Gollum

India vs Sri Lanka, 2009 Rajkot. We scored 414, they were 328/2 in 37 overs with Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya batting. Bhajji got both of them out, we won by 3 runs. Bhajji's 58/2 was the clincher there but MOM went to Viru. Viru scored 146(102) while Dilshan scored 160(124). Bhajji got 58/2 in his 10 overs, and more importantly turned the match around with his double strike. Who deserved MOM according to you? http://www.cricbuzz.com/live-cricket-scorecard/3196/ind-vs-sl-1st-odi-sri-lanka-in-india-odi-series India vs England, 2011 WC group game Bengaluru. Match was a tie. Sachin scored 120(115) while Strauss scored 158(145). But Zak was the one who made the tie possible when England were cruising. They were 281/3 with 58 required of 45 balls. Strauss was on 158* while Bell was 69*. Zak got both of them out in a fantastic spell of reverse swing. He then dismissed Collingwood for 1 and finished with 3/64, undoubtedly the game changer there. Strauss got MOM but did he deserve it? http://www.cricbuzz.com/live-cricket-scorecard/2177/ind-vs-eng-11th-match-group-b-icc-world-cup-2011 These are just 2 examples from the top of my head, there will be more. My point is in high scoring games, bowlers can still stand out. Impact matters there, a few crucial breakthroughs or an economic spell at the fag end of the innings can turn the match by 180 degrees. But unfortunately even in those circumstances batsmen invariably get MOM. Bowlers never get their due, especially in India, in these MOM awards.

Spot on. In general Aussies are the toughest team to face in crunch matches. You need something special even to knock out mediocre Aussie teams in knockout matches of WCs. In 2011 they fielded a weak team(relative to their high standards) in the SC, but the best team of that tournament had to play its best match in the tournament to knock them out in the QF. If not for that epic Yuvi-Raina partnership we would have lost that match. Aravinda had to play an ATG, if not the GOAT WC knock in the 1996 F to beat Aussies. WI needed a Clive Lloyd special and 4 direct hits from Viv to beat Aus by 5 runs in the 1975 finals. Conclusion:You need ATG performances to beat the Aussies in the business end of WCs. If India were to face Aus in 2019 SF/F I expect Aussies to crush us mercilessly like they did in 2015 SF. That bowling lineup you posted is downright scary, I feel sorry for the teams that have to come up against a full fledged Aussie attack in the future.

This has become a thing in Bengaluru also now. Elders in my locality tell me that this was never the case here 2 decades back, Ganesh Chaturthi was more low key back then. This phenomenon is because of entry of Hindu organizations in the state, similar parades are also happening in Hyderabad and Chennai (in Periyar's land, in Murugan's land !!!!). Just like Tilak used these Ganesh festivals to mobilize Indian youth towards freedom struggle, BJP-RSS are using these festivals to awaken Hindu consciousness in our society. The more glamorous and fun you make these parades, the more youth they will attract. I don't mind Bollywood numbers in these parades at all, youth want to have fun during festivals, why stop them? A happy society is a healthy society and these things happen only a few days in the year. Even Durgo Pujo in WB is similar, raunchy/high energy songs fill the air after evening and pandals are more about chick spotting and socializing than spiritual journey or admiring the beautiful sculptures/pandals . Even if people don't like these aspects I ask them this: Isn't celebrating like this better than slitting throats of 100s of animals in the middle of the street or lashing ones' back in groups of 1000s until the roads get a red tinge due to blood? Or worse talking out rallies taunting onlookers and damaging public property and instigating riots? Well that is how one religion celebrated its festivals in our country? Even if they are a tad excessive I will take Christmas parties and Hindu/Sikh celebrations over some other so called religious celebrations every single day of the week.

On a flat track bowlers make the difference, on a difficult track batsmen make the difference. According to me bowlers should get preference in these 400 meets 375 shootouts while in low scoring matches batsmen should get preference. This is the ideal criteria but as @sandeep pointed out this is hardly the case in modern day cricket, more so in India. I have seen more instances of bowlers getting MOM in Australia and SA even with supposedly mediocre figures, just because they changed the course of a match or distinguished themselves from the pack more convincingly than batsmen. Unfortunately I have never seen such a thing in India, the MOM selection panel members are generally guys like Sunny, Shastri, Bhogle, VVS, Sehwag etc and they can't afford to anger BCCI/sponsors by placing the Dalits of Indian cricket(bowlers) over the upper castes(batsmen). Feel sorry for our bowlers right from Kumble/Srinath to Zak/Ashwin/Shami, they make peanuts compared to batsmen via ads and are relegated to the sidelines in spite of being no less than the upper castes. I don't know if you guys remember this but in the Faisalabad test in 2006 Pak and India batsmen both mad merry with humongous scores but RP Singh got MOM for his 4/89 effort in the 1st innings(in a match with 6 centurions no less !!!!!!). That is the attitude I want to see from the MOM/MOS selection panels, but alas sponsors and boards won't be very happy if bowlers get their due. Here is a link to that match I was talking about : http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-scores/4320/pak-vs-ind-2nd-test-india-in-pakistan-test-series-2006

No need to abuse ICF posters yaar. Control your emotions. If you feel strongly about it you can articulate it in a post without abusing other members, I don't mind abusing but let us not direct it at others...you can make a general point.

The only way to save Bengal is to somehow get rid of Mamata. CPM is too weak, Congress has influence only in Malda and Murshidabad but BJP is emerging fast. Many CPM and Congress Hindu members have seen the light and are shifting to BJP. BJP will get stronger but can never dislodge TMC as long as Mamata is there because of the sagacity of the Bengalis (plus booth capturing skills, gundagiri, bombs etc by certain sections during elections in that state). The only way to save that state from utter ruin and destruction is for IB to get involved and do the necessary thing if you know what I mean. I don't want to spell out the drastic plan of action because that may land me in trouble but I honestly feel many people from politics, bureaucracy, judiciary, police, media, human rights organizations, NGOs etc don't deserve to stay alive. Modi needs to be like Putin and we need a KGB style agency to do the needful to make our country a more secure place.

To those who criticize BJP for every damn thing under the sun would they prefer living in a state like Gujarat which BJP has ruled for over 2 decades or Bengal where CPM-TMC have ruled for almost half a century? I mean isn't it freaking obvious who should rule the country? For all its faults and shortcomings (and there are quite a few) BJP is still the best bet to somewhat put this country in the right path. Congress has been given enough chances, they were good in the initial stages and had spurts of brilliance in the middle(eg PVNR) but absolutely dreadful since the Italian took charge. Regional parties, the less said about them the better. Apart from Naveen Patnaik, Naidu, late Jayalalitha and Manik Sarkar(even though he is a communist) other regional bosses don't have the nationalistic spirit we require in our leaders. BJP should be given 25 years to rule by the public, if they succeed well and good, if not we are doomed...there is no viable alternative in Indian politics.

4 days should be enough to force a a win against Zim but hope this is not the way forward. I hate fads like 4 day tests and D/N tests with pink balls. Test cricket should be left undisturbed, the purest form of the game will do better left alone. More importantly hope BCCI doesn't get any crazy idea in the future, these 2 fads will so more harm than good for test matches in India because they will gnaw away our strengths(pitches and spinners).

Planning to watch Logan, Wonder Woman, Get Out and LEGO Batman this weekend.

Am up to date with Vikings and HOC now. Enjoyed both. Any suggestions w.r.t history themed shows like Vikings and Rome? Enjoyed both of them, even more than GOT.

Ashwin and Jadeja delivered in CT 2013. Ashwin was excellent in both 2011 and 2015 WCs. That is as good as you can ask from a spinner...delivering in the grandest stage of them all. 2015 WC pitches were graveyards for spinners and I think Ashwin delivered the greatest bowling performance by an Indian spinner in a WC there, even better than Kumble's 1996 haul which was in a different era with more sluggish/turning tracks. Check the 2015 WC SF Aus innings to get an idea of how well he was bowling at that time..... I agree that in overseas bilaterals those 2 were underwhelming but you have got to consider the circumstances in the 2011-15 period. Duncan was our coach, MSD was our skipper and we were just going through the motions in all 3 formats, especially overseas. There was no energy, we lost more than we won and the atmosphere never felt right. Right now we are having good results, but if we enter a slump in 2 years time the question will be whether Chahal-Kuldeep can pull themselves together and deliver memorable performances like our spinners did in 2013 CT and 2015 WC. I have enjoyed these 2 bowl thus far but let us admit, they have bowled on some of the most friendliest home pitches since the turn of the decade. They are yet to bowl in graveyards like 2013 Aus home series, so we have to wait and watch. Stats can be deceiving, Mishraji has a world class record with many 4/5fers because he played a bulk of his games against Zimbabwe on turning pitches. Ashwin never played against Zimbabwe, in fact he missed many matches where he could have boosted his stats. When push came to shove Mishraji was exposed while Ashwin still delivered decently. Put Ashwin in the NZ home series, Lanka series or this series, I can bet that he too would have enjoyed bowling against the noobs. Kuldeep and Ash both played together in WI ODIs and I don't think Kuldeep outclassed him there.

For modern day pitches I would place Australia, SA and Pakistan above India. We are comfortably better than Lanka, WI, Eng, BD and marginally ahead of NZ atm. So overall 4th which is better than at any point in our ODI history since may be 2003 WC.

Even I love ODIs especially when there is balance between bat and ball. In the 90s with challenging pitches, more lenient fielding restrictions and 1 new ball rule which helped bowlers get their due I never missed an ODI. Even though I place tests on top, ODI cricket will always have a special place in my heart(unless we get 400 meets 375 batting shootouts where bowlers are treated like bowling machines). I am not averse to T20 as well, just that I believe that Tests>ODIs>T20s in the minds of most genuine cricket followers.

Similar to chess where not all great classical players(Topalov, Caruana) are great in blitz and not all top blitz players(Meier, Dubov) are great in classical. But long format players are always rated higher compared to short format players. Moreover it is easier to transition from tests to ODIs/T20s for greats than the reverse. You can name 10 test greats who failed in shorter formats and I will name 50 great shorter format players who failed in tests. In longer formats you have to force mistakes(batsmen or bowler or chess player) but in shorter formats you get more unforced errors because of time constraints. Another factor is patience, perseverance and tenacity, same reasons why BO5 matches(Slams, earlier 1000M) in tennis are given more importance than BO3. Tomorrow if football/field hockey is reduced to a 10 minute game with sudden death penalty shootouts the matches will be more wide open, you see the picture.......

Will not succumb to conspiracy: Mamata on Calcutta HC setting aside govt order on Durga idol immersion http://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/durga-idol-immersion-row-will-not-succumb-to-conspiracy-mamata-on-calcutta-hc-order/story-VXySyKuWt3Z80vEW16vQgO.html If there is violence I will not be responsible: Mamata Didi One messed up state I will give you that. Brace for riots in Bengal next month folks !!!