Cheers CSK!

I had to blog about this... Having started out with lukewarm interest in the IPL, looking back I realize that it successfully occupied almost all of my weekends over the past 6 weeks. And it was surprisingly comforting to sit in front of the laptop/TV and watch a match that was so entertaining because of its short format.. you didn't have to endure the middle over drag, etc. For purists this might be pure blasphemy.. but not for the likes of me. The shorter format was simply more entertaining. And throw in all the antics of Lalit Modi, Shashi Taroor, all the franchises, all their it girls, all those cheerleaders and the songs, the DJs, the terms DLF Maximum, Karbon Kamaal Catch and City moment of success, you had an exceedingly entertaining, enough-to-bitch-and-rant-about on FB cocktail. And really one doesn't expect much more than this from these things.

For a while there at the league stage, I was convinced that the matches had been fixed. Too many teams were competing for the 4 semifinal berths and it almost seemed implausible that all of sudden many times rose like phoenixes from the ashes and were all neck and neck on the points and everything. That being said, supporting CSK through the initial league phase became stressful too, given their sudden slump in performance in the middle of the tournament when it looked unlikely for them to repeat their accomplishments of the last 2 editions and make the semi-finals. And just when I had switched loyalties to MI, in came Hussey and Bollinger into the CSK team. While Bollinger did make a significant change to CSKs bowling presence, I really think his entry changed fortunes for the team and suddenly they were pulling victories out of thin air... and here they are now IPL Champions 2010! Congratulations to the team for a fantastic team effort and really, if there was any Tamil citizenship, Dhoni would be a shoo-in for his excellent work as a motivating captain. (Ok, I did tire of him and the references to the red-light "areas"(yes yes, he meant the traffic signal) where people spoke to him in Tamil, etc etc..)

But here's what irks me.. With this format of the game and with things happening so rapidly all along, the organizers are not giving the spectators enough time to rejoice or savour the moment that their teams did well (or drown oneself in denial or disappointment if they didn't). Instead, they organize back-to-back tournaments which doesn't let you rejoice the game, but instead dread it. I, for one, am not looking forward to the T20 World Cup, though it would be funny to see teammates of the last week compete against one another this time together for each of their countries.

Come on organizers... let us miss some action to look forward to the next series. After all an overdose of anything can't be good. Anyone listening?

Doin-doin

Read as doin-doin like coin-coin. This is to denote the sound made by the console.
That's the name that my household has given the gameboy kind of console that used to be enough entertainment for kids before the age of Segas, PS3s and Wiis. Ahh... whoever has played with it can hardly forget it. Who can forget Super Mario, Tetris, Circus, Ice Climber or Arkanoid once you've played it, especially at a tender age? Indeed I remember the 'Tetris tournaments' that my bro and I used to have with one another (I think I should mention that I was reigning Tetris champion... Oh and while we're at it, I might as well mention that I was also champion of Snake II on the Cell phone... muhahahaha). :D So anyhow, the reason I am writing about it is that I found it lying around a couple of days back. Of course I had to get some action! I sat and plugged the rudimentary system on the TV. Indeed I laughed at the AC adaptor which was a initially a 3-pin Gulf-type plug which had just been wired into an India 2 pin plug and 'protected' by an entire wad of insulation tape. However it had given out this time, after like 15 years. But my dad had a replacement adaptor in which one could set the input/output voltages, power etc. With a glee of delight, I plugged everything back in and expectantly turned it on. Usually because of the frequency mismatch, it required tuning on the TV, but one could hear the sound of the console, the sound which earned it the name of doin-doin. This time I didn't. I was semi-disappointed though I had mentally prepared myself for such an event. I half-heartedly put the TV on Program mode to hunt for the unlikely frequency. Surprisingly the TV stopped at a blank blue screen in a few short seconds. This had to be it. My dad and I toggled the reset button, the adaptor cable and the TV cables in random order when finally the music I yearned for reached my ears and I saw the gaming list on the TV. Magical! I felt like a child all over again as I rushed in to get a pillow, put it on the floor in front of the TV and settled stomach-down for a long-sought game of Tetris.

Bye bye Kumble

All you cricket fans must be updated on this news. India's spin pillar for the past couple of decades and recent Test captain, Anil Kumble announced his retirement all of a sudden from all forms of the game. Here are some news articles on this matter -

http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/india/content/current/story/376672.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kumble-retires--pics-farewell-jumbo--your-say/77288-5.html

I have been an avid follower of the game in the past. I think I gave up when I lost the means to keep updated while I was in the US. I did see the World Cups but India's dismal performances didn't keep my interests piped up. And I have slowly weaned myself from the game. The 20-20s did suddenly perk my interests and I was amused by the IPL (With a cricket-crazy husband it's impossible to keep completely away from the game. I even saw half the $20 million 20-20 game beteen the STanford Superstars and England). However, I do remember the days back in school when cricket endured as a common religion amongst all of us. As a matter of fact, during all major matches, we count on our class boys to have a pocket radio to get match updates in between classes. Or we had those school-side neighbours just behind the cycle stand who would yell scores for our benefit every now and then or when we yelled out for it. And then, we were a group of girls who had their personal favorites in the game. Mine was Jonty Rhodes (I went as far creating a website for him which if I may add was very popular) for as long as I can remember. I do remember that many many girls had a crush on Anil Kumble back then. This was about 15 years ago, mind you and he seemed quite dashing back then to our roving eyes ;). And then there was the historic test match against Pakistan where Kumble picked up all 10 Pakistani wickets. I saw the match with my brother. I don't think I'll forget that achievement ever nor will I forget the way the other bowlers bowled to the batsmen once Kumble had picked about 7 of the 10 wickets. It would have been immensely spoil-sporty had one of the Pak batsman had lobbed off a ball off another bowler just to kill the chances. They played sport and Kumble created history. And then there was always his pace of bowling, with him never quite as slow as you have come to believe spin should be, nor achieving any major turn of the likes of Shane Warne. He always seemed more of a medium-pacer to me. Enough of my visesh tippani. Here's raising a toast to Kumble - for all his contributions to Indian cricket! Happy Retirement!