Stay home, stay safe, and vaccinate!

It's been more than a year since COVID-19 hit the world - at least most parts of it.

One could have been forgiven for thinking that things would be fine more than 400 days later. Especially when many nations began coming out of it towards the end of 2020. Or at least began showing signs of improvement and more control over the dreaded pandemic.

However, no one would have thought that despite the knowledge that a second (or third) wave would hit them, most countries were feeling more confident and more secure by the time we welcomed 2021.

However, this turned out to be a disastrous miscalculation, surely in a place like India.

Apart from mistaking the lull before the storm as a complete flattening of the curve, we made two cardinal mistakes.

1) No one bothered to increase mass-scale production of vaccines and begin vaccinations across the length and breadth of this huge country. Governments' failure - both at the Centre and states.

2) With the few people who began getting vaccinated (along with of course, the Corona-fatigue of people who had been locked down), there was a general sense of nonchalance and insouciance towards continuously following COVID-appropriate behavior. Public failure and gross negligence.

To make matters worse, people began congregating in mass gatherings with impudence of I-care-two-hoots for masks and social distancing.

No one bothered to think that even if they would be fine, someone else who could become more vulnerable to any potential virus that their presence could escalate.

The results have been catastrophic and here we are, today. Record number of cases, record number of deaths, horrifying accounts of people dying of lack of oxygen, hospitals turning patients away, doctors and medical staff breaking down and feeling helpless, the list goes on and on.

While we cannot undo the past, we can certainly do much better to improve our present and future. Please do not venture outside of your homes, unless it is absolutely essential. Even then, take every precaution you can, stay safe, and get vaccinated as soon as you are eligible and called upon.

This is also a moment to express our gratitude to all those who tireless helped others. Be it the doctors or other medical staff, the police and paramedical staff or the delivery boys or the sanitation workers who  have ploughed away incessantly.

Thank you, everyone.

If you are a COVID warrior who can help others by donating blood or plasma, please do.

If you are anyone who can help anyone, please do.

This is a time when the entre nation needs us. All of us, together.

Stay strong and please take care everyone. I'm sure we will overcome this soon. Jai Ho!

A memorable English spring

The juggernaut called Indian cricket continues to roll and more power to it!!

After a rude jolt in the first Test, India has always managed to stay one step ahead of the Englishmen in all formats of the game.

Of course, don't gi by the whitewash in the scoreline across each format - the series was a close one and England competed very well in every format.

But true to the character of the Men In Blue, Team India managed to find ways to scrape through every tough situation and overcome every obstacle in their way.

We kept getting match winning performances from Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Shardul Thakur.

Not to forget, some scintillating debuts by Ishan Kishan, Suryalumar Yadav, and Krunal Pandya.

Wishing many more super duper performances from our awesome assembly line of incredible performers.

Here's to many more enjoyable seasons in Indian cricket...Jai Ho!!

Kuchh din toh guzaaro Gujarat mein!

This is turning out to be quite a riveting series with epic proportions between India and England (not to forget, with both Australia and NZ also following every bit of action with added interest).

If the opening Test belonged to the toss and Joe Root, the second one belonged to the toss, Rohit Sharma, and R Ashwin.

Suffice to say that the upcoming pink-ball Test will be another mouth-watering affair, with both teams vying to take the ascendancy. If India manage to win this, they will need to only only ensure that they do not lose the next match, to make it to the WTC Finals. So, a win or at least a draw, will be high on their wishlist from this match.

On the other hand, England have to win both this match as well as the next one. If not, they will have to quietly say bye-bye to their hopes of qualifying for the Finals. A draw from here will make Australia happy, who will then get to bypass both India and England, to meet New Zealand in the Finals.

All said and done, the pitch will be crucial, but so will the performances too. Any Test side has to perform in every condition, not least one which aspires to be a WTC finalist. And there is enough talk of home advantage - why not? Why can we not have pitches that turn and help spinners from Day One? For all the critics of such tactics, how often have you heard the same people complaining about seaming, bouncy pitches that jag the ball in and around your chin/chest from the first over of the day?

It's all fine as long as nothing is substandard. And substandard it has not been. If you needed any further confirmation, I have a few names for you: Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin - centurions from the same match, same pitch. Even Ben Foakes, in the English First Innings, showed how one can apply oneself to play and score on such a pitch.

So let's leave the excuses and wailing to disgruntled and frustrated Vaughans, Waughs and other such cry-babies. Time to spend some time in Gujarat now, get your dhoklas and fafdaas ready, let's get to the action in the middle soon, and let's look forward to another round of top quality cricket from two wonderful sides.

All the best, India - Jai Ho!

IndiaA, IndiaA!!! IndiaA, IndiaA!!!

It's a new year and after what was pretty much a calamitous 2020 for the entire world, at least when it comes to Indian cricket, we couldn't have had a more resounding start to the new year!!

Actually, things began taking a turn for the better right after Christmas 2020, with the Boxing Day Test itself where we registered a historic win, which was followed by an unforgettable heist to achieve a draw at Sydney in the first week of the new year by our bravehearts, culminating in a crescendo of indescribable proportions with the unbridled joy on conquering what used to be called - attention all Aussies, especially Tim Paine: past tense now - what used to be called - a fortress for Australia, the Gabbatoir.

There are so many things one feels as a cricket lover and as an Indian team fan, yet there's precious little that I have which can be explained in words.

Some of my friends have pointed to certain sections in the cricketing world (you can guess and even expect the geo-coordinates of such people! It must also be mentioned though, that in all fairness, not everyone from such locations is bereft of objectivity and fairmindedness. So we are talking of only some/most (but not all) Burnol-worthy, jealousy-driven zealots from certain locations in Asia). They deserve to only be ignored and prayed for. Nothing less, nothing more.

You don't even need to be an Indian fan, not even a Test match specialist. All you need to be is to not be a bigoted, blinded supporter who would hate to see India win anywhere against anyone.

In any case, if you cannot appreciate this from India, there's nary a chance you ever will.

So let that be as it may, one can only pity those who understand cricket and even know the importance and magnitude of such a series win, but fall short of duly accepting or acknowledging it. Such achievements, are anyway not dependent on anyone's certificate or the lack of it.

Sample this: the last time we won in Australia two years ago, in 2018-19, there was a lot of talk about Smith and Warner being away from the squad and hence, it was seen as a win that wasn't against their best team - as if we had kept the two out, instead of it being the result of their own shenanigans.

Despite that, 2 years later, when we toured again, we already landed with a depleted squad. 

Ishant was ruled out of the entire tour right from the IPL. Rohit did not reach Australia till the second Test and so he could play only two (half of the) Test matches and Virat had to return back on paternity leave right after the first Test.

It was pretty much an India A team that we had fielded. Even with that team, people began getting injured, hit and replaced. Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, R Ashwin, Navdeep Saini (soon into the fourth Test).

If this is not backs to the wall stuff, what else is?

From losing the first test after getting dismissed for 36 on Dec 19 to becoming 2-1 winners in the same series exactly a month later on Jan 19 with pretty much an India A squad (or even lesser), it could not have got better than this. Fairy tales might look more realistic in comparison.

And yet, we did it!

We did what no team has done. With not just two players out, but almost the entire first-choice team being out injured or unavailable. We did it despite a historic loss and humiliation. We did it, despite every kind of targeted, hostile bowling and equally targeted, equally hostile behavior by the haughty Aussie team.

We marched on and achieved the unthinkable. To beat the Aussies in their own. Correction: We beat the full-strength Aussie team with our second-string Indian team in their own den. Even at their so-called fortress. Even when we did not have to or need to win the match to win the trophy. We would have won the trophy even.after just drawing the final Test.

But this is why is the new Team India.

This is why champions are made of sterner stuff.

This is why we won, even when we did not have our best personnel.

We won it when Pujara hobbled and winced in pain after taking body blows but did not cower and did not leave until getting out and ensuring we were not going to lose the match.

We won it when Vihari and Ashwin braved every bruise, every hamstring, every back pain, every ounce of their patience and ability to see through the Aussie battery in Sydney.

We won it when Rahane, Gill, Jadeja, Pant, Saini, Sundar, Thakur, Bumrah, Siraj, Rohit and Saini kept punching above their weight ball after ball, game after game. 

We would have won it even if all our players were asked to bat on one leg.

We won because everyone in that team had self-belief and a never-say-die attitude. Combined with dignified aggression. All these are qualities which only one team had in the series. And it wasn't Australia.

Thank you Team India, for providing such a spectacle, such  joy, such a series. Truly the best win till date and one to savor for the ages!!

It was a privilege to watch this team do the unthinkable and in such grand style, despite such adverse circumstances - beating Australia in Australia two times in a row!! Too good, keep it up!!

Jai Ho!!