Micromax Cup Cricket: India Win ODI Series Against Sri Lanka!

India have won the five-match one day international cricket series defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the fourth match played in Colombo today. Taking an unassailable lead of 3-1 India is thus set to take home the Micromax Cup in Sri Lanka. The last match to be played in Pallekele on August 4, 2012 is reduced to a formality, but, of course, both teams would like to exit the series positively with a win.

For the second time in Colombo Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. They made a solid start with openers Dilshan (42) and Tharanga (51) putting up 91 runs for the first wicket. The Indian pacers were not effective and went wicketless. Thiramanne chipped in well today made 47 runs with able support from Chandimal. Sri Lanka were poised for a huge total crossing 150 in the 31^st over with the loss of only two wickets. But the slide happened just then.

Though Indian skipper Dhoni’s blue eyed boy Rohit Sharma was not dropped after two consecutive ducks Manoj Tiwary was brought in. Rahul Sharma who was found guilty in a Mumbai rev party case recently and whose selection in the second match was itself in question was dropped to make way for Tiwary. Basically an attacking batsman, Tiwary is also known for his useful leg break bowling. He was introduced in that crucial moment. He captured the wicket of Chandimal immediately and went on to capture 4 wickets engineering a Sri Lankan collapse. But for some rearguard action by Herath and Malinga Sri Lanka would not have reached a respectable score. The final score of 251/8 was competitive in Lankan home conditions. Ashwin supported Tiwary well with 2 wickets.

Set 252 for a series win India started badly losing Gambhir in the first over. But Sehwag and Kohli took command of the innings and took the score past 50 in the 10^th over when Sehwag fell to a brilliant catch by substitute Senanayake for 34 runs. Rohit Sharma came in and failed again playing 14 balls doggedly for just 4 runs. Tiwary could not make a significant contribution with the bat and fell to Mendis for 21 runs. There was some amount of concern with India at 109/4 in the 24^thover, but Kohli stood there like a wall and Suresh Raina was in his flourishing form. Kohli went on to score his 14^th century (128 not out) and with Raina (58 not out) he made sure Indiawin by 6 wickets with 46 ball remaining at the final score of 255/4.This was Virat Kohli's fifth century in last eight innings and now after Yuvraj Singh, he has got the tag--if Virat scores a century India win!

Sri Lanka was today without the services of wicketkeeper-batsman Sangakkara which was a dampener for then on a must-win match to keep alive in the series. Several lapses on the field added to their woes. Their bowlers also gave out listless performances. The Scorecard:

Virat Kohli was rightfully adjudged the man of the match.

Mitali: The Trauma of Losing a Sibling

Maybe I lied to her when I used to reassure her that she was going to be alright and was going to resume her life in some measure of normalcy in the future years; maybe all my gestures/expressions were false when I used to run my fingers across her forehead or embrace her on occasions when she was able to move around a bit; and maybe all my exhibitions of love care and responsibility were exposed as superficial when I failed to turn up in Delhi where she along with my mother were treated during September-October, 2022 (my mother Urmila Chakravarty was also diagnosed with dental cancer the same month the same year as she was) and when all the members of my parental family and the in-laws converged. Since that fateful day in August, 2022 when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer to that disastrous day of March 6, 2025—the day my younger blood sister Mitali (Mainu) Chakravarty Sarma (November 2, 1963—March 6, 2025) passed away in the wee hours in a hospital in Guwahati after giving a bra...

Release of Book 'Randomized: A Dozen Short Stories'!

The fourth collection of stories titled 'Randomized: A Dozen Short Stories' by Chinmay Chakravarty has been released on Amazon KDP just now! This collection, short stories in a lighter vein plus with mild satire like the previous collections, has been published in both the E-book and Paperback formats. The links are given below: International: Click Here ! India: Click Here ! Other collections of short stories by the same author: The Cheerless Chauffeur and Other Tales(2021)--Notion Press. Funny and Fishy Tales(2022)--KDP. The Weirdos(2022)--Ukiyoto Publishing. All books of the author are available on Goodreads, apart from Amazon and other outlets! Have a look!

Kolkata: Cancel the Commerce of the Durga Puja Carnival!

Yes! We ask why shouldn't the pure Commerce show of the Durga Puja Carnival in Kolkata be canceled in view of the worsening medical crisis? For how long this cruel irony of continuing the worship of the Mother Goddess and continuing to torture/kill the Mothers in human forms going to continue? Greed, limitless greed of humans! Dear God! This time Goddess Durga came in a cradle which in itself implies ominous times, and further, the tithis from Mahasaptami onward came mixed in such a way that you get three days of worship, technically. Yet, the greedy and selfie-social-media-crazy crowds of 'devotees' were still not satiated, descending on the Puja pandals in uncontrollable hordes for as long as seven days, and to pander to their greed and to have the maximum of business, most of the Puja organizers disregarded the tithi break-up completely and have been celebrating Bijoya Dashami or the Dussehra well into Ekadashi, the eleventh day! They expect the hordes to descend tonigh...