The Bourne Ultimatum

One awesome film!

Suzuki Access 125

Suzuki India's latest brainwave, a shitty scooter this time.

What's wrong with the Japanese in India?

We Are The Champions!

Left office at a quarter to 5 yesterday evening. Outside, the road from EC to Forum is jam packed with bumper to bumper traffic. The Silk Board flyover is clogged with traffic on one side. The line of vehicles stretches from Silk Board to near the SBi ATM near Friends' Fast Food in BTM. It's the worst fair weather jam I've seen in Bangalore. Why? 'Cause no one & I mean no one wants to miss India take on Pakistan in a World Cup final & are returning home early, that's why!

Sid SMSs, "We have reached, tum kab aaoge?", Arni & him are home already. Call up Soumya, turns out the dude didn't go to office today! Reach home just in time for the first over. India win the toss & elect to bat. Things are looking good. Ajay drops in to complete the audience we had during the semi final against the Aussies. The show has begun.

India begin well, but lose their way in the middle overs. The expected belligerence from Yuvi & Dhoni never comes. Shoaib is a shrewd captain. Asif is bowling well. Gambhir plays superbly & Rohit finishes well. 157 .... about 30 less than what would have been unbeatable, I say to myself. Still, I think of 1983 .... India defended 187 off 60 overs. We still have a chance .... but it'll need intensity, a lot of it.

India begin well, but Nazir is going great guns, until a scorcher from Uthappa uproots the stumps before his bat is across the line. The 1st turning point.

India dries up the boundaries. Irfan makes Shoaib & Afridi succumb to the pressure .... in the same over. Brilliant!

Ajay is celebrating. Sid & me ask him not to. It won't be over till it is. Arni is maintaining the calmness of a monk. He says we'll win .... wish I could be so sure.

Misbah starts blasting out of trouble with wickets falling all around him. Ultimately, it's 13 required off the last over, India need 1 wicket to seal it. Joginder bowling.

1st ball is a wide. 12 required off 6.

2nd ball is a dot ball. 12 off 5 for Pakistan.

3rd ball .... Misbah saunters down the pitch & hits it straight down for 6! Arni & me look at each other .... this is so not good man. 6 needed off 4!

As Jogi comes down to bowl the next ball, I have my Amitabh Bachchan moment with the upar waala .... look, I've never prayed to you for victory in a cricket match, but if ever you're going to listen to my prayer, I want you to turn this one our way ....

4th ball .... Misbah steps forward again, but tries the flick over the keeper's head this time .... the ball flies high .... very high .... it hangs in the air as if in slow motion in a John Woo film .... the commentators have gone silent.

Looking at the height it seems destined for a six .... until Sree Santh comes into the picture! His arms outstretched, mouth open .... he's positioning himself for a catch .... take it, take it, and I'll never make fun of a Keralite's accented English ever again! A short fumble, but he holds on .... it's over! India have won! Ravi Shastri is ecstatic on the commentary!

Sid is mouthing his expletives at the Pakis, Ajay is spewing his behen ke .... lines, I'm screaming, embracing, pumping my fists, jumping all over the place, the moment is a whirl .... call up Sittu, call up Jolly, call up Home .... yes they know, they've seen it all .... I've seen it all .... I've seen India win a World Cup final, beating the arch enemy, beating the Aussies, beating the South Africans .... this is something I'll hold on to for life.

Outside, on the roads, a group of guys take out an impromptu victory celebration .... we contribute our voices from the balcony. Crackers bursting, it's a huge moment, I wish I was back home, Arni & me can only wonder what it must be like back there.





By God, they have done it! The script couldn't have been written better.

Here's the link to all the stories on cricinfo, & something interesting that took place during the presentation.

Match begins an hour from now. People have started scooting off from the office already.

All the best to the Boys in Blue. Give us a good match guys!

on top .... as usual

Back when we were students at the alma mater, there was always a sense of knowing that we were at a good place.

How good a place has now been confirmed on a national level. For starters, we are the best in the state, sixth nationwide & the icing on the cake .... we are ahead of snob-strongholds like Doon school.

Feels great. Go Loyola!

Prashant Tamang is Indian Idol 3.

To the finals .... INDIA vs PAKISTAN!!!

What a game against the Aussies today! I run out of adjectives .... super, fabulous, awesome ..... the rush, the excitement, the fighting spirit shown by the team against the world champs.

This was one day the Aussies got their collective asses kicked & it was a joy to see Yuvi go ballistic (70 off 30) ....

& Sree Santh bowl with the heart of a tiger (4-1-12-2 in a T20 match!).

Ajay had dropped in for the match & him, Arni & me had a whale of a time enjoying ourselves (jumping for joy after the fall of every Aussie wicket) while Sid was at his superstitious best, heh heh. Well, it's the final on Monday. India vs Pakistan in the final of a world cup. A scenario that every cricket loving Indian has grown up fantasizing about ..... & it begins 40 hours from now.

Poms, Springboks & Kangaroos done & dusted ..... it's your turn now Pakis, bring it on!!!

50 Cent & Kanye West, both released their latest albums ....

.... Curtis & ....

.... Graduation on the 11th of September.

Kanye is passable while 50 is a big disappointment.

I've had it with Hip-Hop for the moment. Waiting for Matchbox 20's next then.

Releases October 2nd.

Darjeeling vs Shillong

Indian Idol culminates this Sunday. Idol fever is in spate throughout the North East as Prashant Tamang from Darjeeling & Amit Paul from Shillong vie for the greatest number of SMSs.

It's probably for the 1st time that the North East has felt such a connection with the 'mainland'. All thanks to TV.


I personally was surprised to see the throngs that poured out on the streets to greet both these guys on their respective visits to their hometowns-in-the-hills. Apparently it's bought tribals & non tribals in Meghalaya & ethnic Nepalis & Indians in Darjeeling together like never before. Good going Indian Idol.


Personally, I think Amit is the better singer while Prashant's story is more heart touching (he's the family bread winner).

All the best guys.

EDIT: Check out The Telegraph's take on the issue, here & here.

Transformers

Total comic book action. Loved it!

To the semis

India had 3 matches in the Super 8s. Against NZ, England & SA. Having lost to the Kiwis in an unremarkable display, there was no way out but to win the remaining 2 matches against formidable opposition - the two most experienced teams in the T20 format. Don't forget the tours India had been on before this tournament, to SA & England where they'd lost 4-0 & 4-3 respectively in the ODI series.

So this was a chance at levelling the score.

England had been dispatched on Wednesday night. And redeem themselves India did against SA last night. What was remarkable was the fight they showed. On a green brand new pitch, tailor-made for the Protean quicks, it was India (33-3 at one stage) who managed to post a credible 153 batting first & then turned it on during the Proteas' chase. As Ravi Shatri said, the SAs "were caught with their pants down in their own den". A remarkable fielding & bowling performance it was, totally uncharacteristic going by India's past performances.

I stayed up till 1:30 in the morning on a weekday to watch the whole match & loved every moment of it. What has also been remarkable in these last few days is my sense of premonition. I've predicted the defeat to NZ & the wins against England & SA correctly. As well as the 6 6s by Yuvraj if you go by my previous post. And Dhoni becoming ODI captain.

Having said that I'll go on print with my next prediction .... since the semi final line up is Ind vs Aus & Pak vs NZ, the final will be between India & NZ. NZ had beaten India in the final of the ICC Chamions' Trophy of 2000. This final will be India's moment of redemption.

6 6s - the pics

I watched the 1st 2 sixes standing. Sat down after saying aloud, "Boss iss over mein record banega". Had my fingers crossed on the 5th & 6th balls. And Yuvi didn't dissapoint.

6 6s

End of over 19 (36 runs) - India 207/3 (RR: 10.89) Yuvraj Singh 50* (12b 3x4 6x6) SCJ Broad 4-0-60-0 MS Dhoni 7* (6b) A Flintoff 3-0-22-0
Unsurprisingly, that's also the fastest Twenty20 fifty - it came up from 12 balls. Three fours, six sixes.
18.6	Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, and he has, Yuvraj leans back and smacks that over wide mid-on ... it was the maximum from the moment it left that bat and the crowd were roaring as it flew
Broad looks like a man who knows he is about to be mauled again ...
Broad looks quizzical ... and miserable. Can he ... can Yuvraj do it ...
18.5	Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, down on one knee and larruped over midwicket, that one was more nine iron, it went into the night sky and dropped with a thud in the jubilant crowd ...
England have a team meeting. Shuffling deckchairs on the Jolly Roger though ...
18.4	Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, Shiver me timbers!: Broad goes round the wicket, bowls a filthy wide full toss and Yuvraj steers it over backward point and it clears the rope again
18.3	Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, he's hitting them everywhere, he steps to leg and smashes the ball over extra cover and it keeps on travelling ... the fireworks start on top of the scoreboard ... they've been going off in the middle for some time
18.2	Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, now that really is sweet, no more than a dismissive flick off his legs, swatting a fly, and the ball arcs deep into the crowd beyond backward square leg
The dodgy TV measurement says that's 111 yards ... but as it landed outside the ground how the whatsists do they know? They guess, that's how.
18.1	Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, that's out the ground, super shot over cow corner and it just kept going up

Yuvraj lets England feel his wrath after a mid field altercation with Flintoff.

Fastest T20 50 ever, off 12 balls. His strike rate was 417.6 at one stage!

Indian cricket has finally reached the crossroads which was a long time coming.

Belgian GP

Ferrari hit back after Monza with a 1-2 led by Raik.

McLaren finish 3-4 but it's no use since they're out of the Constructors'. Hamilton's championship lead is down to 2 points as Alonso gets the 3rd spot.

World Trade Center

Emotional overload. Very authentic, though.

India vs Pakistan - the Bowl Out!

Consider the facts -

India facing off against Pakistan after 1 whole year

No Saurav, no Dravid, no Sachin (thank God for the last one)

The chances of rain - 60%, yet the match progresses .... through numerous interruptions

Bowlers from both teams dominate in a 20-20 game

A see-saw game sees India taking control in the final overs

Then Pakistan blast out & need 1 run off the last 2 balls

India manage to deny them the run & it's a tie on the last ball

It's a 20-20 game & there will be a bowl-out, the 1st ever in history between 2 national sides

India get all their shots, Pakistan miss all of 'em


India are through 3-0 on bowl out & top their group


It's Dhoni's 1st match as Captain

India maintain the record of never having lost to Pakistan in a World Cup

Excitement to the max, all in 4 hours ..... history was made & I saw it all, yay!

Dravid resigns

There's been no coach for Indian cricket since after the World Cup. And today, out of the blue, Dravid decides to resign as captain.

It's a sad day for McLaren fans.

The Condemned

Had potential if they hadn't made it into a squash match for Austin. But it does have the best chopper crash, ever.

T20 time

Kicks off today!

Bajaj XCD 125 DTS-Si

Bajaj's 'revolutionary' new 125, the XCD is out. The styling is typical Bajaj .... aggressive, well proportioned & loaded with stuff. Standard features include electric self start, alloys, LED tail lamp & digital speedo. No disc brake though, which is bad.

The sucker punch is the price .... almost the same as a Splendor! HH better be prepared to watch it's money spinner suffocate, if not die out altogether. They had it coming.

Italian GP

A McLaren 1-2 at the home of Ferrari. Yes!

Asia Cup champs

India beat South Korea 7-2 to retain the men’s field Asia Cup. A superb performance from a team that has been in awesome form throughout the tournament.

Adding the cherry to the cake was this .... former world champion and three-time AsiaCup winner Pakistan slumped to 6th position when China defeated it 3-2 to claim fifth spot. Heh heh.

Got onto Hosur Road after 4 months, stepped into City Sagar after about a year & ordered Chicken Manchurian Fried Rice after more than 2 years.

Our favourite dish from the training days tastes exactly the same, although it's price has gone up.

Thanks Sittu for the idea & the ride.

Me - "I mean, not knowing what to buy & yet entering a gift shop so that you can shop for something interesting, that is something I absolutely do not understand"

She - "That is the way girls think, & I think you should better get used to it"

Hmmm, another of life's truths I guess.

4 wheeled Volvos

Volvo has launched the XC90 ....

.... and the S80 ....


.... in India. The sedan I like, the SUV, not quite.

maar saale ko ......

Shoaib Akhtar is up to no good again, this time he's beating up his teammates!

I love this guy. He's Pakistan Cricket's equivalent of Salman Khan.

Vee Dub in India

Volkswagen launched it's first locally assembled model, the Passat yesterday.

3-3

Whatta match! Whatta match! Whatta match!!

DRAMATIC LAST OVER

• 49.1: Robin Uthappa takes two off Stuart Broad. Runs required: 8. Balls left: 5. Wickets in hand: 3
• 49.2: Uthappa digs out a yorker, Zaheer Khan attempts a run, Broad sprints back to collect the ball and take the bails off. Zaheer run out. Runs required: 8. Balls left: 4. Wickets in hand: 2
• 49.3: Ramesh Powar joins Uthappa at the non-striking end. Uthappa comes down the track to a full toss and smashes a four to fine leg. Runs required: 4. Balls left: 3. Wickets in hand: 2
• 49.4: Uthappa drives past the diving mid-off fielder for another boundary. India win with 2 balls and 2 wickets to spare

This NatWest series has been a great one. England & India have played as absolute equals & the 3-3 scoreline after 6 of 7 ODIs reflects exactly that.

The series decider is at Lord's this Saturday. Should be a great contest.

Heyy Babyy

Probably the worst film of 2007. I was tearing my hair watching it on DVD, thank God didn't think of going to the multiplex.

Sajid, tune bahut niraash kiya.

TVS Flame

TVS's latest 125 cc offering looks hot. TVS always had the engineering wherewithal, it was the highly conservative designing that used to let them down in a market dominated by young buyers.

The Apache showed the stirrings of change, even though it was a Pulsar clone. The Apache RTR showed they had jettisoned the baggage of the past & were ready for a charge & now this, the Flame puts the cat firmly among the pigeons. It is perhaps the best looking bike in it's segment & that is something you could never have said for a TVS before.

Tell you what, I think the Indian market offers the best looking & most efficient small capacity bikes in the world right now. Yup, I really think so.

EDIT: Got some smashing pics from tvsflame.com ....







.... superb styling!

GSLV-F04

The 5th flight of the GSLV-F04 has taken place successfully, albeit after a few delays. It was carrying a 4 tonne payload including the INSAT-4CR satellite.

A welcome development after the failure of the 4th flight last year. Kudos to ISRO. This rocket too is looking good for becoming a dependable workhorse like the PSLV.

Mallya buys Spyker

You gotta love this guy. Vijay Mallya has bought management control over the faltering Spyker F1 team.

What this could mean is, an Indian now owns an F1 team; an Indian, possibly Narain or Karun, could be driving an F1 car next year & most importantly, be in with a chance to score points in races. He's also planning to incorporate 'India' into the new name when the renaming happens. The possibilities are immense.

Saturday afternoon spotting