Rise like Phoenix - India Australia 2020-21 - Series review

 What the world witnessed today (19.01.2021) and during this test series is meaning of life. Life may punch you hard in the face but it’s your ability to pick yourself up after the bloody punch in face is what defines you. India has done exactly the same. 36 All out in the first test match was disheartening / discomforting / embarrassing. It was the nadir for Indian cricket team and exactly one month after see where it has reached, to the its pinnacle. This is what new India is!! This is what a cricket test match / series teaches us!! This is what life teaches us!!! Be resilient / be gritty / stand your ground and above all believe in yourself regardless of what others say about you.

This series has shown us that even if all the money / luxuries / cushions / belongings are taken away from you, but you may still live to fight on and show your intangible asset i.e. “attitude” and “Character” to life and say I am here to live and live graciously. These are really cliched terms but damn important. The importance of these two terms was on display by Indian team through out this test series. Before even the test series started one by one, all the jewels of Indian team were being taken away from them. Virat Kohli had announced that he will only play the first test match (as he wanted to be with to be mother of his first child at the time of arrival of the first child). Ishant Sharma, Bhuwaneshwar Kumar and Hardik pandya were also not available due to injuries. Rohit Sharma (the preferred opener) was not available for first two test matches. Jadeja was concussed during the t20s and was not available for the first test. To add to the salt to the wounds, the degree of defeat in Adelaide was humongous. India had bettered their lowest ever total in Adelaide.

The “Experts” said it would be a whitewash, 0-4 Australia’s way, India’s win in 2018-19 was because of no presence of key Australian players etc. The Captain had already left for his once in lifetime moment. One of their premier fast bowler Shami, also got injured and was ruled out of the test series after the Adelaide test. The stand-in captain had to build this team from ashes. The Indian team went to MCG believing in their skill sets and knowing what they can do rather than what has happened in the past. Ajinkya Rahane stated that they didn’t discuss what happened in Adelaide test in their dressing room. It was all about what could be done and what needs to be done. Such a simple thing, but I can’t stop myself but to draw a parallel with life. No matter what has happened in past, it is your belief in yourself and belief in future that will determine where are you headed. Don’t be a prisoner of past, be a architect of the future. The display of Indian team’s “Character” and “Attitude” was for the first time (and ofcourse not for the last time in the series) on display in the MCG test match. First the bowlers (Bumrah and Ashwin) toppled Australia for a low score and then the Captain lead them from the front and hit a century to ensure India gets a sizable lead and rest was history. A noticeable thing during the test match was during the second innings of Australia there was one more addition to the list of Indian injured players i.e. Umesh Yadav. Hardly bowled 4 overs and was injured. India with 10 players, still was able to win the test match. Amazing.

Then there was the Sydney test. One of the finest rearguard action done in a test match. This showed that in life winning is not everything. It is also very important not to lose. If you can’t win a match, don’t lose a match. Keep toiling, stand like a rock and see eye to eye with the difficult situation and say if I can’t better you, doesn’t matter, I will not let you better me. That’s what happened in Sydney. However, in process of rearguard action, India’s resources were exhausted and the injury list kept on ballooning. Before going into the Gabba test 9 of the established players of Indian team were either unavailable or were injured.

Questions were raised on the ability of the Indian team even to compete (let alone winning) against the mighty and full strength Australian side on the ground which is fortress for them for 33 years. Australia last lost a match in Gabba against a formidable and champion West Indies side consisting of Gordon greenidge, desmond Haynes, viv Richards, Malcom marshall, curtly ambrose, Courtney walsh etc. After 1988, the Tendulkars’, Akhtars’, Lara’s, Ranatungas’, Smiths’, Pietersens’, Flemings’, all have come and gone however, Australia never lost a test match at Gabba. However, as I mentioned above, this Indian team is architect of future and not prisoner of past. The combined experience of 21 tests amongst Pant (15), Gill (2), Thakur (1), Sundar (0), Saini (1) and Siraj (2) was the chief actors of India’s win at Gabba which will be cherished and remembered for the years to come. However, the efforts of senior players such as Rahane, Pujara and Sharma cannot at all be ignored. Be it be acting as a Insurance policy for India (Pujara) or seeing of the new ball (Rohit) or leading from the front and with an intent of street fighter (Rahane). All of this put together, what have we got, a test series which explains us how to live. Difficult times come and go however, character and attitude is something which is always with you and you own it.

#Indiaaustralia2020-21 #Cricket #life

Gone too soon.... Indian Cinema's biggest loss

On 14th June, when I heard news of Sushant Singh Rajput's (SSR) suicide, the first thing hit my mind was how could a person like him commit suicide?

Till now, I was a big fan of his work. My image about him was always that of a smart and logical actor. Not like any other actor who works for money / fame and power. Here was a person who acted simply because he liked acting. I always noticed that he was very passionate about his work. In movies such as Kai po chhe, Byomkesh Bakshi, M.S. Dhoni or Chhichhore, it was very evident that his work ethic is rigorous. He did his homework to the core. His portrayal of the character was immaculate and I used to feel that he was not acting but he himself lived the life of the character. I used to wait for his films. Subconsciously, this made a big impact on me. Unfortunately, I never ever tried to find out more about him until I heard the sad news. 

In order to know more about him, I began to hear his interviews on you tube and started reading about him on the net. The more I hear from him (in the interview) and more I understood about this guy, more I felt intrigued. How on earth a person like him , who was artist (left side of the brain) and ardent follower of quantum physics and astronomy (right side of the brain), commit suicide? He had all the things clicking for himslef. he had different goals (which are mentioned as you read further), he was successful in his own way, he was driven by his passion, there was absolutely no reason for him to end his life.

Though he kept things very simply, he was a kind of person who had mastered the art to radically change the way he lived. He was not driven by fame, in fact fame was a tool for him to get the kind of work (which was his passion) he wanted to do. He was driven by sheer passion for acting. As many times in his interviews he has said that once he started performing arts, be it be dancing or theaters, the power to express himself and be understood gave him high. For him if his film does not do well on Friday, he may feel bad, but he will come back to the same mental state by Monday. 

For him money was important, however only till a specific point. Because after that inflection point, a lot of money could only give him a small amount of joy (this applies to everyone). For him success was not money / fame, in fact they were byproducts of the success. For him success was to enjoy the process, enjoy the each and every moment / experience of the journey of the work. Once you are in such a state of mind, hard work does not feel like hard work. He has many times mentioned theory of relativity. For e.g. if you are playing a video game, 2 hours would pass as if 2 minutes and you will not feel tired of playing a video game, because you like it. Same is the thing with work, if you like the process, if you live in present and don't worry about the result, you will not get tired of working. How often you find person like this. People may preach such things, however, how often we come accross a person who actually practices it? He surely did practice it.

There are so many interesting facets about this guy. He always challenged the status quo. He constantly pushed the boundaries. He simply hated comfort zone. From self dropping out of the Engineering college (after doing well in it) to deciding not to do TV at the time when he was very famous in "Pavitra Rishta" to doing a theatre play immediately after success of M.S.Dhoni movie and rejecting the flow of movies which he was getting. He was ok with uncertainty, because he believed in experiences, he believed in failing for 99 times and stumbling upon something fresh for the 100th time, because the joy of some fresh experience will supersede the sorrow of failing for 99 times. He believed that it is better to fail massively than to achieve mediocre success. 

All his life, he was not doing anything to prove a point to someone else. He was driven by his will and passion. He never believed in rat race. In fact, according to him, if you win a rat race, you are still a rat. How often we hear that. Brilliant. Personally, I have never seen a person (except for that in movies) who is driven by such passion / vigour / simplicity and such thought process. To add to it he aced in all those things which he sets out to do. If Bollywood was Indian Cricket then he was surely Virat Kohli of bollywood. Absolutely no doubt about it. Both idolised Sachin and Shahrukh, both are fierce in their work ethic, both are passionate about their work (to a different level), for both work is play. The way Virat has / will change the Indian cricket, he would have surely changed the face of Indian film industry. Alas for his unfortunate decision to end his life.  

Apart from his passion to Act, he had passion in many other things which none of the current Indian Cinema stars can even think of. His love for Astronomy is very well known. He had a telescope at his house named Meade LX600 which is world's one of the most advanced telescope. He bought it because he wanted to see rings of Saturn. Many Bollywood stars may not even know names of all the planets in our solar system and here is the guy who has such passion. 

Next, he had bought a piece of land on moon. In fact he was the only person in India who has himself bought a land on Moon. Until now I didn't even know that one could buy a piece of land on Moon. Amazing.   

On his twitter handle in Sept 2019, barely 9 months before, he had shared list of his 50 goals in life. One would wonder why on earth a successful filmstar would aim to do such different things. However, such things defined and differentiated him. Few of the goals were  to Learn to fly a plane, learn morse code, do a four clap push up, Chart trajectories of Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn for a week, Send 100 kids for a workshop in NASA / ISRO, Meditate in Kailash, Visit CERN / LIGO, Paint Auroa borealis (northen lights), Spend a week in Jungle, understand vedic astrology, work for free education,  Visit antartica,  Be an ambidextous archer, Make a documentary on Swami vivekanand, Learn Caporia (afro-brazillian martial art).

I am simply speechless after looking at all his goals and by the way, he did manage to achieve many goals of his. This guy was truly made for something great. Now that he is gone and we will never come to know what we have missed.

His twitter #selfmusings was also high on intellect and message. Few impactful #selfmusings are below.

1. An actor wanting to act, thinking more or just about money and success, is like that someone, who wanted to be a cop because he liked guns and power.  
2. To understand, and to be understood, is all we ever asked for...
3. The best wars ever fought were definitely the ones that were intentionally averted.

I can just go on and on. Check out his twitter page. https://twitter.com/itsSSR

After reading about him and hearing him during the interviews, I can only relate to the famous song of 3 Idiots.

"Behati Hawa Sa Tha Woh, Udati Patang Sa Tha Woh
Kahaan Gaya Use Dhundon
Hamako Toh Raahein Thi Chalaati
Woh Khud Apani Raah Banaata
Girata Sambhalata Masti Mein Chalata Tha Woh
Hamako Kal Ki Fikar Sataati, Woh Bas Aaj Ka Jashn Manaata
Har Lamahe Ko Khulake Jita Tha Woh
Kahaan Se Aaya Tha Woh, Chhuke Hamaare Dil KoKahaan Gaya Use Dhundon"

Hope he rests in peace.

18.06.2020

Mother

Today marks 2 years after my mother passed away. It is indeed an emotional day for me. However, I did not realise how much my mother would have gone through for raising me, until I was a proud father of a boy. My little joy is 11 months old today and I really miss my mother everyday. Everyday, I see my wife and my kid each other, I realise how much my mother loved me. When I see my wife and kid trying to settle down with each other, I go back 30 years and think how come my mother raised me without all the comforts which are on offer to my family right now. I will miss her more going forward seeing my kid grow up. How she would have reacted seeing my kid grow and compare his actions with that of my childhood. I could have relived my childhood if she was around.

Mother is truly god on earth. She takes care of you like no one else can do. She does it without any expectation of return on investments. She does it because she loves you. Though I have not told my father, he is really lucky that he (now 64) still has a mother who till date takes care of him like a kid.

It is of utmost importance in this dynamic world to understand one basic fact that we take care of our mothers regardless of her age. You never know when is her last day. Love her, show kindness, understand her needs, even argue with her but never hurt her. In this fast paced life, sometimes we forget to take care of our near and dear ones including mother. We take her for granted. Don't do that. Once she is gone all this will come back to haunt you.

I sincerely request all readers, if you have your mum with you (regardless of your age), you are the luckiest person on the earth. You have your god with you. Keep her happy that should be the most important thing for you. You may not be able to keep her happy all the time (for practical reasons) however, the fact that you tried to keep her happy will make you smile once she is gone. Don't celebrate only "Mother's day" in fact celebrate everyday as if it is "Mother's day". Identify what she likes, what she needs. Fulfill those likes and needs before she asks. See the joy on her face. It will be priceless.

We can enjoy life if we seize these small moments. 

India V. New Zealand - 3rd T20 - 10.02.2019

Today's match was a bloody street fight where many punches landed by fighters to each other till the time the other fighter was grounded. This game had everything. Ruthless batting, Smart bowling, some great fielding (some not so great), almost last ball finish, individuals with lesser reputation taking the centre stage to take their teams to the finish line etc.

Considering the bigger picture, Indians should not be disappointed. Pant, Hardik, Krunal and DK showed how dangerous they can be on a given day. Kuldeep Yadav showed that he has become a very mature bowler and does not get carried away if other bowlers are getting hit all round the park. These were very similar conditions which Indians will be getting in England during the world cup which is few months away. However, New Zealand played exceptionally well. With Munro showing why he is one of the best batsmen in T20 now-a-days, KW showing his class and Colin de Grandhomme showing his hitting prowess set up a steep target and somehow huffing and puffing restricted India 4 short of their score.

Kiwis were put in to bat by India. Unlike the last game, Kiwis' openers came charging on as angry bulls. Openers put on 80 runs within 8 overs. The stage was set for a total in excess of 200. However, Indians could have restricted Kiwis from putting on a mammoth 212 if Khaleel (when Munro was on 60) would have held on to a dolly catch. However, then munro added 12 runs to his individual total and perished. However, then KW and Colin de grandhomme came together and ensured that Kiwis make rapid strides towards the 200 run mark. Final flourish was provided by Daryl Michell and Roass taylor. Kiwis ended up with 212 on the board.

Indians in reply lost Dhawan early. Vijay Shankar came at no.3. Played a handy innings of 43 (28) to keep India in the hunt of the target. Rohit, uncharacteristically, played a innings of 38(32). Perished in 14th over trying to hit a wide ball out of the park. So was MS Dhoni. However, sparkling brilliance was shown by Pant, Pandya brothers and DK. Pant scored 16 runs out of first 3 deliveries. Hardik hit his first ball out of the park. Krunal hit 14 runs out of the first 3 deliveries of 18th over from Southee. DK hit 2 huge sixes. However, these all efforts could not help India achieve the target. In fact if not for DK and Krunal Pandya's partnership of 63 out of 27 balls, India would have fell very well short of the target. However, these were the positives out of the match that batsman other than Rohit, Dhawan and MSD propelled India's chase and almost won the match.

Really it was a delight to watch today's match. That's what T20 are all about. Thrilling and entertaining!!

India v. NZ T20 08 FEB 2018

The second t20 between black caps and team India was a must win encounter for the visitors. Though the visitors went with unchanged side (much to my surprise), the intensity was way better than first match.
This time KW won the toss and elected to bat first. However, RoHitman was also happy with the toss since Indians wanted to bowl first on a small ground with an abnormal shape for a cricket ground. Bhuvi was ably supported by Khaleel. They both bowled initial spell with discipline and only gave 30 runs out of their combined 4 overs with a priceless wicket of the hero of first match. However, body blows were provided by Krunal pandya in his first over (last over of the power play). Colin Munro was caught by rohit at midwicket and the controversial dismissal of Daryl Mitchell. The experienced duo of Taylor and KW tried to calm the innings, but with KW judged LBW in Krunal Pandya's second over and black caps were in more than spot of bother at 51-4 after 8 overs. Colin de G. (CDG) then came to the crease to join Taylor. He did excellent counter attack and hit a 28 ball 50. He propelled NZ's score to 128 in 16 overs. At that stage NZ fancied chances of a score in excess of 175. However, with accurate death bowling by India, NZ could only managed to get to 158-8 in their quota of 20 overs.

The target was not a big one, but was not at all walk in the park type. India had to be clinical in their chase against a talented black caps bowling attack headed by southee. For NZ it would have been a record if they managed to keep India from chasing the target. Lowest target defended on the same venue was 166 by NZ in 2012. However, the opening partnership between Ro n Shikhar of 77 in 9 overs, ensured that NZ's chances of winning were minimised if not eliminated. With this innings now Rohit has twenty 50s which is the highest number of 50s in t20. With roles reversed, Rohit pressed accelerator and Dhawan was happy playing second fiddle. This time Indian think tank did a sensible thing by sending young pant to the crease after the fall of first wicket. He did a good job scoring 40 runs out of 28 runs. After the first wicket partnership, India never looked back and Vijay Shankar and MSD provided the support which pant needed to chase down the target with ease.

With this win, now the series hangs in balance setting a mouth watering third encounter on Sunday at Hamilton.

India - New Zealand T20 - 06 Feb 2019

Today's match can be summed up as a Kid trying to drive a bicycle without using either of his hands on a road filled with potholes just to see how fast he can go without using his hands (remember your childhood days). India was that kid today and that kid fell on its face hurting itself badly. It was a bad loss. Indian think tank was trying to manufacture simulated conditions to try and know its bench's real strength. However, they forgot that today's match is not scientist's laboratory where experiments are done but it is actual market place where results are expected. 

India did a lot of experiments today in before and in the match. Infact, India approached this match as if it is a practice match. Virat and Bumrah already on leave. On top of it Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav not selected for the match. Today's Indian team already was missing its key players. Further, India did experiments in its batting and bowling order. In both the experiments, Vijay Shankar was involved. He did not get to bowl for certain strange reason. Considering the fact that all the bowlers were taken to the cleaners, he deserved a chance to bowl. In batting, to everyone's surprise he was promoted in the batting order and walked in the park on fall of first wicket. Both the experiments failed.

Coming to the match, New Zealand was a far more professional team today. Rohit won the toss and decided to Bowl on a pitch which was good to bat on. Except for the first over where the New Zealand batsman sized up the pitch, the hosts were ruthless and relentless. Colin Munro is a completely different batsman in T20s. Delhi Capitals owners would be so happy to see this performance. Kane Williamson was also very enterprising. Both scored 34 runs. However, star and man of the match was Tim Seifert. He scored blistering 84 (43) runs hitting 13 boundaries (7 fours and 6 sixes). Hopefully, he continues Brendum McCullum's legacy for New Zealand. India had not seen much of him before the match. However, now they will for sure scrutinise his batting closely. Khaleel, who is yet to make his mark on international arena, was clobbered all over the place by the openers and so was Hardik Pandya. Both ended up with expensive figures of 1/48 and 2/51 out of their quota of 4 overs each. To add to it, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also a pale shadow of his better version. He also leaked runs and conceded 1/47 out of his 4 overs. Pick of the bowlers were both the spinners who comparatively did better job with economy rate of  less than 10 runs an over. However, New Zealand did reach to a score of 219 with the help of cameos from Ross (swatting) Taylor and Kuggelejin.

India had a mountain to climb from the first ball. Infact, before this match, out of 60 intl. T20 matches only 10 times a team has chased down a score more than 200. The odds were stacked against India to 1/6 from the beginning. To add to it, Virat was not in the batting line up. It had to be a Rohit special to take India to the victory. But that didn't happen. Rohit was caught out on a bouncer of Southee by Lockie Ferguson on India's score of 18 in 2.2 overs. With that wicket, India's hopes of chasing this mountain nosedived, if not totally wiped off. As mentioned earlier, India was in mood to experiment. They sent Vijay Shankar to have some batting experience under a pressure situation. Dhawan, who did look in good form, but was got a brute of a delivery from Lockie Ferguson. Vijay Shankar, Pant, Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya perished trying to up the ante. By the time Krunal Pandya joined Dhoni, India's chances of winning had perished. From that position of 77-6 at the end of 11th over, it would have been difficult for Mr. Gayle as well, even if he was allowed to bat twice. Eventually, India got all out for 139 in the 20th over. New Zealand won by a huge margin of 80 runs. This margin in T20 is really a huge margin.

Going forward, if India does not come out of its laboratory, I don’t see coming matches in this series to have any different results. All said and done, New Zealand played excellent cricket and they deserved this win. 

Stat of the Day - Out of 60 intl. T20 matches only 10 times a team has chased down a score more than 200.

Tweet of the Day - "So NZ does not care whether it is 50 overs match or 20 overs match. They will hit almost equal no. of runs in both the format" - @tushargoyal89. 

India's tour of Australia 2018-19 - 1st T20 - 21 November, 2018 - Gabba

The Aussies won the first T20 match which was reduced to 17 overs for 45 minutes break due to rain (in 17th over of the first inning). It was a humdinger match. The pendulum swung both the ways during the match finally Aussies were able to hold their nerve and come out on top.

Dinesh Karthik's pulsating innings of 30(13) could not help India to cross the winning line. Before DK's innings, as usual one of India's top 3 came out with a blitzkrigging  innings. It was Shikhar Dhawan's innings of 76(42) which ensured that India had more than a foot in the door in this match. However, he did not get the support from the other end. Rohit, Rahul and Virat struggled to find their timing while Shikhar Dhawan fluent on the other side. When Shikhar Dhawan perished, India needed 69 from 32 balls. This mountain was almost climbed by DK and Rishabh Pant with their partnership of 51 from 24 balls. However, Rishabh Pant again threw his wicket away with his trade mark "reverse Shovel" shot. Krunal Pandya came in and had a poor outing (both with bat and ball). In final over with 13 needed from it, Krunal Pandya and DK perished in back to back balls trying to find boundary.

India's target of 174  set due to (i) Duck-worth Lewis method; and (ii) Maxwell and Stoinis's brilliant innings. Australia had a slow start against India's double BB (Bhuvi and Bumrah). Aussies lost their first wicket in 5th over with only 24 on the board to a beautiful backward running catch by Kuldeep Yadav. That was the only moment of brilliance shown by India on the field. Subsequently there were missed catches, missed run outs and missed fields. Aussies innings did not get going till the 11th over. With 75 on board, Maxwell was joined by Stoinis. The duo never looked back and stitched together partnership of 78 in 37 balls. Maxwell in specific was very aggressive. This innings will surely help him fetch good bugs at IPL auction. Aussies were 153-3 at 16.1 overs and the rain halted the match for 45 minutes or so. Subsequently, the match was reduced to 17 overs and Aussies managed to score 158 from their 17 overs. That meant India had to score 174 runs to win (as calculated by Duckworth and Lewis method).

Finally, the scoreline reads like

Aus	158-4
India	169-7

India lost by 4 runs (DL method).

Try explaining the result to your female friends / relatives. You will find it difficult to explain that such thing can happen. That's why they say, anything can happen in Cricket.

This win gives the required boost to the Aussies and wake up call to India. Second match will be really interesting to at Melbourne.

Cheers!!