India’s T-20 Form continues to Rock!

India was playing a T-20 international game in over a year. The last T-20 game that the Indian national team played was in February 2008 in Australia and Australians hammered them back then. But the Indians were in good form and had just won the ODI series against the Lankans quite comfortably with a margin of 4-1. Also, considering that Sri Lanka rested 4 of their key players, India were clear favorites going into the match. And what a match it was! It was a very closely fought match with the pendulum swinging either way until the moment the Pathan brothers came together in the middle for India.
Going to the start of the match, Sri Lanka with a new captain won the toss (at last!) and decided to bat first. Jayasuriya provided the hosts with the perfect start by blasting around the Indian bowlers for a quick fire 33 of just 17 balls before he was brilliantly caught by Ishant Sharma off Irfan Pathan. But that didn’t deter the Lankans and they were well on their way to score over 200 runs in their allotted 20 overs. But the shrewd captain in Dhoni made the right bowling changes by bringing on the spinners and putting the brakes on the Lankan scoring rate. It was not to be the case though as towards the end of the Lankan innings the scoring rate got brisk before Ishant came back to bowl the last over of the innings by conceding only 3 runs. So, the Indians were set a target of 172 runs in 20 overs which wasn't considered a huge task considering that India had a very strong batting line-up.

But that was not to be! Sri Lanka struck early removing the openers in the first few overs. It was now consolidation time for India. Yuvi and Raina did just that but never allowed the run rate to fall. This was the phase when many believed that its going be a walk over the park for the Indians. At least until Dilshan introduced the spinners into the attack. That completely changed the course of the game, with the run rate moving southwards and the Indians started quick wickets. So, at the end of the 15th over, the equation looked something like India requiring 55 runs in 5 overs with just 3 wickets in hand. All seemed lost for India and Sri Lanka seemed to be the run away winners. But the script was to be changed again and in came the Pathan brothers for India. Yusuf Pathan scored 3 boundaries in the 16th over to leave the equation at 40 runs required off 4 overs. That was when Sri Lanka lost the plot. Dilshan brought back his seamers when Jayasuriya was bowling fantastically well and had a over in his kitty. That might have done the trick for Sri Lanka but instead it was the seamers who came on to bowl and gifted the game to India. Irfan and Yusuf combined well to hit some good boundaries and mixed it well with quick running between the wickets. Finally, India won the game with 4 balls to spare and it was ecstatic for the Indians while the entire stadium went silent in disbelief when Irfan hit the 2nd ball of the last over long over the boundary line for a six. Having won 5 of the 6 games that India played in Sri Lanka, the team is next headed to New Zealand at the later part of this month. Will the Indians keep up the tempo and pull out a series win against the Kiwis??? Only time will tell... But for now, rejoice the Indian victory and keep hoping for more such ones...

Marley and me - The Feel Good Movie...

When I first saw the advertisement which said Marley and me would release in the theatres on 6th February 2009, I was ecstatic! I had seen Jen on screen for a while now (a huge fan and completely fida over her!) and I really didnt care about what the movie was all about and wanted to watch it for her! I spoke to a few of my friends and planned out a movie outing for Sunday. There was something very familiar about the title and it didnt strike me for a while. Suddenly, I realised that the movie is based on a book and I own it! To be very honest, I started reading this book and couldnt go past a few pages. Not because the book is badly written, but because I didnt have the patience to read this sweet and cute book. To me, it was more like the girlish book (the kinds that most girls read!) and so I passed on the book to my wife who loved it so much! I was also glad that I didnt read the book as when movies are made out of books, you tend to compare which was better and that isn't the best thing to do as you tend not to enjoy both.

The movie starts really well with John Grogan, the protoganist of the movie or was it Marley?, explaining how he and his wife decide to adopt a dog because his wife is scared that she is not able take care of a plant and how was she going to take care of their children. Well, if only everybody started thinking the same way, the world would see a pet in every house and that would be a good sight. Thus comes Marley into the life of the Grogans and changes everything in their lives. He soons earns this reputation of being the world's worst dog and very loveable. The rest of the story is about how and what changes happen in the lives of the Grogans and how Marley is in the center of all this. It was a very loveable movie and very well shot. Everybody in the movie hall was enjoying it as you could hear the laughter loud every now and then with each prank of Marley. I am sure that everybody would enjoy with a pet like Marley (though I suspect if they would want him in their homes!). What was best about the Grogans was that despite all that Marley does (most of the times it is not good), they love him just the same and can't imagine a life without him. Take this scene for example, where the Grogans have their second child and Jen decides to quit her job so that she can take care of the children all by herself, she gets very overwhelmed with all that's happening around her. What with Marley not helping, the situation gets worse and Jen wants Marley out of the house forever. John takes Marley to his friend's place for a couple of days until he finds a more permanent home for him. When he gets back home, Jen apologises and says that theirs was Marley's home and he can't go anywhere else. This despite him being so unruly.

What the movie focusses on and succeeds to a large extent is focussing on the bonding that's built between Marley and the Grogans. This holds good to any pet owners and the pets become part of the family. You should look forward to the climax and that is very moving. On the whole, very good viewing experience for all. I enjoyed it a lot and wouldn't mind watching the movie more times in the time to come. I suggest that everybody watch the movie and enjoy the small joys of life which make living a pleasure.

Slumdog Millionaire - Only hype or Full of Substance...

Slumdog Millionaire, the most awaited movie of the year 2008, is a wonderful example of how differently things are perceived in the East and the West. A movie that is so loved and critically acclaimed by the West has been frowned upon and criticised a lot in India. So, is the movie really worth all the hype and to be loved the way it is? Or are the critics of the movie right in their argument??

I went to watch this movie without a lot of expectations but had read about all acclaim that the movie had released all over. Also, the movie had won a lot of awards including the BAFTA and had won a lot of Oscar nominations by the time I saw the movie. So, what is my take on the movie???

Well, to be very honest, I didnt think there was anything extraordinarily good about the movie for it to have won these number of awards or be nominated for the Oscars. To me, it was a typical and ordinary bollywood movie with its share of twists and turns. I have watched a lot of much better flicks from the Indian cinema. What made me hate the movie more is the fact that only the bad side has been portrayed in the movie. Agreed! All that has been shown in the movie is true and does happen in India. But India is not just about that! There is a lot more to this country and plenty of sightful things here. The intention of the director was very clear in one particular scene where Jamaal acts as a guide showing the western tourists around India. Jamaal takes the Westerners to a suburb in the capital and all his friends steal all that could possibly be stolen from their car and when the driver hits Jamaal and asks him about the whereabouts of his croonies, the westerners stop him as Jamaal says that this is the true side of India and the westerners say that they would show the true side of America. Is that true??? Is this a fact??? Was that a true side of India and America respectively??? I am sure that all Indians and most of the world would beg to differ. That is certainly NOT the true side of India! Well, with regards to the true side of America, everybody knows and no point in commenting.

So, is there anything good about the movie at all??? Well, yes there are! For one, the flow is good. The way answers to the questions in the show have been arrived at is interesting! The anchor changing into a villian as he turns Jamaal to the police was a good touch. Music was a good support to the movie (will come back to it in a while!) and the performances were topnotch. Watch out for the youngest Jamaal, he sets the tone for what is to come later on and does a fantastic job! Well, strictly a one timer and could have been made better. No wonder it is a super failure in India.

Now, moving on to Oscar nominations, the film's music has bagged 3 nominations. One for Best Original Music Score and the other two for the Best Song Category! This is the 1st time an Indian is nominated at the mainstream Oscars and something for all the Indians to be proud of. Though, I felt this was not the best work of A.R. Rahman and most certainly not worth an Oscar nomination (though I am not complaining)! There have been better works from him and would continue to come. But for the moment, we should sit back and enjoy all the attention our music is getting and hats off to Rahman for taking the Indian music to the global charts.

India on a roll!!!

The Indian cricket team is on a roll these days. They have just registered their 9th consecutive win in ODIs, an Indian record. What was more heartening to see was the margins of these victories. All of these wins were comprehensive and convincing wins. Dhoni is fast building the reputation of being a cool customer and a very shrewd captain. Above all this, he is a very lucky captain! With luck and a very talented bunch of youngsters by his side, he is going to take the Indian Cricket to scale new heights. This winning run started with the ODI series in India against England. It was expected to be a very tight series but the Indians were expected to pip the English team 4-3 in that series. However, the Indians ambushed the English and were on course for a 7-0 sweep when unfortunately, the Mumbai attacks cut short the tour. This followed with the Indian Govt banning the team from travelling to Pakistan and rightly, the BCCI calling off the tour. Then BCCI smartly arranged for a ODI tour to Sri Lanka in the interim. Another 5 match ODI series began late January and was expected to be a closely fought series what with India having won only twice in past any bilateral series in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka fresh from their away series win against Pakistan. India won the 1st match comfortably by restricting the Lankan to a low total and chasing it down comfortably. Aided by some luck with the toss in the remaining games, the Indians chose to bat first and thereby posting high totals and batted the Lankans out of the game each and every time. It is very heartening to see the young Indian team diving around in the field and improved performance on the running between the wicket. Dhoni has managed to do what only Ganguly has managed to do in the past i.e. getting the team to believe in themselves and play very positively. Dhoni's record as a captain is very impressive in all forms of cricket with more than 62% of the matches being won on an average. This only proves the fact that he has the acumen of being a shrewd captain and an intellectual thinker. This along with the fact that Australia as now lost 5 ODIs in a row, means that India replace Australia as the No. 2 team in the world. If it makes a clean sweep of the this series like against England, it would be on the top of the world with South Africa as company. It is a very interesting phase for the Indian Cricket and hopefully it would continue to bring a lot of cheers to the Indians who only fall short of falling in the feet of these demi-gods!

Luck by Chance - Movie Review!!!

The long awaited 2nd movie of Farhan Akhtar is here... Directed by his sister, Zoya, and having a theme loved by my fellow countrymen second only to cricket, the expectations on this movie were high! What with this movie boasting of a lot of movie stars making guest appearance... I wanted to watch this movie in the 1st weekend itself... I have been so looking forward to the movie... Honestly, I felt that the movie was a tad disappointing, especially the 1st half... Yes! It is a movie about bollywood! It gives you a lot of insight into this dream world and some hard truths! However, the screenplay could have been crispier. The first half of the movie was all about introducing the main characters of the the film. However, it seemed more like they were spectators watching from the side lanes. It is only in the 2nd half that the pace picks up and the movie gets engrossing. This is the story of Farhan Akhtar and Konkana Sen Sharma, both wannabe actors, trying to make it big in bollywood. As luck would have it, Farhan Akhtar gets the big break (also through his suaveness as much as through hard work and luck!) and how he manipulates is way to success forms the rest of the story. It also shows what he loses in his way to success. The movie also stars Dimple as the yesteryears heart throb, Rishi Kapoor as the superstitious Punjabi producer and Hrithik Roshan as Zafar Khan, the current superstar of Bollywood. The performances of all the main characters is good and apt for the character played by them. My verdict is go for it, at least once! You will certainly enjoy it.

Australian Open Finals!!!

The first Grand Slam of the year 2009 kick started in Melbourne just about 2 weeks back and what a couple of weeks it has been! Top seeds doing well, upsets galore. This year's open has been top class and the best the world has seen thus far. It all started with Andy Murray of GB being announced one of the top favorites to win the crown. What with him having beaten both Nadal and Federer in the run up to this event! However, as Djokovic repeatedly commented, Murray was a favorite only after Nadal, Federer and himself. As the tournament wore on, a new star emerged. That was the Spanish Davis Cup hero and 14th Seed, Fernando Verdasco. He reached his 1st ever Grand Slam Semi Final beating the 4th Seed Andy Murry and 5th Seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga on his way there. The top seed Nadal had absolutely no problems ambushing his opponents on his way to Semifinals. The semifinalists from the top half of the draw were Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco (both Spaniards), a first where Australian Open is concerned. In the bottom half of the draw, things were more in order with the quarterfinal line-up as expected. In the quarterfinal, Roddick, a former No. 1, played a fanstactic game to force the 3rd Seed Djokovic to retirement and set up a semi-final date with the man gunning for the record, Federer. So, the Australian Open Semi-final line up looked like

No. 2 Seed Roger Federer Vs. No. 7 Seed Andy Roddick

No. 1 Seed Rafael Nadal Vs. No. 14 Seed Fernando Verdasco.

On 29th January 2009, Federer brushed past Roddick in straight sets to keep his date with destiny. He was now eagerly looking forward to know who is opponent on 1st February was going to be.

On the other hand, the second semi-final was turning out to be a classic. Keeping up his reputation of playing some unstoppable tennis in this open, Ferdasco continued to do so. The top seed who had not lost a single set in any of the previous rounds was forced to play a more formidable opponent and lost his first sets of the tournament. The monumental battle, the longest in the history of the Open, ended late into the night a few minutes after 5 long and gruelling hours. It was a shame that there had to be a winner and loser in this battle. But the world got to view some enthralling tennis and after the gruelling battle, the top seed came through as a winner to set up a final clash with his favorite opponent.

No other players have met 7 times, in the Open era, in the grand slam finals. Federer meets his old nemisis yet again in a final and hopes to come over him to equal Sampras' record of 14 Grandslam finals.

More on this later... Keep watching... And enjoy the stories on this blog...

Second re-entry to blogging!!!

Well, I have been away from blogging again for a long time... Some more pressing family commitments led to me being away from blogging for quite sometime now... Am back now... And hopefully for good... I am going to launch my blog again this year and hope that would be able to add a lot this year and make it an enjoyable read for all of you... Happy Blogging and wish you a great new year...