ChinmayC Blog

Junaid Khan Team India never knows a thing when there is seam, swing and green. A cricketing fact that has been proved time and again over the years. There had been lot of rains in Chennai on Saturday and the match on Sunday was in doubt due to wet ground conditions and chances for more showers. Finally the match did start after some delay, but the conditions were still overcast, ground still moist and the wicket green. An ideal situation for the Pakistan fast bowlers in a day match starting in the morning. Pakistan won the toss for the third time in this tour and India faced the usual music right from the start. A perfect display of seam and swing bowling had the Indian stumps in tatters. Junaid Khan started India’s top order collapse by bowling out Sehwag who came into the One Day team just to go back to the pavilion in quick time. The Junaid fury went unabated to root out the stumps of Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh too, and had Rohit Sharma caught. Mohammad Irfan credited himself wi...

We knew him those days only through the radio commentaries whenever India happened to play England. We are talking of the early seventies when television coverage was restricted to mostly New Delhi cricket Tests and there no possibility of any national telecast as there was no terrestrial network through satellites. Cricket came live to our homes only after 1982. Therefore we knew little about his towering 6.6 feet all-round field presence and much lesser about his utterances, antics and entertainment on the field. But even through radio commentaries he made his presence felt particularly in 1974 when England defeated India 3-0 in England with India getting shot out for 42 in the second innings of the Lords Test, and then again during 1976-77 England tour of India known as the John Lever ‘Vaseline’ Series when India lost again 3-1.   As a great cricketer he remained etched in our mind since then and his popularity later as a commentator, when we actually started seeing him, only ...

She dies. After 12 painful days of the most advanced medical treatment, care and attention. In New Delhi and then in Singapore. After the whole of India prayed for Her. After the Young India Movement For Change took up Her cause in thousands and thousands pouring onto the streets. After the most powerful dignitaries of the country wanted Her to live. After She wanted to live. Imagine the extent of damage caused to Her frail body by the fiends who are still alive in jail and are looking to get ‘justice’ from the courts over days, months and years to come. Is it just enough to say enough is enough? She dies. She was a normal girl wanting to live a normal life. But in a country where depraved, sick and malignant males abound in She was born with the fatal disease of existing inside Her female body. Because in a country where people look up to mother Goddesses for blessings you cannot afford to have a female body and move around with it. These vultures are very different from Nature’s. T...

If Pakistan is winning India cannot be far behind! And vice versa! Whatever one of these two great competitive neighbors do the other can hardly accept and instead of reciprocation they prefer to retaliate! In politics non-acceptance translates shamelessly into denial, and in cricket defeat translates seamlessly into victory. Of course, Pakistan won the toss both the times and chased both the times…maybe that was unavoidable. But after Pakistan won the first T20 international cricket match in Bangalore India was in grave national danger of losing the Series and facing the music. That too…after five long years and being the benevolent hosts. Therefore India had to retaliate or rather deny Pakistan another victory. India won the second and last T20 international in Ahmedabad tonight defeating a valiant Pakistan by 11 runs thus sharing the honors equally with the Series drawn 1-1.  Player of the Match Yuvraj Singh has delivered a tremendous match winning performance bringing back his...

The Government of India decided at its highest level to shift the 23 year old girl battling for life for the last eleven days out of India for better treatment. Accordingly late last night she was shifted from Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and taken to Singapore by an air ambulance. She was accompanied by the doctor in charge. Few hours later she was admitted in Mount Elizabeth Hospital. The decision was taken because the girl continued to be critical after undergoing three abdominal surgeries and suffering two cardiac arrests. Her doctors reportedly consulted physicians and surgeons the world over and decided on Singapore as it was much nearer and that Mount Elizabeth Hospital is famous for advanced facilities and multi-organ transplants. The doctors in Singapore today described the girl’s condition as extremely critical and she is undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit of the hospital. A multidisciplinary team of doctors has been taking all possible measures to stabilize h...

Finally, cricket between the arch-rivals, India Vs Pakistan, gets a new lease of life with start of the international bilateral Cricket Series in Bangalore on December 25, 2012. Finally, Pakistan arrives in India and plays its first match against India after five years. And, a team not playing international cricket for more than two months beats a team that has been playing cricket, cricket and cricket both on field and off the field. Pakistan beat India by five wickets in the first T20 match played in Bangalore last night. Although the match looked to be in Pakistan’s favor for most part of the game the usual pressure, tension and twists and turns associated with any cricketing encounter between the archrivals were there too. Pakistan won the toss and put India in. India looked to be in perfect command cruising to 77 for no loss in under 11 overs with a strong batting line to follow, but thanks to super bowling by Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal Pakistan engineered a major Indian collapse w...

What happened in New Delhi on last Saturday and Sunday was perhaps unexpected for most of us, particularly for the Delhi authorities and the police. What happened in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday was unprecedented for sure for the national capital. And therefore, the situation led to more debates about several other aspects and these are still raging. But the crucial debate following the brutal gangrape of a 23 year old girl in Delhi remains and is getting stronger day by day. “We Want Justice!” “Safety For Women Must Be Ensured!”  Thousands of young students, boys and girls, descended on the most protected areas of Delhi right from the Saturday morning. Taken aback by the size and the unexpectedness, the police resorted to water cannons, tear gas shells and lathi charge giving rise to the debate if the police failed to handle a peaceful demonstration properly. There was violence in terms of stone pelting from the students leading to another debate if anti-social or political o...

Just on the eve of the selection of Team India for the ODI and T20 cricket Series against Pakistan beginning 25 th December today morning, the Indian cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar has announced his retirement from One Day International cricket. One or two days back the little master was reported to have declared his availability to the BCCI for the ODI series against Pakistan . What transpired between him and the Indian cricket Board is not clear. Last night England defeated India in the second and last T20 match played in Mumbai on a last ball six by Captain Morgan thus drawing the T20 Series 1-1. The national selectors of the BCCI then announced its decision to declare a new team for the Pakistan Series. Sachin Tendulkar, considered next only to the legendary Don Bradman, in his glorious one-day career of 23 years has amassed 18,426 runs in 463 one-dayers at an average of 44.83. The diminutive right-hander has an   astonishing  49 hundreds in the format, including a d...

We had expressed disappointment here yesterday as election results and cricket seemed to have diverted the attention from the burning issue of our society—the subhuman fiendish progression. The ‘human’ beings of India have   come back today attacking the evil in all fury. Protests and demonstrations broke out almost everywhere—from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Assam in the east. Busy as ever Mumbai too expressed its anger yesterday in spite of elections and cricket. In Delhi, the venue of the heinous crime, demonstrations were held in various places as thousands of people took to the streets.   In Raisina Hill (the campus where the President of India lives), in front of the house of the Congress President, in Safdarjung Hospital where the gangrape victim is still battling for life in the ICU, in the India Gate surroundings and so on. Protests ranged from angry outbursts and sloganeering to candle light processions.  Tomorrow the second and last T20 International cri...

Riding on a vintage knock by the player of the match Yuvraj Singh (38 off 21 balls) and useful contributions by Raina and Dhoni India registered a comfortable 5 wicket win over England in the first cricket Twenty20 match in Pune tonight. Captain Dhoni won the toss and elected to field maybe due to dew factor. England looked to be in position for a big total, but thanks to some good bowling by Dinda and Yuvraj folded up for a modest 157/6 in allotted 20 overs. Team India never had any serious problems chasing it down with more than two overs to spare. India lead the two-match Series 1-0. The Scorecard: Take a look at the England T20 cricket team—no Test team there at all except for one or two players with captain Cook going back home after a rewarding Series win. Whereas, it is almost the same Test team for India. And MS Dhoni—he captains India or Indian clubs in all possible formats of the game. Poor him! As we all know he cannot be changed or replaced, because he continues to be the ...

The ‘human’ beings of India have woken up to the brutal reality of the society they live in and erupted into angry and anguished protests and demonstrations held all over the country over the brutal gangrape of a 23 year old girl on a moving public bus in New Delhi Sunday night . As the victim continued to be critical the Rape capital of India saw huge outbursts of people—mostly the young generation including women in large numbers—in several localities of the city demanding answers from the government and local authorities in the basic issues of security to women, quick justice and prevention of crimes.   The incensed people in hundreds and thousands held demonstrations before the residence of the Delhi Chief Minister, Delhi police headquarters and in other high security VVIP areas. Police had to resort to water canons to disperse the protestors. As per latest reports protests are still going on across the country. One contrast came up instantly. The kind of security provided to...

  The deadly creatures prowl in hordes, always. In the street corners, in hotel or pub fronts, in the residential society entrances, in shops or restaurants outside school or college campuses, in movie theater junctions—to waylay and attack their victims. The deadlier creatures prowl in moving bikes, auto-rickshaws, cars, cabs, and even in public buses. Anytime, anywhere, everywhere. But their most favorite hours are always dark. If we call our country India Against Women then New Delhi is fittingly the Rape capital. The marauders of humanity are much more sinister than the corrupt. The corrupt can only rob you of your money or belongings or properties, but these creatures loot your honour, loot your body and loot your soul. Like the political bigots, like the devilishly ambitious bosses, like the blood sucking parasites—all feeding constantly on the capital’s evergreen pastures, the creatures here too are more powerful, mostly protected and subhuman. They are capable of even m...

England thoroughly deserved to win the cricket Test Series in India against India, and they won today forcing a draw in the fourth and last Test in Nagpur. Thus they have won a Test Series in India in 28 years—the last Series victory was in 1984-85 and the margin was also 2-1. The Series victory came despite losing the first Test, despite the rabid ‘Revenge Series’ slogan, despite the Indian pitches and threesome foursome Indian spinners, despite the ‘home’ conditions and crowds, despite poor umpiring decisions that mostly affected England till the fourth day of the fourth Test in Nagpur and despite Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.  England deserved to win because of their determined diehard professional approach, all-round performances in all disciplines of the game, a memorably prolific captain Cook leading from the front and the team playing as a cohesive unit. They won the Mumbai and Kolkata Tests convincingly thrashing a lackluster Team India as Cook went on creating hist...

Now it is Newton, Connecticut. Another tranquil and wealthy locality just 96 km north east of New York City, believed to be the safest place in United States of America. There is an educational institution named Sandy Hook Elementary School in the south west of Connecticut there. Young children aged between five to ten came there on Friday morning too as there was nothing special about that day. As made clear later a masked gunman carrying a rifle and two handguns entered the school and started firing like a madman. At least 27 people including 18-20 little innocent children and the school principal were killed before the state and federal authorities moved in and took the wounded to hospitals. The killer identified as 20 year old Adam Lanza was earlier mistaken for his elder brother Ryan Lanza. He was believed to have killed first his mother who was a teacher in the elementary school, drove his mother’s car into the school premises, fired blindly at least 100 rounds and then killed ...

That the normally greenish bouncing pitch in Nagpur behaved like an under-prepared one from the first day yesterday maybe thanks to MS Dhoni’s diktats, he lost the toss though this time. That India included four spinners and a lonely pace bowler called Ishant Sharma. That India managed to put England in a spot thanks not to the spinners galore, but to the lone pacer. That India allowed England to wriggle out of the spot easily and later on in different similar spots too, though India did manage to slow down run-scoring which rather helped England as they would win the Series with a draw. That on Dhoni’s pitch England got to a healthy total of 330 runs thanks to brave low order efforts by Prior and spinner Swann. That England’s two excellent spinners got more of the pitch than the four Indian ones. That England put India on the backfoot reducing them to 87 for 4 at stumps on the second day today with all the top four guns back in pavilion. All these cricketing facts hardly matter. What ...