'IF you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'
-IF by Rudyard Kipling
Dravid and Chappell have been at the helm of Indian cricket for a while now. During this period, as is typical for any prolonged period of Indian cricket, the team has been through it all. Needless to mention, depending on the latest result, the team has been showered with garlands or brickbats. Being at the center of this soap opera that Indian cricket is made out to be, must be overwhelming. However, D & C have shown composure and a level of sanity that couldn't have been easy to maintain. Sure, some middle fingers have been raised, but when a bunch of *fans* hurl personal abuse in your direction for a cricketing decision, I would readily condone most reactions short of a gun shot!
Chappell's post-Wanderers' interview and Dravid's pre-Wanderers' quotes had a degree of sameness to them. Not necessarily in content, but in tone and vision. Chappell talks in detail about events behind closed doors. Events that shape and show the resilience in this group. Dravid talks about recent tours where we have stood up to be counted after being knocked to the canvas. Both indicate awareness about the clamor around them, and while accommodating that, convey that their voice of reason is something that the rest of the team hears in equal measure. If D or C feel that an additional voice would help the casue, they should consider doing a Mike Newell by putting up a copy of "IF" in the dressing room. And should they decide to do so, they would be well advised to take up Bhogle's suggestion and revise the all important lines to...
'IF you can meet with the reactions to Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same'
Friday, December 22, 2006
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Kart 'taming' ain't fun
Much as I love to Kart, I am very aware of the premium price to time cost of the same. So yesterday, when I finished the race and felt cheated, it didn't feel as bad as wrongly being given out 'Caught behind', this was much worse! Here is how the events panned out...
As soon as it was decided that we would go Karting that evening, the mind switched off from work (like it needed an invitation!) and started plotting racing lines that would enable me to shave away tenths from my lap times. As always, excitement was coursing through the veins when we reached the venue. The long day at work seemed like it was ages ago. Here I was, ready to attack the track with the bag of tricks learnt the last time around and in the process lower my personal best lap time.
That thought changed immediately after I realized that there were going to be ten racers on track. So, I prepared myself to forget lap times and focus on the art of overtaking. Starting 9th put me one spot from where I wanted to be on this venture. Starting 10th would have provided ample opportunity for overtaking, while also ensuring that my buddy, Bicker, does not get the chance to overtake me on track. Instead, I would get every chance to give him a miserable night's sleep. Anyway, in spite of the aforementioned threat, I wasn't quite worried, since, over the past few months, it had become amply clear to both of us that he did not represent any threat to me on track. Through the initial laps, I ensured that no kamikaze moves were tried before the tires really got up to temperature. Having negotiated the phase carefully, I overtook the Kart in front of me and set off in pursuit of the greater challenges that lay ahead.
As the lap count increased, the chemistry that had developed between Kart, track and myself through previous visits, just wasn't there. The hairpin which I had mastered previously was giving me trouble every single time. The Kart was all over the place and I sensed that a spin wasn't too far away. Noticeably, Bicker, who started around 3 seconds after I did, was maintaining the gap and at times closing it too. Lapping a couple of backmarkers ensured that the I clawed back some of the lost time, however, the mind was confused about the pace I was doing. It was unusually chilly that evening, and I was working out a theory to blame it on that.
Lap 8, I was behind Kart Number 9 (KN9) and ready to pass. Three laps later, the gap was the same and I was struggling to keep pace. Lap 10 proved to be a race breaker. Coming up to a medium speed corner, KN9 and the Kart he was lapping (KN24) collided right in front of me and having nowhere else to go, I joined the pileup. This meant that Bicker went past and so did a couple of the race leaders (lapped!). After disentangling us, the race marshal directed me to clear out before KP9 (Oh boy! Did that lead to a frustrating race for him!!!). So, soon enough, I lapped KN24 and set off hoping to figure out the great mystery of the lack of pace.
Rather than provide details about the jousting between KN9 and myself that followed, let me waste no time in stating that from lap 10 through lap 28, he was right there behind me with no way past! I was well aware that he was faster than me (that day!), but just as overtaking is an art, so is defensive driving! So, there I was, comfortably keeping the challenger at bay, but struggling for lap times in the overall scheme of things. Through the rest of the race, I did NOT catchup with a single racer. Just lapped a few of the slow ones. So, in spite of having 10 karts on track, I had a clear track through most of the race and and yet, ended up a whole second on average slower than last time around.
It was midway through the race, when I figured out the issue. Blame it on whatever, but it took me 14 laps to figure out the kart that I was given, was accelerating way too much when I took my foot off the brake. Thus, the braking distances that were learnt the last time around (and ready to be applied this time around), did no good simply because, the Kart was way too fast through the corners if the brakes weren't applied while turning. And as any Kart racer should know, that isn't the style for a quick lap time. So, after the realization hit home, it was all about taming the Kart through the corners than racing it through them. Frustrated! However, not as much as the racer aboard KN9, I assume. In spite of being a couple of tenths faster than me over the course of the entire lap, he could find no way past, and didn't even get close. Lap after lap, I looked back to see if he was too close for comfort. Never was that the case! Lap 28, I was flagged to let him pass. Not sure of the reason, afterall, we were fighting for position, however, being quite aware that doing anything to the contrary would mean a black flag, I let him by rightaway. Following him closely over the next lap (and what turned out to be the last lap), I could only laugh feebly at the realization that I would have had him every single lap at either one of the hairpins on a good day.
Post race, the frustration of poor laptimes, combined with the better laptimes of Bicker made it an evening to forget. However, having gone through the experience, I now claim that, I have a much better understanding of how Michael Schumacher must have felt driving the Ferrari F1 2005!
As soon as it was decided that we would go Karting that evening, the mind switched off from work (like it needed an invitation!) and started plotting racing lines that would enable me to shave away tenths from my lap times. As always, excitement was coursing through the veins when we reached the venue. The long day at work seemed like it was ages ago. Here I was, ready to attack the track with the bag of tricks learnt the last time around and in the process lower my personal best lap time.
That thought changed immediately after I realized that there were going to be ten racers on track. So, I prepared myself to forget lap times and focus on the art of overtaking. Starting 9th put me one spot from where I wanted to be on this venture. Starting 10th would have provided ample opportunity for overtaking, while also ensuring that my buddy, Bicker, does not get the chance to overtake me on track. Instead, I would get every chance to give him a miserable night's sleep. Anyway, in spite of the aforementioned threat, I wasn't quite worried, since, over the past few months, it had become amply clear to both of us that he did not represent any threat to me on track. Through the initial laps, I ensured that no kamikaze moves were tried before the tires really got up to temperature. Having negotiated the phase carefully, I overtook the Kart in front of me and set off in pursuit of the greater challenges that lay ahead.
As the lap count increased, the chemistry that had developed between Kart, track and myself through previous visits, just wasn't there. The hairpin which I had mastered previously was giving me trouble every single time. The Kart was all over the place and I sensed that a spin wasn't too far away. Noticeably, Bicker, who started around 3 seconds after I did, was maintaining the gap and at times closing it too. Lapping a couple of backmarkers ensured that the I clawed back some of the lost time, however, the mind was confused about the pace I was doing. It was unusually chilly that evening, and I was working out a theory to blame it on that.
Lap 8, I was behind Kart Number 9 (KN9) and ready to pass. Three laps later, the gap was the same and I was struggling to keep pace. Lap 10 proved to be a race breaker. Coming up to a medium speed corner, KN9 and the Kart he was lapping (KN24) collided right in front of me and having nowhere else to go, I joined the pileup. This meant that Bicker went past and so did a couple of the race leaders (lapped!). After disentangling us, the race marshal directed me to clear out before KP9 (Oh boy! Did that lead to a frustrating race for him!!!). So, soon enough, I lapped KN24 and set off hoping to figure out the great mystery of the lack of pace.
Rather than provide details about the jousting between KN9 and myself that followed, let me waste no time in stating that from lap 10 through lap 28, he was right there behind me with no way past! I was well aware that he was faster than me (that day!), but just as overtaking is an art, so is defensive driving! So, there I was, comfortably keeping the challenger at bay, but struggling for lap times in the overall scheme of things. Through the rest of the race, I did NOT catchup with a single racer. Just lapped a few of the slow ones. So, in spite of having 10 karts on track, I had a clear track through most of the race and and yet, ended up a whole second on average slower than last time around.
It was midway through the race, when I figured out the issue. Blame it on whatever, but it took me 14 laps to figure out the kart that I was given, was accelerating way too much when I took my foot off the brake. Thus, the braking distances that were learnt the last time around (and ready to be applied this time around), did no good simply because, the Kart was way too fast through the corners if the brakes weren't applied while turning. And as any Kart racer should know, that isn't the style for a quick lap time. So, after the realization hit home, it was all about taming the Kart through the corners than racing it through them. Frustrated! However, not as much as the racer aboard KN9, I assume. In spite of being a couple of tenths faster than me over the course of the entire lap, he could find no way past, and didn't even get close. Lap after lap, I looked back to see if he was too close for comfort. Never was that the case! Lap 28, I was flagged to let him pass. Not sure of the reason, afterall, we were fighting for position, however, being quite aware that doing anything to the contrary would mean a black flag, I let him by rightaway. Following him closely over the next lap (and what turned out to be the last lap), I could only laugh feebly at the realization that I would have had him every single lap at either one of the hairpins on a good day.
Post race, the frustration of poor laptimes, combined with the better laptimes of Bicker made it an evening to forget. However, having gone through the experience, I now claim that, I have a much better understanding of how Michael Schumacher must have felt driving the Ferrari F1 2005!
Monday, December 11, 2006
India beats Australia at Perth!!!!!
Compared to the trash ("Ganguly and Dravid did NOT sit at the same table at breakfast"), the mundane ("We will give 110%/I did it for the country") and the breaking (e.g. "Shane Warne tests positive! To be sent back from World Cup"), the weird news tends to have a higher *shock to profile* quotient. And in these weird times we live in, they don't come much weirder than "Perth wicket could help spinners".
The title doesn't seem so crazy anymore, does it?
The title doesn't seem so crazy anymore, does it?
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