Fursat ke Raat Din

A better view from above!

2006-07-17T02:06:00.000-07:00

Check out WikiMapia. This is a wrapper around Google Maps and allows you to mark a place and add a description of the place. Seems like several people have already gotten around to marking a bunch of stuff...however, some of the entries are pretty funny such as "my house" ;-) You can also search for places that have already been marked by others. So go ahead and search for your old school, house etc. and feel nostalgic. Here is the school where I spent eight of my best years.

(I believe Microsoft is also planning something similar, but the idea of a decentralized wiki makes more sense...this is exactly what I was arguing with my friends some days earlier when we heard about Microsoft' idea.)

Reference: A view from above

Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex

2006-07-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

An interesting read: Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex. This might turn out to be a good topic for discussion among college grads in their hostels ;-)

P.S. I guess this blog is more like bookmarks for me...with the number of posts that contain only links to other articles! Actually, it is more like links to interesting articles that I might read only once in a while, but don't really need to bookmark...

H2G2: Farts and Flatulence

2006-07-08T02:33:00.000-07:00

Ok! I am now back after a long hiatus. I was pretty busy with work, family, cricket, etc. and due to Quizote. Hopefully, I will be able to continue regularly from now on.

Here is an interesting link that I found recently: Don't Panic...it will be interesting to you if you liked The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There are some pretty funny articles in that site. Try this one for instance: Farts and Flatulence! Reading the line "some people swear that it is the 'silent but violent' ones which can kill olfactive cells up a victim's nostrils" reminded me of a PJ couplet that started off with "Dhadam Bhadam Bhayam Nasti..." Still trying to remember the complete PJ...

Links to two really funny posts

2006-02-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

Travails of single south indian men

Guide to greatest indian cricketers

The future of Indian cricket - Part 2

2006-02-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

Now I am not too sure if the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands. India got a strong dose of their own medicine from Pakistan in the U-19 World Cup final today. Pakistan had India reeling at 9 for the loss of 6 wickets after making only 109 in their innings! An amazing turn of events...especially since the Indian top-order had performed really well up to this point. It will be interesting to see how many runs India ends up with.

The future of Indian cricket

2006-02-15T05:35:00.000-08:00

The future of Indian cricket is looking really bright. Check out the performance of India in the U-19 World Cup semi-final today (on Cricinfo). They have completely demolished England. After scoring 292 in their 50 over, they now have England floundering at 38/8. Unsurprisingly, no English batsman has scored in double figures, but what is surprising is that all the guys who are out have scored at least 1. I wonder what the lowest ODI score is in which every batsman has scored at least 1 run.

Update: The Indians have finally bowled England out for 58. And all the guys who got out scored more than 1...one guy did manage to get to double figures though :-(

Inspired Songs

2006-02-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

Much has been said and heard about Indian music directors copying international songs. Check ou Inspired Indian Film Songs for more information on that. However, it is unusual to find the copying occur in the other direction. Check out Helen Abadzi's Blog for information about Greek songs inspired by Hindi songs.

A very interesting web-page

2006-01-18T00:44:00.000-08:00

Omar Al Zabir Portal
(It is best viewed using IE with popup blocker disabled.)

Update: Check out Flyakite OSX. A similar website just based on OS X. It also offers several downloads that allow you to transform your XP desktop to look like OS X. I will post the screenshots of my desktop sometime in the future, when I get time.

(Weakly) Weekly Quote-hanger

2006-01-11T01:18:00.000-08:00

I doubt whether I will be able to post quotes even monthly. Time just flies when you have a kid at home and are employed! So I am just posting a link to a quotations blog: Quotations Weblog, which I have also added to my list of links.

The Early Tendulkar

2006-01-09T04:42:00.000-08:00

I still remember the 18-ball 53 that Tendulkar made against Pakistan in an exhibition match. A fantastic innings eventhough India ended up on the losing side. Here is what Qadir, Sachin and Srikanth had to say about that innings.

A suitable beginning - Tendulkar takes Qadir on

As an aside, here is one thought that has always troubled me. There have been several matches in which Tendulkar scored big runs but India lost. This is seen by many people as a blight in Tendulkar's record...isn't that surprising? I mean, one person plays well, the rest fail and still that one person who played well gets blamed!!!

Spelling mistake in US visa form! :-)

2006-01-04T04:35:00.000-08:00

Found a spelling mistake in the DS-156 US visa form today :-) "separated" is spelled incorrectly as "seperated". I have seen many people make this mistake...maybe one day this would become the correct "American" spelling.

Panoramic photo of Grand Canyon (stitched)

2005-12-31T07:20:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Nikhil's photos, I decided to post one of the photos that I also had "stitched" using Canon's software. This has been my one and only attempt...just was too much work to take so many photos without the aid of a tripod ;-)

What is common between Indian law and cricket?!?

2005-12-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

The Great Indian Novel: that is the name of a new novel by Shashi Tharoor. It combines the Mahabharata epic with Indian history (independence struggle + the later few years) and comes up with a highly enjoyable story. This is the first book of Shashi Tharoor that I have read, and it makes me want to read more of his books. It has some excellent witty passages; here are a couple of excerpts.

'We must name the child Dvaipayana, one created on an island,' said Satyavati rather sentimentally to my father. He nodded, but it wasn't a name that ever seemed likely to stick. 'Women,' he said to me once, years later, shaking his head in amused tolerance. 'Imagine, a name like that for the son of a wandering Brahmin in British India. No Ved Vyas is much easier. I've always wanted a son named Ved Vyas.' And so Ved Vyas it was and, since I was a somewhat diminutive fellow, V.V. I became.
Law, ofcourse, rivals cricket as the major national sport of our urban elite. Both ligitation and cricket are slow, complex and costly; both involve far more people that need to be active at any point in the process; both call for skill, strength and guile in varying combinations at different times; both benefit more from breaks in the action than spectators consider necessary; both occur at the expense of, and often disrupt, more productive economic activity; and both frequently meander to conclusions, punctuated by appeals, that satisfy none of the participants. Yet both are dear to Indian hearts and absorb much of the country's energies.

(Weakly) Weekly Quote-hanger

2005-12-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

A funny one this time: a football (soccer) coach talking about cricket.

"How can you tell your wife you are just popping out to play a match and then not come back for five days?"
Rafael Benitez, manager of Liverpool FC, just doesn't get it.

:-)

MSN Search vs. Google

2005-12-16T00:44:00.000-08:00

For the first time in some years, I have found some other search engine give better results than Google. These images are a proof that MSN Search gave better results (at least for me) than Google for this particular search term.

While I am on this topic: I guess it is not possible to please everybody with the same set of results or the order of results. Personalized search is going to be absolutely essential, and Google already has that option. However, the worrying part is that Google stores the complete history of your searches on its servers. I wonder if there is any way to get around that...

Is this guy for real?

2005-12-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

Check out this video of a russian guy doing pretty amazing things. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=515642196227308929.

Whirlwind ODI knocks and hard-hitters

2005-12-15T01:53:00.000-08:00

Today, we witnessed two awesome power-packed innings by Afridi and Razzaq. A few days back, Brendon McCullum played not just one but two whirlwind knocks of 48(33) and 50* (25). The first one almost helped NZ win; they lost by just 2 runs. The second knock helped the Kiwis create a world-record by chasing down 331 runs against the Aussies (with an over to spare). Amazing stuff!

2nd ODI scorecard
3rd ODI scorecard

Speaking of hitters, India now has Mahendra Dhoni in addition to Sehwag. Dhoni is clearly a fearsome hitter; you just need to watch the two sixes he hit against SL in the 2nd test match. The first of these didn't feel like a six at all...I think it just went a little bit above the eye-level! The commentator was really surprised when the umpire indicated a six :-)

I think almost every team now has a fierce hitter or two in their team.

England: Pietersen, Flintoff
India: Sehwag, Dhoni (Pathan?)
Pakistan: Afridi, Razzaq
South Africa: Kemp
Australia: Symonds (Gilchrist?)
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum, Chris Cairns

Sri Lanka: ?
West Indies: ?

...And Razzaq also goes boom!

2005-12-15T01:39:00.000-08:00

Here is the ball-by-ball commentary of Abdul Razzaq's innings. This was terrific batting by the Pakistanis. Will have to wait and see if anybody from England produces a blinder...unfortunately, Kevin Pietersen is not playing today.

Final stat: Abdul Razzaq (RHB) 51 runs of 22 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes. SR: 231.82

49.6 Flintoff to Abdul Razzaq, two runs, full ball, driven hard back to bowler, off the hands of Flintoff goes to long-on and he comes back for the 2nd run and get shis 50!
49.5 Flintoff to Abdul Razzaq, no run, full ball, good yorker, digs it out back to bowler

48.6 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, two runs, slower ball, comes down the wicket to play a big shot, ball goes high in the air, Prior stands under it at short midwicket, and misjudge at the end
48.4 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, one run, full ball, on leg stump, driven down the ground to long-on
48.3 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, no run, slower ball, goes for the big pull shot, mised it through to keeper
48.1 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, one run, good length ball, pulled away to deep midwicket for a single

47.6 Flintoff to Abdul Razzaq, one run, full ball, on leg stump, digs it out to long-on for a single
47.5 Flintoff to Abdul Razzaq, no run
47.4 Flintoff to Abdul Razzaq, two runs, short ball, pulled away down the ground to long-on, good stop by long-on fielder, save couple of runs

At this point: Abdul Razzaq (RHB): 42 runs in 13 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes. SR: 323.07

46.6 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, FOUR, hoho! a big over, full toss, outside off, gives himself some room and drives it to wide of mid-off for four, great batting by Razzaq
46.5 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, SIX, Another one! great hitting by Razzaq, full ball, on leg stump, heaved away to deep midwicket up and over the roof!
46.4 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, no run, slower ball, just outside off,goes for the big heave, just mised it
46.3 Anderson to Abdul Razzaq, SIX, Bang! what a mighty hit, full ball, he gets underneath it and lofts it high and handsome way over long-on fence for a big six

45.4 Flintoff to Abdul Razzaq, one run, full ball, on off stump, driven down the ground to long-off

At this point: Abdul Razzaq (RHB): 25 runs in 8 balls with 4 fours and 1 six. SR: 312.50

44.6 Harmison to Abdul Razzaq, FOUR, short in length, outside off, gives himself some room and cuts it away to backward point for four
44.3 Harmison to Abdul Razzaq, one run, short in length, pushed to point for a single

43.6 Plunkett to Abdul Razzaq, SIX, Bang! full ball, on middle and leg stump, he stands and delivery, drives it over the top and goes all the way into the stands at long-on for a big six
43.5 Plunkett to Abdul Razzaq, FOUR, slower ball, fuller in length, he gives himself some room and drives it in the gap between extra cover and long-off for four more!
43.4 Plunkett to Abdul Razzaq, FOUR, Shot! short and wide outside off, he goes back and plays a cracking cut shot in the gap, excellent placement by Razzaq, four more
43.3 Plunkett to Abdul Razzaq, FOUR, full toss, driven over the top over bowler head to long-off, Blackwell dives all over it and cost four runs
43.2 Plunkett to Abdul Razzaq, no run, short ball, outside off, cuts it to point

42.6 Harmison to Abdul Razzaq, two runs, full ball, on middle and leg stump, driven to deep midwicket for couple of runs

Boom Boom Afridi!

2005-12-15T01:01:00.000-08:00

Back after his 3-match ban, he showed again why bowlers are scared of him. Here is the Cricinfo ball-by-ball commentary of his innings (cut short by a run-out).

Shahid Afridi run out (Collingwood) 31 (14b 3x4 2x6)

37.6 Plunkett to Mohammad Yousuf, no run, short ball, outside off, cuts it hard to point and runs in for a single, huge mix up between the batsmen, Collingwood dives full length, stops the ball, recovers it well, picks up and throw towards keeper, Jones whips off the bails, Afridi was well short

37.3 Plunkett to Shahid Afridi, one run, full ball, on leg stump, driven down the ground to long-on
37.2 Plunkett to Shahid Afridi, two runs, full ball, on leg stump, driven to deep midwicket and came back for the 2nd run, excellent running between the wicket
37.2 Plunkett to Shahid Afridi, wide: no run, again short and wide, well outside off this time for another wide
37.2 Plunkett to Shahid Afridi, wide: no run, short in length, well down the leg side, called a wide

36.6 Flintoff to Shahid Afridi, FOUR, Shot! full ball, on middle and leg stump, driven in the air just wide of Flintoff to long-off, Anderson dives at long-on in vain and ball crosses the rope
36.4 Flintoff to Shahid Afridi, one run, full ball, on middle and leg stump, defended to mid-on for a single
36.3 Flintoff to Shahid Afridi, FOUR, short and wide outside off, nicely nudged away to third man region for four
36.2 Flintoff to Shahid Afridi, SIX, What a hit! great shot, full ball, on off stump, he comes forward and just drives it on the up over long-off fence for a big six
36.1 Flintoff to Shahid Afridi, no run, full ball, on off stump, driven to short cover

35.5 Collingwood to Shahid Afridi, one run, short ball, outside off, cuts it away to deep point fielder for a single
35.5 Collingwood to Shahid Afridi, wide: no run, slower and wider well outside off, called a wide
35.4 Collingwood to Shahid Afridi, SIX, bang! that what we expecting, full ball, onm middle and leg stump, played a lovely shot way over midwicket fence for a big six
35.3 Collingwood to Shahid Afridi, FOUR, good lwngth ball, on middle and leg stump, swept away to fine leg fence for four

34.6 Anderson to Shahid Afridi, no run, short in length, outside off, tries to cut it, gets beaten 34.3 Anderson to Shahid Afridi, one run, full ball, on middle and leg stump, driven down the ground to long-on for a single
34.2 Anderson to Shahid Afridi, no run, short in length, outside off, pushed to point

33.5 Collingwood to Shahid Afridi, one run

Microsoft vs. Google?

2005-12-14T00:27:00.000-08:00

Is MS trying to beat Google at its own game? Check out some cool stuff at:

http://ideas.live.com/

(Weakly) Weekly Quote-hanger

2005-12-14T00:19:00.000-08:00

Starting this week, I will try to post at least one quote every week... and maybe a quote that should make us think a little. I will start off with two quotes about wealth obsession.

My riches not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.
- J. Brotherton

Our earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.
- Mahatma Gandhi

A 400kph car!

2005-12-05T00:12:00.000-08:00

Bugatti Veyron

I wonder how it will perform on Indian roads...it will probably become a flying machine :-)

What's in a name?

2005-11-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

Well, check this website to find out.

http://www.kabalarians.com/

Here is what it says about my name "Anand", and it is suprisingly pretty accurate...at least the first paragraph.

Your name of Anand creates an idealistic, sensitive nature and a desire for culture and the refinements of life. You would work best in a relaxed environment at tasks involving writing, mathematical, or analytical skills that require concentration. You appear calm to others, but at times you suffer inwardly with nervous tension. You can find it difficult to express your deeper thoughts and feelings verbally. It is much more natural for you to express your deeper thoughts in writing. A lack of positivity and confidence is a source of difficulty in making decisions in business dealings.

Although the name Anand creates the urge to understand others, we emphasize that it limits self-expression and friendly congeniality with a moody disposition. This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the fluid systems, heart, lungs and bronchial area.

Some random old thoughts

2005-11-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

I had written this up quite a few days back, but finally got time to post it only today. Just something to ponder about...

Humility: a lost virtue

Humility is a virtue that is no longer considered important; in fact, a humble person will be considered an oddity in today's world. This might sound harsh: but I believe this is the result of so-called Americanization of the world. In the eastern countries, humility was long considered to be important for great people. In India, there is a story about a great king called Bali, who was a very generous person. He ruled over all the three worlds, and believed that he could satisfy any request made by anybody as he owned the whole universe. How he was humbled is narrated in this story: The Vamana avatar

One of the places where the lack of humility is glaring is sports, and American sports in particular. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one famous US sportsperson who can qualify to being considered as humble: Tim Duncan, and this view is based on the articles about him and his interviews that I have seen. Come to India, and you find more of his breed...though even that is diminishing quickly. The younger cricketers no longer seem humble or modest; they quickly consider themselves as one of the top players.

Humility is often mistook as being opposite of agression, which is probably important for winning in sports. Tim Duncan, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, all seem humble but are still very agressive when it comes to playing their sport. Television programs such as American Idol and Indian Idol do not seem to help the cause as well. Maybe my mom is right...this is Kalyug, and such things are bound to happen :-) Or maybe such things are needed to make progress...but can we call this true progress?

Incredibly funny movie reviews

2005-11-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

These are reviews of (mostly) badly-made Hindi movies by non-Indians. Really funny!

Bollywood movie reviews

The first review that I read at that website was of the Hindi version of Superman...simply hilarious.
Review of Hindi Superman

A compulsive hooker...

2005-11-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

...Shahid Afridi?!? :-) Well, that's what one of the commentators called him ;-) Anyway, it was wonderful to watch him hammer the English bowlers in the second test between England and Pakistan. All the bowlers seemed scared of him and resorted to bowling wides. In fact, the very first ball he faced was a wide (though, not given by the umpire); the next three were hit for fours! His next scoring shot was a six! Vaughan was looking desperately out of ideas on how to tackle Afridi. I think, on his day, he is easily the most exciting batsman to watch...there is nobody else who just goes after the bowling without any worries. I am now looking forward to the second day of play.

Here's a review of his innings so far.
Afridi's grand entrance

Artificial beautiful girls...

2005-10-19T02:22:00.000-07:00

I am not talking about the plastic surgery that everybody seems to be getting nowadays. These are CG girls. Just amazing.

The most beautiful CG girl #2

Lara vs. Tendulkar

2005-10-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

[Re-posted with better formatting.]

Read this article some days back, and wanted to post it here for posterity.
Warning: its a pretty long article.

http://caribbeancricket.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=968

Is Lara better than Tendulkar?
by RAHUL NAIR

The morning session of the fifth day of the recently concluded second Test match between the all-conquering Aussies and an under-construction West Indian team at the Queen’s Park Oval saw Brian Lara participate in an epic duel lasting about seven overs with speedster Brett Lee.

Lara weathered the storm and went on to score his first hundred on his home ground. West Indies, unfortunately, went on to lose the match by a fairly wide margin, despite Lara raising visions of another improbable victory against the Aussies in his backyard. Ever since, cricket forums around the world have once again been flooded with more posts about the same old debate: is Lara a better batsman than India’s Sachin Tendulkar?

STATISTICS

First off, let’s match up their raw statistics, up until the last Test at QPO:

Brian Charles Lara (WI):

M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St

Batting/Fielding 92 161 4 7921 375 50.45 59.55 20 38 116 0

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (IND):

M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St

Batting/Fielding 105 169 16 8811 217 57.58 55.25* 31 35 68 0

+ 27 wickets at 45.18

* Some 200 runs scored by Tendulkar at the beginning of his career do not have the balls faced statistic.

Many have said that the Prince of Trinidad has performed more decisively in crunch situations and has single-handedly won matches for his team (which is an opinion that does gross disservice to the yeoman bowling efforts of the warhorses Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh). But just to keep the debate going, let’s look at their second innings stats: Lara averages 42.31 while Tendulkar averages 48.45 in second innings knocks. However, Lara holds a slight edge over the Mumbai Maestro in fourth inning performances with an average of 37.17 to an average of 35.68 for Tendulkar.

Looking at these stats, it would seem that Tendulkar is ahead on points, but then there are those who say statistics never paint the complete picture. So then what would be an accurate way to compare the two? If you talk of consistency, Tendulkar is peerless in contemporary cricket—one of those rarities who hardly seem to go through a bad patch. Lara has seen amazing heights including his world-record knock of 375 against England as well as abysmal lows when he appeared as if he couldn’t buy a run if he wanted to. No matter what achievement Lara can put forth, there’s always an equally compelling antithesis of what a great batsman should be doing—including several years out of cricket at various times for various reasons. His amazing 2-2 Test series against Australia in 1999 is balanced out with his impotent showings in the Bridgetown Test and the series in 2000 against the same team. His remarkable display against Murali and company in Sri Lanka in 2001 is tempered with his shameful batting displays on the 1999 South African tour that ended in a 5-0 whitewash.

However, Caribbean fans would be very quick to claim that Lara has the ability to go on to make bigger scores as compared to Tendulkar. Again, statistics would seem to support this theory, with Lara’s average of 165.65 in innings when he crosses the three-figure mark, as opposed to Tendulkar’s corresponding average of 147.25. (Although, if you exclude not outs as they do in calculating batting averages, Tendulkar averages 190.21, compared to a corresponding figure of 174.37 for Lara.) Does this make Lara a bigger match winner than Tendulkar? Well, with his recent century in the second Test at Trinidad against the Aussies, Lara equaled Tendulkar’s dubious record of having scored 8 centuries in a losing cause. On the other hand, Lara has scored 5 centuries when the West Indies have won at 55.52 while Tendulkar has scored 9 tons at 64.00 when India has won. So the debate remains unresolved as to who is the bigger match winner—based purely on statistics.

TECHNIQUE

There are others fans that are convinced that Tendulkar has the better technique of the two. They opine that Lara with his high back lift and penchant for on-driving straighter deliveries, square driving wide deliveries outside off and aerial pulls is more prone to get out than the Indian maestro because of his “flawed” technique. This would appear to be a supercilious argument, since a close examination by video of the two in full cry reveals a very interesting story.

Brian Lara: Watching the little Trinidadian bat, no one except the philistines among us can deny the natural talent Brian Lara possesses. In many respects, Lara is not simply the best batsman of our era, he could stake claim to be the best batsman of all time. At the very least, one could say that he’s the most technically skilled batsman since Bradman, videos of whom are often misleading because of the lack of good video technology during the Don’s era. Lara commands almost all the shots in the cricket book with unparalleled brilliance.

His cut shot is both breathtaking and flexible—like most of the best back foot players he can play it with equal felicity both in front of and behind square. His on drive, probably his pet shot, is ferocious—particularly when played down the wicket against slow bowlers. If it isn’t the most feared stroke in world cricket, it should be. These are two of Lara’s favorite aggressive strokes. He also pulls well, but occasionally lifts his right leg when he plays the stroke. Dramatic, yes, but it causes him to lose control of the shot frequently. This probably explains Lara’s propensity to pull in the air so often. But the flaw is only occasional (although on the increase in recent years). However, the brutal, thuggish Brian Lara is far less intimidating than Brian Lara the technician.

Lara loves to cover drive—the deliberate movement forward, foot pointing towards extra cover, fast bat speed, front foot to the pitch of the delivery and executed with such inch-perfect timing that it makes the ball go rocketing away. Lara’s traditional drives, however, are merely good. Lara plays fuller length straight balls incorrectly, preferring to on drive and play it through midwicket.

The most important part of any batsman’s repertoire is always the defensive technique. Lara is better at defense than perhaps any ever in the game. Make no mistake; Lara has all the weapons to play any game he chooses. He could play a game solely off the back foot and lead the world in that respect. He could play a purely defensive game in the Dravid mould and he could play a purely front foot game. In fact, Lara is simultaneously three of the best players at three of the most important traditional aspects of batting: front foot, back foot and defensive technique.

Against spinners, Lara typically tries to step down the track. He rarely sweeps (Lara probably doesn’t sweep because he sees this as a kind of lazy shortcut to play slow bowlers—one of Lara’s major weaknesses is his fluctuating cricket IQ), defensive spurts are rare and he only plays off the back foot when absolutely necessary. Having eliminated the three alternative methods of playing slow bowling, Lara is left with the most dramatic and challenging method—to advance—almost all the time. To get an idea of this, watch footage of Lara playing Warne in the West Indies in 1999. It’s scintillating cricket, where Lara advances and on drives all the time. However, at 33, Lara’s age is slowly catching up with him. From a slow bowling perspective, his feet aren’t fast enough to now genuinely challenge the Muralis and Harbhajans in that respect, so Lara showed uncharacteristic maturity in playing Murali almost exclusively off the back foot.

Generally speaking, Lara appears to be spoilt with his talent. His shots are so far ahead of other batsmen, and because they are so technically brilliant, he can use them in ways that most batsman simply cannot. However that only takes a batsman so far. Lara, in this writer’s opinion, doesn’t use his defensive technique nearly enough. He cuts at balls that are too close to his body. He pulls bowlers that are too slow to do so. He overdoes the charge. He unnecessarily lofts his cover drive. He chooses square drives over cover drives simply for the sake of expanding his innings wagon wheel. All this has to do with shot selection: one of the foundations of good batsmanship.

Another important aspect of modern batting, the art of pinching the single, appears to have bypassed Lara’s cricketing education. To call Lara a relic or a dinosaur would be exceedingly harsh, but he is not armed with the single-stealing ability that gives many of today’s stars their flexibility. Lara is not a modern batsman, like Steve Waugh, Yousuf Youhana, Kumara Sangakkara and especially Sachin Tendulkar.

Lara is one of the old guard, the stroke maker, the sharp shooting cowboy who just arms himself with several weapons, all of which have their origins in the early 20th century, and takes on the bowler. There’s something decidedly romantic about that vision, and any witness to Lara’s 375, 277, 153 not out and various other mammoth scores can only attest to that. Tendulkar, for all his wizardry and versatility, will never be able to truly win over fans like Lara. Warts and all, with his questionable mental abilities over his own game, with his flat out poor shot selection, with his tantrums and with his inconsistency, Lara, in terms of pure skill and technique, still is just better at batting than anyone else in the game.

Sachin Tendulkar: Whereas Lara (and others like Dravid who prefer to play the traditional game, essentially the same sort of batting that a Bradman used to play) Sachin Tendulkar is really a maverick. This is what has made Tendulkar’s numbers so astronomical and his place in cricket history undisputed.

However to call him the greatest batsman ever is to redefine what we mean by that term. Up until the very late 80’s and early 90’s, a great batsman was a batsman who played textbook strokes, built on an exceptionally sound technique. So before we analyze what Tendulkar does so differently to the standard, traditional batsman, let’s see how he stacks up to these standards.

Tendulkar does not posses perfect technique; in fact, Tendulkar has merely decent technique. For one, Tendulkar has this awkward habit of punching at the ball when he plays defensive strokes. Someone like his team-mate Rahul Dravid, for instance, plays defense with a very correct technique—soft hands, playing the ball into the ground, the ball going as little distance as possible. Tendulkar never plays like this. The ball is always struck too firmly, (with a preponderance of the bottom hand) and with the bat facing up instead of towards the pitch. This means there is always a very good chance of getting out caught when he defends, either by the bowler or slips, as he goes so hard at the ball.

But the flaws don’t really end there. Tendulkar doesn’t move his feet either, at least not enough to be technically perfect. Typically, they are too close together, and this means, naturally enough, there’s a large gap between bat and pad. Thus there is always a chance to get him out bowled. Because of this weak technique, and especially because Tendulkar doesn’t really have soft hands, the defensive option is cut off to him when facing slow bowlers.

Now let’s see how the maverick actually turns these into strengths. Tendulkar's biggest weakness when defending is his biggest strength with his traditional drives. Tendulkar has the best two strokes in the V of anyone who has ever played the game, period. He gets his front foot to the pitch, plays neatly through the line, and here, his punch actually helps instead of hindering this stroke. The punch, allied to the very heavy bat he prefers, gives his straight and off drives awesome power no one can match.

The straight drive is an interesting stroke—it’s the easiest shot to play in regards to selection and footwork, but also the most dangerous shot in cricket. You’re hitting the ball straight to a fieldsman less than 20 meters away, with no possibility to check the shot (unlike every other cricket stroke) and with (necessarily) minimal footwork to control it. So playing a good straight drive is more difficult than it looks; Tendulkar deserves credit for mastering it and making it a work of sublime beauty, because it’s one of the least used strokes in the game (for above reasons).

However this is where Tendulkar’s good copybook shots end. He cuts relatively poorly and too frequently doesn’t roll his wrists, which means the ball goes up in the air. Part of the reason for this is the man’s physical size—at 5’3”, you are going to struggle to control back foot shots a lot. Tendulkar almost never pulls as well. Wise decision, as leg side fields are used more and more often to him.

So Tendulkar also can’t play off the back foot to slow bowlers. Unlike Lara, he simply doesn’t have the shots to pull it off. He doesn’t sweep (preferring his variation—the ugly paddle shot) and we’ve discussed his options for defending, so he’s left with the option of stepping down the track. Anyone who has seen Tendulkar play knows he has no qualms about advancing, but, as Tendulkar often does, he turns traditional theories of batting on their head. Tendulkar’s classical drives are not consistent enough (although the on drive is certainly top class) to advance with confidence again and again (like Lara did in the prime of his career). So Tendulkar invents shots.

The best example of this is the leg glance/pull/straight drive Tendulkar played to Warne in 2001. For those who missed this, it’s an amazing stroke. Tendulkar gets into position to leg glance, but over rotates, to the point where on contact, he’s facing square leg, and by the finish of the stroke he’s facing the wicketkeeper. The stroke itself certainly isn’t a leg glance; it is much more like a straight drive, played off the face of the bat, with genuine power, almost directly behind him.

It is this innovation, nous and wizardry that have taken Tendulkar to the very top of the game. His ability to push singles, his ability to literally invent strokes that no one else plays, such as the one above, his penchant for reviving old, rarely used strokes and put them in creative settings (his back foot off drive—originally invented as a forcing shot to finger spinners—that he has used against Glenn McGrath time and again, is a great example) and most importantly, his mind. Tendulkar gets his runs on a mixed diet comprising of traditional drives, improvised, bowler-specific strokes, off-the-charts cricketing IQ, top notch shot selection, an ability to pinch singles where none exist (especially off his legs), inch-perfect placement, and hard running between wickets.

Blessed with incredible eyes, Tendulkar reads the line and picks up the length of the delivery very quickly. He doesn’t hesitate in getting across to play on his favored leg side. Tendulkar is also humble enough to know that his technique is not his biggest strength, so he likes the insurance of his pads when pushing off it.

Is this analysis meant to trivialize the man’s obvious qualities? Certainly not. Tendulkar’s record, his consistency, speaks largely for itself. It’s because the unorthodox Tendulkar’s game is not rigid, making it contextual and flexible, that he scores so many runs against anyone you put him against. He sizes up match situations so quickly; he has such a tremendous feel for the game that he can almost never be stopped except with a wicket-taking ball. However because his game is so modern, a game based on intelligence more than skill, he has invented (with Steve Waugh) a whole new approach to batting—stealing singles, placing the ball, shot selection, emphasizing a different set of qualities than, say, Lara. The emphasis is no longer on defensive technique and footwork.

Typically, innovators of a style are the greatest at it. It is important to bear this in mind with Tendulkar. There is so little known about the consistent, universal success of this type of game, it is difficult to bracket the man with the traditional greats of the game. In a way, Tendulkar has redefined the art of batting, rewritten the batting manual. In that sense, Tendulkar certainly is one player with a degree in how to play the game of cricket.

EXPERT OPINION

To end this comparison, let us turn this debate over to the so-called pundits: players who are playing (or have played) the game with distinction, as well as respected observers of the game. This is a short compilation of a list of comments made by the following people over the last few years when asked the same question: “Is Lara better or is Tendulkar?” Bear in mind that they do not by any means represent all of the views out there.

Peter Roebuck: “Lara can bat as well as Tendulkar, possibly better for he seems able to attack any delivery. The Trinidadian's weak point lies not in skill but stamina, a crucial ingredient in those seeking to rise beyond the gift of genius into the acclamation reserved for the greats.

Shakespeare and Mozart did not produce fine works when the mood took them. To the contrary, they reached such a consistently high standard that their brilliance is taken for granted. Although Lara has inspired spells, he does not sustain the effort and will not claim his rightful place until this failing is remedied.”

Ricky Ponting: ‘Punter’ Ponting has rated Sachin Tendulkar the best batsmen of his generation, placing Tendulkar higher on the pecking order than the likes of Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden and the Waugh twins. Ponting freely admitted the diminutive batting maestro from Bombay had the ability to win any match off his own bat.

“I've always thought he's the best batsman I've seen or played against,” said Ponting. “Looking at the way he's played of late I think he's getting somewhere back to his best again. As we've seen in the past, he's actually won games against us single-handedly on occasions.”

Australian first-class cricketers: India's Sachin Tendulkar and Australia's Glenn McGrath have been rated the best in the business in a survey of Australia's 145 first class players. Sixty eight percent of those questioned said Tendulkar was the world's best batsman ahead of Australian captain Steve Waugh (27 percent) and West Indian Brian Lara (three percent).

The Wisden Almanack: Sachin Tendulkar will amass 20,480 runs and 81 centuries in the next 10 years if he maintains his present form, according to an assessment by Wisden Cricket Monthly.

In the past 27 months since February 1999, Tendulkar had piled up 1720 runs in 15 Tests at a near Bradmanesque average of 71.67, it said.

Should Tendulkar continue at that rate in the next decade, playing 12 Tests a year and finally hang up his boots at the age of 38, he will have amassed 20,480 and 81 centuries in 202 Tests.

His average will be a cool 66.06, placing him all alone on a unique second tier of champion batsmen - still behind Bradman (99.94) but distinctly ahead of Graeme Pollock, George Headley and Herbert Sutcliffe (60-odd), Wisden wrote.

The jury is still out on whether he would have outbudgeoned Don Bradman if he had been around in the run-thirsty 1930s, but the Indian maestro had two sweet statistics to savor on his 28th birthday in April, Wisden writes in a piece headlined "Tendulkar the Great (and getting greater)".

It went on to cite that Tendulkar's had been the 28 most prolific years and 27 of the most prodigious months in the history of batting.

Pointing out that on his birthday, Tendulkar's record in limited overs internationals stood at 10,179 runs and 28 hundreds - twice as good as any one else at the same age, the magazine says that in Tests, his omnipotence is equally jaw-dropping. He was 1676 runs clear of the previous record held by Javed Miandad and his 25 Test centuries dwarf the 15 made at the same age by Bradman and Neil Harvey, his nearest rivals.

Wisden writes that average-wise Tendulkar still trails the Don who made 3849 runs at 98.69 by his 28th birthday. But even that gap was closing.

Steve Waugh: “You take Don Bradman away and he (Sachin) is next up, I reckon.”

Brian Lara: “Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal. I would like to be a lot more consistent. I would like to be a (Sachin) Tendulkar, or someone like that, someone who could go out in the middle and keep scoring; if he doesn't get a hundred, he gets at least 30 or 40, and scores like that. You know, it would be great to be that sort of individual.

But, looking at it, I am also happy to be the player that I am. The big scores that I get, scoring 500 runs in one innings, or 375 runs in another innings, is something special too. I have got to be able to take the good with the bad. I am quite happy with the way things are for me batting-wise. But, as a top-flight player, you want to be considered not only as someone who could spoon out great performances, but someone who has been consistent over the years. I have not been able to measure up to that yet, but hopefully, in the latter part of my career, I will be able to do that.”

Marlon Samuels: “Sachin is the best batsman in the world. The way he lifts the team and the way he bats. Watching him play helps me in my batting.”

Andy Flower: “There’s Sachin on one hand, and then there are the rest of us.”

Wasim Akram: “I have bowled to both Tendulkar and Lara and I have found Lara more attacking. Tendulkar has a tighter technique, no doubt, but Lara can single-handedly win the game for his team. I am not saying Tendulkar cannot do it but Lara has maybe done it more often than him. If you are asking me who the best batsman I have bowled to is, then it's not Tendulkar and not Lara as well. It's Martin Crowe... he was an amazing batsman. Regarding Tendulkar and Lara, I would love to have both in my team! Who wouldn’t?”

Glenn McGrath: “For me, it's Tendulkar. Both are class acts but I am saying this because I have had more success against Lara than I have against Tendulkar. I think I have a fair idea of what Lara likes and doesn't like and I feel I can make his life at the crease very uncomfortable. He is vulnerable outside the off-stump early on and is not as tight as Tendulkar in defense. I would go for Tendulkar as the best in the world.”

Waqar Younis: “Unfortunately, I have not bowled enough to Tendulkar in Test matches but there is no doubt about his class. I have bowled against Lara and I have had some success against him. I think over the years I would say I have been fifty-fifty against both Tendulkar and Lara. I have got them a few times and they have got runs against me as well. I can never forget a 16-year-old Tendulkar batting on after being struck on the nose by a fast bouncer from me. I think Tendulkar is mentally tougher than Lara.”

Muthiah Muralitharan: “I have played a lot of cricket against Tendulkar compared to what I have played against Lara. While both are difficult to bowl to, I think Lara plays me better than Tendulkar. That Lara is a left-hander is an advantage to him, but the great thing about him is he launches into the attack straightaway. He uses his feet well against me while Tendulkar relies more on the sweep, I feel. I find Lara tougher.”

Jason Gillespie: “In my opinion it’s Tendulkar who is ahead of the two. Mentally stronger than Lara, he has a better technique as well. Tendulkar doesn't get worked up like Lara when the opposition has a few words to say to him. Lara on his day can be destructive, but you have to look at consistency and I think Tendulkar is definitely more consistent than Lara.”

Saqlain Mushtaq: “Both have their good qualities but I feel Tendulkar doesn't give as many chances as Lara does. Lara, once he settles down, can be a better player to watch because of the left-hander's grace and also because he plays more shots. He has played more match-winning innings compared to Tendulkar because he finished off the job once he is in. But Sachin is more compact and puts a heavy price on his wicket. It is more difficult to dislodge Tendulkar compared to Lara.”

Rohan Kanhai: “I have had the pleasure of watching him (Tendulkar) and he is a fantastic player, an entertainer and he's humble with it. That's a great quality for a young man.

But we (also) have great player in Lara. I also admire him. These are two batsmen you cannot touch at the moment. These two players you cannot differentiate”

Barry Richards: “Lara is a better batsman than Sachin simply because he tends to score big whenever he plays against teams like Australia and South Africa and the stats actually support it. Lara has scored three 200’s against the Aussies 2 of which have come in Australia and apart from that he has a test record of 375 as well whereas Sachin has a couple of 200’s against New Zealand and Zimbabwe and that too in India.”

Viv Richards:
Q: Do you see any weakness in Sachin’s batting? Anything you want corrected?
A: Weakness? (Incredulous.) Corrected? When a guy is playing like that you don’t have a look at his batting for faults. I would say he’s 99.5 per cent perfect.
Q: Some players have commented that when he finishes he would be in the top two-three players who ever played the game?
A: Easy. I think he’s already there. Even if he retires tomorrow and doesn’t achieve anything more he is right there. And he’s still young. I have never seen Bradman but heard people talk about him. But I tell you what; if Bradman could bat like this man does then he was dynamite. I have seen only Sachin. Players like Sachin deserve to be preserved in cotton wool. I first saw him when he was touring England. I saw two of his innings. When you start hitting respectable fast bowlers for sixes over their heads then you are serving notice.

So as we can see, the jury is still out on this never-ending debate, which will probably be still raging long after the two have hung up their boots. Like someone on a message board said, comparing the two is akin to comparing literary giants. Tendulkar is the master non-fiction writer, the Bertrand Russell. Businesslike and focused on results, with little for the people to become emotionally attached to, except the tremendous results he achieves for his team. Lara, on the other hand, is the Dostoevsky, weaving together a story of beauty and force, using both sledgehammer and razor blade to equal effect. Dangerous yet compulsive, with a level of artistry that brings readers (or viewers, in this case) to the verge of tears. “I can't watch, yet I MUST watch.” Take your pick to read in bed tonight.

Chappell vs. Ganguly 2005

2005-09-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

An interesting, timely article by Sanjay Manjrekar that applies not only to cricket but also to other things...
Here's the Chappell way

Rajeev Bagga

2005-09-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen the movie Iqbal yet, but have read several good things about it. Here is an interesting, and related article.

Rajeev Bagga: Real Iqbal of Indian Sport - Sanjay Sharma

I saw Iqbal the other day and was surprised by its simplicity and power in conveying how a deaf-mute boy dreams of wearing India colours in cricket and achieves his goal. The film deserves its accolades.

The climax of the film, when Iqbal enters the stadium to play against Pakistan in his debut game, brought not just tears to my eyes but also memories of 1987. That was when my protege, the deaf-mute Rajeev Bagga, was selected to play badminton for India; it was the start of a great career, spanning almost eight years.

While what Nagesh Kukunoor showed was imagination, what Rajeev achieved was real. But in a cricket-crazy nation, who will dare to make a film on one of Indian sports' greatest stories? This then is Rajeev's tale.

In 1982, when I was practicing for an upcoming National Championships at Mumbai's Hindu Gymkhana , an elderly gentleman and a lean, fit youngster approached me. "I am Brigadier Bagga and this is my son Rajeev," he said. "He wants to play badminton. He has just turned 16 and is already ranked No. 3 in National junior squash. But the time has come for him to shift to badminton. I am told you can help."

There I was, in my prime, having played for India for six years. I had no interest yet in coaching and was stunned by the direct approach. I asked why I should start coaching Rajeev and why he wanted to play badminton when he was nationally ranked in squash?

All this while Rajeev kept smiling. "Why don't you ask Rajeev?" the Brigadier answered with a knowing smile. I turned and asked Rajeev the same questions. I was a bit irritated,I wanted to get back on court where my friend and competitor, Leroy D'Sa, waited impatiently. Rajeev's answer was another smile. I thought maybe I had spoken softly. So I asked again. He kept smiling.
Exasperated, I asked the good Brigadier whether Rajeev was deaf and dumb.

"Rajeev is deaf and mute, not dumb," he said. "He is intelligent and I am sure if you help him out, you will find him a worthy student." I was speechless and embarrassed. "I am sorry if I offended you and Rajeev," I said. The Brigadier shrugged. "Don't worry. This happens all the time. But tell me what you will do?"
I had forgotten practice by now and wondered how to get out of this piquant situation. How was I going to help make a deaf-mute boy into a shuttler! I remained unconvinced about his decision to leave squash. The Brigadier told me. "In squash, the player sometimes gets behind you. Since Rajeev cannot hear him or the stroke he plays, he gets disoriented. He cannot anticipate unless he sees."

I understood. The brigadier insisted I should try Rajeev out. I brought out my second line of defence. "How will I communicate?" I asked. "Rajeev can lip-read very well," I was told. "But you will have to talk slowly and only in English. World over, deaf-mutes are taught only in English so they can communicate with each other."

With all the problems solved and nothing else to ask, I tried to "talk" to Rajeev. Believe me, he responded articulately. Thus began an enduring relationship which saw Rajeev not only reach the National junior championships finals in Oct '84 but also emerge the strongest Indian player of his generation. Within a few years he was the National senior champion and selected for India in 1988.
He played the Thomas Cup, the World championships, the Commonwealth Games, ABCs and almost all major international events, till Gopi Chand's emergence saw his eclipse. He won the National doubles and partnered me in events all over the globe.

He was hard-working, quick to grasp the game's nuances and possessed an astonishingly good match temperament. He was never flustered and never angry on court. In fact, he became a champion in the truest sense of the word, playing a comprehensive brand of badminton. His backhand strokes, thanks to his squash days, were strong and his court coverage was fluent. He went on to become world number 40 purely on merit.

Rajeev had a fan following all over the badminton world. It was not just the hardcore fan who supported him, but also the motivation-seeking deaf-mute.
Becoming a National champion, winning the Arjuna Award and getting to world No. 40 in this sport, a global one, are great achievements. But what Rajeev cherished most were his 15 gold medals in five "Deaf Olympiads", played every four years. For almost 20 years, Rajeev dominated competitions for the audibly challenged. The World Deaf Council, at a press conference on his last appearance there, awarded Rajeev a citation. "For us, Rajeev Bagga is the athlete of the century."

Any regrets? None for me, because in coaching such a gem I learnt about life, futility and courage. I was just an instrument in showing him the direction. He achieved everything on his own steam. Many wondered why I agreed to play doubles with a deaf-mute player so much younger than me. For one, he requested me and I could not refuse.

Secondly, doubles is all about bonding. We developed our own way of signalling and got on with the game. We became India's top pair. But I have one regret for Rajeev. He was not selected in the 1993 World Cup team by the National federation though he was India No. 2 at that time, excluded simply because he did not attend the training camp as he was away for a deaf Olympics.

Former National players in the selection committee did not back him even though he was fit. That was the only time I saw tears in his eyes. But perhaps it can be said that Rajeev had the last laugh. While Indian badminton is in the throes of desperation and ennui, he is well settled in England where he now lives with his wife and his first child.

(Sanjay Sharma is a former India player and captain.)

Captain's innings??

2005-09-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

Surprising that Ganguly is still in the Indian team...

Ganguly's batting woes in numbers

UPDATE: Ganguly is no longer in the team! But he seems to have responded with a century. One of my colleagues remarked that Ganguly is still in very good form, albeit against weak attacks. The statistics seem to bear this out. One of the reasons for this is that his batting relies on very good hand-eye coordination, which can be expected to deteriorate with age. (It will be interesting to see how Tendulkar performs as he also relies a lot on hand-eye coordination.)

Mumbai vs. New Orleans

2005-09-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

Read this article today on Rediff.
Mumbai & New Orleans: A Tale of Two Cities

It is very well-written and I agree with most of the sentiments, especially the following...

The moral of the story is that all those who are in such a hurry to lambaste the US and Americans, and paint a rosy picture of India and Indians, should stop and look in the mirror first. Neither country is perfect by any means. And each has a lot to learn from the other. The American tendency to be condescending about conditions in the Third World with its poor infrastructure and corruption is just as regrettable as the Indian sense of moral and spiritual superiority.

In some sense, the Indian reaction to New Orleans is symptomatic of a nation that has gone from self-deprecation in the stagnant 1960s and 1970s to self-glorification in the roaring 2000s. While it is undoubtedly true that India is a rising power, with an economy that is growing at a rate that is the envy of all nations, it is way too early to sink into hubris. China continues to stay focused on becoming a world power, and anyone who counts the US out in the long run is in for a rude surprise.

The destruction in New Orleans and the Mumbai floods both point to a more fundamental problem that needs to be focused on. Politicians and leaders in the largest and the richest democracies in the world ignored warnings from experts, and pursued their short-sighted goals of winning elections by pandering to special interests. It is time for the citizens of these two great democracies to hold their elected leaders accountable for their actions.

Pizza personalities...:-)

2005-08-31T02:05:00.000-07:00

Cheese Pizza

Traditional and comforting.
You focus on living a quality life.
You're not easily impressed with novelty.
Yet, you easily impress others.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

A view from above

2005-08-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

Found this cool website recently: http://virtualearth.msn.com/. It provides amazing detail for places in U.S. (They don't have such detailed data for India as yet.) We can zoom into any place, and if you select the aerial photo option, then it gives pretty good detail of the actual buildings.

This is where I did my studies: Chapel Hill, NC. The place below is Bolinwood Apartments, where I used to live. (Can even see the tennis court, where I used to play tennis!)

The place where I moved to after my studies...The Heights in Redmond, WA.

And this is the aerial view of India!

Google also has a software called Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/), that you can install on your PC and see the same views as above...the earth animation and "fly into" option make it a lot cooler to use, but it seems a bit slower.

My first blog!

2004-12-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

Daily musings to follow soon...