Nailing down Aussies:

Pre-Match:
The frenzy atmosphere was set on 24th March, 2011 at Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. The odds were against India considering their previous record at Motera.



The Quarter-Final clash between India and Australia is zeroed down to pride-war between Sachin and Ponting. Undoubtedly they are the best batsmen of the modern-era. The gripping moment is to watch --- “Who will win the legacy battle and ends up on the winning side?”

Finally the heat was on… temperatures are up and rising … can India pull this time … at least for the Master Blaster … lot of questions pondering from all the corners … the only sure thing is match would be intriguing, spell bounding and will test our syndromes.

Match:

Ponting won the toss and without any concern opted for batting.



Australians had a dim start and Ponting’s sublime effort gave relief to Australia. Keeping back the poor form with bat, Ponting turned the tables, audience (who booed him) and the critics with a scintillating century. Undoubtedly it was one of his best centuries under pressure.

For India bowling and fielding clicked finally as a unit to content Aussies to 260. Zak, Yuvi, Bhajji and Ashwin bowled as per the plan to keep the Aussies in check.



Indians started their batting steadily but Sehwag’s wicket at 44 runs gave much needed break to Aussies. Sachin and Gambhir steadied the ship with half-centuries but Sachin’s wicket in 19th over was a big blow to India. Then there was a slump in Indian's chase to reach 187/5 with 74 required from 76 balls.

Yuvraj and Raina played innings of their life to keep India afloat for the victory. Yuvraj boundaries to Tait and Lee, Raina’s six to Lee eased the pressure and tension in Indian camp. Yuvraj’s boundary in 48th over made India to cross the victory line. The emotions after the match did the speaking.



Post-Match:

It was a sluggish end to Ponting and Australia in the world-cup after being champions for the last three times. However Ponting left with high head by scoring the lone century in the match. Sachin’s endurance is going to semi-final now. Gritty Indians did everything to stop Aussies.

Now the focus is shifting to Mohali, where India will take on Pakistan. It can’t get bigger than this.

India needs to conquer three M’s- Motera Mohali and Mumbai. First M is conquered; let us wish India and the Master to triumph in the next two M’s.

Jai Hind !!!

FIFA 2k10 Conclusions

FIFA 2k10 Conclusions:
The FIFA carnival came to closure with Spain emerging as undisputed kings of world’s football.
The Paulo’s predictions hit cent percent with the results in finals and third place-off match.
Germany won the third place consecutively for the second time beating Uruguay 3-2 in a close game.

FIFA finals:

The most important match of the best sport in the world ended after 120 minute battle between Holland and Spain.
The teams attacked throughout the game but the only breakthrough happened in 116th minute when Iniesta scored for Spain. Robben missed 2 golden chances and erased the hopes of Dutch.

The FIFA fever has ended now, the blogs and journals will also come to an end in a week or so. So this is a small update to my blog after the finals as my FIFA ended after Germany’s loss to Spain in semis. So ending my FIFA marathon here and will expect that these blogs would be used for a quick reference in future(at least for me) .

Will come up with some new topics and updates in the near future ……

Keep checking …

FIFA semifinals synopsis

FIFA Semifinals Results:
It’s again Paulo’s monarchy rule in FIFA. Its predictions are ending the team’s kismet. It’s disappointing result for me but I want to complete the blogging on FIFA, so coming up with a small write-up.

Dutch vs Uruguay: The “Hand OF God” Suarez missed this match and it costed Uruguay to enter the finals. Dutch played splendid football and entered finals of FIFA2k10, who could have expected that Dutch reaches the finals. It was a commendable team performance from Dutch. The first half was tied at 1-1 with the captains Van Bronckhorst and Diego Forlan scoring the first goal for their teams.

The second half was more of Dutch’s supremacy. Schneider and Robben gave early breaks taking the lead to 3-1. Uruguay fought till the last minute and the last minute goal reduced the lead to 3-2, which was not enough for Uruguans. So, Dutch entered the FIFA finals for third time and let’s see how it fares in the Final.

Germany vs Spain:
This was the most hyped match and ended on one side’s brilliance and the awful display from other side. Spain dominated the whole match giving no glimpse of hope to Germany and won 1-0 with Puyol’s header. It was very disappointing to see Germans playing the way they did after their superb performance against Argentina. Germans were never in contention.
Paulo’s prediction came as an eye-opener. So finally Spain entered FIFA finals for the first time.

Forecast:
Now we are left with only 2 matches in this FIFA mania. The first match will be played between Germany and Uruguay. Germany should win this to take 3rd place as a consolation win to all its supporters.

The final is between Netherlands and Spain. I am going 50-50 with this match as both are in good form but Spain could be starting as favorites.

Paulo predicted wins for Germany and Spain. So let’s wait for the new champions.

Introduction to Ragha on his phd achievemnt.

There's a saying, "The devil is in the details." But that's not where you'll find our star. Our star has tackled big challenges, and big opportunities. In fact, over the years, he's been intimately involved in just about every important aspect of research. His record speaks for itself. To mention just a few highlights:
He was born on 1983 and called his mother ala mother-board, and under his leadership we took a giant leap in improving the quality of our C-language and APS assignments He went on to head up the reorganization that streamlined research in IISc and PhD in IITm, so that students are far more efficient and competitive than ever before. And now he's in charge of Computer Architecture in IIT-Madras, getting us ready to make the most of his research as we look to a promising future. He's here today to paint for us a vivid picture of that future. I'm pleased to introduce Raghavendra(The Giant in Research).
He is gearing to hold a new degree PhD which transfixes our imagination on research.
I wondered hearing the 3 letter word PhD, does it mean Piss Head Dude or Piled Higher and Deeper or Doctor of Philosophy. Whatever it means or meant this guy is going to give PhD and research a rollercoaster ride.

The above introduction is for my friend Ragha for his Phd seat ...

FIFA 2010 Quarters Results

FIFA 2010 Quarters Results:

The Quarter-finals had surprises and some exciting matches. The surprising results are Netherlands win over Brazil and Germany thrashing Argentina. For me Germany’s win is obvious. The Global field of 100 Football Fan Economists polled by Reuters mentioned Brazil as favorites followed by Spain and Argentina.

So lets see the results and how the Global field Economists failed with their polls.

Netherlands vs Brazil:


Except Dutch the whole world was expecting that Brazil will win comfortably. But to add spice it was a jolt to all Brazilian supporters. After dominating the first half 1-0, a great goal by Robinho it was a mediocre display in the second half by Brazil. Dutch didn’t play well in the first half but it was a marvel display by them in the second half. Schneider was the match-maker for them in scoring 2 goals making the end result 2-1 in favor of Dutch.

Nothing went fine for Brazil in the second half. Red card to Felipe Melo and Kaka’s form made it easy for Dutch.

Uruguay vs Ghana:

This is the best match of the quarters. The match between Uruguay and Ghana has proved itself to be one of the most controversial matches in the history. There have been many ‘Hands’ in the history of football but never at this stage of the World Cup and in such a way. The last second goal in the first half by Muntaro gave the initial lead to Ghana in the first half 1-0.
But it was again Forlan for Uruguay whose free-kick outside the D-box equaled the lag 1-1. There after it was an even match with both the teams trying for the lead. The most gripping part of the game is the last minute of Extra-Time. Ghana got the free kick and after the kick the ball stayed jammed in the “D” for a while after which a header that was crossing over Luis Suarez was sent back by firm tow hands. Only that those were not the hands of the keeper.


Though he stopped the goal he was sent off for the foul and Ghana were awarded a penalty which Asamoah Gyan took. Unfortunately he missed the penalty hitting the top bar in the process which led the ball outside.
Uruguay won the match from there on penalties. Suarez is now seen as a cheat by almost everyone, but what is actually sad is that in his own country of Uruguay, he is seen as a hero.

Germany vs Argentina:



A lot of buzz was created for this match naming it as the best match of world cup and so on. But the Superior Germans thrashed Argentina. The result shocked Argentina fans because they were completely overshadowed by their European rivals Germany. They were routed 4-0.
The 3rd minute goal from Mueller gave the initial lead to Germany and from then Argentines were never in the game. Klose’s 2 goals and Freidrich’s goal made it 4-0. Schwansteiger, Podolski, Khedira, Oezil, Neuer and Lahm also played exceptionally well. Nothing went fine for Argentina and Maradonna.

Spain vs Paraguay:


Spain won the match comfortably and it was again David Villa who scored the only goal of the match. It was heartbreak for all the Paraguay supporters who played exceptionally well.
Spain will be facing Germans and Dutch will be facing Uruguans in the semis. So let’s wait for Paulo’s pick and matches to see the finalists.

An unsual day in Hyderabad.

It was in the month of March,2010 when I was planning for shopping in Hyderabad. The occasion for shopping was my brother’s marriage. The situation in Hyderabad was dampening with Telangana issue.
On March 6th, the OU students and Telangana JAC triggered “Chalo Assembly” movement for the separate statehood of Telangana. My blog is not to comment on the movement of Telangana but to share my bizarre experiences on that day.

Phase-1 (Journey from Kacheguda Rly stn to my home):


It was around 6am, when I got down from Kacheguda Express in Kacheguda. Those are the days when I used to spend some rigorous time in GYM( don't think of any action in this episode). My home is in Himayat Nagar, around 4kms from station. So I started to take a brisk walk to my home, at that point I don’t have any idea of this movement.

I reached Barkatpura Junction in no time(around 6 20 AM). There I was amazed to see the police battalion blocking the roads and not allowing vehicles and commuters to go towards Narayanaguda. Then I enquired about the movement and came to know that all the roads leading to Assembly were blocked till the assembly sessions are completed (till 2pm). So it gave me a clear picture that Himayat Nagar was completely blocked.

I waited there for 20mins and went straight towards Chikkadpalli, then went to Narayanaguda Circle. It was blocked completely. Then I urged the police people and crossed one side to reach Deepak Theatre. As I am from the same place I know all the routes that leads to my home. I took a small road adjacent to Deepak Theatre and went to Himayat Nagar junction. It was an entertaining walk with the people throughout the road talking about the issue and its effects.

I reached Himayat Nagar Junction and it was no surprise that all roads were blocked. Its again the time to urge police and went to home around 7 30AM, ending the marathon after 90mins covering around 6+ kms.

My parents warned me to skip shopping after listening to my marathon. But I convinced them and started to Hyderabad Central (Panjagutta) around 9AM. Its around 7kms from my home.

Phase-2:


Its again time to walk and started to do the same and reached Liberty. As it was office time its good to see a lot of people on roads which gave me a hope to reach Central. Liberty Circle is fully blocked by police personnel. People going to office got fumed up seeing the blockage and started to criticize the police and government. I was a observer there seeing and listening to all the tantrums. Then after some time I started to move though a small passage as commuters are allowed to pass. Then the tantrums turned violent as they started to throw stones on police and I was lucky to sneak though and the passage was also blocked.

Now it’s the time to see the drama on secretariat road. This was the moment I seriously thought to go back to home but some crazy thought told me to move on. Commuters are also blocked here and only Secretariat employees are allowed to pass by. One personnel stopped me and asked me to show ID card as I was trying to sneak through. I showed him my PAN card to castigate him and told that I was a software employee. He shouted at me that only Secretariat people would be allowed and later allowed me (I was lucky there). I was laughing at myself for the PAN card one and entered the Lumbini Park road.

This road is one of the best roads in Hyderabad but it was a surprise to see it empty with no life on it. I could see only military and police people with AK-47. I started to head towards Khairtabad. I was terrified with the military people over there. It reminded me scenes from movie BOMBAY. It was like a curfew situation and I started to pray God to not give me any more surprises for the day. I reached Necklace Road circle and entered Khairatabad flyover to cross Khairtabad. After that there was no blockage for me as I am moving away from Assembly.


I thought of taking an auto to Central but later avoided it to complete my journey with my own mode(walking). I completed the next 3kms walk and reached Central around 10 30AM. It was an exciting journey throughout in my favorite place Hyderabad.

Then I met my friends Prasad and Pavan and did shopping and reached home around 8pm. This was my unusual experience in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad is always a happening place for both good and bad, but sad to see that the bad is dominating now-a-days. But it’s just like a spice to add more flavor to the city and lets hope for the redeem culture to be revived with full peace in the next few years.

The Bharat Bandh on July5th, over fuel price rise prompted me to write this blog.

Preview of Germany vs Argentina match

Argentina vs Germany Preview:

Both the teams had a controversial route to this match benefiting from the referee decisions. But the margin of win masks the controversy.
Argentina and Germany are facing each other on 3 July at Green Point Stadium, Capetown which is going to be a mouth-watering tale.

Argentina so far:
Argentina stormed to three wins and maximum points in their group games and did it with a flair and style that cannot have failed to impress. Their most cautious game was the opener against Nigeria, which they won through an early goal by Gabriel Heinze. But Argentina ran riot against South Korea, with Gonzalo Higuain scoring a hat-trick in the 4-1 victory. In the final group match against Greece, Martin Demichelis and Martin Palmero gave Argentina a 2-0 victory.

Not to forget Messi and his creation of chances for goals. The opposition teams are bringing him down whenever he gets the ball, which was a concern for Maradonna.

The pre-quarter bash started with the controversial goal by Carlos Tevez that should not have stood on twenty-six minutes. The Mexican players were still reeling from the decision when Argentina added a second through Gonzalo Higuain just five minutes later. Carlos Tevez scored with an indisputable wonder strike early in the second half and Manchester United’s new signing Javier Hernandez pulled one back for the Mexicans, but it was too little too late.

Germany so far:
Germany have scored four goals beating Australia 4-0 in the first group game before losing 1-0 to Serbia and then beating Ghana by the same score.

Klose’s exit against Serbia facing red card was a turnover. Two minutes later Serbia registered its first goal. Adding to the woos was Podolski’s bizarre form who missed a Penalty-Kick. After an impressive start over Australia this was never expected.
Ozil’s blinder against Ghana made them to enter round 16.

Germany outplayed England 4-1 but the first half was clouded in the controversy over England’s goal that was not allowed.

Betting odds:
The bookmakers have Argentina as favorites to progress, but fifa 2006 quarter-finals should be remembered when both sides ended with penalty shootout. Germany won the penalty shooutout.

The Paulo(Octopus) picked Germany as the winners for the match so lets wait for the result. It predicted correctly all the Germany matches so this pick is very interesting.

Players views :


Mueller said “Beating Argentina would be a great job certainly. Who doesn’t want to win against a team that has Maradona as coach and Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez as forwards?”
“The Argentine coach, I believe, is criticising the referees for not being able to pull up the defenders for fouling Messi. That’s unfair on the defenders. Messi keeps the ball for long periods. So, what are the defenders supposed to do? You can’t ask them to stop tackling Messi,” said the lanky midfielder, Schweinsteiger.


“We are in the quarterfinal but also know that Germany is a different team than Mexico. It’s stronger but we’ll field the right players in order to beat Germany,” Maradona said.

"I was more afraid of Mexico than Germany, Because the Mexicans play better football. They took the ball from us in the first minutes of the first half and at the start of the second. We would have suffered more if we hadn't struck at the right moments.", Tevez said.