Nation of domination

Key matches often lead to one team having a vice-like grip on the other, maybe for days, months or even generations. Here is a look at some of them.

India vs Pakistan – Australasia Cup Final, 1986

Indian cricket had been on the ascent ever since the World Cup win in 1983. India followed it up with the World Championship of Cricket victory in 1985 down under and also dominated the tournaments in Sharjah. All this changed in April, 1986 with the Australasia Cup final. India had a great start thanks to Srikanth and Gavaskar, and notwithstanding a late collapse, they still managed to put 245 on the board – great total those days. In reply, Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals but the foxy Javid Miandad held one end up with a feisty century. As the equation boiled down to 4 needed off the final ball, he thwacked a full toss from Chetan Sharma over mid-wicket for six. The shot was to be heard for generations to come, as Pakistan had India in its grip for more than 17 years after that. It took a monumental effort from Sachin Tendulkar in 2003 to finally break the shackles.

Australia vs England – World Cup Final, 1987

England’s cant bat, cant bowl, cant field bunch had won the Ashes, the World series cup and the Perth challenge in 1986-87, down under. Australia was a side in transition after some high profile retirements and were just shaping up under Border. Both teams had dominated the group stages and had upset each of the host nations in the semi-finals. It was a contest among equals, with England enjoying an edge. Batting first, David Boon made a dogged 75 and some late order hitting by Valetta and Border lead Australia to 253. But the strong English batting line up were progressing smoothly when Border brought himself on to bowl. Mike Gatting pompously tried to reverse sweep one over cover. The ball took the leading edge and keeper Dyer did the rest. England were never the same after that. They lost by 7 runs and Australia completely dominated them for the next 18 years, until the Ashes of 2005.

Australia vs West Indies – World Cup Semi-final, 1996

West Indies, until their tragic decline in the last half of the 1990s had always been the team to beat. In May 1995, Steve Waugh’s heroics had toppled the Windies and helped Australia win the Frank Worrell trophy after 18 years. But, although they were not powerhouses of the 1980s, the Windies proved that they could still hold their own and beat Australia in the group match in Jaipur. In the semi-finals, they were to meet again at Mohali. Australia were reduced to 15 for 4 at one  stage but rear guard action by Bevan, Law and Healy ensured that they crossed 200. In reply, Chanderpaul was anchoring the chase and had vital partnerships with Lara and Richardson. Waugh had Lara bowled off a beauty and when Chanders was out to a tired slog with forty more to get, no one would have imagined the carnage to follow. Windies collapsed to fall short by 5 runs, with Richardson was painstakingly left stranded on 49. Although Australia lost the final against Sri Lanka, their domination of West Indies started after that. The Frank Worrell trophy has remained with them till date although West Indies have started getting the better of Australia only in T20 in recent times.

India vs Sri Lanka, World Cup Group match, 1996

India were one of the favourites to win the World Cup and their campaign was off in style with victories over Kenya and West Indies. A loss to Australia followed and they were expected to bounce back against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar made a run-a-ball 137 as India posted 271 on a Kotla turner. Victory seemed a formality. But all this turned on its head when Jayasuriya started belting the bowlers all over the ground as he and Kaluwitharana raced Sri Lanka to 50 in less than 5 overs. India’s strike bowler Manoj Prabhakar was forced to bowl off spinners after he vanished for 33 off his first two overs. Although, Jayasuriya slowed down after that and Sri Lanka strolled to victory only by the 49^th over, this match ensured that Sri Lanka dominated their big brother for quite some time. India made a mess of their subsequent semi-final match in Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka, despite being in a position of strength. Jayasuriya helped himself to a triple century in 1997 along with many centuries against India, who feared him like no other, until his retirement in 2009.

Australia vs South Africa, World Cup, 1999

The Aussies had lead the one day resurgence of the 1980s. Although they did not win the World Cups of 1992 and 1996, they were the team to beat. With the gradual decline of the Windies, the South Africans, after spending years in wilderness, were emerging overwhelming favourites in the 1990s, with their clinical performances, although they kept coming short in tournament finals. They were strong contenders for the title and breezed through the group games while Australia just managed to get a toe hold in the knock outs. The semi finals featured a dog fight with Australia clawing back every time South Africa took a wicket, to post a below par 213. Shane Warne, who had a quiet World Cup until then, finally turned up and set the cat among the pigeons. What should have been a straight forward victory boiled down to 9 off the last over with one wicket to go. Klusener blazed two boundaries off the first ball but with one run to get, a brain and leg freeze lead to  a run out.  Choke was to become synonymous with South Africa after that. Australia leapt ahead by miles and went on to dominate all their matches, until the test series of 2008-09.

Derailed - tales from cricket

After all the hype around India opening their World T20 campaign in ishtyle, the result left everyone dumbfounded. New Zealand had read the pitch better, gambled hard to leave out their pacemen and pulled the carpet right from under the Indians’ feet. Here is a look at few other cases, where the narration did not go by the script. You can’t call them upsets since no ‘minnows’ or Associates were involved.

2012 World T20 Finals – Sri Lanka vs West Indies , October 2012 – Sri Lanka was partying well before the finals began. They had already beaten the Windies in the group match and the final was a foregone conclusion with spin, home advantage and a partisan crowd. Gayle stuttered around for a painstaking 16 ball 3 and the other batsmen did not inspire too much confidence either. But a late onslaught by Marlon Samuels on Malinga lifted them to a modest 137.In reply, the old order of Jayawardane and Sangakkara were chugging along rather nicely. But a flurry of wickets in the middle overs meant that they fell well short of their target. By the time the ninth wicket fell, Samuels was already being dusted and polished for the MOM award. The stadium was stunned into silence but when the West Indies win, nobody complains. If cricket were to have a Maracana moment, this was it.

1992 World Cup opener – Australia vs New Zealand, Auckland, February 1992 – In the four years after the 1987 tournament, one day cricket had made giant strides with the Aussies in the forefront and Dean Jones called himself the one day wonder. When they made the Trans Tasman journey to kick off the event, victory was a foregone conclusion. But captain courageous Martin Crowe lead from the front with a brave ton and followed it up with the master stroke of Dipak Patel opening the bowling. Dibbly, dobbly, wibbly and wobbly then took over the mantle of strangling the Aussie run chase. The Aussies never recovered after this loss and bowed out shortly after while the Kiwis flew into the knock outs.

2003 World Cup opener – South Africa vs West Indies , February 2003 – After the opening ceremony disaster in England 4 years earlier, the opening ceremony drew applauds from all over. The tournament was meant to be South Africa’s redemption after years of isolation, unlucky  losses and the match fixing saga. The campaign got off to the right start with the West Indies score at 12/2 after 10 overs. But then came Lara and took off from where he had left in 1996 with a princely ton. The young guns, Ricardo Powell and Ramnaresh Sarwan provided the late push, taking the score to 278. South Africa were docked an over for slow over rate. Regular wickets pegged them back and a late flourish from Klusener came a bit too late as the ghosts of Edbgbaston returned to haunt South Africa. They lost by 3 runs. They had choked…again.

1983 World Cup finals – India vs West Indies, June 1983 – The mother of all upsets. The invincible Windies looking for a hat trick of titles and the just awakened Indians who were living a dream. India batted first but none of the batsmen really could build on their starts. A substantial last wicket partnership lead them to 183, which was never going to challenge the batting might of the Windies. Then came Kapil’s inspiring speech during the lunch break. Wickets fell regularly and when the captain took out Richards with a running catch, India began to believe. The win came soon thereafter and cricket would never to be the same again.

Lonar's mysteries - I - Thoughts on magnets and vermilionisation

We visited Lonar Lake in December 2015 after reading about it on various travel websites. The lake was created after a meteor crash approx. estimated to be 52,000 ± 6,000 years,  although more recent studies give it an age of 570,000 ± 47,000 years (making it really old). Mysteries still abound about the lake and what lies beneath it.

Near the lake is what is advertised as ‘Magnetic Maruti temple’, having an idol of Lord Hanuman (sculpted from a fragment of the meteorite which crashed at Lonar) in a sleeping position. Under Hanuman’s foot is Lord Shani Dev. It is believed that Lord Hanuman has a love-hate relationship with Lord Shani Dev (who is associated with the planet Saturn and is known to be either extremely maleficent or  benevolent) and is capable of neutralizing his ill effects. 

It is quite possible that the the locals believed the meteor fragment having strong magnetic properties to represent Lord Shani Dev (maybe after it had an ill effect on the water, livestock and crops in the neighborhood). Since one did not want to have an ominous object lying around, they sculpted an image of Lord Hanuman on it and for good measure, they also coated the entire statue with bright orange vermilion. It was only in 2012-13 that the coating was removed to reveal this statue.

Now, vermilion is extracted from Cinnabar (Mercuric Sulphide), which has strong metaphysical properties, capable of awakening one's mystic and psychic abilities. Women apply it as sindhoor and it is also used in Makardhwaj Ras, an Ayurvedic medicine used for anti aging, immunity and as an aphrodisiac.

In most Hindu temples, especially the ones where the idols are considered self-manifested, it is possible that the idols are made from meteor fragments and therefore coated with vermilion to reduce the ill effects of prolonged magnetic exposure. Those normally coated in vermilion like the Asthtavinayaks and Lord Hanuman, are considered extremely benevolent and worshipped. The ones left untreated like those at Shani Shingnapur, Sri Kalahasthi and the Jyotirlingams acquire an aura of mystery and are venerated. With the influence magnetic forces have on the human body and the fact that Cinnabar is toxic, it would be safe not to directly touch the temple idols from a scientific perspective, which is what our forefathers would have wanted.

So, when someone says it is spiritual magnetism which is drawing them to a particular temple, it may actually be the magnetic forces in the idols which are influencing the human senses. And for those crying hoarse about saffronisation in India, maybe the right word is vermilionisation. Atleast, the etymology would be right.

Man of Steel

Who doesn’t know Superman. All of us know Superman. To revisit his origins and repackage them in a riveting storyline 35 years after the first Superman movie came out requires plenty of courage.

Zack Snyder does a class act. And with Christopher Nolan and David Goyer on board as writers, this is story telling taken to new heights. The movie has all the usual characters playing their usual roles – the caring Kents, the hyperactive Lois Lane, the ever pushy Perry White, Zod, Lana Lang, Pete Ross and the rest.

The story goes back and forth in time without bordering on the tedium. The movie also pays tribute to/seems inspired by various events both fictional and real:

·         Julian Assange makes an appearance as Glen Woodburn

·         The pod carrying Lois Lance crashes into a cornfield and creates a crop circle

·         There is a Wayne Enterprises satellite hovering in outer space into which Superman and Zod collide

·         Jor El appears as a dynamic hologram compared to the iterative Princess Lea

·         The age old Kryptonian spacecraft exiting the Arctic atmosphere appears to be inspired from X Files/ Predator series.

·         The duel between Superman and Zod resembles the duel with Doomsday in the comic book

·         Perry White is coloured and not white

·         Unmanned surveillance drones trying to find the Arctic Fortress – giving the Al Qaeda a break

·         Cloning and depletion of global resources – issues which were not so prevalent when the original movie came out

·         Hints of Wolverine in the bar scene. The Krypton warriors look like minor X Men characters.

The movie carries the dark tones which have begun to be associated with comic film based movies of late (ironic considering Superman was always a sunshine hero not one who prowled in the shadows). Watching the movie on Father’s day made it extra special with Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner graduating to senior citizen roles with perfection, helping mould Kal El/ Clark Kent into what he is and to taken on his demons, internal and external.

Jimmy Olsen and Lex Luthor are conspicuous by their absence but LexCorp makes an appearance at the end. So Lex Luthor is out there somewhere waiting.  Could Pete Ross become the next Lex Luthor? – Subtle clues here and there.

Disappointed that Lois Lane knows that Clark is Superman. However, waiting for the sequel.

India vs England

Reasons why England will win the test series in India:

• They last won a series here in 1985 and then were brownwashed in 1993. However, they have proven to be better visitors since the turn of the century. They almost drew the series in 2002, drew the series in 2006 and had the upper hand for most of the series in 2009 (Except of Day 5) 
• India won one test in 2006 because of luck
• Alistair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell are some of the finest players of spin
• KP is back and has a point to prove
• Swann and Panesar are better tweakers than Bhajji and Ashwin
• Anderson and Broad are better pacemen than Zak and ????
• India's batting has never looked more feeble in the past twenty years

Toll tax takes its toll

'Don't pay toll tax in Maharashtra: Raj Thackeray' screamed the headline. (http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/don-t-pay-toll-tax-in-maharashtra-raj-thackeray-246971)

For once I tend to agree with the MNS leader who has said that a citizen who pays the toll should know where that money is going and for what purpose it is used. During my drives from Bangalore to Madurai, I have noted with a lump in my heart that you end up paying almost Rs.500 each way at the various tolls. This amount seems to go up every other time I drive down to my home town. I remember paying around Rs.85 for one particular stretch.

We Indians are so used to mediocrity that a good road becomes an exception and not the norm.

With an ever increasing road network in India, it is high time the National Highways Authority or any other department for that matter got their act together to ensure that tolls are fixed appropriately and sources and application of funds are adequately monitored to ensure that the money collected does not fill a few pockets alone.

The Dark Knight Rises

Watched The Dark Knight Rises..ok to make it easy lets call it TDKR.

The movie was almost a non-starter. Packed some masala dosas from MTR to watch TDKR. Spent 30 mins at the counter watching the waiters get the coveted masala dosas before we headed to Vision cinemas ( a good old place without the hassles of parking and reasonably priced tickets). Rushed to the counter to show them the BMS message and learnt that the film was a non-starter (some technical hitches to be sorted out or something like that). They asked us to wait for 10 minutes and by then we had grudgingly polished off our oily dosas in the car. With a prayer in our lips, went back to the counter and learnt that the technical hitch had been overcome - TDK had risen...

Well the movie is as dark as Batman movies can be. Some odd thoughts here and there:
- Dent Day....hee hee. Soon they will have a Sarbanes - Oxley day!!!!
- The American President steps in when Gotham is in crisis. Never heard of this one happen in the DC universe. Always thought Gotham City and Metropolis were self contained cities in the US but isolated from the White House. The President normally steps in to hand out congressional medals to the superheroes.
- Giant Alligators in the sewers - reference to NY urban legend or to the Croc Man (?)
- Bane tries to sound like Darth Vader - Would have been wonderful to have James Earl Jones do the voice over and Mark Callaway (the Undertaker for the uninitiated) play Bane
- Anne vs Michelle - I'll go with Anne..
- Why didn't they do a reference check on Miranda Tate
- The Cat beats the Bat - Selina gets more hits right than Bruce Wayne when firing at the armoured trucks
- Blake is Robin - And all these years it was supposed to be Dick Grayson - Hope they don't have a Robin re-boot. Too bad - can't carry an entire film on his shoulders
- More people seen to know the Batman's identity by the end of the movie
- Commissioner Gordon gets out of hospital bed to do a Surya in taking on the League heads on
- More people will be going to Jodhpur this December to check if the prison exists - well the balcony definitely must...
- More people would be going to Florence for the same reason
-  Nolan regulars - Bale, Caine, Marion, Cillian Murphy have a ball - wonder if they have formed a kliq in Hollywood
- Kangaroo courts - missing Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman here. Could have given them cameos...
- The Bat romances the Cat - what would they name the kids? Adam Sandler can take this forward...

A fascinating film nevertheless and a don't miss. Nilesh thought Bane looked like Teletubbies. 

P.S. MTR was not worth the wait. TDKR definitely was.