Thank You GOD... Thanks for everything!

I have never watched a cricket match LIVE in a stadium till date.

And I did not want to miss this one for ANYTHING....!

Frantic calls to friends and fellow Sachin fans over the last couple of weeks... staying up till 3 AM - courtesy some desperate attempts online on a depressingly crashed website.... and a lot more ensued.

Miraculously, the tickets were arranged, and I was supposed to go and watch him @ the Wankhede on Sunday (the only possible day for me)....

But God had other plans.

I was praying, and praying hard over the last few days..... for the match to last atleast 4 days, so that I could go and watch him on Sunday....

But the way the match progressed, it became increasingly clear that the match would end much sooner.

Even today morning, I was praying for a miracle, for West Indies to last the entire day today, and take atleast a slender lead, so that tomorrow, India (read Sachin) could finish the formalities in style, with me getting to watch the same.

But the Windies wickets just kept tumbling today... and the end came a bit too quickly. The hopes to see God tomorrow just came crashing down.....

I was at office, and was mentally cribbing that I wasn't even privileged to watch the historic moments and the presentation on TV....

And then, as I entered my director's cabin for some work, the TV was ON, and God was in the midst of his farewell speech....

I just stood there, and watched him speak, and as he spoke.... tears started streaming down my eyes......

Heard the immortal speech.... Watched him take the lap around the ground.... And then the finale - God walking across to the pitch one last time, and touching it as a mark of respect.... and walking away in tears......

My tears just didn't stop flowing... and the lump in the throat was painful....

... and all this, right in front of my Director, in his cabin.....

Neither of us said a word to each other.... just kept watching.....

At the end of it, I just thanked my director, and left. The lump in the throat, and the tears, continued for a long while after.

Truly blessed to have been part of the SACHINCREDIBLE experience all these years.

Miss You terribly God...! There will never be another like you! Thanks for being the wonderful human being that you have always been....!

I doubt I would ever visit a stadium to watch a match in my life... It didn't happen all these years; and now, the desire no longer exists....

The game of cricket will sure go on, and new stars and newer records will emerge.

But for me, it will always, ALWAYS be..... Sachiiiiinnnn.... SACHIN.....!!!

Thanks, for everything!

"Unsporting" Sportsmanship!!!

Well, the second test of the India-England test series currently underway, has been in the news for many good as well as bad reasons. Good ones being the wonderful & spirited performances by the Indian bowlers & batsmen..... while the bad ones being poor umpiring decisions throughout the match, sledging by the English etc.

Now, the latest incident that happened on field a couple of days back, was the Zaheer Khan-Kevin Peitersen incident. Let me throw some light on it - Apparently what happened was that, when Zaheer came into bat during India's first innings, some English player started throwing Jellybeans (a confectionery eatable) on him. Zaheer would remove them from the pitch before facing a delivery, and next minute he would find yet another being thrown..... which undoubtedly enraged him. He had a couple of words with the English players & requested not to indulge in such things, & they started retaliating verbally. The umpires then came in (quite late, of course... were they BLIND when the English players were throwing Jellybeans on the batsmen and the pitch??? :O) Of course, the English players are shamelessly defending their stupid act by trying to make a joke of it, and also going on to say that it was "within the spirit of the game"..... UTTER CRAP!!!

Check these out for more details
(Sledgehammer - Mumbai Mirror)
(Zaheer reveals.... - Rediff.com)

Really disgusting to note that the English players are indulging in such cheap and unsporting tactics. Throwing jellybeans on a player, or on the pitch, with a deliberate intention to disturb his concentration....... Absolute Nonsense! And not just Zaheer, apparently they were targeting other Indian batsmen such as Sachin (calling him a "Captain's bunny"), Laxman (Sledging at him in Aussie lingo) & Sreesanth etc. (with his spectacles, he apparently looked like "Harry Potter" to them!!!), with verbal volleys and constant leg-pulling chatter. Really shameful to see such cheap behaviour from the English!

And the worst thing would be, that the ICC will fine ONLY Zaheer Khan at the end, for pointing his bat at Pietersen!! They are one shameless, Anti-Asian, & Anti-Indian body, who ALWAYS target & single out Indians and other Asian cricketers.

It is always been the case since time immemorial, that even if any of the white players (Aussie or English or any other) verbally or even physically abuse Indian players, they have always been let off, even without a warning or a fine! (Shocking, of course!!) But the Indians who tolerate their crazy behavior mutely, or max at times, stare back or retaliate mildly, have been fined or even banned for short periods. Surprising that the ICC thinks that the players at the receiving end are 'at fault' & should be 'punished', while the ones who do all the mistakes, and physically & verbally abuse in cheap manner, and behave in all unsporting ways possible, should be let off without even being questioned..... apparently they are doing a great service to the Gentleman's game by indulging in such behaviour, isn't it???

Examples galore, are there for the world to see (Michael Slater abusing Dravid; Dravid is fined..... Andre Nel abusing and gesturing to Sreesanth; Sreesanth is fined for the 'dance' etc....) Even earlier players like Sachin, Ganguly & many others, have been victims of ICC's double standards.

Really sad to see such unsporting and biased policies and the atrocities committed by the Global body that controls the sport (ICC). And also sad that the Indian board, inspite of being victimised time & again, hasn't retaliated or taken strong action against them. It just pays the fines, drops the concerned players & moves on.

I won't be surprised, if Zaheer Khan is handed over a BAN tomorrow, for a couple of matches for his 'behaviour' by the ICC. (As he's the in-form bowler, and ICC would love to save England from further damage in the series, by dropping him for the next test!!!) :D :P

BRAVO ICC!!! We are proud of you! :)

PS: Yes, heart of heart, I do desire, that in case of such an event happening, the Indian team must challenge the double standards of Cricket's Governing Body, and walk out of the series! Its time the ICC is hit back for its unsporting & biased acts, and the world realises the intensity of the situation!