Lets deviate a little from the Sourav Ganguly issue...

now its football frenzy all over the world, in India, more so Calcutta,
because this is considered the temple of Indian football which actually
eats, drinks and breathes football as much as it does for cricket.

As one caught in the World Cup fever, like many other Calcuttans, I have
always supported Argentina in the World Cup. The day of the
Argentina-Germany match, I was really tensed... the match was being
touted as a potential semifinal, as the team winning it is eventually
expected to win the Cup.

I sat to watch the match with the never-dying hope that my team will
finally make it to the top four. What followed next was 120 mins of
riveting action on the field, in which Argentina had been ahead in all
quarters, be it ball possession, skill and the few other nittie-gritties
that I dont even understand. Eventually, after playing well for most
part, leading the scoreline for 80 mins was not enough as once Germany
found a way to their goal, Argentina failed to return the favour once
again... and the match went to extra time and to penalty.
By then a few hazards had taken place in the Argentina team...
substituting Riqlame, Crespo, NOT PLAYING MESSI and the goalie getting
injured... were disasters and spelt doom for Argentina before and during
the penalty. On the other hand, the German goalie did a marvellous job
by making two saves.

So, thats it... the dream of one more Argentine World Cup remained
elusive. The absence of Argentine football messiah Diego Maradona from
the stands also startled me... though later I came to know the reason
for his absence has nothing to do with sports.

Now that the quarter finals are over, the road to a German World Cup
victory looks to paved. With Brazil gone, not able to play upto
expectation, and France improving in every match, lets see what the next
few days have in store for us.

Its Sourav Ganguly in discussion again..... The latest news is that he has left to play county cricket for Northamptonshire; we all hope he will do justice to what he is capable of.

However, the issue today is not what he is doing or what he can do... I would like to share a piece of email written by a person who is NOT a Bengali, yet like many others (to which critics may disagree) likes Ganguly, the leader; to none other than our present Indian coach, Greg Chappell. This was an email written to an esteemed English daily of Mumbai when England came here with a depleted side... the piece goes like this:


Dear Mr. Chappell,

How are you? Sure you must be enjoying the heat which Andrew Flintoff, the Captain of depleted English team is facing this season. The weather is very hot, but Mr Chappell you must be really chilling out in the company of the young and energetic Indian Cricket Team, hand picked by you, with the help of Indian selectors or should I say a selector in particular.
I am not denying the fact that your team has done well to win the One Day Series against England and I must say, this authenticates all your theories and experiments on Indian Team , but do not forget Mr Chappell, not one win came easily. But of course, you believe only in winning, and if the team is winning , then the rest is not important, as this saves your job. Isn't it Mr Chappell? No wonder you started playing smart from the very beginning and did everything possible to have all good cards in your hand, after all to win a person must have all good cards in hand. Is it not so Mr Chappell?
Well, this is where our thoughts do not match . I am a teacher, and I believe that for any competition to win, my team should comprise of few tough nuts to crack, who I can make use of when time demands. You see, unlike you, I am very sure of my inter-personal skills Mr Chappell. I like to deal with difficult people, but I am sorry to say , you were not game enough to take up the challenge in this regard. Your dislike of Sourav Ganguly , the most successful cricket captain India has ever produced, has proved one thing to me, you do not like challenges . You cannot handle strong personalities, and you cannot manage a person with an attitude. So with the help of few people, who claim to be well wishers of Indian cricket you decided to get rid of the person unceremoniously Were you so scared Mr Chappell? What kind of a coach you are, if you cannot handle one strong personality in your dressing room? You couldnot respect the Indian captain who took over the reins of the team when many stalwarts were not willing to take up this challenge, as they were more keen on sharpening their batting prowess. But now, I see, many want to cash in the glamour, which maligned Indian captain has brought to the post! Why did you not stand by the same Indian captain who stood by Yuvraj and Sehwag when the whole media and selectors were gunning for their heads? Is it not the same Yuvraj who is
winning you games now Mr Chappell? And who can deny your unflinching support to Sehwag, in whom you have found your captain courageous, despite all misgivings? Mr Chappell, all said and done, you have brought a lot of pain to the heart of emotional cricket fans of
India, Win or lose, we would rather enjoy an animated Ganguly on the field than a robotic another person.
I would end my letter by wishing you and the Indian team many more wins in the future. After all " win " is what you want all the time. No matter what . Is it not so Mr Chappell?
May God bless you in your future ventures as well and your luck does not run dry on you.

Yours truly,
Mr. Shukla.

It was 12th March, 2006...
While England were struggling to 112 for five in 51 overs against India in the Test Series in India, the Australians had made an astonishing 434 for four in their allotted 50 overs - 36 runs more than had ever been made in one innings of an international limited-overs match. That is a feat of amazing proportions …

But the most extraordinary aspect of yesterday's game was what happened after half-time. South Africa roared back and, impossibly, unthinkably, they won, scoring 438 for nine.

How much I desire that I should have seen this match... these matches of such epic proportions dont happen so easily. Hats off to all the 22 players for playing their heart out (ofcourse in batting).

At the same time, bowling did disappoint. After all, records tumbled at the bowling department as well. After all the bowler Lewis also set a record, he wont be happy about.

In the end the Proteas did prove that they are shredding of ftheir tag as the choker.