Cricket Columns July to December 2010

Durban busts yet another myth
Bring on the green-tops, India is ready!
29 December, 2010, Sify.com

One of the greatest all-round years…
2010 has been good, but 2011 will be tough
22 December, 2010, Sify.com

It ain’t India without a good collapse
India is entering shaky ground again…
21 December, 2010, Sify.com

Demons are in the mind, not in the pitch
It’s not just about bounce in South Africa…
15 December, 2010, Sify.com

Team India and the art of flattening weak teams
Getting over our biggest weakness…
9 December, 2010, Sify.com

Is this India’s greatest batting line-up ever?
A look at the Famous Five…
17 November, 2010, Sify.com

Is New Zealand India’s toughest Test rival?
The statistics tell a very interesting story
17 November, 2010, Sify.com

A Team of Sikanders
How India gets out of scrapes…
Sify.com, 12 November, 2010

On the threshold of all-time greatness
Why the next five months are crucial…
Sify.com, 3 November, 2010

The Myth of the Lucky Captain
7 reason’s why Dhoni is so successful…
Sify.com, 21 October, 2010

Is India playing too little international cricket?
There are much more of “other” things
Sify.com, 18 August, 2010

Team India’s performance swings like a stock market
A brief history of crashes
Sify.com, 13 August, 2010

How to get a result in every Test match
We are sick and tired of boring draws
Sify.com, 28 July, 2010

Murali’s the greatest, but…
Factors against the spinner
Sify.com, 21 July, 2010

Is the ICC still relevant?
The individual boards rule
Sify.com, 7 July, 2010

Cricket sayings…

• He was traveling at the speed of Sehwag!

• He’s been around for as long as Tendulkar.

• May you be as lucky as Dhoni.

Aapki jodi Sehwag aur Gambhir ki tarah salaamat rahe.

• You wouldn’t want the misfortunes of the Pak cricket team on you!

• May you be as fit as Kapil.

• Be careful, or it will all come crashing down like Modi in IPL.

• Don’t worry, you’ll come back just like Nehra.

• As unpredictable as the Indian fast bowling line-up.

• They’re falling just like the Aussies.

This version by Sunil Rajguru

The slightly Good, mostly Bad & downright Ugly side of Commonwealth Games 2010

C for Corruption
India set out to showcase its economic might and development path, but ended up showcasing its corruption instead. All’s Not Well That Merely Ends Well. Countries will remember this for a long long time and CWG 2010 will be a Benchmark for corruption and mismanagement.

O for Opening Ceremony
Funny how a few song, dance and light shows can make everyone forget misappropriation of funds and missed deadlines. Indian Olympic chief Suresh Kalmadi’s moment (even though he was booed) after which the media declared that All’s Well That Begins Well.

M for Mani Shankar Aiyer
The Congress politician, who definitely did not have the last laugh… (Last heard he sacked his Rain Dance Master)

M for Money
How much did the games actually cost? How many funds were siphoned off? How much money could have actually been diverted for actual development?

O for Organizing Committee
Which in retrospect will be called the Disorganizing Committee.

N for Next
Next is what? Olympics? When will India be able to host the Olympics? Or is it N for Never?

W for Witch-hunt
The Central Government constituted a Special Investigation Committee to look into the whole fiasco. The saga continues even after the games end…

E for Environment friendly
In association with the United Nations Environment Programme, they were called the Green Games. However the presence of the games village near the Yamuna bank and the felling of trees had detractors crying foul.

A for Aquatic Pigeon Poo
Swimmers complained of pigeon droppings in swimming pools. Some alleged a Delhi belly because of that. Most Indians didn’t know what all the fuss was about.

L for Lane
The reserved Commonwealth Games Lane created quite a stink before the games began, but was luckily not as bad as that once the games started.

T for Toilets
Foreign media highlighted the stinking dirty toilets before the games began and continued to do so till the end of the games.

H for Hockey
Char din ki chandani, phir andheri raat hai
After reaching the Commonwealth finals for the first time ever, a 0-8 thrashing in the finals.

G for Gold Rush and Gagan Narang
Every cloud has a gold lining. 38 Golds (4 for Narang). Second Place, ahead of England! (Great Britain had 19 Golds in the last Olympics) Only the medals tally will be remembered in the future.

A for AR Rehman
Was the official theme song Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto that bad? Is AR Rahman in decline? Is he no longer Ram but in fact the Ravan of music?

M for Manmohan Singh
Who had to keep stepping in to save face in the run-up to the games. It is said that once a President was ready to sweep the floor for a Prime Minister. In this case, a Chief Minister taunted the Prime Minister to do the same.

E for Elizabeth II
The Queen missed a Commonwealth Games for the first time in decades. What was she scared of?

S for the Suresh and Sheila Show
Potentially good material for an Indian version of the Punch and Judy Show featuring the games head and Delhi Chief Minister.

This Version By Sunil Rajguru

Cricket Columns February to June 2010

Do only bad boys become world champions?
Is aggression the only thing that matters?
Sify.com, 30 June, 2010

Team India & a pretty long jinx
The jinx that lasted 15 years…
Sify.com, 23 June, 2010

Asia Cup: Acid test for India
The first step for the 2011 WC campaign
Sify.com, 16 June, 2010

Remove the problem, not the person
The BCCI has the same solution to everything
Sify.com, 9 June, 2010

Is the BCCI accountable to anything or anyone?
The latest is the decison not to take part in the Asian Games
Sify.com, 1 June, 2010

Youngistan for Zimbabwe & Bangladesh is good
The BCCI has got something right
Sify.com, 27 May, 2010

Unfit India not favourites for 2011 World Cup
That’s one fallout of the T20 Windies fiasco
Sify.com, 19 May, 2010

More than 100 years in the making…
England finally wins a world cup
Sify.com, 17 May, 2010

Are we simply a bad T20 team?
Post-2007, our performance has dipped
Sify.com, 12 May, 2010

Will T20 kill the ODI star?
Twenty20s are the future…
Sify.com, 5 May, 2010

Six things I still like about the IPL…
There’s still nothing wrong with IPL fundamentals
Sify.com, 29 April, 2010

The A to Z of IPL Controversies
A lowdown on three seasons of IPL…
Sify.com, 23 April, 2010

Kerry Modi & Lalit Packer
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 20 April, 2010

Controversies & a 50-50 chance
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 15 April, 2010

India sending B-team to World Cup
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 12 April, 2010

Cheerleaders 1, Moral Police 0
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 5 April, 2010

The funniest tweets
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 1 April, 2010

Chennai’s loss could be India’s gain
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 29 March, 2010

Sachin & the big World Cup prize
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 25 March, 2010

Ready for Sreesanth as captain?
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 22 March, 2010

If Sunil Gavaskar had played T20!
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 18 March, 2010

Lalit Modi needs a Twitter lesson
Some IPL snippets…
Sify.com, 15 March, 2010

Who will nail the Pakistan Cricket Board?
On the latest cricket controversy…
Sify.com, 11 March, 2010

The curious case of the IPL Icons
When being an icon doesn’t mean that much…
Sify.com, 10 March, 2010

Is Sachin really the greatest batsman of all time?
A contrarian view…
Sify.com, 2 March, 2010

Harbhajan Singh, the media & a million idiots
How the media loves going overboard on issue of cricket…
Sify.com, 24 February, 2010

Australia vs the rest: Curse of the Challenger
How it’s tough to hold on to the ICC Test Cricket No. 1 spot after you have captured it…
Sify.com, 10 February 2010

Those responsible for the current debacle of Indian cricket…

The BCCI: For only being interested in money, being distracted by the IPL fiasco and not giving the team enough time to prepare for the T20 World Cup.

The Selection Committee: For selecting the wrong team and going by past reputations only.

The Coach: For not setting the correct WC strategy and not pushing hard enough.

The Captain: For his on-field decisions.

The Trainer and Physio: For not succeeding in keeping a fit team.

The Players Themselves: For not being fit, not fielding properly and not being 100% committed.

The IPL: For introducing fatigue.

Australia, Lanka and Windies: For playing better cricket than India and beating them.

The West Indies Board: For not making flat pitches.

Fortune: For not shining on India.

The Media: For going after the players, distracting them, not giving them support and demoralizing them.

The Fans: For having unrealistic expectations in the first place.

Itna sab galat hain!
And you actually thought that India was going to win the World Cup?

© Sunil Rajguru

Indian cricket ka safar hai ye kaisa safar

Please sing to the tune of Zindagi ka safar from the movie Safar

Indian cricket ka safar hai ye kaisa safar,
koi samjha nahin koi jaana nahin,
hai ye kaisa cricketer, dekhte hain sab magar,
koi samjha nahin, koi jaana nahin.

Indian cricket ko bahut pyaar hamne kiya,
haar se bhi mohabbat nibhaaenge hum,
rote rote zamaane mein aaye magar,
rote rote hi stadium se jaaenge bhi hum,
jaaenge par kidhar hai kise ye khabar,
koi samjha nahin koi jaana nahin.

Aise victories bhi hain jo jeete hi nahin,
jinko jeetne se pehle hi haar hi gaye,
careers aise bhi hain jo khile hi nahin,
jinko khilne se pehle fiza kha gaye,
hai pareshaan har, thak gaye spectator,
koi samjha nahin koi jaana nahin.

Spoof by Sunil Rajguru

(Original Song: Zindagi ka safar hai ye kaisa safar
Film: Safar
Year: 1970)