This has been a rather long week for cricket. It started out with the tragic attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. The 'passing the buck' phase is still far from over as far as this incident is concerned. The Sri Lankan team had a lucky escape, but 8 Pakistani members of their escort lost their lives. For now, it does indeed look like all of Pakistan's 'home series' will be hosted in places like Abu Dhabi.
On the other side of the world, England are being ground out on a series of flat tracks, as the West Indies seek their first win in a Test series in a a long time. What was expected to be an easy series has been turned into a defeat, largely due to the batting collapse in the first Test.
Australia, on the other hand, look set to inflict yet another defeat on South Africa. The Aussies really have bounced back splendidly, thanks to some excellent batting by the new boys, Philip Hughes and Marcus North, and a rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson. Once again, the South Africans look to have failed when it matters most, though there's still a whole day left in the 2nd Test.
India have put the disappointment of their T20 defeats behind them, and have taken an unassailable lead in the one-day series against New Zealand. The Kiwis, for all their brave efforts, haven't yet been able to overhaul the massive totals set by Indian batsmen.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Silent traffic jam
The stereotypical traffic jam generally involves a lot of blaring horns along with engines being revved briefly in expectation of a 3-inch gap opening up. A couple of days ago, I was in a traffic jam on the Old Madras Road in Bangalore where there were a 100-150 cars, buses and motorbikes, yet there wasn't a sound to be heard. Not a single horn honking or engine revving or idling. Definitely creepy!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Weird week for Cristiano Ronaldo
The previous week will probably have been particularly memorable for Cristiano Ronaldo. It seemed to improve almost linearly. Bad start with him crashing his Ferrari 599GTB, improving later on with Manchester United topping the table, and crowning it off with winning the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Must admit I don't feel too bad about the Ferrari, it's not one of their best-looking cars ever.
As far as the Premier League is concerned, Manchester United are in a rather familiar position, top of the table. Liverpool are finally near the top after over a decade of mediocrity. Chelsea are in 3rd, something they won't be too happy about. Arsenal, however, must be fuming, sitting in 5th place 3 points adrift of Aston Villa. The relegation battle is probably even more interesting, though. The 5 bottom teams all have 21 points, and the gap between 12th place and bottom is only 3 points!
As far as the Premier League is concerned, Manchester United are in a rather familiar position, top of the table. Liverpool are finally near the top after over a decade of mediocrity. Chelsea are in 3rd, something they won't be too happy about. Arsenal, however, must be fuming, sitting in 5th place 3 points adrift of Aston Villa. The relegation battle is probably even more interesting, though. The 5 bottom teams all have 21 points, and the gap between 12th place and bottom is only 3 points!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Happy Birthday, Tintin!
Tintin turns 80 today! On this day in 1929, the first part of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets was published in the Belgian children's newsletter Le Petit Vingtième.
Tintin has always been one of my favourite comic books. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about the adventures of the intrepid reporter, Tintin, and his faithful and very sensible dog, Snowy. Plus, there's also the antics of the bumbling detectives, Thomson and Thompson, to look forward to, along with the dry humour and "foul-mouthed" tirades of Captain Haddock. This alongwith a healthy dose of social commentary that touches upon various aspects of 20th century politics.
The TV series from the early 90s was also good fun to watch. Plus, there's a movie due in 2010, after some delays, to be directed by Steven Spielberg, with Peter Jackson as the producer. It seems it'll be a motion capture 3-D film, though Tintin's role hasn't been cast yet. It should be interesting to see how the movie turns out. Till then, you can always enjoy the books themselves!
Tintin has always been one of my favourite comic books. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading about the adventures of the intrepid reporter, Tintin, and his faithful and very sensible dog, Snowy. Plus, there's also the antics of the bumbling detectives, Thomson and Thompson, to look forward to, along with the dry humour and "foul-mouthed" tirades of Captain Haddock. This alongwith a healthy dose of social commentary that touches upon various aspects of 20th century politics.
The TV series from the early 90s was also good fun to watch. Plus, there's a movie due in 2010, after some delays, to be directed by Steven Spielberg, with Peter Jackson as the producer. It seems it'll be a motion capture 3-D film, though Tintin's role hasn't been cast yet. It should be interesting to see how the movie turns out. Till then, you can always enjoy the books themselves!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Look back at 2008
The year 2008 draws to a close, which in the larger scheme of things means little more than the fact that our planet is nearly in the same place, with respect to the sun, as it was 366 days ago. Still it's a good excuse to celebrate.
This year, like all other years, continues to epitomise that immortal line by Charles Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
Indeed, in sports, it was a gala year, for India especially. In cricket, the Indian team has had an excellent year, winning all over the place, except in Sri Lanka. The Australia series was a great victory, as was the one against England. The IPL was also a huge money-spinning success. Australia, has finally had a terrible year, able to dominate only New Zealand, and losing at home to a rampant South Africa. South Africa has gone from "chokers", to a team that never says die, rather like the old Australian teams of the 90s.
Football and tennis have been great fun too. Rafael Nadal has taken over at the top, and took the Wimbledon crown from Roger Federer. In football, Man U won the Champions' League. Also, Spain finally won a trophy, Euro 2008, beating not some team that always loses like England or Holland, but Germany, that always seems to win tournaments.
Plus, India has had its best Olympics ever, and Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz's long standing medal record.
There have been some sadder events too. Quite a few terrorist attacks and the big global recession that has everyone freaked out.
So, goodbye 2008, it's been nice knowing you, but we're still looking forward to meeting 2009.
This year, like all other years, continues to epitomise that immortal line by Charles Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
Indeed, in sports, it was a gala year, for India especially. In cricket, the Indian team has had an excellent year, winning all over the place, except in Sri Lanka. The Australia series was a great victory, as was the one against England. The IPL was also a huge money-spinning success. Australia, has finally had a terrible year, able to dominate only New Zealand, and losing at home to a rampant South Africa. South Africa has gone from "chokers", to a team that never says die, rather like the old Australian teams of the 90s.
Football and tennis have been great fun too. Rafael Nadal has taken over at the top, and took the Wimbledon crown from Roger Federer. In football, Man U won the Champions' League. Also, Spain finally won a trophy, Euro 2008, beating not some team that always loses like England or Holland, but Germany, that always seems to win tournaments.
Plus, India has had its best Olympics ever, and Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz's long standing medal record.
There have been some sadder events too. Quite a few terrorist attacks and the big global recession that has everyone freaked out.
So, goodbye 2008, it's been nice knowing you, but we're still looking forward to meeting 2009.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Pricey idlis
While passing through Bangalore's new airport I happened to notice a plate of idlis selling for a whopping 90 bucks a plate. Interestingly, you can get these for 10 bucks at most fast food places in the city.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Tragic events in Mumbai
Some really sad events have taken place in Mumbai recently, and I'd like to express my condolences to the families of those killed and injured during these attacks.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Man U and Chelsea do battle on 2 fronts
This week has been a seriously enjoyable one in sports. In football, Manchester United make the final, a solitary Paul Scholes goal, being all that separated them from Barcelona. However, in my opinion, Barcelona, despite having the vast majority of possession, rarely managed to put pressure on a tight Man U defence. And, it must be said that United often gave the ball away all too easily. Fortunately, for Cristiano Ronaldo, his penalty miss in the first leg didn't cost United a place in the final.
In the other semi-final, Liverpool's string of luck in the Champions' League finally ran out against Chelsea, who shrugged off a sluggish second-half performance to win their second leg 3-2 after extra time. A more hard-fought game than the other semi-final, the momentum frequently swung to and fro between the 2 teams.
Interestingly, this means that the 2 teams in the final, are also the only 2 teams with any chance of winning the Premier League. Though I will be supporting the Red Devils, I do hope the Champions' League final will be a more exciting match than last year's FA Cup final.
In the other semi-final, Liverpool's string of luck in the Champions' League finally ran out against Chelsea, who shrugged off a sluggish second-half performance to win their second leg 3-2 after extra time. A more hard-fought game than the other semi-final, the momentum frequently swung to and fro between the 2 teams.
Interestingly, this means that the 2 teams in the final, are also the only 2 teams with any chance of winning the Premier League. Though I will be supporting the Red Devils, I do hope the Champions' League final will be a more exciting match than last year's FA Cup final.
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