Friday, 1 April 2005
Pak: 76-4 Struggling
India fight back. Asking rate inching up. Fine bowling by Zaheer and Nehra. Youhana's wicket a definite setback for Pak. Bhajji just into bowl. Inzy looks solid nevertheless. India needs wickets, as Pak has some very late strikers unlike India's batting order which sadly lacks big hitters.
Pak Innings: 52-3 : Two quick wickets
Salman Butt choked after a good start. Nehra getting a break in his first over as Ganguly (of all people) snaps up aa good catch at square leg.
Balaji strikes in the very next over. Malik plays a shot in the air straight to Yuvi. Good chance for India to get back into the game. But this is a very familiar situation for Pak. The top 3 consistently fail. Then the re-building starts. Interesting to see how things shape up. Another quick wicket here will put Pak under tremendous pressure.
Balaji strikes in the very next over. Malik plays a shot in the air straight to Yuvi. Good chance for India to get back into the game. But this is a very familiar situation for Pak. The top 3 consistently fail. Then the re-building starts. Interesting to see how things shape up. Another quick wicket here will put Pak under tremendous pressure.
Pak innings: 45-1
45-1 right now. Fine start by Pak. Salman Butt looks set to score a 100. He is middling the ball well and seems to be in good touch. India's bowling has been average. Nehra confirmed that he is still a shameful fielder as he let one through for a four. Ganguly displayed some of his personal field inneficiences as well in addition to his poor form with the bat.
Overall the body language of the Indians indicate no confidence whatsoever. They badly need a win here, else its going to be a painful one-day series.
Overall the body language of the Indians indicate no confidence whatsoever. They badly need a win here, else its going to be a painful one-day series.
India Pak first one day at Kochi
India struggled to a total of 280 despite the two 100s from Dravid and Sehwag respectively. Had India played more as a team, they should have crossed the 300 mark. Dravid slowed down so badly towards the end in search for his personal milestone, that the rest of our heroes crumbled under pressure and India was bungling through the last overs like they were playing for a draw (perhaps a hangover of the third test). All in all a lousy performance barring as always, lately, from Sehwag. Unless Pak loose early wickets or throw this match away, my guess is that Pak should wrap this up in style.
Sunday, 27 March 2005
Chicken Recipe
Tried out this Chicken Chettinad Recipe today. Turned out pretty good! Definitely worth a shot if you like cooking and have the patience to look up the recipe.
If you are wondering where Chettinad is, it is a region in southern India in the state of Tamil Nadu.
If you are wondering where Chettinad is, it is a region in southern India in the state of Tamil Nadu.
India-Pak Third Test at Bangalore
The final day is excitingly poised. Hats of to Pak. This team has played exceptionally in this match thus far. Younis Khan is super player with a lot of character (now it make sense as to why Imran was pitching his case for captaincy). Its hard to imagine, that India won the previous test because Pak has held the psychological upper hand pretty much throughout this test. India on the other hand has a golden opportunity to prove that they are a winning, fighting, capable unit as opposed to a bunch of high net worth, yet talented celebrities.
Laxman's knock on Day 4:
Was batting so difficult? Why was VVS batting like he had 10 more batsmen to follow after Kumble. He scored a total of 28 runs on day 4. The other tailenders combined made almost as much! Has this guy lost his form for good? Given the way Pak batted immediately after India's first innings, its an indication that there weren't exactly any major challenges posed by the pitch.
Sehwag holds the key:
The TOI headlines read "Can Viru win the test for India?" Its an indication of how much has changed in the India batting order. Dravid is solid, Sachin is still good but never considered a match winner anymore, Ganguly is in a permanent state of struggle, VVS form is a figment of imagination. But Viru is the man who can make a difference to a victory. All the others can contribute significantly to save the test, but none can contribute to a victory more than Viru can. On the downside Viru has a dismal second innings average. Moreover he has already scored a double in the first innings. All in all a tall score from him is not going to be easy. But if he does get one India will be in the race atleast until he is at the crease. Its a different story that after his departure from the crease India might simply switch to a save test mode. What a shame if it came down to it. Anyway, should be an exciting day ahead!
The Result tomorrow
If Pak wins, hats of to Pak once again. The team has played superbly and it will be a deserving win. For India it means a huge loss of the psychological advantage prior to the one-day series challenges, especially, given that Pak are a better one-day team. On the other hand, if India wins, then India deserves to be rated the number 2 or 3 test side in the world. Its an awesome opportunity for Team India to prove itself and steal the limelight from their arch rivals on the final day of the test and go into the one-day series with a lot of confidence.
Lastly, its great to see so much interest and excitement being generated by Test cricket.
Laxman's knock on Day 4:
Was batting so difficult? Why was VVS batting like he had 10 more batsmen to follow after Kumble. He scored a total of 28 runs on day 4. The other tailenders combined made almost as much! Has this guy lost his form for good? Given the way Pak batted immediately after India's first innings, its an indication that there weren't exactly any major challenges posed by the pitch.
Sehwag holds the key:
The TOI headlines read "Can Viru win the test for India?" Its an indication of how much has changed in the India batting order. Dravid is solid, Sachin is still good but never considered a match winner anymore, Ganguly is in a permanent state of struggle, VVS form is a figment of imagination. But Viru is the man who can make a difference to a victory. All the others can contribute significantly to save the test, but none can contribute to a victory more than Viru can. On the downside Viru has a dismal second innings average. Moreover he has already scored a double in the first innings. All in all a tall score from him is not going to be easy. But if he does get one India will be in the race atleast until he is at the crease. Its a different story that after his departure from the crease India might simply switch to a save test mode. What a shame if it came down to it. Anyway, should be an exciting day ahead!
The Result tomorrow
If Pak wins, hats of to Pak once again. The team has played superbly and it will be a deserving win. For India it means a huge loss of the psychological advantage prior to the one-day series challenges, especially, given that Pak are a better one-day team. On the other hand, if India wins, then India deserves to be rated the number 2 or 3 test side in the world. Its an awesome opportunity for Team India to prove itself and steal the limelight from their arch rivals on the final day of the test and go into the one-day series with a lot of confidence.
Lastly, its great to see so much interest and excitement being generated by Test cricket.
Monday, 21 March 2005
Movie Review: Bride and Prejudice
Saw this movie on DVD. After all the buzz created with Ash on Letterman, CBS etc and Gurinder Chhadha, the director of Bend it like Beckham fame (which was an excellent film) all over the press, we decided to watch the movie at home on DVD.
Man, what a disaster, a complete boat load of trash!
Gurinder Chaddha clearly has been watching a lot of bollywood films, particularly the Yash Chopra type -- lush green fields, romantic couples, colorful dances etc. Besides, she appears to be overwhelmed by Ash (umpteen needless close-ups!). Cashing in on her recent success Gurinder possibly aspired to make a blend of hollywood and bollywood. Unfortunately, she has ended up neither here nor there. I won't bother getting to the story. There are simply too many flaws to even appreciate anything positive, if at all, in the film. Ash speaks too fast, her character was unnecessarily "bit...y", out of shape punjabi women singing songs in english with a British accent on the streets of Punjab is the most senseless portrayal one can imagine, Anupam Kher hardly has a role etc. etc. the list is endless.
The movie is not even worth watching on DVD, let alone a trip to the theatre. All the praise she earned with all her previous films (What's cooking, another of her films was wonderful) combined has been more than wiped out by this complete piece of trash. A couple of junk releases like this and Ash might have to giggle her way back to bollywood.
Man, what a disaster, a complete boat load of trash!
Gurinder Chaddha clearly has been watching a lot of bollywood films, particularly the Yash Chopra type -- lush green fields, romantic couples, colorful dances etc. Besides, she appears to be overwhelmed by Ash (umpteen needless close-ups!). Cashing in on her recent success Gurinder possibly aspired to make a blend of hollywood and bollywood. Unfortunately, she has ended up neither here nor there. I won't bother getting to the story. There are simply too many flaws to even appreciate anything positive, if at all, in the film. Ash speaks too fast, her character was unnecessarily "bit...y", out of shape punjabi women singing songs in english with a British accent on the streets of Punjab is the most senseless portrayal one can imagine, Anupam Kher hardly has a role etc. etc. the list is endless.
The movie is not even worth watching on DVD, let alone a trip to the theatre. All the praise she earned with all her previous films (What's cooking, another of her films was wonderful) combined has been more than wiped out by this complete piece of trash. A couple of junk releases like this and Ash might have to giggle her way back to bollywood.
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