment the priest confirmed that the name had been changed, Drahul burst into tears. Few of his Indian cricket team colleagues (who wanted to remain unnamed) also attended the ceremony. When asked on why he started crying after this ceremony, Drahul said that the thing that worried him the most was the expense that his fans have to go through to purchase posters of him with the new name. Drahul also said that once the IPL was finished, Drahul would personally add the D to all his posters owned by his fans, as he felt that he would anyway have nothing else to do after the IPL finishes.

Drahul also said that numerological or astrological reasons were not behind this name change. He said that he had to change the name to indicate clearly his style of cricket. He didn’t want his name to be just because selectors thought that he could play an aggressive style of cricket. Drahul also said that he had always learnt batting as an art form where the face of the bat should point towards the pitch such that the ball, on hitting the bat, falls within the pitch (and within half a metre of the batsman) and rolls to a stop within a metre. (Given below is a photo where Rahul Dravid was expressing his frustration because of Sachin Tendulkar’s inability to understand this concept)

He said that this talent was limited to very few cricketers around the world and this is the talent required to produce a draw in test cricket. So, by changing his name from Rahul to Drahul, he was clearly communicating that he should be included in the squad only if the required result was a draw. He also added that his dad had recognised this talent in him the moment he was born and hence put Dravid as his last name. But the world had failed to see the draw in dravid and that is why he had to change his first name to drahul to double-emphasize. Drahul felt that this name change would bring about a change in his image.

Technorati Tags: rahul dravid IPL Bangalore royal challengers

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Indian Premier League (IPL) is a success

Rajaram S — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:12:00 +0000

Why do i conclude so? Because i “feel” so. When Chennai Super Kings lost their matches, i felt bad and was wondering as to what they could have done better. When the Chennai team gets a wicket, i applaud and feel happy, though that wicket might be a player whom i would love to watch any other day.
This was what the organisers of IPL wanted, this was what Lalit Modi would have hoped for and it has happened. IPL has become an addiction. I spend seven hours both days of the weekend watching both the matches. Somehow, my earlier argument that 20-20 matches are just 3 hrs long doesn’t seem to hold good with Vidhya any longer and i get admonished every time i put on the channel to watch IPL.
No, I was never a cricket-crazed person. I love to play cricket and given an opportunity, i don’t mind playing it all day. But, watching cricket for extended periods not for me. I consistently used to fall asleep on the sofa between the 15th and the 40th overs of an innings.
I was never a fan of test cricket with the exception of Ashes. Getting up at odd hours of the night to watch the first ball being bowled in the boxing day test match, that is something only a true cricket fan would understand! Maybe it is the green grounds, maybe it is the telecast quality, maybe it is the commentary team, i don’t know the reason, but i can watch the entire three sessions of an ashes test match without taking a break. The other test matches, i care a damn. An india-sri lanka match happening in Jaipur, chennai wherever, I just hear about it from friends. At the other end, there are people (there are!) who watch the ball-by-ball commentary on cricinfo of even Ranji trophy matches! I wouldn’t even recognise the names of most of the guys on the team.
But, IPL is different. The cricket is entertaining (not just the cheerleaders), it is fast and furious. The new talent knocking on the national team would surely give the jitters to the experienced indian players. I am addicted to IPL. What about you ?
and …Chennai Super Kings rock!

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The new mumbai Indians cheerleader costume

Rajaram S — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:07:00 +0000

An exclusive sneak peek at the new costume that the cheerleaders would wear at the Mumbai indians – deccan chargers match today in Mumbai. These costumes were designed by the famous gay (oops, guy) Karan Johar.

Technorati Tags: cheerleader costume ipl cricket

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Chennai Super Kings beat Punjab Kings XI at Mohali

Rajaram S — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:48:00 +0000

Way to go Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni and his men couldn’t expect a better start to the tournament. Though this defeat wasn’t as convincing as the way King Khan’s Knight riders smashed the Bangalore Royal Challengers, it was good enough to get the players into the groove for the rest of the tournament.
Mike Hussey showed the way for the Chennai Super Kings with a brilliant hundred. When the Punjab Kings were chasing and Kumar Snagakkara and James Hopes were having a partnership, things looked to be pretty even between the sides. But once hopes was dismissed, it was pretty easy for the Super Kings.
Great start Chennai Super Kings, keep it up. Vijay and Nayanthara will be proud of you! On the other hand, someone should teach Preity Zinta hot to cheer in cricket. The moves Preity Zinta were making would fit better in a boxing ring and not in a cricket stadium and it looked so artificial!

Technorati Tags: IPL cricket indian premier league cricket chennai super kings punjab kings XI mohali chandigarh cricket

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Kolkata Knight riders beat Bangalore Royal Challenge in the first IPL t20 match

Rajaram S — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:46:00 +0000

badly, very badly, in fact miserably! But, what can they do? Poor Vijay Mallya. When he purchased the Bangalore team in the Indian Premier league, I guess that he wouldn’t have had an idea that his iconic player in the twenty 20 matches, the player for whom he would have to pay the highest money, would have been Rahul Dravid, of all the cricketers!
Yes, Rahul Dravid is a good cricketer, but this is 20-20, not the bend-forward-show-the-full-face-front-foot-defence game! Even i wouldn’t have Rahul Dravid in my team for the Galli cricket 6 over matches! When the Bangalore team went in to bat today at the Chinnaswamy stadium, I almost fell off my sofa seeing Dravid and Wasim Jaffer walk out. What are the two test players doing in a wham-bham-thank-you-maam kind of game?
But Vijay Mallya, you have something to rejoice. There are lot of Bangloreans going to get drunk today with the sadness over this miserable loss and you can hope that they buy your liquor! You can also hope that Shah Rukh Khan and his Kolkata Knight riders will purchase your liquor in the party tonight.
I am obviously a supporter of Chennai Super Kings and i hope that the combined power of Dhoni, Muralidharan, Mathew Hayden and Fleming would be enough to crush the other teams.
Long live IPL, Long live Chennai Super Kings!

Technorati Tags: IPL indian premier league bangalore royal challenge Kolkata knight riders chennai super kings Vijay Mallya Shah Rukh khan

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Indian Premier Cricket League – IPL player auctions today

Rajaram S — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:12:00 +0000

The auctions for the players to play in the different teams of the Indian Premier Legue (IPL) will be done today. It is expected to start at 11 am today (Feb 20). The auction is under the observation of many international auctioneers also, as it has an interesting format with various limitations.

There are a total of 77 players to be auctioned off.
Each owner has to spend a minimum of 3.3 Million USD and a maximum of 5 million USD on his/her team. This maximum cap is what that makes this auction interesting. You have to get into a lot of permutations and combinations to compose your team, much like playing fantasy cricket online.
bids up to $100,000 – in increments of $5,000, bids from $100,000 to $250,000 – in increments of $10,000, bids from $250,000 to $500,000 – in increments of $25,000, after this, no set increments.
Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Yuvraj will not be auctioned as they are icon players for their respective areas.
Each squad must have a minimum of 16 players per squad. This will include a maximum of 8 currently available foreign players per squad. Each team can have a maximum of 4 foreign players in the playing XI for each match.
The squad will also have to consist of a minimum 4 under 22 players from that area.

I shall keep updating as soon as the news come out!

The teams so far:

Anil Kumble	Bangalore	USD 500000
Jacques Kallis	Bangalore	USD 900000
Zaheer Khan	Bangalore	USD 450000
MS Dhoni	Chennai	USD 1,500,000
Muttiah Muralitharan	Chennai	USD 600,000
Jacob Oram	Chennai	USD 675000
Matthew Hayden	Chennai	USD 375000
Stephen Fleming	Chennai	USD 350000
Daniel Vettori	Delhi	USD 625000
Chris Gayle	Delhi	USD 800000
Shoaib Malik	Delhi	USD 500000
Mohammad Asif	Delhi	USD 650000
Adam Gilchrist	Hyderabad	USD 700,000
Andrew Symonds	Hyderabad	USD 1,300,000
Herschelle Gibbs	Hyderabad	USD 575000
Shahid Afridi	Hyderabad	USD 675000
Shane Warne	Jaipur	USD 450,000
Grame Smith	Jaipur	USD 455000
Younis Khan	Jaipur	USD 225000
Shoaib Akhtar	Kolkata	USD 425,000
Brendon McCullim	Kolkata	USD 700000
Ricky Ponting	Kolkata	USD 400000
Mahela Jayawardene	Mohali	USD 475,000
Kumar Sangakkara	Mohali	USD 750000
Brett Lee	Mohali	USD 900000
Sreesanth	Mohali	USD 625000
Sanath Jayasuriya	Mumbai	USD 975000
Harbhajan Singh	Mumbai	USD 850000

Technorati Tags: IPL cricket indian premier league cricket ICL player auction

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South Africa beat Bermuda in ICC women’s cricket with 296 balls to spare

Rajaram S — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:48:00 +0000

Anyone who knows a bit of cricket must be astonished to see “with 296 balls to spare”. Yes, it is true. In yesterday’s ICC world cup women’s qualifying match between South Africa and Bermuda, Bermuda women batted first and played for 18 overs to score …. 13 runs! Of these 13 runs, 10 were from extras!
Usually commentators would say “Only three of their batsmen managed to go into double figures”, but here they had to say”Only three of their batswomen managed to get off the mark with each of them scoring 1″.
The South African women finished off the match in 4 balls (from the only over bowled) that included 9 wides and 1 no ball. Probably, the women from Bermuda were learning cricket during this game.
The scorecard from the game can be found here.

Btw, have you seen the new cheerleader costume for the Mumbai Indians after the existing one was banned by the moral police? Check out the exclusive photos here. If you didn’t manage to get the scoop behind the monkey-calling episode of Harbhajan and Symonds, check out the research done by the lawyers of Harbhajan here.

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