Silly M(a)id-on

Looking at Viru and Gauti makes me realise how much we were missing out on in the past few years with no settled openers. Even with a rock solid middle order there was always a piece missing from the puzzle. That seems complete now. Oh, except for Dravid. As for him, he either needs to fire in the next match(with a convincing innings, not a scratchy, coma-inducing half century) or he needs to be fired!

Onto England. They definitely are a better Test team than an ODI one. They can take back a lot of positives from the performances of Strauss, Collingwood, Flintoff and Swann. They were ahead of India till the end of Day 3 but erred badly when they needed to set India a target. Their batting lost the plot. But Sehwag was the one who actually took the game away from them. 387 should have been good enough. But he had other plans! And he executed them in such a manner that his innings overshadowed every other performance of the match.

Thanks you guys, for winning this game in such incredible style.

I write this piece with mixed feelings. I am still not very sure if going ahead with the test series is a good idea. First of all the sheer amount of security provided to cover just the players and the stadium(5000 is the number I am told) is mind boggling. Would that have an effect on the players' psyche? A lot has been said about the English players and their mental state in the aftermath of the terror attacks but surprisingly little has been written about the Indian players. After all the terror attack took place in their country, and in the case of Sachin Tendulkar, in his city. Like us, the Indian players too would be hurt, confused, angry, scared and cricket might not be high on their list. Also, would the extra security discourage people from coming out to watch the game, given that Ind vs Aus did not attract many people as it is. Or would they come out in huge numbers to show their solidarity(the new buzzword). I guess we will know tomorrow.

Secondly, the BCCI has done it again. It has picked out a venue where the weather could end up playing an important part. The track at Chennai is flat as it is. Losing a few hours to rain would not be ideal, to put it mildly.

On to the cricketing stuff now. India are clear favourites to win the series, weather permitting. The opening pair is looking solid. The middle order looks good. Yuvraj and Rahul have a point to prove and I bet they will come good. Anil will be missed very much but Bhajji, Mishra and Ojha will be quiet a handful for England. And the pace attack has never looked better. The English test team is definitely better than their ODI team, but they still have a lot to sort out before they lay claim to the series.

Ah, who knows! Maybe a couple of fantastic games is what is needed to lift the gloom of the past few days. Now that the game is on, let's get on with it people!

Is baar jab woh choti si bachchi mere paas apni kharonch le kar aayegi
Main usey phoo phoo kar nahin behlaoonga
Panapney doonga uski tees ko
Is baar nahin

Is baar jab main chehron par dard likha dekhoonga
Nahin gaoonga geet peeda bhula dene wale
Dard ko risney doonga,utarney doonga andar gehrey
Is baar nahin

Is baar main na marham lagaoonga
Na hi uthaoonga rui ke phahey
Aur na hi kahoonga ki tum aankein band karlo,gardan udhar kar lo main dawa lagata hoon
Dekhney doonga sabko hum sabko khuley nangey ghaav
Is baar nahin

Is baar jab uljhaney dekhoonga,chatpatahat dekhoonga
Nahin daudoonga uljhee door lapetney
Uljhaney doonga jab tak ulajh sake
Is baar nahin

Is baar karm ka hawala de kar nahin uthaoonga auzaar
Nahin karoonga phir se ek nayee shuruaat
Nahin banoonga misaal ek karmyogi ki
Nahin aaney doonga zindagi ko aasani se patri par
Utarney doonga usey keechad main,tedhey medhey raston pe
Nahin sookhney doonga deewaron par laga khoon
Halka nahin padney doonga uska rang
Is baar nahin banney doonga usey itna laachaar
Ki paan ki peek aur khoon ka fark hi khatm ho jaye
Is baar nahin

Is baar ghawon ko dekhna hai
Gaur se
Thoda lambe wakt tak
Kuch faisley
Aur uskey baad hausley
Kahin toh shuruat karni hi hogi
Is baar yahi tay kiya hai

... Prasoon Joshi

Update - This is a touching poem written by Adman and lyricist Prasoon Joshi that appeared on the news site Rediff today. Apologies to those who don't know Hindi. I am not the best person for translation. So if anyone can translate the above lines in English please let me know and I will link up their post to this one.