AahUsTrailYeah!

That's right, mate!
Believe it or not, we have received a shellacking from the Austraalllyans in Pune.

As we head onto Bangalore for the next match trailing 0-1 in the four-match Test series, the writing on the wall is amply clear: Good (Rude) morning Team India - Wake up call!!

Time we pulled our socks up and correct the blunders we committed in the last match.

Here's what I believe:

Pitch
While there is no denying that the Aussies completely outbatted us in Pune, it is equally true that the kind of pitch we saw there, would not be the same across other venues.
Yes, Virat Kohli did not blame anyone but the batting for the inept performance.
But as much as he was honest in introspecting, he might also have been brave in discounting the impact that it had on the game.

Couple this with the fact that we dropped so many catches and lost a very good toss to win, and you know, the tables could well have turned had we batted first (and well) on the same pitch.

My expectation: I think the pitches in the remainder of the series will still be turning pitches but without the amount of turn or bounce that Pune offered, from Day One.

What that would do, is to make it a typical Indian wicket, best for batting on the first 2 days, kind of progressively getting tougher from Day 3, to then start breaking more, taking turn, and also generate uneven bounce, on Days 4 and 5.

Playing Eleven
I think Kohli will need to make sure that he puts out the best Playing XI, most suited and most equipped in form as well as temperament, to suit the surface and dent the opposition as much as possible.

Karun Nair might make his way into the eleven at the expense of a bowler (Jayant?) and there is also the possibility of Ishant being sacrificed for Bhuvi.

Eventual Result and Scoreline
Despite the loss, I still see India bouncing back, leveling scores, and eventually clinching the series.
So much for Us-Trail?Yeah!

Here's hoping each wish comes true :)
Go for it, Team IndiYeaah!!
Jai Ho!!

YouWe Can!!

Happy New Year all of that to all the readers!!

Talking of years, years will come and go, but there are people who take your breath away with the persona that they exude!

Yuvraj Singh, the wonderboy of Indian cricket (along with a certain Virender Sehwag) in the 2000s, just helped us clock back to those glorious years, a few nights ago.

Along with another gem who goes by the name of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the two made us relive our age, making us believe we all were a decade younger, living again in those times!

What a knock by both Yuvraj and Dhoni, to first rescue India and then to helm us onto a commanding position, thanks to their knocks.

Two tributes to Yuvraj that come straight to my mind here:
I read this somewhere and it seemed so apt and worth sharing:

We all love Sachin for his perfection.
We adulate Dravid for his temperament.
We salute Ganguly for his self-belief.
We admire Laxman for his timing.
We idolize Dhoni for his coolness.

But when it comes to Yuvraj, what catches the eye the most through his game and strokes, is why we fell in love with the game (batting in particular through him) in the first place!

Just the clean hitting and that awesome sound of ball being met by the center of the center of the bat!
And ofcourse, that effortless and poetic followthrough, ensuring that once he hits the ball, it stays hit.

I will always remember something that he said.
When, at the peak of his powers, straight after being Man of the Series in the winning World Cup team of 2011, he was diagnosed with cancer, someone asked him: why only you?
Doesn't the thought cross your mind, why did it have to happen to me? Now? Only me? Why?

I will never forget the words with which the man replied: When I won the World Cup as an Under 19, I never asked God why did you select only me?
When I got into the Indian team I never asked God why only me?
When I hit 6 sixes, I never asked when only me?
When I won the World Cup and the Man of the Series, I never asked Him why only me?
So why now?
:)

Amazing, wonderful, and heart warming.
That is why Yuvraj remains the greatest of comeback of stories and that is why his success is appreciated and enjoyed by not just him but many more, all over!
Thanks a ton Yuvi, for making your success and comebacks an inspiration to always be steadfast, courageous and keep striving tirelessly.
Each success you achieve is a botox shot for everyone to learn from you, to rise like a phoenix from every disaster, every failure, much stronger and better, every time!
Thank Yuvi, for teaching that we all can embrace any success even after any failure(s)!
You and we always can!
To the perennial emotional favorite of many if not all, dear Yuvi, YOU WE INDEED CAN :)

Sachiiiiin, Sachiiiin!!

As we move from the era of Lara, Ponting, Dravid, and Sachin to Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Steve Smith, and Virat Kohli, one thing has still not gone out of fashion: the cries of Sachiiiin, Sachiiiin!!!

Fans resonate with that chant all across the world even today, invoking his name even when everyone knows he isn't on the field anymore.
Such is the legend of the man they call God.

While I am loathe to equate Sachin to Godly status, I do consider him a role model (on the cricket field) and a huge influence on how to maintain one's equanimity amidst all the temptations and adulations in the world, day in, day out.

To add a fun twist to the nostalgia, here's a humorous take on Sachin and his impact, courtesy TVF!

Dear Sachin,
We shall continue to get heroes galore.
A Kohli within, someone else ashore.

But what will never happen with anyone else except you..
Is for someone to now not know, when successful too early, who to look upto

For you are a lesson for all of us mortals-lesser
On how to remain grounded in compliments and pressure.

This is for you, Sachin - from one among millions of your fans!!

Rest In Peace...

As Indians, we have heard a lot about demonetisation, its effects/affects (as per your political leaning).

However, for me, November marks the anniversary of 26/11, more than any other world event.

The Mumbai attacks of 26/11 are well-documented, and we still await justice being done, the perpetrators being brought to book.
This, when the world has seen the rise of similar attacks in France, Brussels, along with the rise of the ISIS.
Despite all the cacophony, the international consensus has been more about being mute spectators and about doing nothing more than making perfunctory noises and condemnations, time and time again.

Yes, we have done better than before, in retaliating towards Pakistani strikes.
Yes, we have been more firm, but we still need to do a lot more.

Let us keep ensuring that we isolate Pakistan completely - both strategically, diplomatically as well as militarily with enough quid pro quo.

My thoughts go out again, to all those who lost their lives or loved ones, to the cowardly and dastardly act of terrorists.
Rest In Peace to them.

To all of us here - let us not rest in peace - till we get the culprits and make sure justice prevails.
Jai Hind!