One for the romantics..

This one is for the romantics...The bottom two of last year's IPL meeting in the finals this year. Yesterday's first semis of DD vs DC was in the end a little one sided. Delhi had a horrible start losing 2 wickets in the first over, recovered through Sehwag and Dilshan. Just when they were running away with it, DC pulled it back by getting Sehwag out. After that they controlled DD very well and 153 was not going to challenge Deccan too much, if they batted to their potential. Once again the strategy break proved crucial in Delhi's innings. After the break, Delhi just could not get going and got just 70 runs in the last 10 overs which is not great by T20 standards. I was just hoping that Deccan dont choke like they have choked so often in the past. Finished my lunch in 10 minutes to catch the Deccan innings you see....I know I sacrifice a lot for cricket :P. I think Gilly was frustrated by the way the middle order was not finishing games, so he decided to take matters into his own hands :). The first over assault over Dirk Nannes, one of the bowlers of the tournament was just breathtaking.

After that he just kept going in spite of losing Gibbs, going after each and every bowler. He deserved a hundred, but got out without getting there. But thats the way he plays, lives by the sword and dies by it. In the end, his innings was the difference between Delhi and Deccan. Things could have been a lot closer otherwise and Sehwag had no clue as to what to do. I have always felt that Chennai is a much better team. Just that Delhi held their nerve in most of the close games and hence were toppers in the group stage. But in the end, the law of averages that I was emphasizing to my friends about caught up with them. My wish came true, Deccan knocking them out in the semis. Had a small get together last night with colleagues, same old office gossip. Then again you cant blame us because we have such colleagues, who gives us a lot to b**ch about.

Time for the second semis today, Chennai vs B'lore. I was supporting Chennai while the others were supporting B'lore. Chennai got off to a good start, but again lost their way after the strategy break. I am pretty sure the break was to have more commercials and earn more money, but it has been proving to be costly for one team or the other. More often than not, the momentum changes dramatically and the team which was doing very well slows down a lot. Today it was Chennai's turn to lose momentum and they did far worse than Delhi yesterday. Lost wickets at the wrong intervals and once Raina and Dhoni got out without getting too many, score around 170 was always a big ask. Morkel tried his best but credit must be given to B'lore bowlers who bowled really well and gave just 3 boundaries in the last 7 overs. Kumble marshalled his resources really well after the initial onslaught by Parthiv and Hayden. The guy seems to get the best out of his team and he leads by example just like Shane Warne. Since he took over BRC, they won 7 out of 9 games which has to be the comeback of this IPL. At one stage they were dead and buried and nobody gave them a chance to reach the semis.

I think the Ross Taylor's innings against Kolkata was the turning point for them. They almost chased 14 runs per over in the last 5 overs or so I think. After that they have never looked back and have looked a different side. The B'lore chase began well and even though Kallis fell early, Maneesh Pande kept it going and played some delightful drives. Although he made a 100 against Deccan on Thursday, I felt this innings was better since he played authentic cricket shots and played some delightful shots on the offside. He played really well and one rash shot ended it for him. Dravid played superbly too till Murali got him. Of the Chennai bowlers only Murali bowled well while the others gave away too many boundaries and that is criminal especially when you are defending only 146. Dhoni tried his best but in the end B'lore were too good on the night. Now they meet Deccan in the finals. I am supporting Deccan obviously. I hope just like Gilly, one of Gibbs/Symmo/Rohit plays a blinder and wins us the game(all of them would be even better :D). I know its a team game and everybody is supposed to contribute, but I would take the title no matter how it comes.

Terminator Salvation is out and the critics have absolutely panned it. It has a rating of 33% on Tomatometer, and T3 has a rating of 70%. I mean I havent seen TS yet, but T3 and 70%?. Please give me a break. The fans seem to have liked it and most of the user comments seem to suggest that TS is much better than T3 and just a notch below T1 and T2. I would take that anyday and Christian Bale cant do a bad job. I am pretty sure the movie would be good fun. And talking about ratings, whats with Star Trek and 95%. I know the movie was fun, but it surely isnt as good as the Dark Knight. I mean the movies belong to totally different genres, but still in my books Star Trek would get a 70% at best. You cant go around giving 95% to every masala entertainer that comes out. Looking at this I think one should not necessarily go by ratings and sometimes go by instinct. I might catch TS this weekend and its the big one tomorrow. DC vs BRC. No matter who wins, I am proud that DC made it to the finals. Well done guys.

Midweek Blues

Yeah thats right...midweek blues. Monday morning blues are pretty well known, I need not elaborate on the term. Midweek blues is what I'm going through right now. Cant wait for the weekend, since its the end of IPL2. I hope the semis and finals live upto the standards that we have seen right through the IPL. Was following KKR vs RR today. Thought KKR almost blew it at one point, LR Shukla batted sensibly and saw them through. RR dug their own grave by having 3 runout (or was it 2?). They have been far too inconsistent with batting being their main problem. They missed Sohail Tanvir and Shane Watson from the last edition. Graeme Smith hardly got going, while Pathan felt the pressure after a few good matches initially. There is only so much Shane Warne can do. The second game was Chennai vs Punjab. Punjab blew a chance of going to the semis, all they had to do was get 117 and they were through. In the end, Murali and Raina proved too hot to handle. The pitch was slow, but getting 117 in a T20 game should not be a problem.

Now the semi finalists are decided. Tomorrow's match of DC vs B'lore decides who plays whom in the semis. Personally I want Hyd to win, but losing might not be a bad thing after all. It will ensure that we play Delhi in the semis, and I soooo want DC to knock them out. I think Chennai will be too strong for B'lore (provided they both face each other). At the end of the day, anything can happen since it all depends on who plays well on that night. I wont rule out a B'lore vs DC finals either :P. Now that would be quite something, last year's bottom two meeting in the finals this time. Just goes to show how things can turn around so quickly. There is hope for KKR next year. I think they need to kick Buchanan and his support staff out, hire some guys who work behind the scenes and deliver. Case in point being Darren Lehmann with DC. The guy has barely been in the news, but results with DC have been good (I'm gloating..I know). Even though dropping VVS made me feel bad, we all know that he isnt the greatest T20 player. Suman who came in has done really well and the fielding has improved considerably.

Went to Angels n Demons last night, after a heavy Indian dinner. The Bhindi fry was amazing. The movie was much better than Da Vinci Code which I thought was very dull and slow. The BG score was pretty good and although there were some changes from the novel, in the end Ron Howard did a much better job than Da Vinci Code. Although I must say even Da Vinci Code (the novel) was comparatively not as gripping as Angels n Demons. Waiting for Terminator Salvation tomorrow. I have high hopes for this one, I hope they deliver. They better after the exciting promos. The critics ratings havent been too good so far. Lets see how it turns out.

I wanted to go somewhere this weekend, but its too late to plan now. Got an invite for smokies, but I passed that one. Looks like its going to be IPL, chicken biryani, sleep and maybe some SALVATION :). This IPL has made me very lazy (as if I wasnt lazy enuff). Hope to work a lil more starting next week. Got an invite for a friends bday party which I obvsly cant attend (since its in Hyd). Missed it last year too. Sometimes you miss so many events, that you get the feeling that is it really worth staying away from home just to save more money. Then you just tell yourself that work is important and this is the best time to make some money. Yeah I know I'm sounding materialistic, but there are certain things which have to be taken care of. Cant wait to get back home and stay in Hyd. I hope there is some project waiting for me there, or else I will end up on bench. End of June cant come soon enuff...

Why I started blogging...

Where do I start...Used to maintain a diary in my engg days. Did it successfully for 3 years and then got too lazy to continue. Reading old diaries is a lot of fun...esp when you read about what you were thinking 2 years earlier and then you think, "was i so silly and stupid a couple of years ago ?". So after reading a few nice blogs of late, I have decided that I'll atleast try this thing. What will be in this blog? Could be anything from sports and movies (my fave topics) to politics and gossip :)..

IPL 2 is coming to the business end and it has been good fun...especially watching cricket at work wid my work buddies, while trying to hide it from ppl who wudnt like it too much (read HIGHER authorities :P). I'm a Deccan Chargers fan for obvs reasons (I'm proud to be a Hyderabadi), but Chennai would be the second team I support. Their batting lineup is awesome and they can outbat any opposition. Delhi has won the most matches at this stage, but somehow have this feeling that they might end up losing in the semis...wud love it if DC were to knock them out :). KKR have been the whipping boys this year just like DC last year. Feel sorry for McCullum, got sucked into the power battle between Ganguly and Buchanan. I admire him a great deal for the way he has carried himself during these trying times. He is always positive about things, especially after they got walloped for 21 runs in the last over and lost the game.

MI couldnt take the opportunities that came their way while Rajasthan still has Shane Warne pulling them through almost single handedly. Irrespective of his exploits off the field, the man is an outstanding player and captain. Ashes 2005 was a great proof his endurance, skill and thinking while IPL has proved that he was the best captain Australia never had.I dont like Punjab, coz I am not a great fan of Yuvraj. The guy has got talent, but a lot more attitude than is necessary. Unlike Dhoni, who seems like a level headed bloke and has his feet firmly on ground. Bangalore seems to have picked up after KP left under Kumble. So much for the 1 million dollar price tag of KP. Right now my favourites for the semis would be Chennai, Delhi, Deccan and Rajasthan.

Watched Federer's Madrid Masters final win against Nadal on sunday. It was not tennis of the highest order, but Federer seemed to be serving well, utilised the breakpoints that came his way. It wasnt the usual Nadal chasing down balls all round the court, perhaps he was tired after the 4 hr semis against Djokovic. But all this argument about Federer won coz Nadal was tired is just crap. Wasnt Nadal tired in the AO finals this year, when he played a marathon in the semis? Its just that Federer capitalised his opportunities and hence won. He was better on the day, plain and simple. That doesnt make Nadal any lesser player. He is still the hands down favourite to win the French Open(P.S. I am a huge Federer fan). I just hope Federer gains some confidence from this win and plays well in the French Open.

Its my b'day today. Just another day, except that I am going out for dinner and movie on a week day. I hope atleast the next bday I will be back home in Hyderabad with family and friends. I dont even know if this blog will see the light of the day. Am a lil surprised that I had so much to write :).