Nagpur Test – A Substandard pitch or a Sporting turf?

The second test was completely washed out in Bangalore. All eyes turned now to the venue of the third test where test history beckoned India to be the first team in a decade to beat the Africans in a series away from their home grounds.  Trailing one-nil in the series, the South Africans had a massive task cut out ahead of them. Like a first rank student coming out of the examination hall beaming after answering all the questions right, the Indians strolled into Nagpur with all smiles knowing very well that they had something in their weaponry which the Proteas did not possess – Quality spinners. Unfortunately, the Indians also succumbed to the mediocre Proteas spinners and the Africans were destructively demolished by the better Indian spinners. Though the match was done and dusted in a matter of 3 days and Indians won the game hands down, the manner in which the pitch was prepared raised a lot of eyebrows and drew in a lot of flaks from the cricketing world for such a rank turner. The Indians winning against the Africans in Nagpur was more like a hefty, muscly and powerful school bully mercilessly beating to pulp a meek, timid and helpless kid!

The Indians were all out for 215 in their first innings on day 2 thanks to 2 gritty and very helpful 30s knock from Saha and Jadeja. What followed was a disaster of epic proportions much like how the Aussies folded up very cheaply for 47 against South Africa in South Africa, at least that was on day 2! On that fateful day, 23 wickets had fallen like nine pins and our Nagpur wicket gave stiff competition to Cape Town pitch by capping in 20 wickets on day 2 again! The 47 was scored in the Oz second innings unlike the 79 in the African's first innings. In fact, Michael Clarke had scored 150 odd runs in their first innings of that test match. The comparison was brought in as every home team prepares and lays a pitch that suits their needs to gain an additional upper hand yet without compromising on the element of sportivity. Everyone knows that South Africa plays spin badly just like how Indians are uncomfortable on seamy & bouncy conditions. 

Like how Pakistan starts shooting on kids when they innocently cross the LoC, all hell would break only when people cross the border! Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened in Nagpur. It is perfectly agreeable when a pitch helps the home team. But, to see that our very own team succumbing to the gentle spin of Harmer and Tahir which escalated the pitch wars to be a World War 3! The entire cricketing fraternity took up to the Twitter Universe to rant and vent off their feelings on the diabolical nature of the turf which included the likes of Micheal Vaughan, Michael Clarke, Mathew Hayden, Glen Maxwell to name a few. However, Gibbs made a profound point when he pointed out that it's not wrong for a pitch that starts to turn right away from Day 1. A very good view which opposes the traditional way that a test match has been played till date: Day 1 - 1st session - swing, seam and fast bowlers. Day 1 - 2nd session to Day 3 - last session - batsmen. And Day 4 & Day 5 belonging to the wily spinners and skilled batsmen. However, Gibbs point of reference is very valid and pertinent for a pitch that is naturally allowed to turn from Day 1 and not doctored to behave in an artificial way. Much of the anger was directed at the fact that Nagpur's wicket was engineered beyond the permissible limits of play. No one refutes that being the Number one team in the world, the Proteas should have been equipped to play spin better mainly if they were playing in the sub-continent especially India . With tonnes of runs behind his back and bat, even Hashim Amla acknowledged that this was the toughest turf he had ever played in his life and it would have been even more miserable had they faced Kumble and Harbhajan on these tracks! Nagpur wicket was more a RETURNING pitch than a TURNING turf! Batsmen walked in and walked off the field in the blink of an eye.

As ever as the eternal saying goes "There are 2 sides to a coin"!! It is high time that every country produces a wicket that is even footed covering all aspects of the game - bowling as well as scoring runs instead of heavily tilting in the favor either for the bowlers or the batsmen. The beautiful nature of Test Cricket is already on the verge of  becoming extinct with the advent of T20s where the spectators are loving more of the fast paced and adrenaline packed action than the slow and patient version of the game that actually tests the skills and ability of a player. When people constructs such pitches in future too, the audience will surely lose their interest in the game thus sounding the death bell to strike for Test Cricket and then everyone can lament how the graceful gentleman's game had fallen from such great heights into a deeply dug grave for the sake of being result-oriented instead of  a sporting and hard-fought draw. Time is running out lest the score card should read all out for test Cricket!

A Tale of 2 Continents!

History was made last week in 2 different geographies duly separated by the vast Indian Ocean. Usually, when a significant event occurs in any part of the world, the only common denominator would be the people excluding the circumstances that may have been prevalent and contributed to the historic event in that place and at that point of time.  However, there is a perceptible link that connects the 2 regions which were mentioned earlier - Cricket. As George Bernard Shaw had once famously said”Cricket is a game played by 11 fools and watched by 11,000 fools". There were millions of fools, cheering in the stadium, watching it on TV and checking out the scores on Mobile apps, who were waiting with bated breath for the epoch-marking and headline grabbing games to quickly begin in Nagpur and Adelaide respectively. Cricket matches, be it ODI, T20 or the test version, happen throughout the entire 365 days in some country or the other. So, what was special with these 2 venues?

In the land of the cricket-driven and cricket revered India, the Proteas were on the verge of losing their highly consistent overseas track record where they had not been beaten in a series by any country to close to a decade. Having won the ODI series and T20 comfortably, they marched on a high and brimming with confidence into the test series until they ran into the wily Ashwin who simply terrorized the South African batsmen with his wide array of tricks that were hidden secretly under his sleeve.  Even the likes of the ever dependable Amla, the dashing De Villiers and the dedicated Du Plessis had no answer to the web spun around them by the Indian trio - Ashwin, Jaddu and Mishra. The South Africans were like a cat on a hot tin roof on seeing the prodigious spin and turn that the pitch was massively offering and assisting the spinners. Though the Indians were supposed to be good at playing spin, even they were tremendously troubled by the gentle likes of Harmer and Tahir. In the end, the Indians won the first match. The second was washed out due to heavy rains and the third was the final nail in the coffin for South Africa's away wins. There was no denying that the pitch was not conducive to the batsmen to play their shots but they made the pitch to look even worse and unplayable. This would be covered in another blog but for now, the match as a whole is covered. This was Virat Kohli's second series win in a row and is sure to silence those who had questioned his captaining abilities when Dhoni retired rather abruptly during the Australian series and was asked to fill up the big shoes of MSD. The South Africans would have learnt a very good lesson that despite an excellent line-up, they still have gigantic mountains to climb when it comes to playing spin to be truly dominating the cricketing arena like the West Indies of the 70s or Aussies of the late 90s. On the other hand, the Indians should not have any sense of complacency for beating the Number 1 team in the world as the pitch played its part as much as their spinners.  Lessons should have been learnt but the application of those lessons should be seen only in the upcoming tests.

When India was hurtling spin missiles at the Africans and decimating them, the competitive & combative Oz and the warm & friendly Kiwis were at loggerheads with each other in Australia. The first match was won comprehensively by the mighty Aussies. The second test ended in a draw. But, the historic moment was captured in the third test @ Adelaide where the world’s first official Day/Night test was to be held and the red cherry was to be replaced by the pink Kookaburra. It was also the first time when the world witnessed the first dinner break in the entire 138 year Cricket history! Under lights, it was surreal to see the two neighbouring countries battling against the seaming conditions on a pitch that has always favoured the batsmen. The pitch was left so green that no hundreds were scored by either team during the 3 days of play. The audience were left enthralled to the extent that it broke the house record for the attendance @ Adelaide. The funny part is that it did not involve England! At the fag end of the third day’s play, Aussies became the first team in the world to win the first ever Day/Night test match amidst the heatedly disputed and controversy surrounding over Lyon’s decision in the first innings.

Ultimately, it boils to the incontrovertible fact that the chapters of Test Cricket were rewritten in the swift span of only 7 days. The South Africans have a daunting task ahead in front of them. The Indians, despite wrapping up the series, need to show to the world that they can beat a challenging opponent on a sporting wicket. Last but not the least, whether purists and traditionalists of the longer version of the game accept it and like it or not, Day/Night test matches are here to stay.

The Hunger Games - Part 2 - A Hobbling final act!

LOTR. Harry Potter. The Bourne Series. Twilight and now The Hunger Games. One more book series is successfully laid to rest after raking in millions from the revolutionary franchise!

"Welcome to the 76th Hunger Games" whispered Gale into Katniss's ears and the entire theatre erupted into volcanic chants and rooted for Katniss to win for one last time against a very redoubtable and commanding opponent in this concluding quartet - President Snow himself. However, there was a twist. Though the twist was as predictable as a hero emerging triumphant over the villain in the climax of every wood industry, the way in which the narration had slowly meandered its way to the final scene was nothing short of the usual formulaic film. As was the problem with Harry Potter and Twilight series when the producers and directors decided to rip apart the concluding part into two just for the sake of milking in the extra cash, The Mockingjay Part 2 too suffered a very similar fate. The movie was at times being dragged to the extent that even a snapping rubber band would stretch itself beyond its limited breaking point! The movie had a solid run time of close to 150 minutes including the intermission. With a crisper editing and a racier screenplay, The Mockingjay would have ensured that it satiated the hunger of the audience who have been assiduously following the series since 2012. Th film heavily relies on the quiver-carrying J-Lo who failed to impress in the most vital scene - her pep talk to invigorate the people to launch an all out attack on Snow was more demotivating than otherwise. 

Undoubtedly the movie had it own good moments like the Underground chase where the Mutts attack the squad.  Although a deep sense of foreboding engulfed the tensed pods sequences, the escape could have been orchestrated into an exciting edge of the seat thriller rather than as the tepid lull as showcased in the movie. The final confrontation between Snow and Katniss was indeed a revelation for not only to Katniss but also to the devious Snow himself to know the actual mastermind behind his splendid downfall. Eventually, Snow was buried in the snow by the angry mob who had thronged to the Capitol in multitudes to witness his execution. What should have been a glorious firework of a finish got ended rather as a shall-I-burst-thinking kind of cracker. 

Epilogue:

Those who are tear-eyed after the movie's end that they cannot see J-Lo as Katniss again on the big screen, fret not. There is a rumor that Lionsgate has planned to release prequels and sequels to this money generating akshayapatra!

Epilogue 1:
The review on Mockingjay Part 2 will seem very tangential and not have touched the depth of the bottom. Unfortunately, the review can be only as good as the movie is!  

Spectre - A soulless spirit!

Imagine a slimmer and fitter Ajith sporting silky suits who has a troubled past which comes to haunt him in the form of his devious and devilish brother. You pepper in two ravishing looking girls with deleted kiss scenes and action sequences in swashbuckling locales. And oh yes! No songs in the movie - intro, romance or sad. Voila! What we have is a typical Kollywood movie with a stylish touch to it. Does it ring a bell somewhere? Yes. Ajith had almost reprised James Bondesque role even in Billa 1. Spectre, if it had been directed by an Indian Director, would have been the perfect platform to announce officially that he is the most apt person to play as James Bond at least in India! 

I am not going to let the cat out of the bag by revealing Spectre's story. Kindly watch the movie and find it out for yourself. If your decision is to watch it in IMAX, then it is well and good as the IMAX actually spared the Bond franchise's blushes. Yes. The IMAX format got finally screened in Chennai. The experience was worth the surprising and out-of-the ordinary cost but not for the latest Bond movie! The review is as follows minus the story!

When you have a list of options to be checked against the imperatives for an 007 picture, almost all the boxes get ticked. A Suave and Sophisticated Hero. Bad Villain. Sexy Girls. The Theme song. The all-famous punch dialogue. Speedy cars. Pounding action sequences. Wry One-liners. So, why did I say the film lacked life and boring? Simple. One of the most important check boxes remained unchecked till the very end. STORY. To put it in a nutshell, Spectre is more Kollywood-esque than Hollywood as far as the story is concerned excepting the indisputable fact that Spectre's budget would be many many manifold times than an average Tamil film.

Even the full potential of actors like Christoph Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Andrew Scott, and Monica Bellucci weren't completely utilized especially the services of Christoph Waltz who has so gracefully, menacingly and delightfully had given stellar performances in The Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained. The moment it was known that C.Waltz was playing Number 1, anticipations were sky high and only to become downfall by the end. It was not that he had performed badly. He had done enough justice to the role in the limited screen frame and time frame he had been allotted in the movie. His screen presence could have been more in the film to showcase the entire range of arsenal which C. Waltz possesses. Unfortunately, that was not the case with the weak story.  

In the end, when Bond says "Time flies" and the watch-bomb bursts, I realized that the time was actually going very slow in reality. Now, it's up to the new and unknown Bond to deliver an exceptional performance in the next Bond outing to make it a truly memorable and unforgettable one with his signature "Bond...James Bond" dialogue!

Chennai's Water Woes - Part 2

So, the million dollar question. Does the Chennai citizens feel even a modicum of safety in this harsh and bitter weather ? The answer is a simple , straightforward  thundering and lightning no. This is extremely evident from the fact that 2 people were electrocuted in KK Nagar when the electric line snapped out and touched the waters when the unfortunate incident occurred. Though the city faced severe power outages when heavy winds and rains lashed and torn into the very heart of the city , it is still basic common sense that the power supply should have been discontinued until the weather was at least all fine and dandy. Even on Sunday, a husband and wife were electrocuted on the spot in Velachery when the electric cable fractured and fell on them causing the government to suspend 4 people.

This is just the beginning. Stagnant water is the ideal place for mosquitoes to increase their population and spread deadly diseases like Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya. As the sewers have beautifully mixed in enormous proportions with the rain water, it would be only uncommon if the hospitals aren't frequented by people suffering from cholera, diarrhoea and food poisoning. This situation would be highly relevant to those who reside alongside the Adyar river when the hydrogen oxide from Chembarabakkam lake was released thus causing the polluted and stinking Adyar river overflow to venture boldly and freely into the neighbouring vicinity. The government is stepping up on the gas by having free medicines distributed to all the people through their emergency health camps set up in the hospitals. But, this is like licking the wounds and making it better when the wound could have been avoided in the first place. The rainy weather showed not just the gross mismanagement of the government to handle a severe crisis but also their colossal inability to make the best use of the technologies available to have mitigated the extent of the damages caused by the floods. In short, the government missed out on their management!

Every cloud has a silver lining. The 4 major reservoirs in Chennai - Chembarabakkam, Poondi, Red Hills and Cholavaram - are almost filled up to their brims. This ensures that Chennai, where a bucket of water can cost Rs10 due to the acute water shortages experienced in the scorching Summer months, can heave a sigh of big relief and be all smiles as even today, our esteemed Chief Minister Jayalalitha has said that 850 million liters of water can be given to the city from its previous 537 million liters per day. 

However, the big 72 font size question remains - Does the battle wounded city is prepared to combat another low pressure when it strikes her again? As far as the Met Department news is concerned , there is one more low pressure that has been formed and may bring heavy rainfall to the city. Chennai has already submerged like the Titanic and is very slowly swimming back to the surface to be alive. Considering and seeing fully the lack of proactive preparedness and effective planning by the Government,  Chennai would be another Atlantis when the next massive cloudburst happens unless expedient steps are taken urgently to address the city's drainage issues thus guarding this favorite and fabulous city from the savage weather thus sustaining her till eternity

                                                                  X----concluded----X

Chennai's Water Woes - Part 1

“Water, water, everywhere,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, everywhere,

Nor any drop to drink.”

― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

This quote aptly and perfectly summarises the plight and flight of Chennai-ites in the last 15 days. 

There were buses submerged in water under a bridge to go with the boats being used to ferry out people to safety. The sewer mixed with the waterlogging on the roads made the matters even worse. So, what is the point of having so much water surrounding your islandish house/flats and being confined in your own house like a prisoner without electricity, bitten by mosquitoes and unable to venture out to the nearby shops for buying a basic necessity as milk and water if the waters on the roads couldn't have been used effectively?     

What began as a simple low pressure eventually culminated into receiving a vicious 23.5.cm rainfall on one fine extraordinary Sunday - the highest rainfall for a single day since 2005. As a result of the heavy rains that has left the city in a badly battered state, schools and colleges were closed for more than a week across the state and they are still closed even tomorrow (28/11/2015). Early haly yearly holidays for children without studying hard and writing their half yearly exams ! Ramanan is now being revered as the new Rain God - as far as school children and college goers are concerned! The impact of the depression was such that many offices were also closed, of course! with compensation, due to the potential risk to life besides the property that the damaging floods had caused to several parts of the city. Apart from certain areas in and around Mount Road, the rest of the city borne the severe brunt of the rains resulting in extensive and immense waterlogging and flooding thus throwing the city into complete chaos and disrepair.

It was just not only raining cats and dogs or coming down in bucket loads but also raining buffaloes, cows, goats and other domesticated animals along with coming down in jumbo tank loads! Such was the steady intensity and ferocity of the precipitation that it had brought the complete city to a silent standstill. The only sound that was breaking the pin drop silence was the mighty force of the whooshing wind and the pitter patter of the heavy showers due to the incessant cloudburst activity. The unflagging wet weather was really uncommon for a water-starved place like Chennai considering the dubious moniker she has earned for herself because of the scorching and sweltering summers - Hot, Hotter and Hottest. 

With the majority of the rains that the city receives is due to the Northeast monsoon which accounts for 60% of her annual rains during this season, it was extremely surprising to see that Chennai was thoroughly unprepared for the event. Though Chennai is merely 7m above sea level, the natural strategic location of this beautiful landform cannot be considered as one of the chief causes for flooding. It goes beyond that. In fact, this disaster is purely man-made and the sooner we accept the reality the better it will be as it can ensure such situations do not occur in future again.

So, what is it that we have done that has completely thrown this busy city out of gear in such an unabated fashion? It is due to 3 reasons - geography, incompetent, ineffective and inadequate water drainage and finally, the massive urbanization that has been taking place in the city. Geography is something that is God given and naturally formed for centuries. We cannot do much about it. But, drainages and encroachments are directly connected with the city planners and the government. Every action could have been taken with prudent and proper plans to avert this catastrophe of this magnitude. It has come to light that the Pallikaranai marsh, a natural flood control barrier, has dwindled to one-tenth of its original size due to excessive construction activities with the meteoric rise of the IT industry along the OMR stretch. There were 150 water bodies in the city which is significantly reduced to only 27 now. The meaning is loud and clear to everyone. We have been building on these water bodies thus encroaching  them to the level that drains could not be connected to an outlet. The result - internal flooding due to the artificial barriers that have been erected and thus serving as an massive obstruction to the natural flow of the water. Speaking of drains, though 10000 crores have been spent to build the storm water drains in the last 5 years, it seems that the urban planners have failed to take into account the hydrological aspect which is an indispensable and inevitable part for a city layout. Drains are as important as the roads when it comes to a city. It is very evident from the indisputable evidence that even the Harappan civilization had excellent drainage system in place to the likes of which has not been seen in a city like Chennai. It is really sad to see that the government still maintains their stance they cannot do anything beyond rescue and relief when instant proactive measures for short-term and long-term are the need of the hour.

Nature's fury is unpredictable and unstoppable but it can be drastically mitigated to a great extent. What has happened has happened. It is time to look to the future immediately so that the biggest industrial and commercial center in South India can at least ameliorate the lives of millions of residents who have been inhabiting this deeply culture-rich place for ages yet still has the tolerance to accept and accommodate millions of new comers, thus giving them a chance - an opportunity - to earn and grow in the lives. It is now up to the concerned authorities to ensure that the city also grows and develops  in a proper and sustained manner to match this accelerated economic hustle and bustle so that people can lead a safe, secure and prosperous life.

                                                                            X-----to be concluded----X

Rasavid Buffet - A True Value for Money Deal!

It was a toss between Ibis and Rasavid and the latter won the tussle hands down for their claimed sheer spread and cost. Our team of 13 colleagues. despite all odds, confronted the rains heads on and reached the place on an extremely wet and flooded Friday for our team lunch. Though I had already PAID a visit to the Rasavid (opposite to Aravind theatre) several times, this was the first time I was stepping into Rasavid Buffet. Just like the entree offered by Rasavid, there were 7 veg and 6 non-veg members in the group. Needless to say, there were 7 Veg and 6 Non-veg, to be exact, followed the soup. The welcome mint drink was initially served as soon as we had comfortably settled down in our seats. From then onwards, it was a tough fight between the stomach and the food!

The ambience was simple, neat and clean with the service being just above par quality. The starters were brought in as per our preferences. Being a vegetarian, I found the variety of appetizers were adequate and tasty. The main course was satisfactory with Noodles, Biriyani, Dal, 2 side dishes for Naan and our Staple foods - Rice, Rasam, Curd Rice and fryums. But, the desserts were really good especially the mouth-watering and hot Gulab Jamuns with the varieties of ice-creams and cakes. Overall, the food lived up to the name "Rasavid" though it could have been better! The bottomline is that you simply cannot find a quality buffet at such a competitive and affordable price in OMR.  A killer buffet @ Rs.450 for Veg and Rs.550 for Non-Veg minus the taxes. The smorgasbord was worth every rupee spent.

A special mention to Priyadharshini who was not only friendly but also very helpful and cooperative when it came to reserving and arranging the seats to make it one of our memorable team lunches.   

A word of caution - As the name suggests, there is no a la carte available in this restaurant. So, enjoy the unlimited buffet to your heart's content!