Category Archives: Cricket

DDLJ 1000 Weeks: When Maratha Mandir became Wankhede

By: Keyur Seta

Moviegoers going wild with excitement inside a cinema hall (especially a single screen) is a regular feature in India. Over the years, Rajnikanth and Salman Khan movies have become known for this. However, the excitement during a show of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge during its 1000^th week inside Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir was something never experienced in any movie ever before.

In fact, I have seen this kind of response from the crowd (consisting people of all age groups) only in a cricket stadium and that too only when Sachin Tendulkar enters and, later, scores a century. In short, one has to experience it to believe it.

Here is a tour of the experience:

Ticket Queue: As seen in the second picture, there was literally chaos to get a ticket for this film; a film that is 19-year-old. I can’t remember when was the last time I witnessed such desperation for a newly-released film. Black marketers were selling Rs 20 ticket for Rs 100 but the fans had no problems with it.

Unthinkable Response: I was naturally expecting regular cheers and whistles during the film. But what actually happened during the screening gave a pleasant shock to me and my brother. The cheering commenced even before the Censor Certificate was shown and continued till the rest of the film. In fact, there was a loud reception not only during Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s entry scene but also during each and every important dialogue by all actors and also during their important acts. And mind you, majority of the crowd wasn’t tapori.

Watch it for yourself in this video if it is difficult to believe. Shot and edited by Fenil Seta.

Non-Stop Clicks: We all must have seen pictures being clicked inside a cinema hall during a movie, but not as much as it happened during this screening. There was continuous clicking from all sides throughout the duration, as if it was a press conference.

The Finale: The ending moments made us feel as if Team India won the World Cup. It is difficult to put it any other way. Just watch the last part of the video and you will realize. As soon as Thakur Baldev Singh (Amrish Puri) left Simran’s (Kajol) hand, the audience erupted in the same manner when Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit the winning six during the final of 2011 World Cup.

Given the scenes and the kind of box office response DDLJ is still getting, it is needless to say that the film will continue running for few more years for sure. Also needless to say, this is definitely not my last viewing of it at Maratha Mandir.

What does Rohit’s 264 and Dhoom 3 have in common?

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By: Keyur Seta

Rohit Sharma provides a pleasant shock by scoring as many as 264 in a one-day international v/s Sri Lanka at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. In this way, he easily beats Virendra Sehwag’s previous record of 218 v/s West Indies. We can also say that he has done the unthinkable because who would have thought about this?

Naturally, this will make Indian cricket fans proud. And being a fellow Mumbaikar like Rohit, I should be more proud, especially since this is the second time he has reached the magic figure of 200 in an ODI. The first being his innings of 209 v/s Australia last October.

However, as cynical as it may sound, I am not-so-delighted by Rohit’s feat as I don’t consider it a great innings, leave alone one of the greatest. These are my reasons for it:-

Picture Source: Cricinfo.com

Pitch: The Kolkata pitch in the match was one of the flattest you will ever see. So scoring on an extremely batting friendly pitch is reason enough to diminish the importance of the innings.

Catches: One can ignore the pitch factor saying that a double hundred is a double hundred. However, you can’t ignore the fact that the Sri Lankan fielders dropped as many as three catches off Rohit.

Bowling & Fielding: Sri Lanka’s below average bowling and field performance also cannot be ignored.

To analyze a batting performance, only the end score isn’t enough. Various factors, including the aforementioned, determine the greatness of an innings. For example, Sachin Tendulkar’s 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, in my opinion, is one of the greatest innings because of the supreme bowling attack he faced in the form of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar and, not to forget, the huge pressure of playing the arch rivals in an important world cup match.

Rohit’s 264 also forces me to correlate it with Bollywood’s biggest blockbuster ever, Dhoom 3 that scored close to 300 crore in India and around 500 crore worldwide. But despite such monumental numbers, the film will never feature in anybody’s list of all-time greatest films. In fact, we won’t even consider it. The same goes for Rohit’s innings.

Now let’s get more serious. These instances of more and more 350 and 400 plus scores by teams and 150-200 plus by batsmen also bring to light the grim scenario of one-day internationals in today’s times. The reason I am using the word grim is because the contest between batsmen and bowler is diminishing day by day due to some rank flat pitches and completely batsmen friendly conditions. In fact, looking at the recent ODI series in India, we can say the contest between the two expertises is already dead.

Apart from providing one-sided contests, it will also affect team India’s performance when they tour outside the Indian sub-continent. This is clearly visible from India’s poor and not-so-encouraging performances in ODIs in the last tours of New Zealand and England respectively.

Something needs to be done about making ODIs a balanced contest between batsmen and bowlers; else the day is not far when a youngster opting to be a bowler will be handed over some bravery award for his decision.

Lord’s Victory: Something more than historic

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By: Keyur Seta

Only true cricket lovers can understand the meaning of winning a Test Match at the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground, the home of Cricket. This reason is enough for India’s 95 run victory in the second test against England in the ongoing 2014 test series to be labeled as historic. The last time when India won there was way back in 1986 when Kapil Dev led the team.

Indians celebrate at the fall of the last wicket. (Pictures: Espncricinfo.com)

Since India didn’t win a single test at Lord’s in 28 years, it brings to light a startling fact that none of India’s most celebrated players – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, V V S Laxman and Anil Kumble – ever experienced a test victory at Lord’s ever in their career! This statistic alone proves the magnanimity of the victory. Before this win, very few of us would have realized that this feather is missing from the caps of these legends.

There is one reason, however, why this victory should be described as something more than historic. This has to do with the way India batted on such testing and unfriendly or, rather, alien conditions. For anyone who has been following Indian cricket since very long would know how our team surrenders whenever faced with green-tops or bouncy wickets. On most of the occasions while playing on such pitches, only two results were possible: defeat or draw; winning was something too much to ask for.

But circa 2014 and we see a big turnaround in our batsmen’s response to such dangerous conditions. To see the manner in which people like Ajinkya Rahane, Murli Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar adapted to such conditions was heartening to say the least. Not taking anything away from Ishant Sharma’s fiery spell of 7 for 74, the batters showed patience by leaving a lot of balls and didn’t appear vulnerable against some deadly fast bowling. And to see such patience from a generation of cricketers that are involved in the T20 overdose and that too on flat wickets speaks volumes about their achievement.

Needless to say, this effort will give our batsmen a confidence booster like never before. This can be explained in a simple way – if they can adapt so well in such bowler-friendly wickets, one can imagine the ease they would feel on pitches and conditions much better for batsmen. Add to this, the solid batting performance by Bhuvaneshwar that has increased the strength of our lower order.

But despite such heroics, it is too early to predict India’s series victory as there is still a lot of cricket to be played in the remaining three test matches. Hence, there is no reason for India to be complacent.

For the complete scoreboard of the second test between India and England played at Lord’s, click HERE.

Ishant Sharma gets his name inscribed at Lord’s Honor Board. (Picture Source: Espncricinfo.com)

Lords to witness history… again!

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By: Keyur Seta

Memorable matches are the ones that witness an extraordinary feat by a player, a team or both teams. So naturally, a match becomes memorable after it’s over; in the past tense. Even a World Cup Final becomes unforgettable only if something great happens in it. But a match to be played on July 5 has already achieved a title of ‘memorable’ or ‘unforgettable’, although it is very much in the future tense right now.

Tendulkar during MCC v/s ROI match in 1998 (Picture: Espncricinfo.com)

The said match is between MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) and Rest of the World on July 5 at Lords, the home of Cricket. It is the presence of some legends in both teams that is responsible for the match to be terribly awaited.

Just imagine, Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Rahul Dravid, Adam Gilchrist, Mutiah Muralitharan, Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Petersen, Virender Sehwag, Brett Lee and Shivnarine Chanderpaul together on the field! It doesn’t get bigger than this, can it? Plus, this might even be the last time we would be able to see the likes Tendulkar, Warne, Lara, Dravid, Muralitharan and Gilchrist on a Cricket field. And if we are lucky enough to see a battle between Tendulkar and Warne or Lara and Warne, what more can a Cricket fan ask for?

So the occasion will not only be memorable but also highly emotional for anyone who has grown up watching these great ambassadors of the game. Needless to say, one player that would be looked forward to the most is Tendulkar, not only by Indians but fans from around the globe. After the legendary farewell he received last November, watching him bat again will be a heavenly feeling.

But even if some of these great names fail to live up to the expectations, their mere presence is enough to generate tons of excitement, like it happened in 1998 when a similar match was played at the same venue in memory of Lady Diana. If you grew up in the 90s, I am sure you would remember that contest. Tendulkar and Chanderpaul are the only two out of the 22 players that had played the 1998 match. Interestingly, they both scored centuries in it.

So July 5 is our date with history!

Teams:-

MCC: Sachin Tendulkar (Captain), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Rahul Dravid, Aaron Finch, Brian Lara, Brett Lee, Chris Read, Saeed Ajmal, Shaun Tait, Umar Gul and Daniel Vettori

ROI: Shane Warne (Captain), Tino Best, Paul Collingwood, Adam Gilchrist, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kevin Petersen, Virender Sehwag, Shahid Afridi, Peter Siddle, Tamim Iqbal and Yuvraj Singh

Venue: Lords Cricket Ground, London

Date: Saturday July 5, 2014

Time: 10:45 am local time; 3: 15 pm India time

Highlights of Tendulkar’s innings from the 1998 Diana Memorial Match:

2013 reinforced our belief in Hope & Humility

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By: Keyur Seta

Until mid-November, 2013 seemed like an ordinary year as there wasn’t single event that delighted the masses. But after half of the eleventh month was over, when we had hardly any hope from the year, two events emerged that turned 2013 on its head with joy. Those events reinforced our beliefs in hope and humanity. They are as follows date-wise:

Sachin Tendulkar’s Farewell Speech:
All those who listened to the historic speech Sachin Tendulkar gave would agree that it was much, much more than a speech. After having a closer look at it, one realizes that it is a precious lesson on humbleness. Just imagine – a man who is hailed as the God of cricket and one of the most loved Indians is seen behaving like just like an ordinary Common Man.

Tendulkar’s humility and down-to-earth behavior isn’t new to the world. We have seen it all these years from the kind of career he has had and the way he has spoken to the media. But in his extempore speech, where he thanked a list of people who helped him become what he is today, we got a first-hand account of his inner self. It indirectly taught us that even after achieving the unachievable, one needs to hold on to humbleness, despite receiving a Godly status.

Children are often preached by their elders and teachers on how to become good human beings. Now, they have an easier option of making them listen to the 20 minute speech by the Master Blaster.

AAP’s Miraculous Success:
Till the start of December 2013, the nation had witnessed the triumph of the Common Man only in movies. It won’t be an overstatement that the masses had given up any hope as far as cleansing the politics was concerned. But how things changed once the results of the Delhi general elections were out!

People from the political fraternity had laughed at Arvind Kejriwal and his team when they decided to contest Delhi elections through their Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). I too, personally, thought it won’t garner any success. Although I had no doubt on their determination, I felt it was next to impossible to change the current filthy political scenario. But the impossible was made possible on December 8 when AAP won 28 seats in their debut election. Earning this many seats in your very first election is nothing short of a miracle.

Now all of a sudden, the masses slowly but surely got awakened to the power of ordinary citizens. The same people who had given up any hope from politics are now unable to stop talking about the subject simply because Kejriwal and AAP have shown a ray of hope, which was missing since time immemorial.

Ever since AAP formed the government on December 28, their popularity is increasing day-by-day. This has sent shockwaves in almost every political party of India. Talking about the politicians that had made fun of AAP, the joke is on them now.

In 48 hours after AAP formed the government, they have already begun delivering by making water free for Delhites, discarding VIP culture and red beacon cars and declaring Rs 1 crore compensation to all police officers sacrificing their lives on duty. If this continues, India will soon see a political revolution like never before. All the best to them for the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.

Here’s wishing more power to the Common Man in 2014!

Sachin’s Farewell Speech!

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Even for the greatest writer ever, it would be impossible to describe Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell speech in words. All I can say is that it was something even non-cricket lovers would want to see again and again. There is a motivating message not only for budding cricketers but also for people from all professions. In fact, it can even be labeled as a crash course in humility. Thank You SACHIN!

So here goes the video of one of the greatest speeches in the history of mankind :-

Video credit: Star Sports Channel on YouTube

Picture Source: Refernews.com

Sachin’s Last Inning: Why so emotional?

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By: Keyur Seta

Sachin Tendulkar walking back to the pavilion to a rousing applause from his home crowd after playing his last ever innings of 74 runs will surely be one of cricket’s most memorable moments, if not the most memorable. For me, that scene is on par with India’s World Cup triumph at the same venue – Wankhede Stadium. It was an emotional moment not only for Indian cricket lovers but for cricket fans all over the world as they won’t be seeing their earthly God bat again.

However, as surprising as it may sound, I am feeling uneasy after reading the whole lot of over-emotional comments on social media after the Master Blaster got out. Although I too am an ever-worshipping fan of Sachin, I think we are going overboard by emotions. Let’s face it – he had to retire one day. The poor lad has been playing for 24 long years. How much more do you expect from him? He is a human being after all, although we prefer to address him as God.

Instead of the emotional atyachar, we should thank God (real one) for our timing on earth. We have got a chance to witness his entire celebrated career of 24 years. In other words, we have received lessons of inspiration in the most enjoyable manner. I don’t mean inspiration only for budding cricketers but for people from all walks of life; such has been the magnanimity of Sachin!

But apart from inspiration, the reason why Sachin stands out from the rest is his humble, down-to-earth nature. How many of us would retain their humbleness even after receiving such Godly status? Very few! This lesson of humanity is another message that Sachin has indirectly given us always. This is Being Human in actual sense!

Lastly, thank you Sachin for showing us an ideal example of a perfect human being!

(To see the memorable farewell speech by SACHIN, click HERE.)

Sachin walking back to the pavilion after playing the last innings of his career

Here’s a poem I had written for Sachin on his birthday in 2011:

Unki Karamaton Ne Kiya Jawan

Jab se paon sambhale humne zameen par,
Unhone paon jamaye khel ke maidan par,
Chalne lage hum duniya samajne,
Ve chalne lage apni takdeer banane,

Hue bade to museebaten badhi,
Unhe bhi tikaon ki badhaen nadi,
Bhagwan dilate humen museebaton se chhutkara,
Unhone tikaon ko balle se de mara

Apekshaon ke boj se jab hum thak jate,
Un par ladi sau karod apekshaon ko dekhte,
Ve jab dete apekshaon ko hathiyar mein badal,
Prerna lekar hum karte us par amal

Hue hum jawan unke vikas ke samantar,
Rahega is baat ka garv humen jeevanbhar,
Usi garv se dete hai aapko varshganth pe salam,
Vishvabhar mein ooncha rahen sadaiva aapka naam

Sachin’s 200 test ticket fiasco not surprising!

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By: Keyur Seta

There is shock and outrage among the Common Man over the non-availability of tickets for Sachin Tendulkar’s 200^th test match. But although I am eager to watch Sachin’s last match, I am not at all surprised by the turn of events, forget being shocked. This is simply because of the terrible history of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).

This is not the first time that the Common Man has been deprived of watching a cricket match in the stadium. For as long as I know, the MCA has always been favoring affiliated clubs and, of course, the so-called VIPs and VVIPs whenever there has been an important match held at the Wankhede Stadium.

Picture Source: Indianexpress.com

So, to me, it doesn’t come as a surprise whatsoever to see them do the same thing during the most important match ever in India; maybe on par with the World Cup Final. Just imagine – out of 50 or 60 thousand tickets, they kept just 4500 tickets for common public. However, even such tiny numbers of tickets were not sold to the public. The excuses given about law and order problem due to the sale of large number of tickets on stands and other issues are plain laughable!

Due to such excuses, they decided to sell those 4500 tickets online but how many did they actually sell? I had predicted beforehand that even the online sale of tickets is just a sham so I didn’t even try. The website owners said the site crashed as too many people logged in. And when the site finally opened, all tickets were already sold. Then the website walas created fake Twitter IDs for praising their site for their work in selling the tickets. You can’t fool as all the time!

In this way, the MCA has indirectly announced that such matches are only for the rich and elite class comprising super rich businessmen and Bollywood celebrities. The Common Man, who has solely helped in taking cricket and Sachin to such enormous heights, has no right to bid farewell to the legend! They have shown that for them, we cricket lovers forming the masses can be treated like dogs because they very well know next time, when there will be an important match at the Wankhede, we all will queue up again!

It also doesn’t come as a surprise to see such high level of black-marketing of tickets. In fact, such corrupt activities take place before each and every important match just below the nose of MCA authorities. What does this mean? Please read between the lines.

So the question remains – what can we do in such a terrible situation? One option is to dissolve not only the MCA but the entire Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The other is to stop buying tickets not only in black but also in normal rates and refuse to go even if you get them from any of the affiliated clubs. Empty stands will open their eyes! I am well aware that both these possibilities sound almost impossible. But there doesn’t seem to be any other option.

Sachin retirement: Memories never retire!

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By: Keyur Seta

So the news the world never wished to hear is out. The God of cricket Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has finally announced retirement from international cricket. Of course, the news is not surprising whatsoever even to a single cricket fan, yet it has hit everyone like a bolt simply because of Sachin’s priceless value. Some are literally into tears!

However, as strange as it may sound, in the midst of the emotional turmoil, I might be in the minority for not being sad, shattered or whatever. This might even label me as anti-Sachin or a Sachin hater, but believe me, I am not. My close friends would know that I have worshipped him as much as you people (you can read my poem on him by clicking HERE). It might sound rude but I think we should all accept the truth.

The law of nature is that everything has to end one day. None can escape this law including Sachin’s career. Every player has to end his career at some point or the other. Let’s be practical – Sachin had to retire one day, no matter how much we hoped against it. Also let’s face it – he is facing a lot of trouble with his technique and timing since recent times. And come on, he has been playing international cricket since 24 long years! How much more do you expect from him?

The number of great and proud memories provided by the Master Blaster is uncountable. It won’t be an overstatement to term them as priceless treasure. So instead of crying over his retirement, let’s be positive and cherish the priceless treasure. Our wailing will make things difficult for Sachin himself. By the way, one thing I can assure everyone is that the great man would continue to do his bit for cricket or other sports. Despite retiring, you will keep hearing good things about him for sure!

Sachin’s emotional strength was proved during the 1999 World Cup where he played against Kenya just after he lost his father. So being true Sachin fans, we can’t afford to be weak. In case, if we do, just revisit his numerous innings available on YouTube. After all, memories never retire!

Picture source: Cricinfo.com

Mr Srinivasan, even retards won’t endorse your ‘enthusiast’ theory!

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With the BCCI chief trying to fool people in the most shocking manner, it is high time the legends of the game listen to their conscience and speak on behalf of those who made them what they are: their fans!

By: Keyur Seta

Politicians and big-shots trying to fool the aam junta is nothing new in our country. For them, the common public is either unintelligent to fall in the trap or too busy in their own life to pay heed to the issue. But the way N Srinivasan, the President of the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI), is lying through his teeth has set a new benchmark in trying to take the country for a ride!

Picture Source – Indianexpress.com

Let’s have a look at the background of the issue first. As we all are aware, Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, owner of Chennai Super Kings, is arrested for his alleged role in betting and match-fixing (or spot-fixing as they are calling it) in the so-called cricket series Indian Premier League (IPL). So according to the IPL rules, the team can be banned due to their owner’s malpractice.

But to make sure his son-in-law doesn’t get into trouble and his team isn’t banned, Srinivasan has come up with a shocking theory. According to him, Gurunath is neither the owner of CSK nor he is associated with the team in any way. In fact, he also says, Gurunath is just a cricket enthusiast who travels with the team!!! Well, even mentally retarded individuals won’t believe such a theory.

The President has clearly gone way too ahead in trying to fool the people of India due to the following reasons:-

Gurunath’s ID card, which is splashed across all TV channels, mentions him as the owner of CSK.
We have seen him giving numerous interviews on TV as the owner of CSK.
His visiting cards mention him as the owner of CSK. This was also shown across various news channels.
(Best point of all) He was seen bidding for his team at IPL team auctioning.

Before this incident, nobody knew that a mere cricket enthusiast gets all these privileges! I can assure to Srinivasan that I am a much bigger cricket enthusiast than Gurunath. So will I be given the opportunity to speak as a team owner and bid for the team during auctions?

More than Srinivas’s shocking claims, it is the audacity at which he is making them and, in turn, blaming the media for ‘hounding’ him that speaks volumes about his adamancy for fooling the people of India!

On the contrary, we should thank the media, especially Times Now, for not giving up on the issue and asking what billions of cricket fans across the country are desperate to ask. In fact, we can only rely on the media because the big names of the game aren’t going to utter a word on the issue. This is so evident from yesterday’s press conference where Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni just behaved like a puppet on the hands of his CSK owner and the BCCI President!

It was highly sad to see someone so confident and brave transforming into a scary bone! If this continues, be rest assured, the whole issue will soon be swept under the carpet. It is high time the big names of Indian cricket, including the Tendulkars, Dravids and Dhonis, raise their voice on behalf of those who have made them what they are: their billions of fans! It is up to them to choose between their bosses and their conscience!