Pranabda, Tondulkar and Chasnala tragedy

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The business of news can be very demanding, uncompromising and extremely cruel. What defines news depends not only on the gravity of the incident, but also on how many people it impacts and more importantly in today's world by the TRPs (if it's a news channel), pageviews (if it's a news website) and copies sold (if it's a newspaper). On all the three parameters the day Union Budget is presented in India is a big news day, preparations for which start weeks in advance in all the newsrooms across the country. And if on the same day Sachin Tendulkar, the demigod of Indian cricket, scores his 100th international century, no matter if it comes on a placid, batsman-friendly pitch against Bangladesh, the madness in a newsroom is complete. But what if the day is also a witness to a verdict announced in a 36-year-old case in which at....

Osama's death no reason for India to cheer

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Osama bin Laden is dead, the US has achieved what it set out to after 9/11 and Pakistan is red-faced that the world's most wanted terrorist was hiding right under the nose of its defence establishment. Osama was killed by US SEALs in Abbottabad as claimed by US President Barack Obama. With his death, the US claims it has avenged 9/11 attacks. While Osama's death has sparked off celebrations across the world and mourning is some areas what happened on May 2, 2011 in the sprawling mansion just a few hundred meters from the Pakistan Military Academy will never be fully known. India, too, has reacted with a sense of glee and awe at the daring operation carried by the US. While some sections in the government and military established are of the view that the US will now tighten the screws on the Pakistani establishment and force....

Jharkhand drama continues

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Finally the political uncertainty hovering over Jharkhand has been cleared with Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and All Jharkhand Students Union deciding to form the next government in the state. JMM chief Shibu Soren has managed to get his wish fulfilled by forcing other political parties to make him the chief minister of Jharkhand. But despite Soren taking over the reigns of Jharkhand, the youngest state of India continues to suffer from political instability as the recent Assembly results had once again thrown a hung Assembly. Even though the BJP-JD(U)-JMM-AJSU combine is all set to assume power but nothing is going to stop such a desperate group of MLAs from switching sides if they get a more lucrative offer from the other side. And history has shown us that in the last nine years this is exactly what has happened. The rules of....

Time for Calypso and Samba

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Team India is in the land of Calypso and will be hoping to continue their good run in the ODIs and also extend it to the Test match arena. With the current West Indies team just a poor shadow of the team of the 1970s and 1980s and India boasting of a good pace attack, the visitors would want to repeat the success of 1971 when they won the Test series. West India have a new skipper in Brian Lara and with the recent succcess against Zimbabwe, their confidence will be sky high. Lara, who is in the twilight of his career, would also want to set the records right in what is most likley to be his last test series against India. Playing in fimiliar conditions at home would also give then the extra edge and with the next World Cup in their homeland, the....

The charge of the small towns

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Ranchi and Rae Bareily, two towns most people would find difficult to locate on the Indian map, have become much talked about by the Indian cricketing fraternity. The first one is the capital of the youngest state of the Indian Union while the latter is more famous for a Bollywood song, as Lok Sabha constituency of late Indira Gandhi and the flying academy named after her. Ranchi has been more famous for producing hockey players who have excelled on the world stage and only one player from the state, Subroto Banerjee, had represented the country in an international cricket match before the a long haired, rock star looking guy by the name of Mahendra Singh Dhoni burst on the cricketing arena. Banerjee, who played while Jharkhand was still part of Bihar, donned the Indian colours for one Test and six ODIs before fading away. But Dhoni....

Yaaaawn! Testing patience

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Three series in less than two years. Are we killing the golden goose? Unlike the last two tours in 2004 and 2005 the ongoing cricket series has failed to take the subcontinent by storm. What ever hype was there for the Tests has been killed by the dead Lahore pitch and the weather Gods. With over 1000 runs scored with only eight wickets falling in nealry four days of play that was possible would have put even the die hard criket fans to sleep. All the bowlers were at the mercy of the broad bats of the Yousuf Khans, Mohammad Yousufs, Shahid Afridis, Kamran Akmals and Virender Sehwags with many batting records falling like nine pins as the bowlers looked pedestrian. The cherry kept on disappearing out of the boundary on a regular basis. With a pitch like Lahore's who need to raise the bogey of ODIs....

What's the role of Ganguly?

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A game of musical chair seems to be on within Team India. First, it was the choice of the team for the Pakistan tour, when in order to include a sulking Sourav Ganguly a 16-member squad was chosen. With the former captain coming in direct competition with the young, energetic and inform Yuvraj Singh for a slot in the middle order, his place in the playing XI was in doubt. Skipper Rahul Dravid said on the eve of the Lahore Test that the final decision on the playing XI would be taken just before the toss. But, the selectors sprang a surprise when news came out that Ganguly had been chosen to open the innings with Virender Sehwag. Poor Gautam Gambhir and Wasim Jaffer, who had made the trip across the border with high hopes of facing the new cherry hurled by Shoiab Akhtar at over 90-miles/....

Ganguly and regionalism

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The controversy surrounding the sacking of Sourav Ganguly from the Test team has taken entire India and even other cricketing countries by storm. While no one can deny the selection committee their right to pick up the team but everyone expects some transparency in the procedure, which the Indian selectors are not know for. The sacking of Ganguly, the most successful Indian Test captain has been given a communal colour as most of his supporters are from West Bengal, Ganguly's home state. His supporters and even neutral cricket fans see coach Greg Chappell and current captain Rahul Dravid behind Ganguly's ouster. While the real reason behind Ganguly's ouster may never come out, what has been shameful is that his supporters have taken his sacking as an insult to Bengali pride, if ever there was such a thing. According to them the pride of Bengal has....