Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Sherlock Holmes 2 - A Game of Shadows - Movie Review

Exciting!! Robert Downey at his best as Sherlock Holmes along with Jude Law as Dr. Watson come together again to unravel the game of shadows and bring down a cunning professor who plans to make fortunes by instigating world war among countries which come together on a peace summit.



Now, that was the story in short of "Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows". To write more on the excitement of watching the movie in theatre, dozens of antique words will not be sufficient.

Robert Downey is at his witty best, those beautiful camouflage clothing and the funny yet important costumes that Holmes comes up with in certain scenes keep us entertained. I don't want to let more spoilers spoil the fun when you watch the movie but I can say that Holmes travels from Germany to France to Switzerland, in full action. Hans Zimmer has retained the theme for Sherlock Holmes while adding more strings and speed to it. Action sequences where Sherlock Holmes deploys his "curse" to see the opponents moves are shown in more detail. The chase in the forest is easily the long but the best action scene of the Sherlock Holmes sequence. As always, the best is saved for the last; the climax scenes are scintillating and the expected twist at "The End" is well delivered :).

I would rate the movie 9.25 on a scale of 10. How much would you?

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A brief history of "What's up!"

Every other day someone pings me or I ping someone in a variety of e-places including Gtalk, Facebook chat or Skype or even plain old communicator. Here's how a typical conversation starts:

Person A: Hey hi!
Person B: Hey man.. What's up?! (or wassup, ssup, or sup or even 'wasp!!')

Some people complain that its pointless to ask What's up to a person who is grounded, some tactfully reply back saying "nothing much" and some people reply literally saying "Fan, bulb, ceiling and sky :P". Ye
s it is a meaningful reply, though.



Ok, today I sat back for a few minutes and thought about this unknown hollywood movie which I saw the other day, only for a few minutes while punching my TV remote buttons. There was this scene where a guy comes over to his friend and asks 'What's happening?'. I thought again. I wanted to blog this!

Typical people who liked to use abbreviational words said 'What's happ' instead of 'What's happening' which then got transformed to 'What's up?!". Voila!

And so you see people, that, is a brief history of 'What's up!". So, next time if someone IMs you or pings you or just walks by and asks 'What's up?!" you know the history :D.

PS: All of the above except the movie scene are just framed by my mind. I do not know if there is some real reason, share if you know it. Yes, it is widely believed that it originated from a catchphrase "What's up, Doc?" by Bugs Bunny.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Movie Review - Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Phew! Its been quite a while since I wrote a blogpost at Yusuf.in. Yesterday was a great day because I got to watch Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol at a Multiplex here in Cologne, Germany!

Boy did the movie keep us all tightly coupled to our seats with some scenes demanding perfect silence since the dialogies were spoken with "huge huskness". So, here goes my review of the movie. Btw, no where did I notice it saying as "Mission Impossible:4" !



It starts with Ethan hunt(of course played by Tom Cruise!) at a prison in Moscow, Russia for the task of extracting a source - with the help of Dunn (played by Simon Pegg) and Carter (played by Paula Pautton). The movie title blazes through the 'light them up' and Ethan is given the mission to extract files from "The Kremlin" to trace down something code named 'Cobalt'. Halfway through this mission someone talks on the IMF radio and The Kremlin security end up chasing Ethan but then The Kremlin blows up!. Security forces then believe that its an act of war after which the US president evokes "Ghost Protocol" - disavowing IMF in full; but Ethan and team are allowed to escape by the IMF secretary just to chase down Cobalt and stop it, along with the intelligence analyst Brandt(played by Brenny lee) who is then discovered as not just an analyst. They land in Dubai to trace details and its an edge of the seat action at the Burj Khalifa! Next stop, Mumbai, where they have to extract codes from Brij Nath (played by Anil Kapoor). Up next are high octane scenes of action in style, launching missiles and the impossible mission's climax and finally, the real story of Ethan Hunt's wife.

I loved this particular scene next to the private jet from Dubai where Dunn says "Love the jet" to which Ethan replies "Wait until you see the car" :). Unfortunately, the i8 couldn't even wade through Mumbai's traffic and people.

To sum it up, Ghost protocol is way better than the 2nd and 3rd installments of Mission Impossible movies and to say it in four words "Paced action in style".

I would give it a rating of 9 on 10. How much would you?

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Vanquisher became Vanquished-Part 2-

Vanquisher became Vanquished-Part 1-Hundreds are Hot

This was regarded to be the most high-profile series since the world cup.ICC even said they had shifted the venue of ICC awards from colombo to london because of this series.ESPN telecasted ads in which Flintoffisque type of person boasts how they tied with the champions and they were also world champions.Ravi Shastri Slammed England by saying that the oppositition were never world no 1and they do not have the rights to speak ill about bcci.Several Players were rested for West Indies tour because of the Importance this series had.And to top it all , a hundredth hundred was at stake throughout the series.

INDIA VS ENGLAND



Photo Courtesy:Cricinfo

The trouble started for India even before they boarded the plane,sehwag would miss the first 2 tests and the trouble just got alleviated on the first day of Lord's Test when India's prime,goto bowler Zaheer Khan was injured and was informed he could not take part further in the series.India lost their best swing bowler in the first day of the tour and from that day on the momentum swung towards England.The out of form Kevin Pietersen scored a double hundred after being troubled by Zaheer Khan for most of the first day.England posted a mammoth total of 474/8 declare and India succumbing to the speed and swing of england bowlers for 286,just avoiding the follow-on because of the efforts of the Mr Dependable century(his first in the mecca of cricket).While indian bowlers did come back strongly to reduce england to 6-107,England found an heroes in Prior and Broad to post a target of 458.India ended the day at 80-1 with Dravid and Laxman at the crease and Rain predicted for the 5th day ,India would have had hopes of escape similar to the one 4 years ago when dhoni and sreeshanth batted out and bad light stopping play .India were 142-4 at lunch ,with Tendulkar and raina in crease and escape route still present.Tendulkar fell soon after lunch and his ambitions of his first century at Lords just vanished.India survived till Tea session with five wickets in hand but once dhoni fell soon after Tea,Raina was left to fight alongside the tailenders who were not able to handle the swing and India lost by 196 Runs.

With India having a track record of bouncing back from the series 1-0 down,the fans did not lose hope.And the hopes were heightened when india bundled out england for 221 and were imposing position at 267-4 on day 2 post tea session.But everytjing changed when england took the new ball and india lost theiir next 6 wickets for 20 runs and England got the much needed boost and they never looked back .They savaged the indian bowling ,and posted a huge total of 544 on board leaving India a gargantuan task of chasing 458 in fourth innings.The pitch which had behaved like a flat track when England batted ,started to do all the tricks what English bowlers aimed at the Indians and except for Tendulkar's 56,India did not have any nerves to put up a fight were bowled out for 158 runs by the end of the days play.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Mankatha - Tamil movie review

Well, I had to and I wanted to write about this movie. With some many comments, both extremely positive and utterly negative by people in social networking sites, I wanted to share mine as well but on a bigger platform - which is this... my blog :)

Onto the movie, it was today that I caught up with the movie and here is what I noted of the two and a half hours movie that entertained me to a great extent today.

According to Wikipedia, Director Venkat Prabhu chose to direct one of his three scripts as his next movie after a not so great Goa. Ajith had a keen interest to portray something on the lines of the "Joker" character in Dark Knight. Yes, we all know how vicious Heath Ledger was on screen, playing Joker. So, Mankatha (its a traditional game of cards in India) had one such role with dark characterization and so, the movie happened with Ajith and the usual gang of boys with Venkat Prabhu(with two new members)... I only know that people say "உள்ளே" (Inside), "வெளியே"(Outside) while playing that game. If you are interested, you can learn how Mankatha the card game is played.

So here goes MY review of the movie.

[caption id="attachment_430" align="aligncenter" width="258" caption="Mankatha the film"]Mankatha the film[/caption]

Onto the story-line, the movie starts with "Thala" Ajith Kumar as a police officer(Vinayak), on a fabulous introduction scene, who is then suspended from work for 6 months; he then plans to pull out the biggest heist of a very huge amount of illegal betting money just before the final match of the IPL. He actually derives a plan along with four guys who had their own heist plan. Vinayak, along with the four guys, are they successful in the heist and  'Action King' Arjun as the sincere police anti-betting head(Pritviraj) to nab the illegal betting guys, is he successful in chasing these guys before they rob the money, forms the core story. There was never a scope for performance for three ladies in the movie, no scope for mentioning here as well. Lakshmi Rai did some justice to her bad girl character(Sona). The final twist in the movie was as expected but it was pictured very well. Special mention about Subbu who did a good job as the other police officer(Kamal Ekambaram) with Arjun.

Ajith, Ajith and more Ajith. It is Ajith all the way. You'l agree with me after you watch the movie. Yes, it sure is his 50th film and he has portrayed the Anti-hero character with much elan. The Bloopers at the credits were too good. Don't miss them!

Yuvan Shankar Raja needs a special mention for all his work on the Background music and the re-recording. Excellence in choice of instruments/music at the right time and at the right frame. I was never tired of the theme music.

There were plenty of let-downs -  in terms of a not so strong script, an utterly unwarranted comical geek!!, most action scenes hugely (or totally?) inspired from Hollywood, a few lagging scenes in the movie, songs just for the sake except 'Vilayaadu Mankatha' and 'Machi Open the Bottle'.

Mankatha, sometimes உள்ளே and sometimes வெளியே. The final few scenes of the movie did enthrall everyone at the theatre. In a nutshell, it wasn't that much of an edge of the seat game, but it was very well played towards the end and a deserved victory.

I would give the movie a rating of 7.05 out of 10. How much would you?!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Two years of Yusuf.in

Howdy! if you are reading this post, then it means you are reading this at a good time for Yusuf.in which just celebrated 2 years since August 2009. Join me in wishing my blog a very happy birthday :-)

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I watched the Rain

Its not an unusual sight to see slight winds at 11:30 PM local time, in a country which is always regarded as one of the most hottest places on planet Earth during the Summer.

Its not an unusual thing to feel sweaty and want more cool stuff inside your body and your legs drag you to the refridgerator looking for just plain cold water.

Its not an unusual thing to dream about rains when its actually 39 degree celsius outside the home and +1 inside the home. 

Eventually, I stepped out outside the home.  Then was the real unusual feeling of cold air passing by me, dust which usually, is on the cemented streets is all up in the air and there is this tiny thought of the dream about rains turning to reality....

I stood there, standing a few metres away from the street light spot, fearing that it might just fall down due to the heavy wind then, but then, this dream. I thought "Was I 'Incepted' that it is going to rain now ?". At 11:40 PM, at this time when it usually feels hot enough to just lie down on the floor and try to sleep?

Then... there it was, it was not a dream, as i felt a drop of water pinch my arm, and then more drops, and more.. Looked up the Sky, I was not dreaming. I watched the Rain.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

The Game

Since 1992,these teams have met 4 times in world cups(50-50), and every time the same team won.No matter what team plays the world cup finals,this game garners the huge attraction.Every cricket world cup craves for this match.In 2007,with a fixed schedule the tickets of this match were already sold out,the teams failed to qualify and the two teams  did not meet for the first time in world cups since 1992.The t20 arrive and these teams competed in the finals of the first edition of te02 and still the same side won.Be it t20's or odi's only one team won and that was India.By this time the other team would have been guessed easily by you .It's Pakistan.

In 2011,these teams contested in a game in what would earn the team that won , a place in a world cup final to face another sub-continent giant ,Sri Lanka.For the first time in 10 editions of the world cup two sub continent giants would clash for the coveted trophy.A team other than Australia for the first time would lift the world cup since 1999.The whole film fraternity of India were there,both countries Prime Minister were there,BCCI was there ,ICC was there.And possible talk resumptions between the two coutries after this game,an India-Pakistan clash could not get any bigger.


Pakistan were the dark horses while Indians were the hot favorites to win the world cup.The way Pakistan played the world cup,it was reminiscent of 1999,the last time Pakistan completely dominated.With a loss to Newzealand providing the exception,Pakistan were the team to beat.They put an end to Australia's winning streak.The bowling attack of the Pakistan is the best bowling attack this world cup.With captain Afridi ,being the highest wicket-taker ,he lead the way for the team.On the other hand,India did not have a smooth ride in group stages.The hyped batting line up's middle order continuously failed and the bowling with exception of Zaheer khan continuously failed to perform.But in quarters everything changed.The game against Australia saw everyone raise their game.Yuvraj singh  excelled with bat and ball,Raina ,Kohli proved their mettle with the bat and Bhajji started to regain the form.The favourites tag started to re-emerge.Now lets get on to the game.

India won the toss and choose to bat.The battle was about to begin.Pakistan bowlers vs Indian Batsman.But it did not begin all rosy for Pakistan.Umar Gul,pakistan's best bowler was smashed all around the park by sehwag.India's 50 was brought up in under 7 overs and was starting to flourish until wahab riaz struck and sehwag was gone.Tendulkar on the other end was scratchy,survived  a lbw with help of a  referral and a stumping chance.He survived 2 dropped chances before reaching his 50.It was not tendulkar in his element.In the other end ,Gambir was getting on his stride before he fell to a off spinner trying to give the charge.Kohli and Tendulkar stabilised  and tendulkar was let off 2 more times and Pakistan were wilting and memories of the match against newzealand where the dropped chances of ross taylor came back and haunt them in end started to refurbish.But Wahab Riaz,who was bowling exceptionally well came back and produced a double strike ,Kohli and the in-form yuvraj.Dhoni and Tendulkar had to keep it tight and do not let Pakistan to rout the Indian line up which they had managed to do to other teams.Just when tendulkar was seem to get his stride,Ajmal finally got the man.Dhoni also got out quickly to another wahab riaz delivery .And with score at 6-205 ,250 seemed far.But Raina took the responsibility and with bhajji and zaheer khan playing some tailender shots india managed to get to 260-9 in 50 overs.

Pakistan's batting line up was not in its best with their highest run getter being Umar Akmal(212 runs).Yet when it comes to india,they have to perform.The opening partnership og Akmal and Hafeez smashed india's premium bowler Zaheer Khan all over the park.He was taken of the attack after 2 overs and brought back in the 9th over.And voila he got the wicket of Akmal.Asad shafiq ,emerging youngster of of Pakistan joined hafeez and runs were starting to flow in smooth way until hafeez played the worst shot of the tournament trying the dil scoop(pepsi ad) and getting an outside edge.This turned out to be the turning point of the match.Younis khan who had a poor run in the tournament except for the srilanka match took too much time to settle and put pressure on youngster shafiq,who in pursuit of getting runs fell.Misbah another slow-coach joined younis and just upped the required run rate and against the run of play Younis Khan fell.Umar akmal played some blazing shots before he was undone by a faster ball from bhajji,Abdul razzaq was done in by a beautiful slower leg cutter from munaf patel.Afridi came hit some shots and fell to bhajji.

With misbah continuing in snai'ls pace it was curtains for Pakistan.What seemed to be a high octane clash was turning into a lopsided contest.The powerplay which had to be taken when razzaq , afridi were in crease was finally taken in 45th over or forced upon them.Misbah tried to bring back memories of 2007 t20,but he had ran out of too many partners and the task proved too much.Zaheer khan fittingly took the last wicket .And pakistan were yet again outplayed by Indians in a world cup game,this time  by 29 runs.

A high octane contest turned into a lopsided contest courtesy-younis khan and misbah.The man of the match award went to sachin tendulkar and he was all smiles as he would probably playing is last world cup match in home ground and with  world cup at stake and his 100th international century ,we would not be able to witness a better farewell for the person who has only brought only laurels in his 20 year journey to the country.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

World Cup 2011-The Real Contenders-Australia



The champions of the past three world cups, winner in one and runner up in second of the world cups held in sub-continent.A powerful history indeed.But good history doesn't mean a pleasant future.Australia are not even close to the team they were once.With many senior players retiring after 2007 and injury worries ,there is not a smile in punter's face.He has many questions to answer.After losing ashes to England 2-1 last year his place as captain has seriously come to doubt,but with world cup around the corner Australian selection board was not prepared to take a chance by giving clarke the captaincy who is not in good form recently.But Ponting too is not .Anyways let us have a look up,whether the team has the skill ,the ruthlessness the Australian team of the past have carried into world cups.

Shane Watson ,a player who has won the Border award for the second year is in supreme form but has the tendency not to carry the good form into making huge amount of runs and instead failing to cross 50's .Yet he is one of australia's few good batsman.His opening partner Haddin is always the ship crossing the tip of iceberg.He may survive it and go onto play a great innings or may just get hit in the iceberg and falter.Ricky Ponting's career has never fancied the indian pitches and always comes a cropper in very good spinning wickets.yet he is the player who has shown signs of good form in the practice matches and has a huge responsibility of producing innings that he produced in 2003 world cup finals.The middle order of the Australians is brittle.The recent form of cameron white has turned worrisome and clarke though shined at the end of the england series is till not dependable as he was years ago.With newbies like callum ferguson , david hussey yet to get accustomed to spinning wickets,they are not in for a good time in the sub-continent.

The bowling department is slightly better.Brett Lee is back to fitness and with Tait ,Johnson and Bollinger to support him they have a good fast men going bang against the opposition in the first 15 overs.John Hastings ,a recent addition to the team also has bowled well.It is a very good spinner they lack.Jason Krezja has showed signs of getting the loop he needs and with michael clarke being a successful spinner in spinning wickets ,Australian have little to worry in bowling department compared to batting.

Everything said,the weakness of Australia is lucid.they lack hard hitters like symonds ,matchwinners like hussey and bowlers like mcgrath and warne.They would make past the group stages as the no of teams they have to worry about his less,it's when the super8's gets going they should start worrying where they will have to play against quality teams.My advice to them win as many matches as possible in group so that the super 8's wont be that tough.

As a Australian fan i pray that they never face India or srilanka in the semis or the finals ,because they possess the two great spin attacks in present cricket generation.*

*-should they get that far.

World Cup 2011-The Real Contenders-South Africa


Ah the chokers .that's what the cricket world calls them ,the team that is bet upon to win every world cup yet haven't reached finals of a single world cup for the last three times.Be it t20 or odi or test ,they are a team to reckon with.the first team to beat Australia in Australia for over a decade.This world cup,they have the least number of players who know the pressure that the tournament puts upon them.They have a farewell to give to the world 's best all-rounder - Jacques Kallis  over 20,000 runs and 500 wicket summing up all forms of international cricket he has played.Well do the Proteas finally have the chance to make their dream come through .Do they have the team .Let's find out.

Graeme Smith ,the captain of the South African team  for the past 7 years after the  great debacle against srilanka in 2003 world cup due to a duck-worth lewis miscalculation.He is captaining the side to his final world cup after which he resigns the post.He had successfully taken South Africa to the semis of 007 only to get mauled in the hands of eventual champions Australia.He is  not in the greatest of his forms yet he is threat to any opposition if he gets going.He opens with calm and cool Amla who has the compusre to bat from over no-1 to 50 and allow others to go against the attack.The southafricans have one of the strong middle orders ,only next to India.They have got an all experienced kallis,good stroke players in de villers and duminy .It would be interesting to see who gets the nod between mone van wyk ,faf du plessis and colin ingram.All three of them have shown promise but do they have the substance to step up is a question to be asked.

In the bowling department they have the world's best opening bowlers combo at present in steyn and morkel.They would be ably supported by tsotsobe,a very good bowler who extracts bounce from any kind of pitch he has faced till date.They have three spinners in fray ,while Botha would be a automatic selection for his outstanding bowling skills and good batting he provides at the lower order.It would be a toss up between Robin peterson and Imran Tahir,who has waited for 8 years to finally get a nod from south african cricket board.

With all this said south africa still have their weakness.They dearly miss Klusner or Pollock who had provided them with the great all-round option in the last three world cups.they had the power to up the tempo but the present south african side lacks that player which would be crucial at the end stages of the world cup.They would surely make it to the super 8's even to the semis but it's the last 2 hurdles that they needed to cross which would be damn tough.With Kallis sidelined from bowling at the world-cup and talks that he may never be bowling , southafricans have additional pressure if one or two of the regular bowlers in the team get a bang from the opposition.

Truth be told southafrica have the team and all the confidence in them but there is a serious question hanging whether they would be able to give a proper farewell to the most prolific player south africa has ever produced and a very good skipper who took the responsibility when he was just 22 ?

World Cup 2011-The Real Contenders-South Africa


Ah the chokers .that's what the cricket world calls them ,the team that is bet upon to win every world cup yet haven't reached finals of a single world cup for the last three times.Be it t20 or odi or test ,they are a team to reckon with.the first team to beat Australia in Australia for over a decade.This world cup,they have the least number of players who know the pressure that the tournament puts upon them.They have a farewell to give to the world 's best all-rounder - Jacques Kallis  over 20,000 runs and 500 wicket summing up all forms of international cricket he has played.Well do the Proteas finally have the chance to make their dream come through .Do they have the team .Let's find out.

Graeme Smith ,the captain of the South African team  for the past 7 years after the  great debacle against srilanka in 2003 world cup due to a duck-worth lewis miscalculation.He is captaining the side to his final world cup after which he resigns the post.He had successfully taken South Africa to the semis of 007 only to get mauled in the hands of eventual champions Australia.He is  not in the greatest of his forms yet he is threat to any opposition if he gets going.He opens with calm and cool Amla who has the compusre to bat from over no-1 to 50 and allow others to go against the attack.The southafricans have one of the strong middle orders ,only next to India.They have got an all experienced kallis,good stroke players in de villers and duminy .It would be interesting to see who gets the nod between mone van wyk ,faf du plessis and colin ingram.All three of them have shown promise but do they have the substance to step up is a question to be asked.

In the bowling department they have the world's best opening bowlers combo at present in steyn and morkel.They would be ably supported by tsotsobe,a very good bowler who extracts bounce from any kind of pitch he has faced till date.They have three spinners in fray ,while Botha would be a automatic selection for his outstanding bowling skills and good batting he provides at the lower order.It would be a toss up between Robin peterson and Imran Tahir,who has waited for 8 years to finally get a nod from south african cricket board.

With all this said south africa still have their weakness.They dearly miss Klusner or Pollock who had provided them with the great all-round option in the last three world cups.they had the power to up the tempo but the present south african side lacks that player which would be crucial at the end stages of the world cup.They would surely make it to the super 8's even to the semis but it's the last 2 hurdles that they needed to cross which would be damn tough.With Kallis sidelined from bowling at the world-cup and talks that he may never be bowling , southafricans have additional pressure if one or two of the regular bowlers in the team get a bang from the opposition.

Truth be told southafrica have the team and all the confidence in them but there is a serious question hanging whether they would be able to give a proper farewell to the most prolific player south africa has ever produced and a very good skipper who took the responsibility when he was just 22 ?

Sunday, February 13, 2011

World Cup 2011-The Real Contenders-Sri Lanka

Lankans were the champions last time when the world cup was held in the sub-continent and 15 years hence they are still one of the strongest teams in the sub-continent. They are a tough nut to crack in home conditions and with opportunity presenting that they have to play away only should they reach the world cup final they are in the position of control.

They do not have Matara Mauler(Sanath Jayasuriya) in their line up this time who introduced to the world how to bat out the opponent in the first fifteen overs but they have Tillekaratne Dilshan who is as good and could for the job. His opening partner upul tharanga has been in prime form in home. So they make a good opening setup which would make srilankan stalwarts kumar sangakkara  and Mahela jayawardane.The presence of samaraweera,chamara silva and chamara kapugedera who can step up when needed also strengthenes the middle order which can be a final free stroke by Angelo Matthews-a fine allrounder the srilankans have discovered in the past 4 years.

It is the bowling department which possess a great challenge to the other teams.With the three M’s (Malinga ,Muralitharan.Mendis) it proves a great challenge to the opposition to get that great start nor the final onslaught .They do have a great bench strength in Kulasekara,Fernando(only one of them could make the final 11),thissara perera and rangana hereath .

With the world cup being held in the own backyard  srilanka have a great chance to win it one more time and bid a great adieu to Muralitharan.

World Cup 2011-The Real Contenders-Sri Lanka

Lankans were the champions last time when the world cup was held in the sub-continent and 15 years hence they are still one of the strongest teams in the sub-continent. They are a tough nut to crack in home conditions and with opportunity presenting that they have to play away only should they reach the world cup final they are in the position of control.

They do not have Matara Mauler(Sanath Jayasuriya) in their line up this time who introduced to the world how to bat out the opponent in the first fifteen overs but they have Tillekaratne Dilshan who is as good and could for the job. His opening partner upul tharanga has been in prime form in home. So they make a good opening setup which would make srilankan stalwarts kumar sangakkara  and Mahela jayawardane.The presence of samaraweera,chamara silva and chamara kapugedera who can step up when needed also strengthenes the middle order which can be a final free stroke by Angelo Matthews-a fine allrounder the srilankans have discovered in the past 4 years.

It is the bowling department which possess a great challenge to the other teams.With the three M’s (Malinga ,Muralitharan.Mendis) it proves a great challenge to the opposition to get that great start nor the final onslaught .They do have a great bench strength in Kulasekara,Fernando(only one of them could make the final 11),thissara perera and rangana hereath .

With the world cup being held in the own backyard  srilanka have a great chance to win it one more time and bid a great adieu to Muralitharan.

World Cup 2011-The Real Contenders-India

After 4 years the cricket teams have got a shot at the world-cup which has been Australia’s ownership for the past 12 years. Will Australia continue to do so after 4 years or have other teams finaly closed the gap between the invincible aussies 4 years ago by now .Read on to find out

India-Everytime 11 indian players step on to the ground they carry 1.1 billion people’s hopes along with them. And being one of the hosts for the world cup, the pressure is sky-high. But in the recent past the Indian players have started to absorb the pressure and have proved their true worth.

India have always proved their strength in home and reached semi-finals in the last two world cups held in the sub-continent. They were top contenders in both these world cups only to see them lose in a bad manner. But this time they will be the team to beat.

The reason is simple. They have the best openers in the current cricketing scenario with sehwag and gambir. A middle order line up consisting of Tendulkar, dhoni, yuvraj, raina .All the four of them have the capability to stabilize the middle order if sehwag and gambir fail so that Yusuf pathan who in recent past has been in his devastating best could savage the bowlers in the end.

When it comes to bowling they have got a good spinner in harbajan and ashwin. Zaheer, Nehra and Patel are showing god forms in the recent past. India’s weakness if there is any would come in the form of 5th bowler and the recent form of Yuvraj Singh. He has not in the best of touches creates a hole in the ship but there are players who can easily close the hole.

In current form, india can easily secure a semi-final spot if they to the true potential and go on to win the world cup and bid the best home-going present to sachin Tendulkar.

World Cup 2011-The Real Contenders-India

After 4 years the cricket teams have got a shot at the world-cup which has been Australia’s ownership for the past 12 years. Will Australia continue to do so after 4 years or have other teams finaly closed the gap between the invincible aussies 4 years ago by now .Read on to find out

India-Everytime 11 indian players step on to the ground they carry 1.1 billion people’s hopes along with them. And being one of the hosts for the world cup, the pressure is sky-high. But in the recent past the Indian players have started to absorb the pressure and have proved their true worth.

India have always proved their strength in home and reached semi-finals in the last two world cups held in the sub-continent. They were top contenders in both these world cups only to see them lose in a bad manner. But this time they will be the team to beat.

The reason is simple. They have the best openers in the current cricketing scenario with sehwag and gambir. A middle order line up consisting of Tendulkar, dhoni, yuvraj, raina .All the four of them have the capability to stabilize the middle order if sehwag and gambir fail so that Yusuf pathan who in recent past has been in his devastating best could savage the bowlers in the end.

When it comes to bowling they have got a good spinner in harbajan and ashwin. Zaheer, Nehra and Patel are showing god forms in the recent past. India’s weakness if there is any would come in the form of 5th bowler and the recent form of Yuvraj Singh. He has not in the best of touches creates a hole in the ship but there are players who can easily close the hole.

In current form, india can easily secure a semi-final spot if they to the true potential and go on to win the world cup and bid the best home-going present to sachin Tendulkar.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Selfishness, betrayal and lost human virtues

I had been thinking to write about this for some time now and after an incident that happened a week ago I really needed some place to vent out my frustration. The incident I am refering to is none other than Fernando Torres moving to Chelsea. It might sound silly but that's how much I am passionate about Liverpool FC. Torres was a fan favorite at Anfield. The fans loved him so much that even when he was not in form, they continued to sing his name and always stood by him whenever he was criticized by others. This was the player who once said he would like to reach the level that The Kop legend Dalglish reached. This was the player who he wouldn't play for any other club in England. But what happened to him? All of a sudden he felt that he is not a place where he can win the Champions League. After joining Chelsea, he made comments like "I am at a top club now" - that was a cheap swipe at Liverpool. He went on to say that he will be able to realize his dream of winning the Champions League. Now what was he thinking? Chelsea have been desperate to win the Champions League since 2004/05 season and failed so in every season. That counts to 6 seasons and might become 7 this time around. Liverpool on the other hand aren't in the Champions League this time and don't seem to be there next season either, but in the last 6 seasons they were in two Champions League finals, winning one in 2005. And he said he doesn't have time until Liverpool to become competitive again. Fine, but why leave in January? Why not wait for this season to end, go to Chelsea and then try to win the Champions League? Does he really deserve a medal by just playing for some 3 and a half months? Why couldn't he have stayed on for those 3 and a half months, at least for the fans who loved him, and then quit in a graceful manner? What is the guarantee that he can win the Champions League within the next two seasons and Liverpool won't play in Champions League for a long time? The worst was on Jan 9th, 2011, he had to lie that his head is in Liverpool. No wonder Liverpool fans feel betrayed.



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Torres banner at Anfield. He will never see such things at Stamford Bridge and must get used to seeing plastic flags."][/caption]


Some clubs just splash money to lure players. The players are attracted by the money and the selfish attitude that makes them forget the fans. Some might argue that Torres left his home club Atletico for Liverpool, so Liverpool fans shouldn't feel bad. But there is a difference between his move from Atleti to Liverpool and the move from Liverpool to Chelsea. The former was a graceful exit, he left as a hero. The latter wasn't graceful, he left as a traitor or a backstabber or whatever. Though he did say that he won't taunt the Liverpool fans if he scores against them, Liverpool fans for sure won't forgive him. He shall receive an hostile reception when he visits Anfield next time. BTW I am not still lamenting about his departure. Like every other Liverpool fan I am happy that the club for 50 million pounds for him.

I am not saying that a player must end his career at the same club where he started playing. It is understandable that sometimes relationship may come to an end and he would end up move on finding a new challenge. But why not try to end it in a mutually respectable manner? Why make it painful at one end just for the sake of your own happyness? Is there no place for human virtues? One song that comes to my mind is "oorai therinchikitten" from the movie Padikathavan. I myself witnessed some people who were really mean towards me/my friends and walked out giving lame excuses, either criticizing or pretending to be a well-wisher. I hope that people will show some respect to people who like them, love them, potray them as a hero etc. You'll Never Walk Alone friends.


PS: Do not miss Chelsea v Liverpool tonight.

Selfishness, betrayal and lost human virtues

I had been thinking to write about this for some time now and after an incident that happened a week ago I really needed some place to vent out my frustration. The incident I am refering to is none other than Fernando Torres moving to Chelsea. It might sound silly but that's how much I am passionate about Liverpool FC. Torres was a fan favorite at Anfield. The fans loved him so much that even when he was not in form, they continued to sing his name and always stood by him whenever he was criticized by others. This was the player who once said he would like to reach the level that The Kop legend Dalglish reached. This was the player who he wouldn't play for any other club in England. But what happened to him? All of a sudden he felt that he is not a place where he can win the Champions League. After joining Chelsea, he made comments like "I am at a top club now" - that was a cheap swipe at Liverpool. He went on to say that he will be able to realize his dream of winning the Champions League. Now what was he thinking? Chelsea have been desperate to win the Champions League since 2004/05 season and failed so in every season. That counts to 6 seasons and might become 7 this time around. Liverpool on the other hand aren't in the Champions League this time and don't seem to be there next season either, but in the last 6 seasons they were in two Champions League finals, winning one in 2005. And he said he doesn't have time until Liverpool to become competitive again. Fine, but why leave in January? Why not wait for this season to end, go to Chelsea and then try to win the Champions League? Does he really deserve a medal by just playing for some 3 and a half months? Why couldn't he have stayed on for those 3 and a half months, at least for the fans who loved him, and then quit in a graceful manner? What is the guarantee that he can win the Champions League within the next two seasons and Liverpool won't play in Champions League for a long time? The worst was on Jan 9th, 2011, he had to lie that his head is in Liverpool. No wonder Liverpool fans feel betrayed.



[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Torres banner at Anfield. He will never see such things at Stamford Bridge and must get used to seeing plastic flags."][/caption]


Some clubs just splash money to lure players. The players are attracted by the money and the selfish attitude that makes them forget the fans. Some might argue that Torres left his home club Atletico for Liverpool, so Liverpool fans shouldn't feel bad. But there is a difference between his move from Atleti to Liverpool and the move from Liverpool to Chelsea. The former was a graceful exit, he left as a hero. The latter wasn't graceful, he left as a traitor or a backstabber or whatever. Though he did say that he won't taunt the Liverpool fans if he scores against them, Liverpool fans for sure won't forgive him. He shall receive an hostile reception when he visits Anfield next time. BTW I am not still lamenting about his departure. Like every other Liverpool fan I am happy that the club for 50 million pounds for him.

I am not saying that a player must end his career at the same club where he started playing. It is understandable that sometimes relationship may come to an end and he would end up move on finding a new challenge. But why not try to end it in a mutually respectable manner? Why make it painful at one end just for the sake of your own happyness? Is there no place for human virtues? One song that comes to my mind is "oorai therinchikitten" from the movie Padikathavan. I myself witnessed some people who were really mean towards me/my friends and walked out giving lame excuses, either criticizing or pretending to be a well-wisher. I hope that people will show some respect to people who like them, love them, potray them as a hero etc. You'll Never Walk Alone friends.


PS: Do not miss Chelsea v Liverpool tonight.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Female linesman in football

There have been female referees in football for some time now but this is quite new in the Premier League. Last weekend was one of those rare days on which I felt very lazy to wake up at 4 30 am to watch Liverpool play away against Wolves. Later I noticed friends on Facebook mentioning about female assistant referee officiated that game and Sian Massey did a fantastic job. If I were to believe people who watched the full match and whatever I saw in the highlights she was spot on. Her first match as a Premier League line official was back in December in Sunderland v Blackpool game. Don't know how that went unnoticed (just me or may other football fans??). Sian Massey was in the news this week because of the controversial "sexist" remarks made by prominent Sky Sports presenters Andy Gray and Richard Keys. The duo were caught on cam before the kick off for making comments such as "what do women know about offisde". The matter was taken seriously and Sky Sports terminated their contracts.

Coming back to Wolves v Liverpool, Sian Massey could have easily fallen for offside appeal. Instead she spotted the movement well enough to allow the play to continue and that resulted in the first goal. Her decision could have decided the outcome of the match and good that it went the right way. Not to forget how it have been for Mr. Gray and Mr. Keys, may be like a slap on their face :D. Hardly 4 days after that match, in Liverpool v Fulham game, a linesman got it all wrong when Torres was judged offside while he actually wasn't. Looks like football needs more female referees. Surely they can do better job than Howard Webb and other ducks around. And as one of my friends had commented on Facebook, players wouldn't argue too much ( F words etc :P) with a female referee and maintain dignity :D. Way to go Sian Massey!! Hope she continues her good record and sets an example for both male and female counterparts.

Female linesman in football

There have been female referees in football for some time now but this is quite new in the Premier League. Last weekend was one of those rare days on which I felt very lazy to wake up at 4 30 am to watch Liverpool play away against Wolves. Later I noticed friends on Facebook mentioning about female assistant referee officiated that game and Sian Massey did a fantastic job. If I were to believe people who watched the full match and whatever I saw in the highlights she was spot on. Her first match as a Premier League line official was back in December in Sunderland v Blackpool game. Don't know how that went unnoticed (just me or may other football fans??). Sian Massey was in the news this week because of the controversial "sexist" remarks made by prominent Sky Sports presenters Andy Gray and Richard Keys. The duo were caught on cam before the kick off for making comments such as "what do women know about offisde". The matter was taken seriously and Sky Sports terminated their contracts.

Coming back to Wolves v Liverpool, Sian Massey could have easily fallen for offside appeal. Instead she spotted the movement well enough to allow the play to continue and that resulted in the first goal. Her decision could have decided the outcome of the match and good that it went the right way. Not to forget how it have been for Mr. Gray and Mr. Keys, may be like a slap on their face :D. Hardly 4 days after that match, in Liverpool v Fulham game, a linesman got it all wrong when Torres was judged offside while he actually wasn't. Looks like football needs more female referees. Surely they can do better job than Howard Webb and other ducks around. And as one of my friends had commented on Facebook, players wouldn't argue too much ( F words etc :P) with a female referee and maintain dignity :D. Way to go Sian Massey!! Hope she continues her good record and sets an example for both male and female counterparts.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

The IPL Bazaar – The losers and gainers – Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils-

Delhi Daredevils are the southafrican team of ipl. The reason is, they squander the opportunity of entering the final by any means they can find. They were manhandle by gilchrist in ipl2 , in ipl 1 the batsman suddenly did not come good for them. In ipl 3 they did not qualify for the semifinal due to the fall of team integrity.

It’s ipl 4 and this time they did not retain any of the players except for virender sehwag. Surprisingly enough, Gautam gambir who went for the highest amount in ipl4 and the former captain of dd was not retained. They were pretty confused because of out of field controversy, they did not pick a great team as they had for the first three ipl.

The respectful pickings by delhi were Australian cannonade David Warner ,Southafrican beast Morne Morkel. They opted for irfan pathan and spend a whooping sum of 1.9 million dollars, for a player who cannot find himself in indian world cup team.It is a touch too high. Hope he does the job with the bat and the ball as expected by GMR groups. The other shocking bid was for venugopal who is a very good odi and test player but for t20, he is not a very smart pick. May be they needed some one to stabilize the middle order if sehwag and warner fail. They got highly spoken southafrican colin ingram who is yet to prove his worth in international arena and victorian bush rangers all-rounder Andrew Mcdonald.

In the bowling front they got kkr’s successful bowler Ashok Dinda and veteran Ajith Agarkar. They did not pick a spinner , a surprise in indian conditions and instead opted for Australian all rounder James Hopes. Other notable team members were Australian aaron finch and delhi man for the last 3 ipl’s Rajat Bhatia.They picked royals player naman ohja as the wicket keeper and also Australian Wade.

With such a new team which will take time to bond, delhi would need sehwag and warner fire from all cylinders if they have any chance to secure spot in the semi-final. They still have money in the bank and if they are able to procure some good local talents ,it would be interesting to see. But for now delhi is not the team they were in previous three ipl’s

My Delhi X1-Sehwag, Warner, Naman Ohja,  Venugopala rao, McDonald, Irfan pathan, Hopes/Finch, Agarkar, Dinda, Morne Morkel,  Spinner Please.

The IPL Bazaar – The losers and gainers – Delhi Daredevils

Delhi Daredevils-

Delhi Daredevils are the southafrican team of ipl. The reason is, they squander the opportunity of entering the final by any means they can find. They were manhandle by gilchrist in ipl2 , in ipl 1 the batsman suddenly did not come good for them. In ipl 3 they did not qualify for the semifinal due to the fall of team integrity.

It’s ipl 4 and this time they did not retain any of the players except for virender sehwag. Surprisingly enough, Gautam gambir who went for the highest amount in ipl4 and the former captain of dd was not retained. They were pretty confused because of out of field controversy, they did not pick a great team as they had for the first three ipl.

The respectful pickings by delhi were Australian cannonade David Warner ,Southafrican beast Morne Morkel. They opted for irfan pathan and spend a whooping sum of 1.9 million dollars, for a player who cannot find himself in indian world cup team.It is a touch too high. Hope he does the job with the bat and the ball as expected by GMR groups. The other shocking bid was for venugopal who is a very good odi and test player but for t20, he is not a very smart pick. May be they needed some one to stabilize the middle order if sehwag and warner fail. They got highly spoken southafrican colin ingram who is yet to prove his worth in international arena and victorian bush rangers all-rounder Andrew Mcdonald.

In the bowling front they got kkr’s successful bowler Ashok Dinda and veteran Ajith Agarkar. They did not pick a spinner , a surprise in indian conditions and instead opted for Australian all rounder James Hopes. Other notable team members were Australian aaron finch and delhi man for the last 3 ipl’s Rajat Bhatia.They picked royals player naman ohja as the wicket keeper and also Australian Wade.

With such a new team which will take time to bond, delhi would need sehwag and warner fire from all cylinders if they have any chance to secure spot in the semi-final. They still have money in the bank and if they are able to procure some good local talents ,it would be interesting to see. But for now delhi is not the team they were in previous three ipl’s

My Delhi X1-Sehwag, Warner, Naman Ohja,  Venugopala rao, McDonald, Irfan pathan, Hopes/Finch, Agarkar, Dinda, Morne Morkel,  Spinner Please.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The IPL Bazaar - The losers and gainers - Royal Challengers Bangalore

After a disastrous performance in the first edition of ipl, RCB pulled up their socks, changed the captain and put up impressive performances in the next two editions. When asked about retaining players, to everyone’s surprise they retained Virat Kohli while they had Kevin Pietersen , Dale Steyn ,Cameron White. But their decision has so far proven wise as Virat Kohli is ominous form.

The captain of the two previous editions Anil Kumble choose wisely to become the manager of the team and his decision was widely reflected in the auction when some players did not get bids or got bids for lower value. Let us now see what team they have got.

In bowling front they have considerably strengthened the line up, They got india’s best fast bowler Zaheer Khan, slinging Nannes, good swing bowler in langveldt and one of the most economic spinners in Daniel Vettori. In addition they have also got local talent abhimanyu mithun , a budding fast-bowler and also southafrican van der wath..

In batting department the young hero Virat Kohli, last year’s ipl find   Saurabh tiwari, Cheteshwer Pujara. They also managed to bid successfully  for srilanka’s dashing opener Tillekaratne Dilshan, Australian left hander Luke Pomersch bach and South Africa’s most successful batsman AB De Villers. If they are able to procure Manish Pandey then they seem to have the most balanced side in this years ipl.

My RCB X1- Virat Kohli(C), Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Zaheer Khan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhimanyu Mithun, Dirk Nannes, AB de Villiers(Wc), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Daniel Vettori and another local batsman.

With such a balanced side they surely are one of the main contenders of the cup and have the side which can go al the ways to the final. The only thing to watch out for is, who will be serving as captain .will it be vettori or zaheer khan.That would be interesting to watch out.

The IPL Bazaar - The losers and gainers - Royal Challengers Bangalore

After a disastrous performance in the first edition of ipl, RCB pulled up their socks, changed the captain and put up impressive performances in the next two editions. When asked about retaining players, to everyone’s surprise they retained Virat Kohli while they had Kevin Pietersen , Dale Steyn ,Cameron White. But their decision has so far proven wise as Virat Kohli is ominous form.

The captain of the two previous editions Anil Kumble choose wisely to become the manager of the team and his decision was widely reflected in the auction when some players did not get bids or got bids for lower value. Let us now see what team they have got.

In bowling front they have considerably strengthened the line up, They got india’s best fast bowler Zaheer Khan, slinging Nannes, good swing bowler in langveldt and one of the most economic spinners in Daniel Vettori. In addition they have also got local talent abhimanyu mithun , a budding fast-bowler and also southafrican van der wath..

In batting department the young hero Virat Kohli, last year’s ipl find   Saurabh tiwari, Cheteshwer Pujara. They also managed to bid successfully  for srilanka’s dashing opener Tillekaratne Dilshan, Australian left hander Luke Pomersch bach and South Africa’s most successful batsman AB De Villers. If they are able to procure Manish Pandey then they seem to have the most balanced side in this years ipl.

My RCB X1- Virat Kohli(C), Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Zaheer Khan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhimanyu Mithun, Dirk Nannes, AB de Villiers(Wc), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Daniel Vettori and another local batsman.

With such a balanced side they surely are one of the main contenders of the cup and have the side which can go al the ways to the final. The only thing to watch out for is, who will be serving as captain .will it be vettori or zaheer khan.That would be interesting to watch out.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

The IPL Bazaar - The losers and gainers - Mumbai Indians

Tendulkar and Pollard helped Mumbai Indians reaching the finals of the last year which they lost out due to some batting line up errors by SRT. This year they would not be enjoying the exclusive serices of pollard like last year as he has some international commitments.And with this in mind they picked another player who is the only player who could justify the role Pollard plays in the team. They picked Rohit sharma for a whooping amount of $2 million. Rohit sharma has always been a very good ipl player.It is only in the international arena he has failed. So he is a really good addition in strengthening the middle order which was given a dent as they no more get the services of saurab tiwary who was bought by RCB. There is no jp duminy also and neither does shikar dawan fail in the line up. So it is in the hands of symonds and rohit to strengthen the batting line up.They also got flourishing austrlain batsman aiden blizzard.

[caption id="attachment_352" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Mumbai Indians Logo"]Mumbai Indians Logo[/caption]

It is the bowling that had made them the strong team in previous ipl.But this time they were not able to procure in Zaheer Khan as RCB got him also. So they had to strengthen the bowling line up very heavily. They still have the services of  Bhajji and Malinga the slinger.They bought Munaf Patel in place of Zaheer Khan. I dunno how efficiently he would be able to perform Zaheer's job. They also got australian fast man cint mzkkay but it is tough for him to find  place in the team. They got davy jacobs , a highly rated south african who is yet to shine in the international arena.

They also got back Moises henriques who has never fogured in the previous playing X1 of MI, but still they got him. James Frankin, a New Zealand  bowler who suddenly took up the role of All rounder for the kiwis in the recent past was also bought.

In addition they also have the services of local talents in Dhawal kulkarni , Rajagopal Satish, Ambati Rayudu. It would be interesting to see whether they will be able to retain them back.

Overall Mumbai has a very strong team but it is the middle order that needs a tightening up.Otherwise Tendulkar as usual would have to play a very powrful role in building up the team just like he has been doing it for the past 20 years for India.

Final X1

SRT, Sathish, Sharma, Symonds/Pollard, Davey Jacobs, Rayudu, Bhajji, Munaf, Malinga, Kulkarni, Local  Allrounder/Batsman or Blizzard.

If both pollard and symonds is available the last slot would not be needed to be filled.

Will continue about the rest of the teams in my forthcoming posts.

The IPL Bazaar - The losers and gainers - Mumbai Indians

Tendulkar and Pollard helped Mumbai Indians reaching the finals of the last year which they lost out due to some batting line up errors by SRT. This year they would not be enjoying the exclusive serices of pollard like last year as he has some international commitments.And with this in mind they picked another player who is the only player who could justify the role Pollard plays in the team. They picked Rohit sharma for a whooping amount of $2 million. Rohit sharma has always been a very good ipl player.It is only in the international arena he has failed. So he is a really good addition in strengthening the middle order which was given a dent as they no more get the services of saurab tiwary who was bought by RCB. There is no jp duminy also and neither does shikar dawan fail in the line up. So it is in the hands of symonds and rohit to strengthen the batting line up.They also got flourishing austrlain batsman aiden blizzard.

[caption id="attachment_352" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Mumbai Indians Logo"]Mumbai Indians Logo[/caption]

It is the bowling that had made them the strong team in previous ipl.But this time they were not able to procure in Zaheer Khan as RCB got him also. So they had to strengthen the bowling line up very heavily. They still have the services of  Bhajji and Malinga the slinger.They bought Munaf Patel in place of Zaheer Khan. I dunno how efficiently he would be able to perform Zaheer's job. They also got australian fast man cint mzkkay but it is tough for him to find  place in the team. They got davy jacobs , a highly rated south african who is yet to shine in the international arena.

They also got back Moises henriques who has never fogured in the previous playing X1 of MI, but still they got him. James Frankin, a New Zealand  bowler who suddenly took up the role of All rounder for the kiwis in the recent past was also bought.

In addition they also have the services of local talents in Dhawal kulkarni , Rajagopal Satish, Ambati Rayudu. It would be interesting to see whether they will be able to retain them back.

Overall Mumbai has a very strong team but it is the middle order that needs a tightening up.Otherwise Tendulkar as usual would have to play a very powrful role in building up the team just like he has been doing it for the past 20 years for India.

Final X1

SRT, Sathish, Sharma, Symonds/Pollard, Davey Jacobs, Rayudu, Bhajji, Munaf, Malinga, Kulkarni, Local  Allrounder/Batsman or Blizzard.

If both pollard and symonds is available the last slot would not be needed to be filled.

Will continue about the rest of the teams in my forthcoming posts.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

The IPL Bazaar - The losers and gainers - Chennai Super Kings

The long awaited IPL auctions finally took place last week. The players were thrown up for sale and every team got what they want or is that what they thought. Let us have a look at what each team got and how they measure up while in comparison to other teams in winning the million dollar prize(which ofcourse goes to the players).


Let me start with the Current Champions Chennai Superkings and try to cover one team every article.


Chennai Superkings


Chennai superkings had only one thing in mind going into the auction.To retain the same team that they had already had.They never wanted to add new members into the team as they did not want to break the team rapport and they went for some players like balaji and gony really had only to loss it because of the lack of funds.


Now to the team: They maintained the same batting line up they had for the last 3 years and they had to pay around 850000 for getting Badrinath, which shows how darly they wanted the whole team. No hayden in the squad which is a relief as he was clearly struggling last year and the mongoose bat didn't do any tricks.




CSK Logo
CSK



They get 2 more all-rounders in thefaces of dwayne bravo(his availability is an issue) and Scott Styris in addition to Albei Morkel.the selection of styris was a neat move as they had known bravo won't be available for long and styris really adds to the team a lot with his slow off cutters which plays a pibotal role in indian surfaes and useful batting. The only thing they would be missing is the energy in fielding in which clearly has an upper hand.The bowling department was the sole concern of CSK till the middle of IPL3 which got really boosted up by the inclusion of doug bollinger.And this year they get another australian in ben hilfenhaus who is really a good swinger in the ball.Nuwan Kulasekara may remain as a substitute in case both bollinger and hilfenhaus fail to do their job.They also got ashwin(the best indian spinner presently). They also got srilankan spinner Randiv, who has always been handy in Indian conditions and also sudeep tyagi who has remained as one of the local bowlers so that they could replace him. Joginder sharma was bought in the agony as they could not get Manpreet Gony and Balaji.


Wridhiman saha was bought just as a substitute for dhoni .George bailey is also retained and they got some player by the name of faf du pliess who is a southafrican allrounder .I don't see any reason how  he would fit in the team unless something terribly goes wrong for csk in ipl.


On the whole CSK have once agai got a very powerful team with a perfect balance and rapport.It is still the bowling that needs to do the job.If tyagi and sharma can perform it,there is no doubt they would find a place easily in the semi-final.


The Final X1


Vijay, Hussey, Raina, Badrinath, Dhoni, Bravo/Styris, Morkel, Ashwin, Tyagi, Bollinger and Joginder Sharma.

The IPL Bazaar - The losers and gainers - Chennai Super Kings

The long awaited IPL auctions finally took place last week. The players were thrown up for sale and every team got what they want or is that what they thought. Let us have a look at what each team got and how they measure up while in comparison to other teams in winning the million dollar prize(which ofcourse goes to the players).


Let me start with the Current Champions Chennai Superkings and try to cover one team every article.


Chennai Superkings


Chennai superkings had only one thing in mind going into the auction.To retain the same team that they had already had.They never wanted to add new members into the team as they did not want to break the team rapport and they went for some players like balaji and gony really had only to loss it because of the lack of funds.


Now to the team: They maintained the same batting line up they had for the last 3 years and they had to pay around 850000 for getting Badrinath, which shows how darly they wanted the whole team. No hayden in the squad which is a relief as he was clearly struggling last year and the mongoose bat didn't do any tricks.




CSK Logo
CSK



They get 2 more all-rounders in thefaces of dwayne bravo(his availability is an issue) and Scott Styris in addition to Albei Morkel.the selection of styris was a neat move as they had known bravo won't be available for long and styris really adds to the team a lot with his slow off cutters which plays a pibotal role in indian surfaes and useful batting. The only thing they would be missing is the energy in fielding in which clearly has an upper hand.The bowling department was the sole concern of CSK till the middle of IPL3 which got really boosted up by the inclusion of doug bollinger.And this year they get another australian in ben hilfenhaus who is really a good swinger in the ball.Nuwan Kulasekara may remain as a substitute in case both bollinger and hilfenhaus fail to do their job.They also got ashwin(the best indian spinner presently). They also got srilankan spinner Randiv, who has always been handy in Indian conditions and also sudeep tyagi who has remained as one of the local bowlers so that they could replace him. Joginder sharma was bought in the agony as they could not get Manpreet Gony and Balaji.


Wridhiman saha was bought just as a substitute for dhoni .George bailey is also retained and they got some player by the name of faf du pliess who is a southafrican allrounder .I don't see any reason how  he would fit in the team unless something terribly goes wrong for csk in ipl.


On the whole CSK have once agai got a very powerful team with a perfect balance and rapport.It is still the bowling that needs to do the job.If tyagi and sharma can perform it,there is no doubt they would find a place easily in the semi-final.


The Final X1


Vijay, Hussey, Raina, Badrinath, Dhoni, Bravo/Styris, Morkel, Ashwin, Tyagi, Bollinger and Joginder Sharma.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Its here - Cricketing stuff and news on my blog !

Hey everybody out there and thank you for taking time to read my blog :-)

I was searching for a blogger who can contribute to cricketing stuff for Yusuf at his Blog, Kumar jumped in and here's me introducing "Kumar R" - a self (and everyone) proclaimed cricket fanatic who cannot stop following news and talking about cricket.

Watch out for Cricket category under Sports up there on the menu of categories. IPL season is on and we sure expect some fiery blogging from Kumar. Cheers!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Best 3 of Technology in 2010

To start with the best 3, here are 3 words from me for all the readers of yusuf.in - "Happy New Year". Cheers to +1 and wish we get more 1's(positives) and less 0's(negatives) this year. I was to publish this post on Jan 2nd but couldn't due to a technical glitch which was a result of me trying to install an incompatible plugin on this blog's WordPress.

OK, lets get the topic started and going. Here is my listing of three best things in Technology from the year 2010. Well, don't ask me why only 3 things, I just wanted to share three best things of the category which i love to follow over the Internet. BeckRam already made his contribution of the facts in sports of 2010 in his post of Looking back at 2010 in Sports. Now, here's me with MY favourite and best things in technology from 2010. Note that I am not making a 3,2 and 1 over here, I am only listing the best three which means that all are equal to each other, IMHO.

iPad: Nothing could beat this one out of the my best 3 in technology.

[caption id="attachment_315" align="aligncenter" width="434" caption="Apple ipad"]ipad[/caption]

Call it sheer innovation or sheer branding from Apple Inc.  "Tablets" is one word that none apart from geeked out techies would have known, until Apple's iPad was launched. Apparently, Steve Jobs said "iPad is a device that sits between a phone and a computer" and thereafter it knocked out the netbook market and netbooks are nowhere to be seen from 2011 I guess. Any guesses how many were sold so far ? I can guess some 10 or 20 millions. And the latest buzz is that we should probably wait for ipad 2 from Apple, if rumours are to be believed, this one has new and enhanced features starting from iOS4.0. I should mention about stiff and huge competition from Android. There were other devices which were touted to be ipad killers but only got to make a pretty small dent on the ipad which was, eh, brushed away.

Cloud Computing: 2010 saw small and also large business embrace cloud computing to a good extent.

[caption id="attachment_314" align="alignleft" width="180" caption="Cloud Computing"]Cloud Computing[/caption]

Amazon's cloud computing stood as the front runner and I can proudly say that my blog is also hosted on cloud servers. Office applications are being hosted on cloud's so that people who are hooked onto the Internet 24*7 can use these applications to manipulate on their office files on the move. There are many cloud computing companies and here are Top 10 from them.

[caption id="attachment_313" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Say about Cloud Computing to your boss"]Cloud Computing[/caption]

One problem about cloud computing is that the IT guys really need to explain patiently about cloud computing and its benefits to small businesses as these business persons are the ones who need to understand where their data will be stored, computed on and what kind of service they can expect from a cloud computing company.




Social Media: Many would rather prefer to call this Facebook and not Social Media. But no, that might be wrong. Social Media is that which encompasses all of the entities on the Internet using which you can be Social.

[caption id="attachment_317" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Join the Social Media Bandwagon"]Social-Media-Jump On![/caption]

Now I am not going to mention all those which are encompassed; this list will take a full page. Social Media Marketing was at its peak this year. 2010 saw Social Media being embraced to an excellent extent by businesses and they are using it the best way to promote, sell, help service, keep customers posted through tweets and announcements and also to patiently answer angry customers, in a social way, as well. We saw Ford Motor Company launching their SUV the "Ford Explorer" on Facebook!

[caption id="attachment_328" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Social Media Marketing"]Social-Media-Madness[/caption]

Clearly, Facebook was the leader of the Social Media pack by claiming $2 Billion in 2010 Sales and this is just a claim, we do not know the exact numbers(It should be more and more). Mark Zuckerberg got his extra share of fame from the title of the 'Time person of the year' and also from 'The Social Network' - a movie being made on him, his friends and Facebook.




Note: All images on this post are sourced from Flickr.com, if you are the author for one of the images and do not like them being here, please contact me at http://www.yusuf.in/about/contact-me/