RCB and I...IPL 2009

From no hopers to party poopers, the previous seasons must have been a roller coaster of sorts for all RCB fans. I am no different.More than the inaugral season, IPL 2009 was a remarkable one for me. Of course, RCB's surge to the No. 2 spot does play a major role, but apart from that I had my fair share of experiences trying to catch my favourite team in action.

Painful dental treatments, maddening college submissions, bets with Mumbai Indians fanatic friends, University exams...I've braved them all.  To begin with, the 7:30pm dental appointments for a root canal, annoyingly coincided with the days the Royal Challengers played.Little did I know that my doc was a die hard Dada fan, hence the RCB omission. Then the projects/files submissions,every engineering student dreads them, too failed act as a deterrent. Each time Jumbo and Co. won in the league stage and upped their semifinal chances, I had a great time basking in RCB glory while my MI supporter friends went green with envy.  Then the University exams which unfortunately spanned over a month while the IPL was on. With my text books in the deep and me glued to SET Max at the slips, my folks had a tough time wondering what was in store for me. Even after the presentation ceremony was over, hour long analysis as to what could have wrong or what clicked for the team, with my RCB loyalist dad and heated arguments with my MI supporter sibling (who always felt RCB matches were rigged) kept me away from books. Somewhere past 1am, with the victory/loss finally sinking in , the 'Oh i got my exams' syndrome creeping in , I used to finally make way for my books burning the midnight oil. Ah...getting all nostalgic now.

With IPL 2010 on the cards... bigger and better, thanks to RCB FFC, cant wait to don the Red and Gold jersey and watch them take
over the unfinished task, from the ravenous runners ups to coveted champs.

P.S. Would love to know your RCB experiences. Do leave them as comments.

Even the rivals are watching us

Just yesterday the fan club was buzzing with how we fanatics wear RCB'ianism on our sleeves, courtesy Ragunath's post.
And today I get a message from Mr.Anil Srivatsa, CEO, Kings XI Punjab, in reply to one of my posts. Its reads : "Hope I can convert your loyalty to KXIP and get you blog for us in our lions den"



With IPL fever catching up and activities at the RCB site at its helm, I'm not remotely surprised by Mr. Srivatsa's comment. Great going!

Playground of the Bold and the Beautiful

Third day into the India-SA test and I haven't got a whiff of the Nagpur clash. Call it withdrawal symptoms...naaa.. its the Signature Indian Derby thats kept me and few other RCB fanatics on saddles and toes, literally 

Day 1
Gung ho about the covering India's richest racing event, Community Manager Nidhi, Fanatics Mahesh, Niyati and I, were in for some incredible experience at the Mahalaxmi Race Course, Mumbai. Tribute performances to Micheal Jackson and Tina Turner, Europe's leading illusionist- Jay Witlox, The Force India Car, Luxury cars up for grabs, flea market and of course the nail biting horse races, this event had it all. The grandeur and glitz of horse races had never quite beckoned me to follow the sport but after this two day stint at the Derby I add another sport to my existing list of cricket,tennis and F1.

The four of us being first timers for a racing event, finally got the hang of what was happening by the end of the sixth race. Till then we were too amazed by the octagenarians geared up with binoculars,yelling at their betting prospects,(their zeal could put even the youth to shame  ) ,the who's who of Mumbai's elite posing for the shutterbugs. The horses and mares bearing weird names like Doi Moi, Romantic Impact, Super Kings, Rajastahn Royals, Any time Money to name a few became the hot topic of our discussion. There was entertainment galore throughout the Race Course with performances by international artists and the uber-cool and stylish hub – a state-of-the art air-conditioned hanger was abuzz with activity and a special carnival atmosphere with a tarot card reader, designer stalls- a complete flea market feel.

Day 2
Niyati and I, were joined by her brother, Nishit and Chief Fan Sidharth, on the second day at the race course. The finest thoroughbreds, country's creme de la creme flaunting their haute couture, celebs from the Bollywood brigade this day had it all. And yes..how could I forget the flamboyant owner of RCB Dr. Vijay Mallya and his son Sidhartha Mallya, accompanied by a South actress (pardon my kannada actors know how)



The 10 races saw the crowd go through the highs and lows as champions and contenders competed for the super prizes and trophies.
'Jacqueline' the record breaking filly was the crowd puller on Day 2 of the derby. The most electrifying event of the day, the Jackpot Race was scheduled at 5:15 pm and the four of us were right there in the front at the gates to capture the biggest race of the season.



The pundit’s predictions and the masses most wanted, Jacqueline, took the winners accolades in 'a come from behind' victory. The filly, owned by Mr & Mrs Vijay B. Shirke, K N Dhunjibhoy and Mr Berjis Desai and trained by Pesi Shroff, powered forward with a last minute burst that took it through the finish line. Bangalore bred Becket the closest competitor to Jacqueline gave way to a startling photo finish. Ah... reminded me of the IPL dark horses, RR,DC and RCB.

Two fun filled days at the racecourse, couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

P.S. With too many pics to upload and space constraints here's a better option to have a look at all the action the we managed to capture.

Niyati's Photo album
My photo album

Desperately seeking 'victory'

Karnataka lost the nailbiting thriller by just six runs. Overall, the great exhibition of cricket between Karnataka vs Mumbai, paved way for a unanimous comment all over "What a Match..!!! Domestic cricket at its best" .Karnataka started the day trailing by a challenging 203 runs with seven wickets in hand, but Pandey's free-flowing innings threatened to turn it into a stroll. Manish Pandey, who got out for a duck in the first innings, fought back his side with a brilliant 144 from 151 deliveries in the second. With 83 required, Iqbal Abdulla claimed Pandey, and the rest of the bowlers took turns in stunning the Mysore full house again and again. Agarkar fittingly took the last wicket, an easy return catch to send back S Aravind.
Oh..A nail biting, nerve wrecking finish! Rightly quoted or should I say Tweeted by Ayaz Memon "Except that this time Mumbai have finished winners. But in an enthralling match like this, there are no losers. Well played K'taka"

Mumbai reiterated its legacy as one of the best domestic teams in the world after lifting the coveted Ranji Trophy for a record 39th time. They are seven behind New South Wales and eight championship wins ahead of England’s Yorkshire. Commendable feat I must admit. No other side has dominated the national championship as much as Mumbai has done. This can be gauged from the simple fact that after Mumbai, Delhi is the most successful side in tournament's history with just 7 title wins. Karnataka following close with 6 wins in their kitty.
An Excellent game of Cricket...will be remembered for the efforts of the stars of the season (read: A Mithun, Vinay Kumar ,Dhawal, Manish Pandey and Ajit Agarkar)

The RCB stars who shone were-
* Manish Pandey,he has all the makings of another Sehwag, but he would please a cricket purist too with his timing and placement. It is not only wham, bam after all. And also his extraordinary catch went on to become a Youtube classic, aptly titled as 'The catch of the century' (video enclosed)
*Abhimanyu Mithun, the leading wicket taker in the series (47) and a 'hit-the-deck' bowler who relies on pace and swears by bouncers and yorkers.
*Vinay Kumar, following his team mate close with 46 wickets,skittled Mumbai on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final.

Brimmimg with talent, hope these youngs guns make it to the national side too (theVirat Kohli way) or atleast to BCCI's list of graded players.

A Decade of Perseverance

Last evening while Team India was at the brink of victory against SL at Cuttack, another set of veteran players were receiving an honour from the CNN-IBN team & the Prime Minister, at Delhi. Indian cricket team, which scaled the peak of Test cricket to break on through to the No. 1 spot for the first time ever, was given a special prize which was collected by former India captains Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid along with VVS Laxman and Murli Karthik.
Surprisingly some of them are not even a part of the team today but have been highly instrumental in scripting the No.1 Test status, over the last decade.A culmination of the combined efforts of former players, captains, coaches, the support staff and the administrators. It all started with Dada spearheading the team in 2000, Dravid taking over the baton from him, Kumble stepping in when India was at crossroads and eventually Dhoni leading the pack very ably now.



All this made me delve into my archives and contradict a blog I had written in 2007. A blog where I had glorified Dravid's captaincy to epic proportions...a cumulative effect of the fact that I am his ardent fan and was overwhelmed by his stand then. Something that evoked awe and admiration than conviviality. Come to think of it, I feel he hasn't been an extraordinary skipper. Its just that he's used his available resources well. Here's the post -

It is not easy to be a cricketer in India.To be the captain of the Indian Cricket Team is to be the punching bag of the nation. The problem perhaps lies not in the actions of our cricketers but in the aspirations that we choose to place on them. Our cricketers carry the burden of an entire nation's fragile self image.
For the teams' sake Rahul Dravid decided to withdraw from the ICC 20-20 WORLD CUP. For his own sake he's now sacrificed the 'extra-special' privilege of captaining India.both according to me are praiseworthy decisions. After all in world run by power hungry and over ambitious indiviuals who would give up the country's most high -profile and sought after job?
Who would opt out just after winng THE HOLY GRAIL in cricket -A TEST SERIES IN ENGLAND? But even this series win was over shadowed by the much hyped 'follow-on controversy'. Could we read Dravid's actions differently?? Could it not be that, far from wanting to shy away from winning, this was a move sought to cold-bloodedly guarantee the victory??? It requires a particular kind of strength to seal a petty victory rather than leave even a small chance of valorous defeat...!!! There is pattern to Dravid's behaviour, even when he was deputising Ganguly he took the ruthless decision to declare when Sachin was on the verge of a double century. His action could be read as the triumph of business like tough-mindedness over the nobler idealism of sport..!! Likewise India's captaincy contrary to the rosy picture is actually one of the most complicated and unrewarding tasks. Dravid is going away from captaincy on a high! Most of the guys hang on the job coz it gives them extensive media coverage, power over the team-mates and the license to stay on in the team even while not performing. Dravid clearly does not belong to that school. He knows his job well, that he's here to score runs for the team and stay on a winning roll. He'd rather be the best batsman than not-so-good captain and a laidback performer. Now how many can think so far and moreover so SELFLESSLY??

Anil Kumble-Captaincy material never tapped

If you ever wondered whether cricket was still a gentleman's game,then one look at Anil Kumble and all your doubts will be allayed. The leader makes his presence felt on and off the field-the team can't help but take their skipper's lead. He managed to script a turnaround for RCB in the second edition of the Indian Premier League.
In his own way Anil Kumble (Read: Jumbo's 5-5 against Rajasthan Royals in IPL-2) has made a statement for elder statesmen in the shortest format of the game. He embodies the fact that playing aggressively does not necessarily mean shouting or creating a ruckus. Instead, his single-minded focus has helped him instill fear in the minds of the rivals.
Kumble first captured the public's imagination by sweeping up wickets with his leg spin. And then by coming out to bowl with a bandaged jaw in a Test match in St John's, Antigua. Apart from that, Kumble has many firsts to his credit if you leave out his wicket tally. He was the first Indian cricketer to quit one form of the game and the first-ever specialist Test captain.

He was appointed as the Test captain at the end of his career, when India was at a crossroads and Dhoni needed a mentor, for a home series against Pakistan. He went on to win the series, the first home triumph against Pakistan in 27 years, before playing a big role in holding the side together during the controversial series in Australia.But Kumble, always the fighter, tried to build the side into a fighting unit. When Kumble left the international stage, the decision was met with a collective `Why now?' rather than a `Why not?'' from cricket-lovers across the world.



Jumbo knew his time was up when his hand took time to recover, for him to play for long. He was given a grand send-off but returned to the world stage yet again, on the IPL platform, where his leadership was instrumental in getting RCB to the final in 2009 after a disappointing first season. And more recently, in CLT20, he proved once more that age has no correlation to success in the slam bang version of the game.

P.S. For the Top 9 bloggers of RCB FFC this topic might ring a bell. We were given this very topic to blog on, from the Press stand of M Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

Season by season, brick by brick!

India has always produced several great batting legends and Rahul Dravid is definitely in the top notches of that list. Despite

making his Test Debut nearly six years after Tendulkar, he did not take time to catch up with the 'Little Master'. By the time Dravid

was in his early thirties, he was regarded at par with the big league with the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Vijay Merchant, Sachin

Tendulkar and others.

The Bangalore batsman made a patchy International ODI debut in the Singer Cup match in 1995-96. But he displayed

an early promise in his first few Test matches. His entry into Test cricket was in remarkable contrast to his ODI debut.

Nothing short of spectacular, I must say. He missed the opportunity to score a century on debut by a whisker, when he

cracked an elegant 95 in the Second Test at Lord's in April '96. The 1996 Debut for the awesome twosome who played

equally well though one (Saurav Ganguly) stole the show because of his magic 3 figures, while Rahul was denied the same,

falling mere 5 runs short.In the next Test at Notthingham, again coming in at number 7, Dravid scored 84, only to be overshadowed

by yet another Ganguly century.

If you can make runs on the English and Australian wickets you are universally regarded as a fine batsman; and Dravid was

already showing signs that he had the technique to adapt against seam and swing, as well as pace and bounce. Ever since

his Test Debut he was quickly stereotyped as a technically sound player capable of stonewalling against world's best bowling attacks.

His ramarkable fitness levels, strength of mind, fierce focus and the ability to adapt to the different conditions enabled him to be the

dependable and resilient batsman that he is today. There was this notion about Dravid being 'soft' . Nothing can be farther from the truth.

Beneath the pleasant exterior lurked a ruthless professional.

The year 1997 started off on a high for Dravid courtesy his maiden century in both the forms of the game. After comming off a slump ,

batting at No. 3 in the third Test in Johannesburg, scored his maiden century with 148 and 81, the top score in each innings to claim his

first Man of the Match award. His first century coming in a Test away from home, was a sign of things to come. Then taking a cue from Saeed

Anwar's feat of 194, Dravid notched up his first century in ODI's, at the Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. Three consecutive fifties against Sri Lanka

and Australia further cemented his stand as a reliable middle-order batsman. His Test average thus spiralled to 61.

Dravid was dropped from the ODI squad in the beginning of 1998. The selectors cited a reson that he wasn't adapting too well

to the shorter version of the game. He scored his second century in late 1998 against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test match, top-scoring

in both the innings with 148 and 44, but was unable to prevent an Indian defeat Two fifties against Australia at home and a century

against Zimbabwe helped Dravid build up an average of 45 by the end of 1998.

Dravid began the year 1999 commendably well with centuries in both the innings in the third Test against New Zealand at

Hamilton. He became the third Indian batsman after Vijay Hazare and Sunil Gavaskar to score centuries in both innings of a match.

He then continued his superb form in the ODI's too which later followed. The New Zealand tour was a mere pre-cursor as Rahul

went on to score two centuries and fifties in the 1999 WC in England thereby shattering a few myths.

Brilliant knocks at Columbo and Mohali ensured him a moderate session in the subcontinent

Four Test centuries that year ensured his Test average for that year was over 48.

This without doubt was his career defining season.

A classical stroke player who effortlessly blended substance with style. It was a treat to watch him play those pulls and cover

drives. Glad that he still creates magic when he steps out to bat. His prowess with the bat was not his sole area of specialization though.

The selfless player that he is, opted to keep wickets to restore the team's balance in ODI's, like a team man to the core.

He transformed himself into an astute finisher in the middle-order,strung together a series of awe-inspiring performances in

Test matches as India crept closer ro their quest of an overseas victory. Saving Tests and winning them became second nature to Dravid.

Greg Chappell has rightly said "History will show that he (Dravid) is one of the best players for anyone, forget India, anywhere, anytime.

He makes runs anywhere and does it consistently"

Dravid has taken every inning seriously. It matters little, whether he's batting on a seaming English wicket or a dead track in the

sub-continent. He just carries on with his job, that is, to score and score heavily at that. The sobriquet 'THE WALL' is accurate as it aptly

conveys the image of a man who does not let off his wicket easliy. Left to him, he would not like to let off his wicket at all. When it comes to

India's number three mainstay, what's in a name you argue. He's not 'God', that three letter word has been associated with Sachin Tendulkar.

So perhaps the reasoning goes , if you must call him something, you might as well call him 'The Wall'. But I personally feel that Dravid is stuck

with that inglorious epithet. 'The Wall' be damned. Rahul Sharad Dravid truly is a hell lot more than that!