Impossible is nothing

Impossible is nothing
I was watching the Mumbai Indians vs Chennai match yesterday, once again I was amazed at the ease in which the stiff target was chased. At any point in the match Sachin didn’t seem to be in a hurry. Long back I had attended a talk by Harsha Bhogle, about excellence. A defining factor in a genius is not in his actions but his thoughts.
In the 2003 World Cup finals, when Australians racked up 386 which was a near impossible target to chase; it made everyone in the dressing room sweat and put down their shoulders. Saurav was clueless as well. Everyone looked up to the great man to show them the way. While everyone was yet to come to terms with even about thinking about how to bat, Sachin had a plan ready. He announced, “We have 50 overs to bat. Suppose we score one boundary an over, we will make 200 runs. Now we have 186 runs more to score. 50 boundaries would take 8 overs and 2 balls. So, now we have 41 overs and 4 balls to score 186 runs.” It is a different matter altogether that India lost the match. But, this talk instilled some confidence in the team. Before we even go out to play, it’s imperative that we make us believe or rather convince that we are capable of doing it.
Yesterday he showed us genius lies in his thinking. Hope he is able to inspire the team to fulfill his dream in 2011

The Baggy Green that never lead

The Baggy Green that never lead
IPL 3 started with KKR and Mumbai Indians on song and Rajasthan with three morale sapping defeats. Everyone wrote them off, believing they are so very 2008eish. IPL , is so much for today and historic rivalry like the ashes doesn’t have any place in it.
After each defeat, Roylas were made out to be the fodder , a la KKR of IPL 1 and 2, for all the others, but their flawed genius, Shane Warne. Emotions and Aussie are two words which don’t go together. The old shoulders hadn’t bowled a delivery for an year and it showed in the first three matches, also the confidence in his batting ability as he pushed himself almost to number 12. IF he looked worried, he would never be Warnie. Fourth game and he was back at his shrewd best. The flippers are working fine and the zooters are surprising the batsmen and the sliders making the mess of the stumps. If Asnodkar and Pathan were his finds in the first IPL, Fazal and Naman Ojha were to be his trump-cards this time. Giving the opening and the number three slots to unknown entities takes something after all, which the old fox has in abundance. They are repaying his faith back and the slow starters are in running with full steam now. With Tait and Pathan in the mix, they are as feared as any other team in IPL. Indian cricket is earning what with each passing year the Aussies are yearning more and more what they failed to churn out more from the spin legend.
I can’t resist drawing comparison between two leg-spinners with hardly anything in common other than the tag “Leg-spin”. Kumble inspires with his sheer competitiveness and commitment and followed by the performance. Even at this age, the fire in the belly hasn’t gone cold a wee bit. On the contrary, ease of pressure has made them deadlier.

When he looks up to the sky!

Some time in the history, a nation was swept by a teenager who had never shaved till that time. The match also marked debut of one of the finest proponent of reverse swinging yorkers, who made the teenager taste his own blood in his very first outing. 

 

Twenty one years on, the fast bowler has taken second stint at coaching his national team, while his counterpart is still batting in national colors and leaving behind heaps of runs as he marches ahead. 

 

When a batsman scores a ton, it is accompanied by a few good shots, few breathtaking ones and it is generally played in a certain context of the game. When Sachin scores a ton, the Sachin ton becomes a context and the match is played there on.

So instead of a match in Sydney or Headingly in which India was playing either Australia or England and a Laxman or Rahul scored a ton; it becomes WhenSachin had scored his 23 ^rd or 18^th ton and India was playing Australia or England, we had won the match.

 

Sachin’s ton is not just about a mere 100 runs or 200 in case of Gwalior or a few near perfect cricket shots to the fence or over the fence. It is about the joy to a nation of a billion people. The sense of pride a cricket fan gets when he talks about a Sachin ton is reminiscent of the Raymond’s ad where the Dad is proud to see his son become a gentleman with an offer letter. 

 

It was only apt that so much was talked about the match winning hundred against England after the 26/11 attacks. It was a not-so-made-up story in the days of sensationalized journalism.

I was witness to one of the test matches in Nagpur, where the Indian opener had scored a maiden hundred and just got out. As he started for the long walk back, the crowd applauded in appreciation but as he neared the pavilion, the applause got bigger and bigger. A kid asked me why they were clapping like this, I told him it was in anticipation that the master was coming to the crease. 

 

A friend from Mumbai always tells, my paisa wasool moment of any match is the reception to Sachin. Even if it rains the whole day after that, I don’t regret going to the stadium!

The Sachin bond with any Indian is stronger than any linguistic/regional/religion can have over an entire nation. If any other individual who can be compared to have a similar impact on the psyche ofa nation is none other than the father of the nation. 

 

It’s a testimony to his humility that even after reaching the pinnacle; he still looks up towards the sky. Sky is indeed the limit for HIM! 

 

P.S. Who says reiterating the facts is plagarism- hadu
P.P.S. The blog was originally posted at http://harshbadbad.blogspot.com