Thank You Sachin, God bless you more!!

"If selected I will go" is what the great Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar had to say to the reporters(who had asked him what would he do if he is selected for the tour of West Indies in 1988) in Mumbai after his heroics in a Ranji Match against Gujarat where he scored 100, which made Tendulkar the youngest Indian to make a hundred on first class debut. Actually Sachin Tendulkar is every 16 year old's dream come true. The boy next door who made batting a matter of simplicity, almost perfect balance, impeccable movement, I mean I can go on & on but the adjectives would fall short. As a teenager his hurricane 119 at the difficult WACA in Australia, or his 16th Test ton in Chennai, where he battled his back & the spin of Saqlain Mushtaq are almost perfect centuries. I say almost perfect as unfortunately India went on to loose both the Tests.

All around the world there have been only praises for this Super Cricketer, the only thing that is missing in his Inbox is an appreciation about his 'Captaincy'. But then as we all know that Cricket is a great leveler; he did have an average record as an Indian Captain, but things are looking to come a full circle for the GOD of Indian Cricket this year in the IPL. The Mumbai Indians are almost certain to make it to the last four, thanks to some shrewd bowling changes, super team selection ( No Jayasurya ) & of course the master's silken touch that is following. Now what this is doing is making Sachin Tendulkar all the more confident & determined for the World Cup, which is about 12 months away. All this makes a lovely Romance, that has begun to show its maturity in all forms of the game & as we all know that Love stories have to come to an end, I hope this love story ends like a typical Bollywood special at the Wankhade in perhaps 12 months from now with Sachin posing for the Paparazzi with the World Cup held close to his heart.

Thank You Sachin (Sarvada Shaktishaali)

Sourya Bose

Jai Hind

Yuvi Where art thou?? & Well Played Ganguly!

Well well as I write this there seems to be a lot of hue & cry about the sensational Pied Piper of Punjab " Yuvraj Singh". Today's TOI suggests Yuvi wanted to quit Kings XI before the IPL III. As we all know that there is no smoke without fire, it is a matter of much speculation how true or untrue it can be. As a matter of fact fortunes of Kings XI Punjab are very much on the same trajectory as they were for the Knight Riders in IPL II. While Brett Lee denies any kind of rift or feud within the team, the performances of the Kings XI have been off colour. The captain had a 1 match ban & now we hear stories of Videocon supremo Venugopal Dhoot expressing his interest in a stake. Well time itself will tell whether the owners Ness & Preity would like to part ways with the Kings!!

On the eastern side of India, the Eden Gardens was once again lit by the most criticized captain Sourav Ganguly with a blistering 88 of 54 balls, the 3 sixes of Pragyan Ojha & the one hit straight off Kemar Roach's delivery was a spectacle in its own. One can recall how he had launched into Ashley Giles a few moons ago!! It was a special innings from a special player.

The IPL now is interestingly poised as Mumbai & Bangalore are more or less certain for the last 4. I believe Chennai, Delhi, Deccan & the Knight Riders will have to play percentage cricket to make it to the semis.

With the T20 World Cup starting in 5 days time post the IPL, the most important factor for the Indian Champs to conquer would be 'fatigue'. India play against minnows Afghanistan in their opener & being an Indian I just hope our 15 are off the IPL (Injured Players League).

Jai Hind

Sourya Bose