From 6 sixes to 5 hundred!

It's been almost 13 years.

Yes, that famous night of September 2007 of the first-ever T20 World Cup, when a certain Yuvraj Singh in his pomp (and already charged up in the previous over by Andrew Flintoff), smashed a clueless, hapless Stuart Broad for 6 consecutive sixes in an over.

While the entire world quite appropriately celebrated Yuvraj, Stuard Broad was relegated to just be a quiz question, much like Malcolm Nash after what Sir Gary Sobers had done to him - Who was the bowler whom Sobers hit for 6 sixes in an over? So here was Broad, in a rather avoidable league, giving company to Malcolm Nash in international cricket trivia.

Cut to 2011 for the 50-over World Cup in India. 

The stage: England Vs Ireland. 

You would think that lightning doesn't strike twice.

Yet, here was Broad, his shoulders anything but broad after his crucial 48th over turned out to be disastrous. What's more, his spilled opportunity contributed to England losing to minnows Ireland in that match.

As they say, it doesn't get bigger than this - two world cup occasions. But two huge blunders. 

Forget the result, think of the psyche of the person.

Can one even imagine what all he must have gone through?

Yet, Broad did not wilt, did not succumb.

Credit to the England team management too, for handling him remarkably well and for giving him the confidence and assurance that would have surely helped him believe he was still among the best England had. And as they say, after all these years, here we are today, lauding the man for reaching a summit that only 6 other legends have scaled before him, in the history of the game.

Fittingly, the 500 wickets he has taken, have come in the area that let him down, on two of those rare World Cup off-days - in his bowling only.

As cliched as it may sound, this just goes on to only add credence to the fact that we can always achieve great heights, if we remain steadfast, if we keep learning and improving and if we keep persevering, without doubting ourselves.

Well done Broady, and thank you for exemplifying such a pertinent life lesson through your tremendous achievement! Attaboy!

When life gives you 2020..

As the clock struck 12 on Dec 31, 2019 and the midnight ushered in the new year, I wonder if anyone had any inkling how 2020 would treat the world.

Almost half a year after those new year messages and social media posts, here we are - wistfully assessing if there's anything - anything at all about 2020 (for most, if not all people) to be happy about. And I haven't even gone local.

Coronavirus, masks, sanitizers, at least 20 seconds of hand wash after touching externally-sourced items, remote way of working, social distancing, living without maids, drivers, malls, et al - this is the new normal.

6 months ago, who could have said that the US would be on its knees (Corona, David Floyd)?

Who knew that eating out or shopping (physical, not virtual/online) would become mere memories?

Teachers taking classes online, students attending it like a circus ('Keep yourself on mute, class!') and academic institutions postponing exams/promoting candidates en masse - the world has well and truly changed.

But, you know, we Indians cannot stay content with just a few. We have always had just a few more irritants to contend with.
Locusts, frequent (albeit low-intensity) earthquakes, online theft and robberies - you name it, we've probably seen every problem in the book.

Reason enough to be disappointed..

Yet, yet, yet....


The year is only halfway done.
So what if the war's just begun?

Yes, the current times are bleak
But just be positive and not meek.


Whenever you find that
life has made you a pawn
Remember: It gets darkest,
only just before dawn.

So pull up, chin up, and stay as calm as a Boeing.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Stay put, stay safe!

It's an understatement to say that Covid-19 has hit every country, every economy bigtime.
The worst part is that in places like India, even the lockdown has not been able to flatten the curve. You could blame it on the poor discipline of our citizens or on the migration influx or on the resurgence (albeit partial) in people's activity and movement, post-lockdown,

Every time the Corona count (of cases and deaths) reaches a new high, we scale a new low.
It's time to junk all negative news and just focus on being indoors. Some people think being cautious and preventive means being foolish or timid. I read someone say "I won't die hiding like a rat".

Sure, but the times are such that it will be perniciously foolhardy to just throw caution to the winds, and not take any precautions. However frustrating it may be, it is best to stay indoors.

Yes, you may be bored, yes your hands must be fed up of being washed a thousand times, but as they say, you gotta do what you gotta do. This is not the time to be a Sehwag, be a Dravid right now. Bide your time, stay within your crease and do not give any room for error.

It will look boring, no doubt.
It will sap you ever so much.
But it will ensure you are safe.

This is the only way we can make it to the other side of the pandemic, or of any adversity for that matter - by being courageous and prudent, by doing all that we can, and by biding our time.
It's not for nothing that they say, tough times don't last, tough people do.
May everyone stay safe, healthy and happy!
Amen, and let's see this off together.

Playing just like Dravid, is so very crucial today
After this is over, we'll also be Sehwag one day!

Happy Birthday, Master Blaster!

47 years ago, the world did not know that a cricketing genius had arrived.
Of course, superpowers aside, one cannot tell or predict a person's fate or life's trajectory right at the time of birth.

I suspect that would've been the case 47 years ago too.
Not even in the case of the one who, as is widely said, was born to bat!

No one could have predicted that April 24, 1973 heralded the arrival of someone who would go on to change the course of batting forever, besides being counted in the pantheon of the greatest-ever batsmen.
No one had known then, that the world of cricket had been blessed with Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Sample these stats:
(Each stat/record stands head and shoulders above anyone else as of today, even 6 years after his retirement):

Most number of international matches by anyone ever.
Most number of international runs.
Most number of international 100s.
Most number of international 50s.
Most number of man-of-the-match awards.
Most number of man-of-the-series awards.
Most number of 90s.
Most number of 4s (boundaries) hit.

Of course, these records are at the world-level and in terms of all-time-records. Not just through the last year or any particular span, but across every era.
Every record is about most number of ____: EVER.

In other words, Sachin is simply, THE GREATEST EVER.
Not that he needed stats to prove anything, but they themselves state this fact rather indisputably, I'd say.

Well, that sure is enough reason for people to be in awe of his precocious talent, and try to emulate and play like him. Okay, atleast be inspired and try to play somewhere around something like him.
But honestly, as pride-worthy as his achievements are, there is something even better, even greater than his superhuman feats.

It's how he is - not just as a player but even more so, as a person.
It's his balance and execution.
Not just in the field, while batting but even off-field, in how he has conducted himself even more admirably.
His (mental) balance and execution (of his behaviour) in staying sane, grounded, motivated, sincere despite all the superstardom, god-like status, temptations and accolades everyday from everyone have been exemplary.

Sachin is the name of someone who bridged the gap between goodness and greatness with consummate ease. The living embodiment of an all-time great sporting superstar who never stopped being someone you wanted your kids to be like.

Sachin's talent and ability to break in at the highest level when all of 16 and succeed to be the best made people admire and emulate him.
But his impeccable conduct and role-model behavior, with not even a tinge of rashness and brashness, with nothing out of place, made people love, adore and respect him.

As someone (among just a few billion others) who has grown up learning and being wowed by not just about his batting but about life, rectitude and propriety from Sachin, wish you many happy returns of the day, superstar!
Thankyou for making us find light in our lives and for cheering us on to not only take on the world's best but also be (and stay being) the world's best. While also being the best-behaved all the time. Think of superstars who can qualify on all these aspects from any field ever and you will not need to go beyond your fingertips.
May God bless you and your every wish Sachin!
Stay happy, stay blessed, and thanks beyond words for everything you have been and meant to us!