Sreesanth: Enigma Personified

Interestingly, this post comes exactly a year after I’d written ‘An open letter to whomsoever it may concern with cricket.’ I am still a cricket fan. I still like the IPL. But sadly, very sadly, nothing much seems to have changed. Déjà vu! Read on…

A couple of years back, I remember watching a Malayalam movie which had a character named Sreenath, who was a flamboyant Indian cricketer. Although he is not central to the movie, a sub-plot to the movie is about the betting and match-fixing scandals. In the movie, a ‘clean’ Sreenath helps the cops in investigating and busting the syndicate of thugs that run the business. The actor, although not a look-alike, played a character that closely resembled a certain Santhakumaran Sreesanth. Two years can be a really long time in life, let alone in a small world of cricket.

Malayalees always shared a love-hate relationship with Sreesanth. They loved him because he was the first real Mallu to make it big in the international cricketing circuit (Abey Kuruvilla, Tinu Yohannan and Sunil Valson came and went, largely unnoticed). They hated him because of his antics. One can just glance through some public forums to see the amount of venom spewed on him, some of them funny, some downright ugly. But then, Mallus, by nature, are not known for their politeness.

I wasn’t his biggest fan, but I didn’t hate him either. The ‘Santh’ (quietness) began and ended in his name. But despite all his antics on and off the field, some of which I secretly enjoyed, he came across to me as someone who’d wear his heart on his sleeve when he had the ball in his hands. Take for instance, when he did a mid-pitch jig after smashing Andre Nel over his head. Or after making the pitch a pair of African drums when he knocked over Mathew Hayden in the World T20 semi-finals! But then there were some, where I felt like doing a Bhajji on him. Like when he bowled a beamer to Kevin Pietersen in England, or when he was giving an unwanted send-off to Andrew Symonds after the latter had already gone hammer and tongs on him. Or yesterday!

As the news about his arrest by Delhi Police trickled in, through Twitter of course, my first reaction was that of disbelief. I was led to believe that it was a massive frame up. It began to sink in. Slowly. If Hansie Cronje, believed to be an epitome of honesty, could succumb, Sree was like the hungry lonely fish in a drying pond. Easy picking!

How could a man who seemingly is from a well-to-do family, earning probably to the count of millions of dollars through his contracts, and well on his way back to the Indian team be so stupid? Surely, money can’t be the lure in this case, although it might have been for Ajith Chandila and Ankeet Chavan! Was it his friendship with his “distant relative” Jiju Janardhan? It probably was, but only Sree can answer that. 

I am being told by reliable sources that he was quite a loner in the team. But in Rahul Dravid, he had the best leader possible to get his career back on track. He was back bowling, and bowling well. And the more heartening part - behaving better! He was largely credited for being an inspiration to another probable future Indian player from Kerala - Sanju Samson and also to a talented Sachin Baby. One can only wonder what’s going through them after their ‘etan’ (big brother in Malayalam) is now probably behind bars now for selling himself off.

Santhakumaran Sreesanth was always an enigma. He remains one. Sadly, not just for his former fans, but even for his own family! 

When Mumbai called Virat a 'Cheater!'

Mumbai is selfish. Very selfish. The culture of 'Yeh mera hai. Tujhe isme kya lena dena' (roughly summarized and translated to 'Mind Your Own Business') is very much imbibed, if not already born with, into every second Mumbaikar's genes. That is seen everyday in our fight for a breathing space in a local train or on the roads, when we don't wait for a signal to go green. Or worse still, it is seen from the 'Priest and Levi'  (from Jesus' parable of Good Samaritan) attitude while someone's bleeding to death.

That probably explains why some section didn't care whether Virat Kohli was an Indian. For them, he had 'cheated' against their city's team, owned by India's wealthiest guy. Much like how Kohli himself didn't care when he took up a verbal fight, which almost went from mouth to fist, with a senior Indian cricketer from his own state just a couple of weeks back.

Kohli wanted the crowd to treat it as just another sport. He probably should have done the same when he reciprocated with a middle finger when the Aussie crowd gave him an earful. Or when he mouths a few 'non-airable' words almost every time he hits a century.

Coming to Wankhede's reaction, the fact that it is one of the most hostile crowds cannot be lost on anyone. 'Monkey-scandal' (not calling it 'Monkeygate!') had its genesis here, only for their target to play for their team a couple of seasons later. They booed their very own - a man who gets a standing ovation even in Rawalpindi. A kind-hearted like Harsha Bhogle may say these are a few 100! But when it happens with such alarming regularity, you got to question a city's attitude. And this comes from a hardcore Mumbaikar, who has no second favourites! I love it, still.

The other aspect that largely went unnoticed was the incident itself. Rather, the attitude surrounding the incident. Yes, the bowler didn't do it intentionally. Yes, it was all fair-and-square and Virat was well within his rights not to withdraw the appeal. Ambati Rayudu was unlucky. But he was out. Period. However...

Let me just draw a parallel between this dismissal and Ashwin's infamous attempt at Mankading Sri Lanka's Thirimanne. Here (Rayudu), it was pure bad luck! There, the non-striker was careless and stupid to venture out of his crease. Here, the bowler's leg accidentally came en-route the batsman's outstretched bat; there, the bowler's situational awareness caught the non-striker napping. Yet, our experts and media called this decision fair; but when it comes to Mankading, they'd go head-over-heels in saying how "unsporting and unfair" the bowler and his skipper are, to appeal (even if it is well within their rights). Playing within the rule book, I am still not convinced how one can be called fair and the other one not! I suppose, just like in real life, some laws are more equal than the others.

I guess, that is probably why many call Cricket a complicated game. We all love it, still.

First ever IPL State Derby: Another Pictorial

I’d thought the 15^th May 2011 experience at the stadium with my office colleagues could possibly be my last LIVE match for a long time to come, when my church friend Binoy messaged me on 19^th May and asked if I could be free to watch the game the next day. At that time, I didn’t even know who the Mumbai Indians were going to play. His sister Benzy had some free tickets and I was invited. There was no way that I was going to let go off this opportunity. 

This time, we were at the Garware Stand, Gate No. 2. This time, however, it would be all church friends together. We reached the game about a couple of overs late because of some miscommunication. We hadn’t missed much of the action though. Just as we entered, Sachin Tendulkar was taking a catch to send Pune Warriors’ Jesse Ryder back to the dug-out. 

Before we could even settle down, PWI had lost four. One of them being Tim Paine, seen here getting his bails knocked off by Munaf Patel. I consider this one a priceless shot, and to think that it was purely by chance. I’d thought the batsman was given out caught behind! But a careful look at the picture and you’d see that the bail is disturbed. 

Soon, skipper Yuvraj Singh was making his way back for a duck. Amidst the Mumbai Indians’ flags fluttering, he walked back dejectedly to the dug-out, seeing a defeat within the first six overs of the game. The bunch who’d got the free tickets, meanwhile, feared that the game might be over too soon for our liking.

The Pune dug-out wasn’t too far away from where we sat. And we were of course, the privileged few to have high-end tickets free to ourselves!

Robin Uthappa tried to resurrect the Pune inning, but found little support at the other end, as edges flew often from the bat, most of them, luckily in no man’s land.

Lasith Malinga could easily be the second most popular cricketer in Mumbai Indians. And with him standing at long-off, shouts of ‘Maa-lin-ga Maa-lin-ga’ echoed from our stands. When you’re in the crowd, you could say the most ridiculous things, like when I shouted something to the effect of – “Malinga, apna baal dikha na!” (Malinga, show us your hair!). And very soon, he was removing his hat. Of course, only to wipe the sweat I believe. 

Soon, Malinga was bowling and that slinging action just cannot be missed – no matter which part of the stand you are in!

When you’re this close to the ground and dug-out, you’re never too far away from the TV guys either. Shibani Dandekar was seen here interviewing Pune’s Fergusson. 

It’s fun to watch a player’s antics at the ground, something that you could miss while watching on TV. Malinga was seen adjusting his socks, even as the bowler was beginning his run-up. “Idhar catch aayega toh majaa aayega!” (Would be fun if they hit one here)

Strategic Time-out is one of the most irritating things while on TV, but to people at the stadium, it’s time to grab a bite, see what the players do etc. Pune didn’t have much to discuss with them tottering with more than half of their side back in the hut. Wonder what Geoff Marsh and Yuvi told the batsmen in the middle.

And for people like Binoy, Sajan and me, it was time to carry some memories home to show off. For me, this was coming here on my blog! The three of us look more tired than the players on the field though.

Pune soon folded out for 118. Time for interviews. Andrew Symonds with Brad Hodge. Shibani and Sameer Kochar (who looked bigger than he does on TV) seen here awaiting their turn.

And when you’re in a stand that’s on the higher side, you could bump into a few celebrities too like Sachin Khedekar, popular Marathi actor. Music Director Anu Malik also was around, but too quick for me to click a snap.

Wankhede looks awesome under floodlights. And they were just taking effect, slowly.

Mumbai lost opener Franklin early, but chasing 118 was never going to be difficult. Uthappa fielding at long-on seemed quite lonely.

Sachin and Rayudu were playing at a pace that was below-par for a T20 game, but on par for the current match. Binoy wanted the match to go to the last ball. Seemed highly unlikely. 

I seemed to be the only guy in that stand who knew Tommo’s real name – Alfonso Thomas. A ball before this snap, Tommo jumped high to save a certain six to restrict Rayudu to just one. Soon, Sachin went after the bowler, but the ball was safe in Tommo’s lap!

Sachin departed. In walked Rohit Sharma. Mumbai Indians’ batsmen hadn’t had much of a hit in the middle with Sachin and Rayudu doing most of the work in the previous games. Perfect time for Rohit to get some batting practice. 

Binoy desperately wanted a photograph with Sachin. He got his moment! 

Some tight bowling and some average batting by Mumbai meant that the game could well go to the last over. We never thought we would be seeing the flood-lights taking full-effect like it did.

The match was getting too close for my liking. My mom had already asked me the day before – “Are you going there to defeat Mumbai? Last time, you did so!”

With Symonds coming out to bat for the first time in the game, and Rohit Sharma playing it easy, this game would go to the final over!

Binoy got his second wish fulfilled. The match going to the last ball.

Murali Karthik, who had bowled a good over till that point, pitched his last one slightly short and outside the off, and Rohit quickly pounced on it and cleared it over the sweeper-cover boundary for MI’s first six, thus handing his team a seven-wicket win.

MI came out victorious in the first-ever state derby of IPL. I have a good feeling about this rivalry. Could well turn out to be a ‘match to watch out for’ in the future. As for me, I had witnessed another first at Wankhede!

Another perk that came with the free ticket, apart from some yummy free food, was that we were pretty close to the dressing room. And two of my favourite former South African players were within shouting distance here – Shaun Pollock and Jonty Rhodes. (So much so that my nephew is named after the latter)

The presentation ceremony was about to start, but to those close to the dressing room, that hardly mattered. We were calling out to any and every player. And Malinga obliged. Unfortunately, as Malinga chose and pick, I wasn’t the fortunate enough to get his autograph.

For some strange reason, I had a feeling, I could get Robin Uthappa’s attention. He was down in the ground getting his ‘Maximum Sixes Award’. On his way back, we had our moment when Robin responded with a smile when we shouted out ‘Praise the Lord, Robbie!’ Soon, he was kind enough to take the Mumbai Indians flag and sign on it. My day was made!

My first ever stadium experience: A Photo Story!

It was one of those ‘ideas’ that you just blurt out at the spur of the moment. So, as I was on a walk with my office friends- all of us still discussing the World Cup victory, sudden thought, which was perhaps a little too loud – “Why don’t we go for a game?” It didn’t take too long for the bunch to come back at their desk and book IPL tickets for the Mumbai Indians – Kochi Tuskers Kerala game.

Come 15th May 2011, we were on our way to the famous Wankhede Stadium, which a couple of weeks back had witnessed one of the most historic moments in Indian cricket. For us, we knew the Mumbai Indians was walking home easily with their easy wins in their first two matches, and Kochi’s below-par show in their first two. Before I bore you to death with this boring textual experience of the match, let these few pictures tell the tale.

Not surprisingly, the line to gate no. 4 was long, what with the six of us reaching past 7, yet well before the game.

I’ve never seen Wankhede in such close proximity. And after renovation, I am told that it had started looking even more gorgeous.

Did someone say IPL was losing out because of its proximity to the World Cup? Wankhede had other stories. And as we made past the 3-4 layers of security, to add a cliché, the decibels sure gave testimony to the excitement in the air.

What really got us going was the view we were going to get. At the second ‘cheapest’ available seats, this was possibly the best seats available. 

The ‘screaming’ was purely for the excitement of the seats that we got, which I must add, was purely by chance. I don't think we shouted any louder during the game. Few empty seats in the stand adjacent were soon going to be filled to capacity. What surprised me was the availability of MI flags on every seat.

Kochi, after winning the toss, asked Mumbai to bat. The decibels went a lot of notches higher when Sachin Tendulkar and Davy Jacobs walked out to the middle. For three of us in the group, we were seeing the legend for the first-ever time in person.

There’s no better sight in world cricket than a Tendulkar straight-drive and when he obliged in the very first over as he drove RP Singh past mid-off. The few Rupees that we had spent were now worth it. Soon though, there was a close shout for LBW. “Not out. Not out!” I declared. Umpire agreed. Seemed we both were wrong. I, of course, didn’t know about this till after the game.

As the game progressed, the stadium was in full capacity, cheering each of Sachin’s runs. One required to score of the last ball of the MI inning to reach his first ever century, Sachin calmly knocks it to long-off for a single, thus hitting his first ever 100 in a T20 game! The crowd just witnessed history and we already had a nice story to tell our children.

I might be a mallu, but I am a Mumbaikar first. And the way Kochi chased MI’s 182 down with Mahela Jayawardane’s silky smooth batting and Brendon McCullum’s blitzkrieg, we were left to be satisfied with Sachin’s master-class.

Yet, there were a lot of take-aways from what was my first-ever Stadium Experience. For one, seeing Sachin’s straight drive, followed by an array of shots, including his first ever helicopter shot, on his way to the first-ever T20 100. For another, Mahela’s inning made us feel that cricket is a very simple game. Very! And finally, this was also Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s first ever victory in the IPL. 

PS: Not much of KTK's inning was captured on camera, for much of the time, we were just too stunned with the shots and ease with which Mahela and McCullum took the game away from us!

Mallu invasion in IPL!!!

During Season 2 of IPL (or was it Season I), I remember joking with my colleagues about a team from Kochi making it to the IPL rooster. Cut to March 21, 2010, and news channels across televisions could be seen flashing the ‘vulgar’ money spent on the two new teams, one of them as per my ‘predictions’ – Kochi! A few expats mallus, some Gujjus, Delhiites, Mumbaikars all forming a part of a conglomerate they call Rendezvous Sports, and a little bit of string-pulling from Mr. Twitter 2009-10 – Sashi Tharoor, and what do you have? A new franchisee – Kochi! Beware! Mallus have invaded the IPL too!!! And possibly in large numbers!!

So, now that we have Kochi in the fray, let’s see what we can expect during IPL Season 4…

1. Team Name: Except for Knight Riders and Chargers, none of the other six teams have a name that’s catchy enough. Here’s Kochi’s chance to cash in on a ‘fundoo’ name. My suggestion: Kochi Kokonuts!
2. Jerseys: As mentioned in one of my earlier posts last year, there’s too much of blue (and red) in IPL. Kochi has a chance to break that trend and be innovative. Expect sleeveless banyans and white moondus (dhotis) which will be tied upwards to reveal that blue-lined bermudas beneath!
3. Sponsors: No one can beat Malluland in the number of jewellery shops and craze for that yellow metal. Don’t be surprised if you see ‘Atlas Jewellery’ printed in large yellow font in those banyan jerseys. ‘Janakodikallude vishwasth sthapanam’ ads will now make its way to non-mallu channels!
4. Captain: Who other than the golden-eyed boy from Kerala? The now peace-loving and converted Sree will lead the Kochi Kokonuts. Another reason why the team should be called ‘the nuts’!
5. Coach: If Warne, at age 40+, can be coach and captain, why not Sree for KKNs? The other mallu leaders are busy in striking (not the cricket ball), but striking work – Kerala’s favourite past-time!
6. Support Staff: As far as physio and fitness is concerned, there are no shortages of nurses (read nerses) in Kerala! Oh, hold on- they’ve all ‘migrated’ to ‘the Gulf’ (read Gelf). Well, the expats can import them for the IPL time-slot.
7. Cheerleaders: Traditional Kerala’s chattayum-moondum (white kurta-like top and women’s dhoti – sorry, couldn’t find a better way to describe that) only please! We don’t like exposing in Kerala. All those exposing too much will be met with a protest march in red flags and red shirts!
8. Schedule: IPL will be wary of bandhs, hartals and strikes every second day. All of Kochi’s home matches will be on Sundays. There are no bandhs in Kerala on holidays!
9. Crowd: Times are changing. If you thought I am gonna say “expect moond and white shirts all across the stadium,” well, you are right. But that’s not because it continues to be Kerala’s ‘everyday clothing’, they are just showing support to their local team! If you can wear blue for Mumbai Indians’ home game and purple for KKR, why not dhotis, which will be the jersey for KKNs!
10. Sledging: Phaaaaaaa… ()*@#@)(!!@!_@! – That’s sledging in Malayalam!
11. Brand Ambassador: Mohan Lal (read Mogan) – “njan ilaathe njingalk entho IPL?” (What’s IPL without me? – for the uninitiated, it’s one of his famous ad quotes, twisted to suit this post)

All in all, things are looking exciting for IPL. Honestly, I was getting bored with scenes of Preity’s dimples and Shilpa shouting! Let’s have some puttum kadalayum! Let’s have some Chattayum Moondum. And let’s have a non-stop mallu-blabbering (that’s what we do all the time) wicket-keeper behind the stumps!

Of DLF Maximums and Citi Moments of Success!!!

While KKR might see some sponsors pulling out of the team for IPL 3 after their abysmal performance in South Africa, the IPL itself might see a lot of new corporates in their kitty.

This commercialisation of cricket has made a lot of “early” cricket enthusiasts lament about using brand-names as adjectives before a six, a four or a wicket! So, every time Robin Jackman shouts out “It’s another D L & F” for a Yusuf Pathan six and Ravi Shastri says, “Another Citi Moment of success” for a Suresh Raina blinder, the purists roll in their graves. I, for one, would like to call myself a purist, but a purist who enjoys cricket in all forms! And this blogger sees no harm in calling out these brand names! For one, calling a six, “A DLF Maximum” is much better than calling it a “Haywards 5000 Club Soda Solid Six!” Most of the little who read my blog wouldn’t have a clue of the latter! Well, that’s what the commentators “barked” in ICL! And by the time the Hindi commentators finished saying that long ‘paragraph’, you could be watching another “Haywards 5000 Club Soda Solid Sixer!”

IPL is all about cricketainment – cricket married with entertainment. And any fool would be able to tell you that neither cricket nor entertainment can survive without the corporate money! And there’s little doubt IPL entertains! And in a big way! Many call it a circus! For IPL followers like me, it’s a festival. Time to unwind after a hard day at work! And for a multi-mega buck event like IPL to survive, you need the DLFs, the Citis, the Vodafones, the Hero Hondas and the Fly Kingfishers! Call it an unholy marriage or a marriage borne out of compromise and compulsion, it’s, however, still a successful marriage, the gross product of which is a 40-odd day carnival!

Perhaps the only complain I’d have about IPL is over focus of television cameras (and commentators at times) on Lalit Modi! Surely a case of “you got to please your boss” to stay where you are (in this case, South Africa). But what’s a carnival without a few fingers being pointed? “Purists” would do well to bear with some commercialisation and instead focus on some good cricket being played at the IPL! So, just enjoy those DLF Maximums and those Citi Moments of Success!

Jersey "Blues" in IPL - 2!!!

A few surprises, a few shocks and a few expected results! That’s IPL’s second edition so far! While I am not surprised at the huge turn-out despite it being held in South Africa, I must admit I didn’t expect teams to get bundled out to scores of around 100 and below!

The seven and a half minute strategy break apart, one other thing that has put me off in IPL’s second edition is the choice of colours for team jerseys! Check this out:

• Mumbai Indians – A shade of sky blue
• Rajasthan Royals – Dark blue
• Delhi Daredevils – Prominently blue with red along the sides
• Deccan Chargers – Another shade of dark blue
• Royal Challengers Bangalore – Shade of red
• Kings XI Punjab – Another Shade of Red with white at the sides
• Chennai Superkings – Yellow
• Kolkata Knight Riders – Black and golden

No issues with the last two teams as they definitely stand out! But some serious thought need to be given by the teams if they have to maintain some exclusiveness in their jersey colours! While MI and RR already had blue last season, it’s just baffling that DD and DC opted to change to blue! Surely, blue mustn’t have been the only colour in their designing boards! The Daredevils now look like the English cricket team!

Can we have more creativity guys? Or at least a better colour sense? No way would I want to see a jhataak and dinchaak colours, but take lessons from SRK’s KKRs!

My friend Carlo is already capturing moments at Port Elizabeth that he will surely like to show his grandchildren a few years down the line! Carlo, I hope you get to see one of those “I was there” moments! My next few posts will include the view through his lenses! Beware, some of them would make you jealous! It already has in my case!

IPL is here: My Loyalties

Recently, the firm that I work for (by now, you all know which one) became the ‘Tech-Partner’ for the Rajasthan Royals squad in IPL. Must say, quite an impressive term is this ‘technology partner’! Ok, now without really going beyond the obvious (interpretation), the loyalties of some of the people in my firm have slowly shifted towards the Shane Warne-led side. No issues whatsoever! Everyone’s got their own choices! So, which team will be rooting for this IPL season?

Without the blink of an eye – Mumbai Indians! Reasons? Pretty Simple!

1. It’s my city and I am a Mumbaikar!
2. Sachin Tendulkar, the opening batsman alongside Sanath Jayasurya
3. Sachin Tendulkar, the captain in the shortest version
4. Sachin Tendulkar, the bowler who can bowl almost everything!
5. Sachin Tendulkar, the bubbly fielder!

These of course are reasons other than the fact that I love the involvement of Shaun Pollock (lovingly called Polly kakka by the MI paltan last year) and Jonty Rhodes (My nephew is named after him)! There’s no way that I would think twice before supporting MIs!

And where does this leave Rajashtan Royals in my scheme of things? Not in the top 3 for sure! Kolkata Knight Riders (despite the confusing multiple captain theory by Prof. John) and Bangalore Royal Challengers (despite it being owned by a ‘what’s that guys name?’) would be rooted for as well by this mallu. And now with one of my favourites Mohammad Kaif being shown the door by RR, they may not even be in my top seven! My company’s loyalist may not like this blog post at all! All I can say is I am waiting for Saturday! Fourty-odd days of fun! Go Indians go!!!

Right now, if you ask me who I am most jealous of. I’d say my good ol’ buddy Carlo Bugger! He’d be around in South Africa during the IPL! Carlo my friend! Have a blast at Port Elizabeth! Guys, check this blog for more as Carlo will be sending some of the pics he took at the IPL! Would be fun to watch them “from a viewer’s perspective!”