"But the insatiable expectations of the people always look for Sachin to produce magical innings every time."
http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2005/mar/30srinath.htm
Hey wait! Diplomacy in writing is fine as long as it is bearable. Srinath, in doing so borders on the ridiculous.
Leave along magical, not many people even expect a match-saving knock from him these days.


After reading that, this one was refreshing though a bit cocky (like the Ganguly of the past)
"In my mind I felt that the rest would be able to draw the game but I was the only one capable of winning it"
http://sify.com/sports/columns/fullstory.php?id=13706068

Go Sehwag !

Was reading a bit about the 3rd test b/w India and Pak.
I guess the supposedly elite batting line-up quit when sehwag lost his wicket. It was a 1 man team some 10 years back. There was a time 2 years back when the team performed. Now again, it seems to be a 1 man team. I dont know what strategy sachin or sourav or dravid had when they came to play!
That sourav is being accorded some preferential treatment now while the other veterans have been spared is not very amusing. Sachin and Dravid had a great opportunity to come up with a challenging innings and they both failed.
Persisting with sourav for the next couple of series' would not be a bad idea is my guess. Dependance of sehwag has to be removed to a good degree if the team is to improve.
One player I felt happy for was Balaji. I think he has a good future.

-r

I've almost stopped following cricket. But I do follow sachin tendulkar quite a bit.

Read http://in.rediff.com/cricket/2005/mar/14sachin.htm

This stumped me inside out..Time and again he talks about his injuries to reporters more often now than before and says he played in this or that match with some pain. I know he was pretty fussy about sightscreens even in his prime, but this time seemed more like cribbing.
I read about his batting on day 3 or something during the mohali match which only india could possibly lose (atleast thats what the media says)..What would have been the reaction of 'experts' if some 1 other than sachin had slowed the scoring rate?? Surely, they dont wanna risk spoiling their good names trashing sachin!! And his statistics get bigger as ever..10K runs.

To me, he's ceased to be a factor in indian cricket right now. Sehwag is the go to guy for the next few years definitely.

Interesting thing abt sehwag: When i talk to ppl abt sehwag, common refrain - he's inconsistent, cant score like sachin on a regular basis etcetera..Know what, some arbit stat states he's getting 1 ton every 3 games..Er, what else is consistently good? 1 in 1.? It is interesting to note that when ppl talk about a flashy player, they are prejudiced by the fact that flashy corresponds to inconsistency. Nice!

-r

Things have been so random in the last 1 week that even infinite samples of weeks like this wouldnt yield anything close to a gaussian.

On another arbit note, I saw S.M.Krishna's interview on rediff sometime back. It still baffles me how 'supposedly wise voters' decided he shouldnt continue. Karnataka's loss, I conclude.

-Ravi.

ARBIT NOTES

1. Its March ! Is nature playing or what? It's almost snowing here.
2. Its March ! I am getting freaked out. Time flies.
3. I have started hating using stuff like 'u' instead of 'you' etcetera in e-mails . Am I getting mature or what?
4. I tried taking some notes in a class today after a really long time. My handwriting has degenerated almost beyond recognition. Blame it on the laptop. I remember having won a handwriting competition in school.
5. Lakers lost to Knicks! Jayhawks beat OkState in a classic. I think I prefer watching NCAA Ball than NBA. Its March dammit and the madness has begun.

Its March. The month of Madness.

Go get mad.
-r