A Mail long lost

Just when days were passing by and the pages from calender were torn every morning giving the dustbin(even the dustbin) enough work for a day, while mom, dad and brother were 'busy' (how long has it been since I had associated myself with that word) I just ensured that my net pack in mobile did not expire. Whooo!! That previous sentence is the worst possible start for an article, much worse than my previous works. See, this is what happens when you get up and while looking at yourself in the mirror, when those eyebrows seem to not wake up enthusiastically, then you realize that this is going to be just another day in one most boring days of life. Ever since one has graduated from college, they go through this phase, the first few weeks would be fine owing to an overwhelming care from your family, some might even say, "Finally! There is an Engineer in our family" , and every time they say that, I slowly ensure that the power supply is on and there is no problem with the fuses, for 'an engineer' is supposed to correct them,  reason being that( remember this point), when someone appreciates you, there are high chances that you might end up hearing just the opposite in the next few minutes, unless you avert it. I have experienced it a lot of times. Believe me! All those Electrical engineers outside, beware of the you-try-hard-but-you-cannot-avoid pressure from the family. I feel a shock every time I hear the word 'Engineer'.

Ok, all those above points are something that I have emphasized before, so why did I take it up now? My last two months at home have been really boring. I was occupied with household work(Now Don't laugh!), every time I walk up the stairs to the terrace to get the dried clothes back home, I feel like 'Wow! Doing this for the past six weeks now, good exercise actually, my tummy has reduced' , just to realize that it has actually gone up few inches. Then I realized that I had consumed food, that is high on proteins, vitamins and then there is this 'calorie'. That holds a separate place in your body, mind it! So just when I thought, 'How long am I going to curse my daily routine' which not even in a way made me enjoy, I received a mail.

This whole turning-on-the-data-connection in a smart phone is to ensure you do not miss important information in the form of mails or texts from Whatsapp. In my current state, I have no right to use the word 'Important' , I did receive a lot of mails from that particular sector which always respects me, e commerce giants like Flipkart, Jabong, Snapdeal and so on. Every time I open it, i just see the offer and my eyes brighten, then I close it and get back to the poker-face look. One fine evening I got a mail saying "Welcome to Accenture-Bangalore".

This mail, I had been expecting for a long time. In the past few weeks, I even forgot that I got selected in a campus interview. Such a boring dull phase it had been. At that time, when I had got such a mail, all I could do is, not react. That mail was long lost, as every morning I used to get up and check my inbox for this mail. So once I read it, there was adrenaline rush in me, my eyes brightened, eyebrows widened, heart started beating thrice its actual speed, the seconds needle in my wall clock stood still, while I saw my own self jumping and dancing(awkwardly of course!) and whistling and screaming like an Ape, and then my brother shook me and asked me, 'What is the matter with you? What are you looking at?' . I showed him. He read it. He smiled at me. We spoke nothing. He raised his hand for a shake, I felt the rush in me slowly settling down, as I raised my hand, the heart beat had settled and started releasing a cold blood(comes out when there is a transition from a shock or a surprise to being happy or joyful), I gave him a tight handshake(Corporate style babay!), turned back, took my mobile, stood in front of the mirror and dialed my mother's number and as she said 'Hello', I stopped for a second, saw my face in the mirror, I smiled with confidence as I said "28th July at Bangalore" .

Not to lose control

There have been a lot of instances wherein India have lost control over the Test match from a strong position, right here at the very same venue when they toured last time. Also they have slumped in the last two overseas tours owing to a soft and slippery grip on the match, be it Jo'burg or Wellington, despite out-of-the-mind-heroics from Faf and Mccullum, it was a match lost by India(though the match drew at both the occasions). The good thing about Test cricket is that this format tests your patience right through the five days, bad thing is that one loses that key weapon of patience, early nowadays. So just two days have gone by in this already-exciting-test, The English will come come hard at us in the next few days, because both these teams understand the value of an early win in a long series. But as mentioned before, England will counter attack, but do not expect a five or six runs per over session, rather it will be a test for the bowlers of India. They will block, leave, duck and will not hesitate to frustrate the bowler. To counter all this, a team needs confidence that has already been provided by the batsmen(including tail-enders)  with Murali Vijay playing a spectacular innings and Dhoni playing second fiddle.

Earlier on the day, Vijay and Dhoni took on from where they left, as expected, they were a bit cautious in handling Anderson and Broad, for they knew the importance of staying at the wicket at least in the first session. They took risks of minimal intensity with both the batsmen taking toll on the bowlers. Stokes kept striking outside the off stump to expect a little luck in tempting the batsmen to drive, but both Vijay and Dhoni were far beyond losing concentration as they knew their job that laid before them. They were all set and both knew that they were due for a big score, just then Vijay got out from an Anderson delivery that moved in sharply. Vijay had to depart, despite for the fact that the ball had missed the stumps, for 146 that included 25 fours and a sweetly timed six. Dhoni and Jadeja held on to the wicket for a while before Jadeja fell for a quickfire 25 off just 24 balls, even before someone could tell him that this was not a T20. With the blink of an eye, four wickets had fallen for just two runs and India were at their usual plight, of not able to capitalize to score a big total. Two bowlers were at the crease, The English bowlers decided to rattle up the line up to start their innings. But did they? Were The English bowlers successful against The Indian Bowlers, who were actually batting. 

A 111-run stand between The Number 10 and Number 11 came as a surprise for both the teams(including the batting duo). Mind it, there were no slog shots, except for a few. They played responsible cricket, they knew that each and every run of their bat, while their stay at the crease, was vital for Team India. Bhuvi drove and flicked while Shami cut and glanced, as at one point, both these batsmen admired their follow-throughs with the strike of a boundary. No more slip. There were men at the boundary to stop the run flow and there were men who stood next to the umpire, to create panic in the name of attacking, but both these batsmen enjoyed their stay. It took a miscue from a Moeen Ali delivery for Bhuvaneshwar to get out. While his partner reached fifty with a hefty strike for a six off Jimmy Anderson, the other took his time and took a single to reach the maiden milestone. The entire crowd applauded, their teammates stood up and welcomed the Last wicket heroes. They had batted for a solid two hours with the commentators using the word 'frustration' in context to the bowlers for about forty five times. Plunkett, Broad, Stokes and Anderson were just blown away with this knock from both the batsmen. 

With 43/1 in their scorecard, The England batsmen would like to settle and go for a big score by taking a lead. There will be patient innings from Moeen Ali, Ian Bell and Joe Root. What is important is that the bowlers, five of them playing, have to strike the right areas each and everytime throughout the day. No loose balls. Four good deliveries can beat a batsman, but one bad ball can demoralize the bowler. Ishant, supposed to the spearhead, has to strike in this wicket, though termed flat, which is expected to change over the next few days. Chances of the pitch slowing down is also high. Thereby, unless we pick up the wickets early and gain a good lead over the opposition, the second innings, for that matter for both the teams, is going to be not easy. With the third day of the First match starting in another few hours, both these teams know the importance of this day. Crucial for the Indian bowlers to strike and The England batsmen to settle and change the course of the test match, clearly dominated by India so far. The Indian bowlers have stuck with the bat, time for them to buckle up and rattle the batting line up of The England Cricket team.

The Big Test

Many of my friends have wondered why I chose a link to my blog as 'funnycri' , honestly, I started with the intention of writing articles on Cricket, on the ongoing matches and not with idea of giving expert reviews, but just to have an overview of how well have I interpreted the game, how good or bad can I think as a viewer, as a fan, as a cricket enthusiast and as expected, I could not follow up on that idea, wrote just two, out of the eighteen articles, on Cricket. Many of my friends, relatives could not follow what I wrote, for Cricket is not so keenly followed by many. I decided I will give a pause and then again continue at the right time. The time has come now. Today morning when I got up, something pushed me, this thought kept striking me and brought me to this place, to start again the purpose for having started this blog. I have not played professional cricket, have not represented districts or state. But I have keenly followed almost each and every match involving The Indian Cricket Team. Cricket has been my passion, I pray during each and every match and I celebrate the win as a festival and the loss as a loss of a dear one. I support my team. It is this passion that has driven me so far. I feel Goosebumps every time Sachin enters the ground, clap and cheer for every ball left by Dravid and shout and enjoy the aggression of Ganguly. For I cannot write or comment on these players, legends they were. I have thereby decided to write what I feel, how I see and what I observe during the 90 long overs in a day for the next five days. 

    Today when Mahendra Singh Dhoni(its been years since I have called him that, supposed to be a review right, so 'Professionalism' a must) and Alastair Cook walk out in the middle to toss up the coin amidst a cold morning with the fans eagerly waiting in their seats to hear the result, while the coin is still in the air, friends from India, like me, would be glued to the Television and in the minds of the two captains, under tremendous pressure suffering irreparable defeats, each in their own way, with humiliation from media, fans and pressure from their respective boards, all they will wonder is if the coin will flip and land in a way they want to. 

Big Test, that is what this series has been called, I do not see why one should not call that so. The rivalry between India and England has always been more than just cricket and sport. It is pride to win The English in its own Den, yes you heard it right, Den. Each and every test playing nation are strong at their home grounds. They are the best in the business, when played there. They know the conditions well, they have thorough understanding of the nature of the pitch and most importantly, they have the support from their beloved fans, who drive all the way up to watch their home team performing well. Pressure does exceed, but it is that pressure that brings the best in you. 

Trent Bridge, the venue for First Test, has always had a soft corner for India, as it was in this ground, India won the series in 2007 under Rahul Dravid. There is no Dravid now, nor Sachin nor Laxman. No Zaheer. No Bhajji and Sehwag. The team under MSD is a brand new one, with many yet to make their test appearance in England. Very few are experienced. MSD has the most experience in terms of Batting and then there is high-on-expectations-yet-disappointing Ishant Sharma, who spearheads the Bowling attack, as the experienced frontline bowler. Remember, to beat England in England is not impossible. But it takes more than just a bat, ball and a mere five days to win. It is mind game, psychological victory is a must before even we develop strategy for knocking out the opposition. This team, this brand new look team is very talented, for it is not that easy to get into The Indian National Cricket Team, with severe competition from their peers, they are not afraid to take risks, they are aggressive and it is this aggression that needs to be watched carefully in this series. One need not expect a fiery Johnson-like-aggression, rather one needs the calm and composed-yet-aggressive nature of Rahul Dravid to rattle the opposition. 

This is really going to be a tough test, for both the teams, with the seaming and fuming Anderson taking on the the calm and solid Pujara and the swing of Bhuvaneshwar testing the ability of Alastair Cook. Both these teams are wounded and they though they have managed to portray a calm and clear look ahead of the first test, they know, behind that smile is an aggression and a thirst for tasting victory. Lets wait and watch, who grabs the first meal, starting today.

Kingdom of Boredom

So what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object??. NO! Wait! let me put it this way, what happens when you just stare at the walls for hours? Then the first sentence comes to your mind, along with a lot more. Now, if you are reading this, hopefully you are, inspite of the terrible start to this blog, then you are probably one of my kind. We are the chosen ones. We are meant to be like 'this' forever. Atleast until we are preoccupied with something, which I doubt atleast for the next four weeks. So what does that 'this' mean? Tough to read the previous sentence, aint it? When after college, infact on the last day of college, when you return home thinking 'Ok, so from now my life is going to change'  only to realize it indeed has changed, except for the fact that not in the way one would have expected.

An ideal situation is,  7:00 am : 'Ajay! Can you get me that you-what-what from the nearby store?' , 7:30 : Drop brother at college, 8:30: Drop mother at office, 9:30-12:30 : Facebook plus staring at the walls and other "End-of-Season Sale" offers in leading shopping websites. You look at the time and there is a wide grin on your face, all because you have managed to spend half of the day. Remember, that is the toughest phase! Afternoon and evening, its the same old case of 'switch on the ac and snore' all the way. After getting up, wishing you have spent enough time sleeping, to cross the 'uncertain corridor' in the evening. Then comes the next set of duties which proves that you are a responsible kid(according to the old generation, thanks to them for reminding us that we still are a 'kid') . The last lap(7:00-10:00pm) is lightning fast. Supposed to be the 'Wow! This is exciting to be with family after work' , except that just to break the sudden silence prevailing owing a mother's necessary presence in the kitchen and father's never-ending phone call and a brother's..brother's..(Oh man! What does my brother even do at that time) , one turns on the Idiot box(the one that 'always' listens to whatever you say) only to find out there has been an sudden spike in the volume which results in a 'Oh My God, my ears are bleeding!' state and then you find out the culprit behind this evil act, you see a man with papers and a pen in one hand and the other hand moving every now and then and his mouth is that 'never-ever-stopping' type and you then find out that he is a popular figure who inspired millions with the way to conduct a debate. You then feel for having turned that channel ON as that show goes on and on and on(Man! That fellow keeps talking that he even forgets to breathe).
 Alright! Something just happens and pushes the hands of the wall clock to 10:00. Lights off! All you are left with is just a fully charged mobile and a god-invented-application for men like me. When there is always a reply for your 'Whats up' , you just welcome your peers(having supposedly gone through the same phase) with a smiley and start the 'late-night-confession' talks.