What the hell was Dhoni thinking?

I think by the time Dhoni played his knock of 36 off 66(?!!) balls and then got out, the damage was done. Australia were well and truly on their way to victory.

I mean, 36 off 66 precious deliveries? Alright, they needed to ensure they didn't lose any more wickets. But then, a strike rate of just over 50 in a one-day match while chasing a huge total of 317 runs?

By the time he got out, India was left needing 169 runs off 117 deliveries at a rate of about 8.5 an over with 5 wickets in hand - an almost impossible task that was only made to look possible by Uthappa's brilliant cameo.

The Indian skipper should have done better than what he came up with today. I hope all those recently played matches where he has had to graft an innings picking up ones and twos, have not robbed him off his shot-making abilities.

Sachin deserves that knighthood even more now

I had written about that knighthood that could possibly come Sachin Tendulkar's way. Now, after this sterling, still unbeaten, performance from Sachin at Adelaide, I guess the officials concerned need to rush with the honouring formalities!

He has really proved his class by the manner in which he totally dominated the bowlers. Man, you've got to respect him for the way he has carried on and on doing his stuff inspite of all that has happened around him. So much pressure, so many expectations. Anyone else will have definitey crumbled.

Anyway, that's just about one innings in one day of one test match. Still a long way to go in the game. I guess we'll get upto about 400 in the first innings. Then it's upto the bowlers to rework the magic that hapened at Perth.

Awesome deals

Off-topic

When you visit a website by the name savebuckets, you start wondering what it can be about. But when you visit the site, you will realize that the site could not have been named better. It is all about saving buckets of money! Hence the name 'savebuckets'! The site sports a huge array of products offered by different shops neatly classified by category. I was searching for mp3 players and somehow ended up at savebuckets. And thank god for that. The site has a very pleasing and easily navigable layout that makes the shopping experience a pleasant one. As if the neat and profitable deals themselves are not enough! Searching for a product in the site is easy and the comprehensive and well written buying guides only make things better. Well, I guess I am buying that mp3 player. And maybe I'll indulge myself even further and get a good gaming console too!

Knighthood for Sachin?

I hadn't thought about this earlier. But I guess the English should be enjoying every moment of the ongoing test series against India where the Australians have surprisingly found themselves at the receiving end. Atleast, the British Prime Minister seems to be happy.

Just a little something that I came across on the Internet:

Can Sachin Tendulkar join the honoured ranks of Sir Don Bradman or Sir Gary Sobers? Well, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown certainly seems to think so. If he had his way, he would recommend the little master for a knighthood.

"I would like to see some of the great players of the modern era — like Sachin Tendulkar — proposed for honorary awards so the British nation can salute their achievements in these sports."

If Brown's remarks come true, we could be looking at the first Indian sports knight. In between courting trade and investment from India and China visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown showed where his heart really lay — at the WACA stadium in Perth.

"I believe it was a good tradition to celebrate the achievements of the great Commonwealth cricketers. Obviously these are issues for the independent honours committee, but - hope they will consider it."

Well, looking at the way Sachin Tendulkar has made a silent yet thumping comeback inspite of all the criticisms, he does deserve any honour, I suppose.

Home plans

Off-topic
Charting a house plan is a pretty complicated affair. There are just so may things to be considered. Plus, other than just preparing a plan like you want it, you will also want to see to it that the costs wouldn't ultimately cross your budget. Consequently, owing to the complications involved, you would normally choose a professional to make the plan for you. But here's another way. HousePlansAndMore.com allows you to just enter your various criteria such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you want, the plot area, your budget limit etc. and you'll have plans ready for you to choose from and download(at a price, of course). So, whether you are in need of Log Home Plans, Ranch house plans or bungalow house Plans, you can find all of them there, easily, from the comfort of your home. Great plans, minimal efforts. What more could you ask for?

On dropping Ganguly and Dravid

Now, there has already been so much said on the selectors' decision to leave out Ganguly and Dravid from India's ODI team for Australian series. So I will spare you the pain of reading all that stuff again.

All I'll say is that my take on the issue is that it is surely better for the team. After all, ODI cricket is almost totally about slambang stuff and yougsters can do the job better. Plus, there are so many talented(and powerful!) young guys waiting to get into the team too.

So lets hope this young team does well in Australia and we get to see some awesome cricket.

And by the way, Sreesanth has already gotten into aggressive mode. This is going to be fun!

Web host search

Let me help you along with your search for a web-host. Go to web hosting choice and perform a search specifying all the features you expect off a web-host. You could either do a quick search there or there is this awesome advanced search page there that lets you specify almost every single detail. Now, that should be helpful.

We've won...and how!!!

No joy like the joy of victory. No joy like the joy of defeating a World Champion team in their own backyard. No joy like the joy of watching rookie pacemen rendering doyens of the game in the opposition clueless. No wonder these guys have gone mad with joy!! So have I...






Uncork the champagne bottle everyone..

A beautiful day of cricket ahead

What an awesome contest this India-Australia match at pacy Perth is turning out to be! No Zaheer, no Sresanth and no Munaf and yet there were three Indian fast bowlers who could skittle out the Australian batsmen for a mere 212 runs. Booming hurrays for RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma who have done what I, atleast, had thought to be unthinkable. If bowlers win test matches, then India must and should win this one.

Also, looking at the way the Australian batsmen themselves struggled against the subtle movement and extra bounce, I am full of awe for the way Dravid and Sachin played yesterday. Truly fine batsmen, they are.

The lead for India is now a good 170 runs. Sehwag is still there and looking very very good. The Indians are surely in the driver's seat and if they can give the Australians a target of above 400 to chase then we should be in with a very good chance of winning the game.

But then as Ponting had said before the match commenced, the Australians are desperate for victory. A win here will enable them to create history, which means they will make it as tough as possible for India, which in turn means there is a riveting third day's play ahead!

Anil Kumble's 600

Congrats, Anil! What a feat!