The 20-20 World Series has opened to a good reception. This post is not to give my opinion of the newest format of the game or to discuss its supposed impact on the other formats. I am writing this.....Because last night I saw Zimbabwe beat Australia in their opening match! I was exhilarated, to say the least, to see the underdogs (some call them minnows) defeat the world champions.
I have two reasons for my exhilaration.
Reason 1: Zimbabwe won!
Not many would have expected them to, forget win, put up a fight against the great Australian might. And put up a fight, they did, the odds notwithstanding. The team….. I mean, have you seen their line up?!..... The social and political instability in the country has wrecked the team. Neither did they have a good run up to the series, having lost a series to Bangladesh in Feb, an unmemorable performance in the world cup in March and again a clean sweep loss to South Africa in August………. It was heartwarming to see them go all out to put up an inspired performance. Anyone who follows the game in its true spirit would be elated.
Reason 2: Australia lost!
I don’t particularly have anything against the Australian team except their “We-are-the-world-champions-and-there-isn’t-a-damn-thing-you-can-do-about-it” attitude that they carry right to the middle of the pitch. Well, I guess they have good reasons to carry it. They are bloody good at what they do. What I have against them is what I had against Sampras, against Schumacher, against Federer (at least till Nadal came along),….collectively put….against monopoly. (we are not talking economics……..only sports).
I agree with those who say “what is wrong if they win all their matches? It is not their problem that no one else is good enough to challenge them.” My real issue with monopolistic dominance is its inherent perils of making the game look too easy and of making the player look bigger than the game. For me, it’s dreadfully profane. (I am tempted to go on, but I think I have got the point through.)
And not to forget the predictability; It just gets simply boring!!.....to watch a match when you are painfully conscious of its agonizingly predictable result. What is a game if the word ‘competitive’ doesn't feature in the commentary and I still have to cut my nails after the match?
Highlights of the match:
Zimbabwean fielding,…….. three early wickets in both innings,………. Taylor’s (Zim wicket keeper) brilliant batting, ………some expected Australian hard hitting,……… Taibu bowling medium pacers!,…………. the nail-biting finish with one ball to spare, ………..and the Zimbabwean victory lap.
Watching the match was a deserving finish to a tiring day:)
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Despatches from Kargil
Author: Srinjoy Chowdhury
Publisher: Penguin Books
Number of pages: 227
Suggested by: Nrupal
Where did I find it: Borrowed from Nrupal
Read when: August-September ‘07
The book:
The book is a first person account of a journalist’s experience in Kargil-Drass during the war.
The chapters take you through one town at a time along the highway describing the war in respectable detail; the geography and the tactics, the ammunition and the weapons, the enemy attack and the Indian revenge, life on the cold mountains and the mood in the base camp, the damage and the victories, the sorrow (read: guilt) of losing a friend and the celebrations of capturing a peak.
He manages to get inside a soldier’s mind and capture what he felt during the initial phases of the war when enemy splinters were falling all around him, and what he felt when it was his turn to fire. He also, quiet commendably, captures what everyone in the war-zone felt about the war; the soldiers, the lieutenants and the majors, the high rank officers, the villagers and of course, fellow journalists. And how can you forget the ones from New Delhi making obligatory visits?
The Indian Navy and The Indian Air Force would sure give the author a thumbs-up for not forgetting its contribution during the war.
But, in trying to capture so many things in so few pages, he keeps going back and forth and you end up losing the chronology of the war. If you ask me to describe the war in the order in which the peaks were reclaimed, I would lose it after the first three. Then again, what he loses in maintaining the flow he makes up by brilliantly capturing the moments of glory: moments of fanatic gallantry, of absolutely illogical valor. His narrative of our army’s show of courage under fire, of heroism driven by passion, is hair-raisingly poignant. This, in itself, makes the book worth a read.
The author, appreciatively, does not limit himself to explaining the heroics. He reveals the negligence and intelligence failure before the war and the bureaucracy and the politics during and after the war. He does this astutely, without being judgmental, and allows the readers to come to their own conclusions.
The best pages of the book are the last few: A beautiful post-war account. The hugs, the exhilaration, the home coming, the celebrations and, the tears, the field hospital, the memorial service, the nightmares. And between all this the struggle to find and remove the landmines on reclaimed territory planted by the departing enemy.
Recommendation: It’s a good read; gives good insights in to the war. But, probably will not satiate your quest to know everything there is to know about the war and you find yourself looking for another book that will. Will try and get my hands on ‘From Surprise to Victory’ by Gen VP Malik. Heard good reviews…
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Publisher: Penguin Books
Number of pages: 227
Suggested by: Nrupal
Where did I find it: Borrowed from Nrupal
Read when: August-September ‘07
The book:
The book is a first person account of a journalist’s experience in Kargil-Drass during the war.
The chapters take you through one town at a time along the highway describing the war in respectable detail; the geography and the tactics, the ammunition and the weapons, the enemy attack and the Indian revenge, life on the cold mountains and the mood in the base camp, the damage and the victories, the sorrow (read: guilt) of losing a friend and the celebrations of capturing a peak.
He manages to get inside a soldier’s mind and capture what he felt during the initial phases of the war when enemy splinters were falling all around him, and what he felt when it was his turn to fire. He also, quiet commendably, captures what everyone in the war-zone felt about the war; the soldiers, the lieutenants and the majors, the high rank officers, the villagers and of course, fellow journalists. And how can you forget the ones from New Delhi making obligatory visits?
The Indian Navy and The Indian Air Force would sure give the author a thumbs-up for not forgetting its contribution during the war.
But, in trying to capture so many things in so few pages, he keeps going back and forth and you end up losing the chronology of the war. If you ask me to describe the war in the order in which the peaks were reclaimed, I would lose it after the first three. Then again, what he loses in maintaining the flow he makes up by brilliantly capturing the moments of glory: moments of fanatic gallantry, of absolutely illogical valor. His narrative of our army’s show of courage under fire, of heroism driven by passion, is hair-raisingly poignant. This, in itself, makes the book worth a read.
The author, appreciatively, does not limit himself to explaining the heroics. He reveals the negligence and intelligence failure before the war and the bureaucracy and the politics during and after the war. He does this astutely, without being judgmental, and allows the readers to come to their own conclusions.
The best pages of the book are the last few: A beautiful post-war account. The hugs, the exhilaration, the home coming, the celebrations and, the tears, the field hospital, the memorial service, the nightmares. And between all this the struggle to find and remove the landmines on reclaimed territory planted by the departing enemy.
Recommendation: It’s a good read; gives good insights in to the war. But, probably will not satiate your quest to know everything there is to know about the war and you find yourself looking for another book that will. Will try and get my hands on ‘From Surprise to Victory’ by Gen VP Malik. Heard good reviews…
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