Carlton Tri-Series Cricket: Virtual Semifinal India Vs England!

If Team India is proven third time lucky tomorrow then they will definitely play Australia in the Carlton Mid Tri-Series Cricket Final on 1^stFebruary 2015. India got what they wanted on 23^rd January when Australia defeated a resurgent England overcoming a huge 300+ target with three wickets in hand and just a ball to spare. India proved lucky again on India’s Republic Day, 26^th January, when they got hold of two precious points through the backdoor as their crucial match against undefeated Australia got washed out due to persistent rains. India did not look to be in a sound position to hope vanquishing a dangerous Australia in that match. Now, with these two points, India just needs to defeat England who have 5 points from the match against India including a bonus point straight and simple without bothering about bonus points or run rate pressures. Their two injured players, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma, have come back into the team and this could be crucial in the Perth encounter tomorrow. Therefore, if they are lucky and professional enough in tomorrow’s virtual semifinal they will be through to the final. Australia is already through to the final with 15 points.

However, England with their batsmen in form, and pacers Finn and Anderson already proving lethal against the shaky Indian batting line-up would try very hard indeed to ensure a place in the final. England would also be looking for some extra bounce in the Perth pitch to pressurize the Indian batsmen like they did in the last encounter. They have a score to settle with Australia too after two consecutive defeats.

For India the biggest worry continues to be opener Shikhar Dhawan who has a string of failures so far and it is difficult for the captain to drop him because of World Cup prospects and that Rohit Sharma is yet to be declared fit. This crisis of options is set to haunt India in the coming World Cup too and a lot depends on how they would deal with the questions we raised in these pages. Amabati Rayadu is not looking comfortable at No. 3 and only God knows why Virat Kohli is not being played at his customary No. 3 position. If they are to win the match tomorrow, give a good contest in the final and to have positive run-up to the World Cup-2015 they must settle their issues now. Anyway, we are in for a big match tomorrow in Perth.

Comments

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...