5 / 5 for a movie called T20 World Cup Final

As they call it Fact is stranger than Fiction, T20 W C Final was no more than a Fiction -- a super hit movie in the making. It was one like the Truman’s Show or reality show as we call it.

Sept 24 Monday 12 GMT a low budget movie without stars "Sachin Rahul Saurav" called “T20 W C Final “released. The movie had huge promotion n publicity as it was INDIA vs. PAK. Directed by the umpires. scripted by “the rules of game”, well narrated by some good commentary team (without sivaramkrishnan and ranjit fernando ) comprising of 13 (11 + 2 ) character performing at a time on what is called cricket ground. The movie *ing Sreesanth, Yuvraj, Bhajji,Afridi, as the lead roles (crowd pullers). These really are characters "नमूना" as they call so because they are attention seekers. The best part is hero and villain is chosen after the movie ends.

Movie had all the ingredients of a hit movie great script, great characters, item numbers i.e. dancers and even SRK (with 6 packs abs) as Special Appearance.

INDIA vs. PAKISTAN is always nail biting, exciting & pressure matches as we have just over half a billion people watching it as David Lloyd commented. Its a movie with lot of viewers. It’s said that in a final both the teams are at par, it’s only the team holds their never wins. It just Pakistan didn't held its nerve. It was ages since we had a seen a fighting final, generally it would be AUS thrashing the opposition. But this one was amazing because as it was decided in the 3rd ball of last over. It had best twists n turns much more than any Bollywood (if it has) or Hollywood movie had the best climax that wasn’t even scripted and couldn't be fixed by human. Only the almighty could have done this.

I am proud of watching this movie right from 5 am EST all the way till 9 EST, as another IND PAK W C final would be like Amir Khan movie once in blue moon. For both reaching final again, it means either defeating AUS ( SA and N Z will lose by themselves, they don't believe in finals) might happen in next century.

Started with Dhoni winning toss and rightly electing to bat, it’s the same old Wanderer’s Stadium where J Srinath played his last ODI and INDIA got thrashed, yea WC 2003 Final AUS 359. And S A chased 443 (50) creating history. Small boundaries 60 - meters and fairly flat pitch makes it a batting paradise. But it turned out to be a different pitch bit slow. INDIA started a final without 3 pillars S R S & on top shewag injured. Openers went off to a decent start, you could see pressure in the batsman’s face and their shots played. Quickly two down, and UV the start performer, great batsman, more importantly great entertainer comes. Amidst of all these action “Gambhir” was performing like a junior artist who gets paid hourly and not sure whether he would be picked for next movie. Yuvraj already had 2 Oscar nominee performances and got a Porsche 911 for his Full Monty. 6 sixes in 6 balls, (not sure whether some one had told him about the prize before). So it wasn't fair on his part to perform today. He ended skying the ball to Gul. Dhoni the next performer walks in.

Gul starts with beamer bouncer yorker and eliminates Dhoni. INDIA deep in trouble 4 down, left with Gambhir and Rohit in middle. The duo play decent cricketing shots and got a commanding total, well shot of the expectation. sharma Ji acted well like a new actor establishing himself, just like Shreyas Talpade. And score reached 157. This is first time INDIA have played well in a FINAL. Generally they mess it up, I reckon succumb to pressure or fear of not performing. PERFORMANCE is like a cycle you don't perform well because of the fear of not performing well.

R P bowled as he as done before and removed Md Hafeez, Momentum towards INDIA. Sreesanth made sure that movie cruises well, twists and turns happening, keeping the crowd interested, giving 21 in over and maiden the next. Sri Sri Sri Agarkar's absence wasn't felt Momentum pak. R P removed Akmal, suddenly Momentum towards INDIA.It was INDIA on top for a while and all of a sudden it was PAK top, shifting gears so fast. Much like the fights in old movies, first hero hits and then villain hits back both taking bit of pause and giving a stare. Hope you got the picture.

I Pathan picks up Yunis and afridi plays like a artist who hasn't be paid for a while and throws his wicket. Later 104 / 7 and momentum clearly towards INDIA. Dhoni already preparing the victory speech. Was about to leave thinking its the end of the movie. But first of the multiple climax starts, bhajji gets smacked for 3 sixes. Equation changes quickly momentum pak next over 2 more sixes from Tanvir. Star performer Sreesanth comes to rescue & picks Tanvir, & RP picks Gul, 9 down INDIA gain momentum.

Last over 13 required and jogi Ji comes to bowl, thinks of showing his acting skills, bowls a wide, & next full toss goes for a 6. Match & Momentum PAKISTAN. Malik now memorizing the victory speech. Sharma Ji bowls a short pitch to which Misbah tries to scoop it over fine leg. But due to lack of pace it just carries to Sreesanth who takes a clean catch to complete this movie.

Now its upto you to decide whose the hero and whose the villain.

Even Rajiv Masand (IBNLIVE critic) would have given a 5 / 5 to this movie and would have been INDIA's pick to Oscar instead of Ekalavya.

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Off the mark and Twently20 Cricket

Whenever we take a fresh guard i.e. start something we all start with "ॐ गणेशाय नामः ".

Back in INDIA we all hope that the festivals would be on weekdays preferably Fridays or Mondays so that we can make full use of so called long weekends. Things change a bit when we are in US; we hope that all the festivals are in weekends so that we can celebrate by going to temple or meeting friends.

My stint with tennis ball league started well on Ganesh's Birthday. I was called up for the match at 8 am which actually started by 9 (IST zindabad) a 20 over match, we put the opposition into bat. I always remember Sriram's dialog, "Manish 2 is less than 4". From that day I made a point to stand in close as my miss field would not cost more (2 < 4). But to my miss fortune captain placed me at the most important position on cricket here deep midwicket (as opposed to point in international cricket). So every time the bowler bowls short or down the leg side (which is quiet common as we come from Land of Prasad n Agarkar , we believe in bowling one side of the wicket and its leg side) my heart would beat faster. On one occasion the ball went high in the air and I shouted mine and ran towards the ball, kept my eyes focused on the ball and held on to one my best catches (some would claim "The only catch"). With the momentum taking me forward and dew not helping me either, I slipped and rolled on the ground but made sure that the ball was firmly held. We were given a total of 85 to chase in 20 overs. With the twenty20 fever catching up and the amount of runs they score making a mockery of run rates, it seemed like a simple task. But its not that easy here in tennis ball league , softball grounds would have mud and sand with in the 30 yards and huge grass covering in the rest of the field. Its like playing in overcast condition, with a seaming pitch, lots of cracks, and having a wet, soggy out field. If you manage to negotiate the movement and hit hard the light ball would not travel much and once it hits the ground it does not more forward. So its all about ones and twos and a rare boundary. So much in contrast with Twenty20. In the 15Th over I came to bat, my very first ball was short outside offstump, rocked back and played my favorite shot (Pradeep would claim " The only shot ") placed it past point for a single. Off the mark I was and looked towards heavens and thanked Lord Ganesh. Now I know what is getting off the mark is. I played a bit of pull , drives and nudges, and we had to accelerate our run rate, for some reason I remembered the slog sweep played by Steve Waugh. I was clean bowled playing across the line. Probably due to the slowness of the pitch or my wrong or no foot work. Finally we ended up losing the match by 9 runs.

In contrast; In twenty20 its the same 20 overs but you see radically different style of batting. With big hitting and frequent boundaries make a mockery of run rate. Harsh Bhogle had commented "redefine boundary". So what and why did twenty20 come to picture. In a ODI we enjoy only the first and last 10 overs. So why not make an event out if it, 3 matches a day, 3 hrs, 3 times more money without doing any thing.

Generally in ODI off the 10 over a bowler bowls he would have produced around 20 good balls. So its matter of producing those 24 bowls in a match nonstop. Its a testing time for bowlers and batsman as they have to give their best shot every time without respite. If you see the statistics its the good bowlers and good batsman that are more successful. So twenty20 is good in the interest of the game, just that is fast. People (bowlers) might claim that its too harsh of bowler (free hit rule) , almost flat tracks, fast outfields etc. But let me tell you cricket is a batsman's game,(ज़लीम दुनीया. ) nobody comes to see bowler bowl, they all enjoy batting and huge hitting. Tell me how many of us enjoy a low scoring match? or how many like a bowler rattling the top order? How many of switch off the T V when we see a score like 50/5 or 90/7 ? We start yelling at the batsman, not appreciating the bowlers!!

To succeed in twenty20 cricket one also need sound technique. Sloggers would be successful ones in a while, but its the technically sound batsman and quality bowlers who are willing to adjust survive and succeed . Its the same cricket but you don't respect some balls which you would have in ODI. Twenty20 is like driving on a highway, lot of fun, less time spent, more enjoyment. Good value for money, compounded with lot of risk (reaction time is less at high speeds) its all about comfort level. Sachin Saurav, Rahul didn't find it comfortable, neither am I finding it on freeways.

To drive in a freeways you need to be perfect in local roads, and by traveling in highways it wont affect your local road drive. Its all about willingness to adapt. So either you adapt and drive on highway or grumble and be rigid and drive like me on local roads.

What an analogy !!!!! what do u think?

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