all about stars and their alignment

The stars don't align all that often, but when they do, it is pure ecstasy. Assuming that if it is ecstasy, then the stars must have lined up, it can be said that they do so fairly often for Manchester United. Still, they haven't ever done so like they did today. One might wonder what could have been missing from when they defeated Roma 7-1 at Old Trafford last year. The answer is slightly complicated but definitely explainable. That match was shown live at around noon on ESPN and was played on a working day. All of this meant that there was a very high probability that I would watch it. And indeed, I did. So, it did not necessarily require the stars to lineup. It just needed Man United to turn on the style. I was going to be glued in front of the TV anyway.

Today, with United in the midst of a mini-slump, hosting the Premier League leaders Arsenal in a 5th round FA cup tie, the signs certainly were not the best. Further, it was going to be played at 9am on a Saturday morning. Who wakes up that early on a Saturday?! Not me! Most importantly, the game was not going to be shown on Fox Soccer Channel, the only channel dedicated to football here in the United States. Previously, I have tried finding links to watch such games live on the internet. Those attempts always ended in failure. So, to sum things up, neither was Man United in great shape going in this match, nor did I have much of a chance to watch whatever unfolded. Essentially, the stars seemed to be scattered all over the place.

One also vividly remembers a similar situation from the past season, when I woke up earlier than is humanly possible, to watch a game featuring the same matchup and the depressing sensation I was left with, at the end of 90 minutes. So, frankly, when I was going to bed at 2am, I had no motivation to wake up for the game. While hoping for a win, I just resigned myself to read the report on BBC and take whatever came with it. That was the plan.

The room was perfectly dark, but the eyes fluttered and soon enough stayed open. No alarm had gone off, neither was the phone ringing, but I was awake, with not a clue about the time. It could very well have been noon. Opening the laptop and getting on to BBC Sport is always a nervous event on Saturday mornings. A quick desperate scan indicated that the game hadn't started and that Liverpool were tied with Barnsley, a bottom dweller in the Championship. Good start to the day! While catching up on what RP Singh had to say on Cricinfo, a news flash showed that Mr.Howard had scored an injury time winner to send Liverpool packing from the FA Cup. This made one thing certain. Whatever happened from here on, the day was not going to be a disaster.

Remember all the talk about stars earlier? Well, obviously, there was daylight outside, so, I could not see if the stars were in a line or something, but I found a way to watch the game online. With English commentary! So, to sum it up, I had woken up and found a way to watch the game in spite of the insurmountable odds. The onus was on the players now.

When the team lineup was revealed, what made my jaw drop was not the names there were playing, but the ones that weren't. Ronaldo rested. Scholes rested. Giggs nowhere to be seen. I wondered what kind of a display Man United were going to put up. To present a balanced view, let me state that Arsenal were hardly in the pink of health. In Arsene Wenger's own words, they were "down to bare bones" with regard to the players available to play.

The game started, and so did the attacks. Wave after wave of them. All of them aimed at the Arsenal goal. It was exciting. It always is, when a handful of players rush at full throttle down a crowded field, threading the ball between bodies, always reaching the intended target, before the inevitable strike on goal. Disregard the end result, for there is almost never a goal. That is football, but the process is pure symphony. Anyway, let me stop the singing and present the report.

United are one of the very few teams capable of being rampantly dominant against the top sides. But like I said, dominance doesn't necessarily translate itself into goals. Make no mistake. It does for United, more often than it does for other sides, however, in a matchup between top sides, it is often an odd goal that decides the game, and almost as often, that odd one is an ugly goal mouth scramble that gets pushed in off a shoulder or a bum even. So, there was no point in getting excited as yet, for the clock showed 15 minutes and the score remained nil-nil.

During the 16th minute, as Anderson's headed pass looped towards Rooney, it was hard to remain unexcited. Even when Rooney headed in a goal, the situation called for calm and pragmatism. For, this was Arsenal. Even at the best of times, in a Man United - Arsenal game, one strike is followed by a counter strike, and everything remains even, until at the very end, when the very same ugly strike spoken about earlier, would settle the issue one way or the other (A draw at the enemy's base counts as victory. So, really, there are no draws!).

Fletcher's strike 4 minutes later brought out chants of 'Ole' from the Old Trafford faithful, but I stayed sober. 2-0 was unreal, but then, I expertly noted that Man United had made the classic mistake of giving the Gunners about 70 minutes to get something out of the game. I thought that United would sit back from thereon, and allow Arsenal back into the game. It never happened. The waves continued unabated. That made me breathe easy. I thought of the stars once again.

Rooney was on the pitch for a total of 72 minutes, and for most of it, he was in front of the Arsenal goal with ball at his feet, and had either just the keeper to beat, or a couple of defenders to beat. With the quality of service he was receiving, he really should have scored more. If not for the Manchester United cause, at least for the fact that England boss Fabio Capello was an avid spectator in the stadium keeping a keen eye on him. Anyway, while he did not score after the first, he did not letup either. He was always running at the heart of Arsenal's defense and creating havoc. I don't think that he should ever play as sole striker. He is not clinical enough for that, but as a forward that plays just behind the striker, he has no peer. Sir Alex knows. Capello must know, by now.

Fletcher scored 2 goals. Unsurprisingly, he will get a lot of attention. He can have it. But in my eyes, Nani, Anderson, Carrick and Rooney were the stars of the day.

Carrick infuriates often. On a bad day, he makes successful 10 yard passes to the side and behind. On an average day, he succeeds in making 15 yard passes to the side. On a good day though, there is no limit to the yardage or the accuracy and needless to mention, they are all made in the forward direction. Seriously, is there a mortal explanation for his pass to Nani that lead to the third goal?! I have watched the replay, but I can't come up with one. I was reminded of Ronaldinho. Unsurprisingly enough, someone else also thought so, and sent a comment to BBC Sport. He filled the game with perfectly weighted passes to the forward line. I don't know about winning, but United will score goals if he plays like today.

With television coverage as it is in the US, it is hard to watch one's favorite team play every week. It leads to a slight dulling of the enthusiasm. Essentially, that is what has happened to me this season. I caught a couple of the initial games, but haven't watched United in action for the past couple of months. From what I gathered based on early season action, Nani and Anderson had a long way to go before they became a force at the Premiership level. In the meantime, I've read reports about their usefulness to the side. I remained a skeptic. Today, I stand converted. One could say, that from being an agnostic, I have become a believer!

The advantage of a nightmare, if ever there is one, is that, one can wake up from it. The trouble for Hoyte was that, he was wide awake, sweating profusely and running his lungs out, but the nightmare just wouldn't go away. For Nani was a defender's worst nightmare, but as real as they come. He kept running at Hoyte, past him and around him. Anderson did the same to everyone else on the field. He was utterly dominating the midfield, bossing over Cesc and co., while blowing holes in the Arsenal defense, that made it appear like a sieve by the end of the game.

By no means are Nani and Anderson finished products, but their progress from newbies to dominant midfielder and winger in a game against Arsenal is nothing short of spectacular. Peter Roebuck, in an article about the perils faced by youngsters in sport, alluding specifically to cricket's Ishant Sharma, India's latest superstar fast bowler, mentions that the BCCI ought to consult Sir Alex Ferguson to learn how to shepherd their raw diamond through the minefield, that fame often is. Ishant of today is the Ronaldo of 2 years ago. If two years hence, India needs Ishant to be the Ronaldo of today, they might as well do so. And if they do, look out Australia!

Coming back to football, the 4-0 scoreline is an accurate reflection of how lucky Arsenal were today. Rooney himself should have had 4. Anyway, that is football, and the scoreline, does not matter all that much, once you realize that on this day, the stars aligned for you and your team.

Lastly, I have a question I need to ask before I finish up with this post actually. Its been on top of my mind ever since I started writing this one. I mean, what the hell have the stars or their orientation got to do with anything that happens on a football pitch??!!!


PS: With Argentine Mascherano playing for Liverpool and Brazilian Anderson playing for Manchester United, I used to dream in vain that it would be so much better if they swapped clubs. Now, while being fully aware that they will continue to play for their current clubs, I dream in vain that Mascherano was Brazilian and Anderson was Argentine! Ahhhh, football.....

2 weeks of Cricket, Chennai and getting Married

• Put simply, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is just too damn big for us
  
• A bowler who bowls 145+ kmph is special. But me thinks that a bowler who bowls 129.9kmph for 4 out of 6 deliveries in one over is very very special. Step forward Stuart Clark. Comparisons with Glenn McGrath are so easy and so obvious and so bloody true.
• The Melbourne cricket pitch is just too suited to Stuart Clark
• The loss at Sydney affected me more than any match since India lost to Pakistan at Chennai and Kolkatta in 1998-99.
• Nothing kills like a silent killer. With the obvious killers, you know what is coming. Symonds is one of those obvious ones. You prepare for him. You plan for him. You lay a trap for him. Nothing guarantees success, but that is all you can do. Brad Hogg is a silent one. We did not worry about him. We weren't prepared for him. We did not have a plan for him. As a result, we paid a price because of him.
  
• When it comes to marriage expenses, the saree is a silent killer. Apparently, jewels for the occasion are procured from the time the bride was born. The cost for renting the marriage hall and the cheque for the caterers are spoken about rightaway and allocated for too. Then comes the day when the parents from both sides and the bride get together to shop for sarees. I knew that there would be one for the wedding and one for the reception. And that both of these would be expensive. What I did not know was that, there would be one for the engagement, one for the 'maru veedu' and one because the bride liked something she saw. In case a friend is reading this, and wondering why he/she was not invited for the engagement, let me clarify that we did not actually have an engagement ceremony. We just have a saree for that occasion.
  
• Honestly, if that is all there is to this saree thing, I would not have brought it up. But no, it does not stop there. Not even close to there. Any woman, closely or vaguely related to the marriage, who wants a new saree, is gifted one. Who does not want a new saree for free?! Even I want one!
• One friend who got married on February 1st said that she got SEVEN sarees, including one for the wedding night and excluding the gagra choli that she was going to wear for the reception. Another one, that is set to tie the knot on March 9th, said that without any considerations over buying a number that is required for the various events around occasion, she just gets ELEVEN dresses for her wedding. Totally unaccounted!
• Watching India's victory over Australia at Perth was my favorite wedding gift, and I got it the day before the wedding. Initially, I thought that it would have been perfect had it happened on the actual day itself, but on careful analysis, I conclude that if it was going to happen on the wedding day, I would have either gotten married or gotten the gift. There was no room for both. So, this was just perfect!
• Chennai traffic does not matter! You just need to be in the right mood to disregard it completely.
• Chennai weather does matter! Whatever mood you might be in, it is hard to disregard the beads of sweat running down your face.
• So, if visiting Chennai, visit during winter. I am referring to those 30 odd days that get labeled as winter. It is nice out there during those days. There is no sweating. So, you are in a good mood. So, traffic does not matter. Still, don't push it. Stay away from T.Nagar!
  
• Brett Lee was one of the reasons we dominated and drew 1-1 with Australia when we visited during 2003-04. The primary reason for Australia winning the 2007-08 series 2-1 are well, Benson and Bucknor, but Brett Lee gets the vote from amongst the players.
  
• Australia have been carrying Lee in their test team for more than 5 years. Now, they are reaping the rewards. By the looks of it, they got their timing just about right by blooding Mitchell Johnson now. 5 years hence, when Lee retires, Johnson will be the Lee of today.
  
• The word 'stain' has a negative connotation. A physical stain is typically looked upon as disgusting. Strangely though, volunteering to get crap on one's hand evokes admiration, and the stain it leaves behind elicits 'Oohs' and 'Aahs' and becomes the focal point of so many conversations during marriage time. Welcome to the girly world of Mehendi.
• Manly Ponting getting worked over by new boy Ishant means that our hypothetical pace attack is getting stronger by the series. The star list now reads Zaheer, RP, Munaf, Sree, Pathan and Ishant. Hopefully, this means that when the next series comes around, we will have atleast two of them fit to play!
  
• I am a bigger fan of Sachin now than ever before. Not so much for his batting, but more for his general demeanor and his realization and acceptance of the passage of time.
• I am a lesser fan of Harsha Bhogle now than ever before. I refer to Harsha the commentator. I still enjoy his columns, but listening to his commentary after ages, I realized that he caters primarily to the least intelligent cricket viewer. I don't belong there.
• I miss Ricky Ponting manning backward point
  
• I was all for bringing in an appeals system wherein television could play a much bigger role in decision making, until I realized that Channel 9 deliberately did not show a single replay of Clarke grounding the ball when he rolled over after 'catching' a ball that might or might not have bounced in front of him.
• This blatant 'no-show' was the equivalent of the incorrect Dravid dismissal being shown for 24 hours on all Indian news channels.
• Extensive media coverage can be quite a problem. While I don't think it can be termed as the same, getting photographed through the day on that day, made me quite uncomfortable. So much so, that by the end of the day, I did not just consider the photographers to be a nuisance, but to be proper Tamil movie villains. One day later, when I viewed the raw images taken on that day, my opinion of them remained the same. 5 days later, after viewing the album filled with digitally enhanced pictures of myself, I look back at them as the angels that made a memorable day, a rememberable, memorable one.
• People that came onto the dais, and embarrassed me by asking if I recognized them, in spite of the perfectly decent smile with which I greeted them, while not having a clue as to who they were, are just cruel people. I met a lot of cruel people that day.
• I met some more cruel people that day - they gave flowers as gift!
• At a perfectly decent restaurant, a fairly unruly roar erupted when the TV screen showed Rajnikanth being awarded with the title of "Man of the Year" for 2007. My brother, an ardent fan, while grinning from ear to ear, remarked that only Rajnikanth could bring about such a response. Half-heartedly, I remarked that maybe Sachin would too. But deep down, I knew that that in Tamil Nadu, Rajnikanth fans would outnumber Sachin's or anyone else's fans by 10 to 1. A pretty sad 'state'.

Our Captains and their Decisions

Earlier this year, when Australia landed in India for the one day series (immediately after our Twenty20 triumph), Dhoni had to choose between Harbhajan and Powar for a spot in the playing eleven. Powar had been a consistent presence in the side through the tour of Ireland and England and had done really well. In fact, Powar and Chawla tossing the ball higher and higher during the middle overs of the one dayers with a fair bit of success is a romantic memory that lingers from the past year.

Harbhajan, on the other hand, had been dropped after the ODI World Cup and was making a comeback into the ODI side based on good performance in the Twenty20 competition. One can't really take away the success he had during that tournament, but anyone that watched his bowling, would know that it was success based on consistent flat blockhole or thereabouts bowling rather than flight based deception. In fact, he did not seem to have much else to offer. When Misbah moved deeper into the crease and went after him in the finals, Harbhajan could not do much. Still, overall, he was a success story from that triumph.

Coming back to the Ind-Aus ODI series, Cricinfo ran a preview, in which, it was stated as a given that Harbhajan would be preferred over Powar. It took be by surprise, but I grudgingly accepted that that was a reality of Indian cricket, wherein, star power would trump on-field performance. On matchday though, Dhoni, the new captain, much newer to the international arena than Harbhajan himself, played Powar.

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Now, during this backlash after the Melbourne loss, Sehwag is the man that has been anointed by the media as savior of this Indian team that is taking on the mighty Australians in their own backyard. This is the very same Sehwag whom the whole world thought was getting a free ride in the Indian team just a year ago. Nothing much has changed. He made a comeback in the one dayers. Did not succeed. Some old failings showed up. And apparently, he has been in the same form in domestic cricket that Brian Charles Lara was in the ICL, without the record dollars per run scored though.

Ian Chappell had perfectly valid reasons for including Sehwag in the Indian playing eleven. India gives away too much in too many departments to the Aussies. So, in order for them to stand toe to toe with the Aussies consistently, they would need something special. His pick Sehwag, made a career out of playing special knocks until a couple of years ago. He hasn't done that in a long time though. So, picking him, as Ian made clear, would have been a gamble and nothing more.

Unfortunately, because of the fact that the negatives of our performance from the Melbourne test are theoretically solved by the solution, that is Sehwag, everyone appears to be taken up by it. A gamble was suddenly deemed crystal clear logic. Instead of weighing up skills, respective styles of batting was all that mattered in discussions and debates.

By the time the test match came about, I had taken it for granted that Sehwag was in and that Yuvraj would miss out. Much to my surprise, Kumble has selected an unchanged batting lineup. I suspect that the actual batting order might differ from Melbourne, though, I wouldn't be surprised if all we see is a change in attitude towards run scoring.

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One decision, one knock, one spell - these things don't mean much over an entire career. But a great career is something that has many of these 'ones'. Kumble and Dhoni have put up an excellent 'one' against their names with their respective decisions.