Thursday, April 30, 2009

Not a pretty picture...

Source: SRK packed off from the Cricket arena. IPL franchisees' Deccan & Royals - selling stake

It is lot of restructuring at BCCI. Ever since the ICC pushed for an early resolution with ICL and the Essel groups’ response to failed negotiations with strong legal actions have caused a lot of concern for the BCCI. The IPL cash-cow too has left a lot of loop holes in the second season.

The announced deal and revised hike by IPl broadcaster Sony; is not all black and white. According to sources it seems that Sony will not part with cash and some parts of the revised hike, is in format of barter to the IPL & its franchisees- in terms of free air time for promotion.

Tickets are being sold at a low rate of only about Rs 100. Even this low rate is not educing full houses and false propaganda of sell-out matches have become part of the IPL fictional folklore. This has left the franchisees with lot of heartburn; the central revenue (largely coming from the Bradcaster fee) may not see a hike in actual cash-flow as is being proclaimed by IPL officials. Gate receipts are a long foregone history making the red on franchisee balance-sheet’s far more prominent and dark.

SRK ill- advised to drop his city loyalty base and reposition his team into a pan global identity has met with dust. Latest reports that the Bollywood Badshah is on his way out of the IPL circus, further compounded by his teams’ disastrous cricket performance.

Despite better cricket performances Rajashtan Royals & Kings 11 Punjab are financially bleeding and are looking for stake holders to keep the ship floating. The only way IPL franchisees’ can be bailed out is in form of additional central revenue from IPL.

However that seems a distant reality with Sony officials admitting that offering additional broadcast fees was a mistake, especially after learning that the competitive suitors NDTV & ESPN were never serious about paying the revised rates demanded by the IPL body.

Sony now has offered the IPL and its franchisee a strict part payment in barter (free air time for promotion) that results in lack on additional cash revenue from the central revenue system offered by IPL to its franchisees.
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These look interesting times for the BCCI president Shashank Manohar. His dislike for Lalit Modi is well documented by his absence at both the first and second seasons of IPL. His boss and mentor Sharad Pawar too has distanced himself from Lalit Modi in season-2. Srinivasan, Rajeev Shukla and Niranjan Shah ( BCCI powerbrokers) are fence sitters and waiting for the election results. Rumors are also afloat that if the congress returns to power Lalit Modi’s stint in Indian cricket would be history.

If the ICL issue was not enough then the BCCI also has to content with the APL ( American Premiere League). The BCCI wants to monopolize the game but an over priced IPL has broadcasters and prospective sponsors looking at private leagues like the ICL & upcoming APL as a more value for money proposition. These are interesting times in cricket Will the monopoly of BCCI continue or will it have to share space with ICL & APL? It’s an answer that only time will tell.

Kolkata Knight Riders has the lowest point


... I dunno what else to say. At this rate, never mind semi-finals, they'd probably end up at 8th rank as opposed to 6th last year.

For someone who knows nothing of cricket, at first I don't want to give my unsolicited opinion. But after reading so many articles, I feel like saying this anyway. Shah Rukh, weed out your strategists. And if you can replace your coach, it's even better. Also, turn the cricket spotlight away from yourself, please! It's the 2nd year already, time for KKR to get pushed onto the stage. I know you think of them as your kids, but they should be professional enough to handle the limelight and all the poison that comes with it.

I have a deep feeling of angst towards Buchanan right now. I don't understand what he's doing with the team. When the multiple-captaincy strategy was first given out and Dada's fans said it's a ploy to oust him from captaincy, I thought they were just being paranoid. But when he's replaced by McCullum and the multiple captains are nowhere in sight, I begin to believe that they're right. Then came that article stating all the strategists in Buchanan's camp and I went @_@ ...why are his son(s) employed along with him and why are all of them westerners (I don't know if all of them are Australians or not)?

I know Shah Rukh said he's not gonna interfere in the cricketing decisions made by his cricket staff, but he's let them have free reign with his team for 2 years and they're not producing good results. It's time he hardens his soft-hearted sentiment towards them and take some tough actions. At the end of the day, no matter how much love he pours onto the franchise, if they're not winning games, the enjoyment of IPL cricket will soon sour for everyone: him, the team, the fans. It's understandable that one team will lose and one team will win in a game... but there's no point in going on the field if you don't play to win. Honestly, is KKR playing to win right now?

That's my 2-cent worth anyway. I love KKR... the franchise is the most attractive among them all: good line-up, nice image, excellent promotion, and Shah Rukh as co-owner. I want them to be at the top of the heap in IPL 3 (I've given up that impossible dream for IPL 2, sorry). Shah Rukh is a good brand on his own right so I don't think KKR endorsers will give up on him that easily (case in point: the Hyundai collaboration). Just by having him on board ensures maximum interest from oversea viewers regardless of whatever opinion the Indian cricket lovers have towards him. Heck, the only reason why I'm taking an interest in IPL at all is because of Shah Rukh and I'm sure there're thousands, if not millions or billions, of people out there who are the same. Shah Rukh might joke about him being the USP of IPL, but to us SRK oversea fans, what he said is completely true.

We want KKR to win because we want Shah Rukh to win. That's all there is to it. And if that irks cricket lovers everywhere, then we're sorry but we're not gonna be apologetic about this. I'm telling you, write KKR off now and if SRK and his team manage to turn it around and make a winning venture in 5 years time, all you malicious reporters will then churn out article after article of what an ace businessman and sports person he is. We've all seen/read/heard how that's happened before.

I wish him and his team all the best and God bless!

Malicious

So, this is what they want huh? If I were to subscribe to a conspiracy theory, the whole controversies were staged right from the start to force Shah Rukh to let go of his cricket enterprise. But of course people would say I'm paranoid if I were to say that. O well, he's been through all this before with his production company (Dreamz Unlimited). The only difference is, his IPL venture is the only venture that does not have his direct participation as he's not one of the players on the field. If you ask me, in the long run he'd lose out if he sold KKR. But what about the immediate cost? I don't want him to sell his body to pay for maintaining the team (as he jokingly said in an interview).

I'll let you read the malicious reports and make up your mind about them yourselves:

Exclusive Report: Shah Rukh Khan To Sell Knight Riders

According to the Red Chillies official, Khan wants to exit, owing to the team’s poor performance — so far the team has won only one rain-curtailed game under the Duckworth Lewis method — and rising costs.

“If the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) does not increase the number of teams for next year, Khan could get double what he paid,” said the Red Chillies official.

Khan is supposed to pay Rs 30 crore per year for the next 10 years. The total annual cost for the team is about Rs 75 crore.

Khan had earlier said that KKR was easily the most successful IPL franchise, making a Rs 13 crore profit last year. However, his costs trebled last year owing to interventions from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Cricket Association of Bengal.

According to initial calculations, Red Chillies had to pay Rs 90 lakh per match and was supposed to earn Rs 3 crore if all stadium tickets were sold at Eden Gardens. Red Chillies had to pay Rs 20 lakh to the police and municipal tax of Rs 5 lakh. So its expenses per match would have been over Rs 1 crore. But this figure had trebled.

Last year, however, Kolkata Police demanded Rs 2 crore as security fees, against Rs 50 lakh that the organisers of the IPL offered. Then, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) demanded Rs 25 lakh from Red Chillies as amusement tax for holding IPL matches at Eden Gardens.

To settle the dispute between Kolkata Police and the IPL organisers over the cost of security arrangements at Eden Gardens, Red Chillies Entertainment had to agree to pay Rs 75 lakh as security fees.

About 5,500 uniformed personnel and about 1,500 sleuths were deployed to secure the stadium and its surrounding areas, since many celebrities were expected to watch the IPL matches at Eden Gardens.

Will Shah Rukh Khan dump KKR?

There are reports now that Shah Rukh Khan who bought the team for Rs 300 crores is in advance stage of talks with big companies like Nokia, Sahara and the Anil Ambani group to sell his stakes in the company.

Reports from Shah Rukh Khan’s company Red Chillies Entertainment say that King Khan is looking to exit. But he also wants to ensure that he doubles the money that he had invested. He may be able to sell his stakes for as much as Rs 600 crore easily sources say.

A dejected SRK had earlier said ‘If my team continues to lose like this, I am not going back to South Africa. I will go only when they play well and win.’ ‘But once they come back, I’ll call them over and ask what went wrong with them,’ he added.

But it seems his team is running out of time now with so much losses.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

New Shah Rukh-KKR uploaded videos



Quotes of the day

Source
Right. And the industry is pinning it’s hopes on you, praying that Main Hoon Na will turn out to be the blockbuster that has been eluding them for so long?

I don’t accept that. Hey, four years ago, people were ready to write me off. I may be a saleable star today but not big enough for the industry to be banking on me. I’m the one banking on the industry. Actors like me come and go. I’ll be happy if I can add to the reputation of the industry but I know that I’m just a small part in this expansive and complex machine. So I don’t let myself get carried away by such hype. I’ve had a fortunate run at the box-office lately. That’s given distributors the confidence to back my film. We’re expecting an encouraging opening. After that it’ll depend on how good the film is and how the audience reacts to it.

One last question, the question uppermost on every mind: how’s your back holding up?

It’s okay. I’ve done 3-4 films since my operation last year and I’m doing fine. You can see that on screen though I don’t see why anyone would want to focus on my back unless they like my ass.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

SRK Movie My Take - Rab Ne Bana Jodi

Caution: Please watch the movie before you read this. I'm revealing all the good moments (the ones I really like) all over the place.

I watched this movie as a Shah Rukh Khan's fan who's always looking forward to being entertained with good stories presented in his trademark engaging way. I didn't watch it like a critic. I've never found anything wrong in the way he portrays his characters. I may like some more than the others, but the reasons have always been character tributes, not his acting chop. So don't expect to find biting comments about his movies or his acting in my blog. You can have a bellyfull of that kind of treatment from critics and wannabe-critics elsewhere.

Also, all the noted dialogues are written according to the English translation coz I dunno Hindi so I'm afraid to write it in case I misspell any word.

First Impression on SRK
When he disembarks from the train, my thought was: "Hey, this is not Shah Rukh Khan!" LOL

You know the gag spectacles people usually buy at gag shops... the one with big-sized rims, a big nose and a mustache? Shah Rukh looks like he's wearing that as Suri. I thought, if I were to pass by this guy on the street I would not have even looked at him once, never mind twice. If ever Shah Rukh felt the need to disguise himself when he goes out, he should go with this 'common man' mask instead of dark glasses. I can bet no one would realise who he is.

Anushka is a goddess in her wedding attire.

Anushka's
lovely moments

Every time she appears onscreen XD. To pick just a few:
  • When she's shouting to her friend not to touch her wedding dress
  • When she's shouting to her father to go for the mehndi himself
  • When she says, "Are? Kya nehi nehi?" to Suri on their first meeting
  • When Raj is playing around during their first dancing session at the hall. Anushka's face looks like Taani can't make up her mind whether to kick his ass for being insolent or laugh
  • "Aap ko biryani acchi nehi lagi?", "You never know. Wait and watch~" ...o man, so beautiful
  • Taani looks the most modern and enchanting while she's spouting all that gaali in the Dhoom 3 scene
  • Okay, forget it... I can't choose. I love all her scenes!
Suri's lovely moments
  • Whenever he looks at Taani, before and after their marriage. He conveys such awkwardness, shyness and longing in those brief glances. Especially when Taani appears in front of his officemates in the house-warming party and in the 'first breakfast Taani made for him' scene. There's such gratitude and disbelief, probably at how lovely she looks (even I gape at her in that brilliant yellow dress, running her hand through her wet hair)
  • Suri and his yellow tiffin casing... "yellow is my favourite colar" ...LOL! Even the Hyundai (the car brand Shah Rukh endorses ting tong) is yellow
  • Before the start of Haule Haule when he flicks his head back
  • Cute phrases: "Mention not", "Mooch nehi katte ni hai", "Hoit!", "Oyee!", "Siappa", "Punjab Pawar lighting up your life, Surinder Sahni this side ji",
  • Suri's naive reactions: "You will slap my wife??", "Sorry Bobby, is that part (macho) very expensive?"
  • Every time Taani comes to his room unannounced, Suri drops something he's been working on XD
  • My wish for the 'my favourite uncle' moment was granted! It's that scene when Suri takes off his fake mustache while still wearing his spectacles. I went, "Hey! It's Uncle!" LOL
  • Suri dances before his bath and at the dinner table during the 'Dance Pe Chance' video
  • The way he looks when Taani says she's cooked him biryani and while she's filling up his plate (shock! horror! ohnoes, stop it! stop it! no more! I'm going to die, huh?), then loudly going "Arrrrghhhhh," while lying on his bed, unable to go to sleep LOL
Raj's lovely moments
  • Every time Suri's demeanour peeks out during the first night at the dance hall, esp when Raj tries to explain that "it was a mistake" as the guy inspects his 21 green card
  • Every time he flirts with Taani, esp the "Flirting would be if I were to tell you that I have never seen a girl more beautiful than you and when you dance all sweaty, the way your hair swings left, right, left, right made my heart skip a beat..." dialogue. I was like, "Suri! Where did you get that vocabulary??" XD
  • During the bike ride in the rain, esp when he says, "Bataa du?" (I like the fact that there's quite a lot of rain when it's Raj's turn)
  • Cute phrases: "Oh dearrr, never fearrr, Raj is herrre", "Areppaaa", "Now you'rrre not saying anything", "Okay, John Ibrahim!", "Full verzhon, please?", "Thank you Madonna madam!", "Correct?', "Kuch kam karu! Karu, karu, karu!", "Aap here... what? why? how come?", "Tu God's ki gift hai ji", "Same, same?", "The sky fell, yes. Let's hang together", "By the by", "Oh, present ji", "Everything is same.. to same ji", "Oh good night Taani partner. Happy monsoon~~"
  • Every time he takes off his dark glasses and looks at Taani. So intense are his stares, it makes me wonder how much Suri's spectacles power is and whether, however much he squints, Raj only sees a blur whenever he looks at her from a distance
  • His expression, inflection and o yumm body language when he says, "O man, I'll die of happiness!", "Price ka mile gaaa?", "Koi bi?", "I'll pick you up tomorrow 9am, Amritsar time ji."
  • Prancing down the stairs of the mandhir in that tight kapre during the 'Tujh Mein Rab Dekhta Hai' song
Nice acting
  • Taani's eyes as she says, "I'll do as you wish, father" on his deathbed
  • Suri's eyes when Taani says she has to kill her old self and create a new Taani, and Anushka's acting skill during this scene
  • The whole characterization of Suri: the way he walks and talks, his body posture, his voice, the way he looks at others through his spectacles (he never takes them off, just like Clark Kent hehe)
  • Shah Rukh's inflection when he says, "But I love her just the way she is" in the confession scene at his friend's salon
  • The change in expression between '...apka hero' and 'ji'. Also, when he says, "I aaaaamm..." during Raj's first meeting with Taani. Actually, I love the whole host of expressions Shah Rukh displays during that scene. It's Suri being worried that his wife will recognize him and trying to act like this hero 'Raj' that he's created at the spur of the moment.
  • When Raj talks to the mannequin/Suri, esp when Raj reverts to Suri at the end of the monologue. This is one of the scenes I rewind the most. That single tear at the end is so easy to miss.
  • Raj's morphing into Suri in the changing room during and after Taani's answer that "The only thing a girl desires is that someone loves her like no one has ever been loved before. There is nothing else a girl wants from life."
  • Anushka's expressions during the 'I Love You' scene. I feel as if I could stare at her forever
  • Raj's expression after Taani says, "Nothing remains the same after that," is Suri thinking, "Hoshit, I made a big mistake, didn't I?". Very profound
  • After Raj declares his love for Taani, there's a hardened quality in Suri's eyes whenever he gazes upon Taani, with every look screaming betrayal. This look starts surfacing in the salon: the scene when Suri combs his hair
  • Suri's rigidly angry posture in the rain when Raju calls to tell him that his wife is at the garage asking after Raj, and the softening of his expressions when later he enters the garage and finds how wretched Taani looks sitting by herself waiting for him to come
  • Anushka's expression and body movements during their entire dance in the Dancing Jodi Grand Finale competition
My favourite scenes
Everytime Shah Rukh appears onscreen LOL. Okay, okay.. that's too general.
  • When Suri clears his cupboard. Also, later as he looks around the attic, goes, "maih" and proceeds to bounce lightly with a broom in his hand to clean the cobwebs
  • Shah Rukh Khan is washing the dishes! Mukyaaaaaa!
  • Best Scene of Filmfare 2008 is my favourite scene too
  • Everytime Suri is at the office: sitting so primly at his seat, answering telephone, interacting with his officemates, carrying that tiffin box to his desk like it's some kind of offering to God, etc.
  • Drunken revelry with his best friend, Balwinder aka Bobby Khosla, to the tune of 'Tere Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'
  • The shorning of half a mustache: "Haule, haule, haule, haule, haule, haule, hoit!" (somehow, in the dark ...Suri's sillouette reminds me strongly of Shah Rukh as 'Babloo' in Duplicate)
  • Every time Raj adjusts his tight jeans XD
  • The gol guppa competition. Esp when both Taani and Raj have tears streaking down their sweaty faces, after they've eaten God knows how many plates of that food, yet they still bravely shove it in one by one. And afterwards, Suri shoveling the biryani courageously while saying "A-One ...A-One ji" after every mouthful.
  • The 'oye macho' scene + the 'macho' song when Raj enters the dance hall
Uncomfortable moments for me
  • The most uncomfortable moment for me has to be everytime Suri prays at the Golden Temple because he does the 'sujud'. It makes me wonder how Shah Rukh justified those scenes while he was acting
  • There's too much mentioning of 'God' in this movie. What was happening in Aditya's life when he penned this story?
  • That short dialogue-less scene at the temple before 'Dance Pe Chance'. Either Aditya was too sure that Shah Rukh would manage to convey the right message to us or he didn't want to bother. But I thought that's a very important scene and he should have inserted more clues into it in case some people don't get what it's about
  • No one in the film tries to explain how a normal desk-job guy who never seems to get up from his seat, much less has weight-lifting included in his daily regiment, can have a nice sculpted body. Or does the casting staff think that Raj's body is like that of any normal guy's in Amritsar? I have to go to this Amritsar place and check out the male population there before I complain any further
  • What does the writing Taani sees on the banner mean in the scene before she and Raj get showered with rose petals?
  • That dancing and singing is allowed in the masjid. It's made me realize my ignorance on how Islam is practiced in other parts of the world
Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte
Feels like commenting about this song...
  • Kajol looks so fresh and distinct in the sea of black and white, Bipasha so wooden and awkward with Shah Rukh, Lara so forgettable that I couldn't distinguish her from the back-up dancers even though her costume is outstanding (it looks like the set in Om Shanti Om. Even the costumes are similar. I wish they got Deepika for this one instead. That would have been quite a trip down memory lane), Preity so vivacious, and ...I run out of words to describe Rani. She's as beautifully vivid as she was in KKHH. In fact, some of her moves remind me of the 'Koi Mil Gaya' song. I can't believe she's 10 years older now, she is still just as youthful, energetic and riveting.
  • I managed to guess correctly 4 out of 5 avatars that Shah Rukh did, which means his talent for mimicry is quite formidable (remember, I'm not an Indian Hindi movie goer. I hardly get to watch old Hindi movies on TV and I don't buy other DVDs aside from SRK's). My miss was Rajesh Khanna. But that's probably coz I've only watched a couple of his movies and they are of the tear-jerker variety. I have never seen Rajesh Khanna dance wearing bright clothes XD". But Raj (the Charlie Chaplin look), Shammi (Junglee and Yahoo, the way he throws his arms and hair about) and Rishi Kapoor (the long scarf) are pretty identifiable from the word go. And Shah Rukh got Dev Anand's mannerisms nailed. I bet he's one of the actors Shah Rukh always tried to imitate while acting in his bathroom when he was a kid
And the award goes to...
  • Funniest Scene: thumbdrive-stuck-in-laptop scene LOL. The way Shah Rukh executed that scene is such a riot!
  • Sexiest scene: when Raj gets out of the cab and pays the fare while wearing Suri's spectacles and then walking like Suri. Even though Raj is always in tight t-shirts and jeans, the only time I think, "OMG, he's so sexy!!!" is during this scene
  • Most Adorable Way of Saying Embarrassing Things to Your Lady Love: Raj in the 'motion ni loose hai' dialogue LOL
  • Best dialogue: "Bobby my friend, to make Taani laugh, to keep her happy, Suri can do comedy, Suri can dance, Suri can change himself completely and become Raj. But to win her love, Suri won't change. She will have to love this Suri I work for Punjab Pawar for who he is. And she will have to understand Suri's love soft, sweet, slow. Otherwise we are travelling the love lane, down the road we will meet again."
  • Best Mood Twister in a Scene: the sumo wrestling scene. It could have been a funny scene but the way Shah Rukh played it made me cry and laugh at the same time throughout it. The music score amazingly captures the varying mood range of the characters
  • Best Villain: Taani when she, leaving the movie theater and her husband behind without a word, went to find Raj at Raju Garage
  • Most Lovable Look while Posing a Ridiculous Question: Suri when he asks Taani whether God will be angry at him for loving her more than Himself
  • Most Loaded Sexual-Tension Look: Suri during the Dancing Jodi Grand Finale
  • Most Favourite Scene: the 'run away with me' scene, hands down
Rambling about the movie in general
Suri's my favourite character, but I also love Raj a lot. Shah Rukh has created a mix persona of jester, wannabe hero, awkward + extravagant guy with a good heart in Raj. I see moments of Suri in Raj, but I can't see Raj in Suri at all. In fact, there are several scenes with Raj that made me go, "Suri, why are you doing this?" or "Uh oh, it's Suri applying his naive logic/reasoning again". The way Shah Rukh plays both characters is genius. The only apparent time that Suri acts like Raj is when he asks Bobby, "Have you ever tasted the first raindrops? They taste heavenly."

My verdict? As far as comparison goes, to me, it's way better than DDLJ. The first time I watched DDLJ was in 1997 back when I was in the UK. People made such a fuss about the film so I looked it up. I wasn't very impressed with it, but maybe that was because I couldn't identify with whatever it is it tries to convey. But with RNBDJ, due to some real life experiences, I can identify with its issues and maybe that's why I enjoyed it better. Shah Rukh was right, it's quite a modern take on marriage. While not always concurring with Suri's decisions, I understand everything he tries to do for Taani. If my Suri were to love me as recklessly, what would have been my reaction? Would I be like Taani and ask him to stop?

Can I say this? Shah Rukh looks really nice with a mustache hehe. Even though it makes him look older than his age, it also makes him look more beautiful... to me, at least.

I can see how Shah Rukh was having fun with Raj. I love Raj, he amuses me to no end. Every time Shah Rukh plays a dorky character, it reminds me of Babloo. Maybe because that's his first really dorky character I've come across. He let go quite a lot as Raj. The gol guppa competition reminds me of how Shah Rukh said he doesn't like people to see him eat. Raj eats very sloppily in that scene. And of all the places Raj can go with his lady love, he takes her on a tour to places of worship LOL. What a difficult guy to pin down. No wonder Taani was smitten. I think Shah Rukh didn't want to fight public opinion and so agreed readily when people say Raj was played over-the-top etc. But IMO, the way he plays it is the only logical way to play Suri's Raj.

See, Raj will make sense if we think that Suri's modeled him after his best friend. Booby Khosla is flamboyant, very confident with himself (colourful hair and loud dress sense in the small town of Amritsar? He's definitely a confident guy) and overtly macho. It's a unisex salon so I think he's popular with the ladies too, although it was not shown in the movie. The only real person Suri can base his super hero Raj on is Bobby and because exaggerative gestures are out of character for Suri since his movements are particularly minimal , Suri's imitation of Bobby becomes jerky and discontinuous. Which probably translates to the audience as hamming.

Hasn't anyone ever wondered how come the best friend of the most boring guy in Punjab Pawar is an extrovert like Bobby? Aditya didn't explain clearly the equation between the two, deciding to focus on the woman-man relationship instead. I wish Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi has a sequel. There're a lot of things that can be done with these three interesting characters yet. Oh, by the way... that the story stays interesting from start to finish for billions of people all over the world with just three big characters (with one played by a newcomer) driving it forward speaks for the brilliance of Aditya's writing. If the screenplay had sucked, not even Shah Rukh could have saved it. It's also a testament to that popular saying, "Only sex or Shah Rukh sells" Heck, for a movie that stars the King of Romance, it doesn't have even a peck on the cheek (or did I miss it somewhere??) and it sold like hotcakes when it was released.

Some people say that Suri deliberately pushes Taani towards Raj in order to test her love for him by becoming more stoic, case in point is when he requests her to close the window coz the floor will get spoilt by rainwater. I don't think Suri does any such thing, he's just being his normal regular homely self. That's his ancestral home... of course he doesn't want to see the floor ruined. Suri's request is a reflex due to his practical nature. IMO, the only time he tests Taani is when he asks her about Raj.

And about Taani not recognizing her husband? I agree with the opinion that we see what we want to see. What we don't want to see, our brain will make up its own explanation to justify it so as not to disturb our sensibilities. Or else, why wouldn't Lois Lane notice that Clark Kent and Superman are the same person? The power to create false imageries to replace the truth in order to preserve our sanity is a very human defense mechanism... just like forgetfulness is.

Surprisingly, the humblest and most profoundly beautiful gestures in this film are made by the happy-go-lucky avatar, Raj:
  • Blackout-ing the whole Amritsar for a few seconds in order to light it up again with 'I love you' written across the black expanse. I find it lovely that one side of the V is made up of roadside lamps
  • Giving up the dance classes he is looking forward to participating with Taani in order to give her a shot at winning the competition
  • Taking her on a tour to the places of worship and staging all sorts of lovely receptions to welcome her: the rose petal shower, the giant picture puzzle, the child dancers, and finally the most astonishingly extravagant love declaration a woman has ever been treated to
  • Telling her that he thinks what she wants to wish in the first rain is to stop her heart from hurting
  • Asking her, quite sensitively done actually, what is it that a girl wants most in the world
  • Making her smile and laugh all the time. He never gives her a chance to stare into nothing or sulk at all during their interactions
  • Trying to serve hot tea while the reality of Taani, his (Suri's) wife, choosing another man is staring him in the face
  • Asking her to run away with him, knowing fully well that if she were to accept, he'd have to erase his real self (Suri) and become Raj for the rest of his life. Of all the movies I have watched in my life, I think this is the ultimate 'sacrifice yourself at the altar of love' scene for me. Nothing can top this, ever
  • Being endearingly overwhelmed by Taani's refusal to leave with him after the competition even though the reason Taani doesn't want to leave Suri is most probably due to gratitude and wifely obligation, not love
What I have to say at the end of the movie to Shah Rukh and Aditya is: Make another movie together! And also, there's nothing 'common' about Suri except his looks. I doubt any woman in the world has been romanced by a common man even 1/10 of the ways Taani has been in RNBDJ.

My request? To any kind soul, translate the ending credits and upload it to youtube, please? Thank you in advance.

On the IPL 2 front

Moles backs Knights’ captain to come good
Speaking to The Telegraph on board a South African Express CRJ-200 flight from Port Elizabeth on Tuesday morning, Moles added: “I don’t think the Knights’ captaincy is weighing him down... From the conversations I’ve had with him, Brendon’s quite liking the role... He loves challenges and this is one...”

According to Moles, McCullum has the qualities of a leader, which is why he’s Daniel Vettori’s deputy.

The Knights’ poor show, though, has prompted McCullum to say that he’d be prepared to “step aside” if the team didn’t make the semi-finals. Indeed, he’s “comfortable” with accountability.

That’s a plus.


Monday, April 27, 2009

Quote of the Day

Source
Shah Rukh is excited about playing the title role in the remake of the 1970s hit “Don”. “The remake has no comparison with the original hit. It will not be that great, but it is indeed a dream come true for me to play that legendary role.”

His philosophy in life? “I enjoy it without being overwhelmed. I had said this about ‘Devdas’ as well. If you are going to run with Carl Lewis, you feel relaxed because you know you are not going to win. So, just enjoy the fact that you are getting the chance to run with Carl Lewis.”

While waiting...

It seems that the KKR website is getting such a heavy traffic or something coz I still can't log in from yesterday after trying a bajillion times to wish KKR all the best in their next game.

So I've decided to return to the more familiar and dominant aspect of Shah Rukh's professional front that I blog about before I became IPL-crazed... his filmi and filmi-related careers. I've decided that I'ma start doing my krepi reviews on his films starting from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. I think I'm gonna write as I watch it so it'll probably be several pages long haha. Who cares. No one follows my blog anyway so I can write as much as I want and as krepily as I want to.

But before that, I just want to quote this coz I like the fact that he's called the 'bigger Khan' as compared to the other two (all three of them were born in 1965):

While the case is closed on the Twitter profile of Shah Rukh Khan as a fake, Shah Rukh has officially began blogging on the Kolkata Knight Rider’s website. And thus now with the likes of Big B, Aamir and Salman the bigger Khan of them all has joined the bollywood celeb blog bandwagon (of course there is Shilpa Shetty and Gul Panag as well). The only difference here being that instead of a personal blog, it revolves around KKR and the IPL. (source)

He's returning to India this Wednesday to vote, so hopefully the media, fans, anti-whateva people, and the general public will let KKR play in peace for the rest of the tournament. I still have this hope of seeing them go to the semi-finals, no matter if the pessimists and realists say what an impossible dream that is. Life is made of impossible dreams, sweetheart. Or else, why go on living?

From now on, even though I'll keep following the scores as before, I'll try to curb my uninformed and unknowledgeable blabbing of all things cricket in this blog, or anywhere else really. I'll try to gain more cricket knowledge, go see some cricket games on home grounds (I hope Malaysia got chosen by PCB as that alternative venue), befriend some cricket-mad Malaysians, etc. so I'll be better prepared for IPL 3.

But Datuk Shah Rukh, if you were to leave the IPL before IPL 3... there's no sense for me to take an interest in it anymore. I'm a Malaysian, not an Indian (I could never understand die-hard Malaysian fans of English football clubs, sorry). There's absolutely no reason for me to support the DLF-IPL if you were no longer there, man. So, here's to your long association with IPL... cheers!

P/S: How did people manage to stumble upon my blog anyway (other than the few friends I gave the link to)? I've been staring at the flags in my flagcounter and wondering about it. I didn't put special 'markers' to make it easily searchable and my id is a really general one. I'm very curious. Wish someone would tell me how they found this space so I can solve this mystery.

Deccan Chargers won against Chennai Super Kings by 6 wickets

Chennai Super Kings innings (20 overs maximum)
Parthiv Patel c Gilchrist b Edwards 0 (2)
Matthew Hayden c Sharma b Ojha 49 (35)
Suresh Raina c & b Sharma 25 (19)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Shoaib b Ojha 22 (22)
Jocab Oram not out 41 (29)
Albie Morkel c Singh b Venugopal Rao 13 (7)
Sumbramaniam Badrinath c & b Singh 8 (9)
Manpreet Gony not out 0

Extras (w 4, nb 3) 7

Total (for six points in 20 overs) 165

Fall of wickets 1-0 (Patel, 0.2 overs), 2-64 (Raina, 6.5), 3-102 (Dhoni, 12.3), 4-103 (Hayden, 12.6), 5-129 (Morkel, 16.5), 6-165 (Badrinath, 19.5)

Bowling:
Fidel Edwards 4 0 21 1
R.P. Singh 3 0 32 1
Dawyne Smith 1 0 17 0
Venugopal Rao 4 0 35 1
Rohit Sharma 3 0 18 1
Pragyan Ojha 2 0 11 2
S.M. Shoaib 3 0 31 0

Deccan Chargers innings (target: 166 runs from 20 overs)
Adam Gilchrist c Muralitharan b Raina 44 (19)
Herschelle Gibbs not out 69 (56)
V.V.S. Laxman c Oram b Raina 4 (5)
Rohit Sharma c Dhoni b Balaji 18 (19)
Dwayne Smith lbw b Muralitharan 12 (5)
Azhar Bilakhia not out 12 (14)

Extras (lb 2, w 3, nb 5) 10

Total ( for four wickets in 19.3 overs) 169

Fall of wickets 1-67 (Gilchrist, 5.4 overs), 2-75 (Laxman, 7.3), 3-114 (Sharma, 13.4),

4-130 (Smith, 15.2)

Bowling:
Lakhmipathy Balaji 3.3 0 41 1
Manpreet Gony 1 0 20 0
Albie Morkel 3 0 29 0
Muttiah Muralitharan 4 0 17 1
Suresh Raina 4 0 18 2
Joginder Sharma 1 0 14 0
Jacob Oram 3 0 28 0

Toss: Deccan Chargers chose to field

Points: Deccan Chargers 2, Chennai Super Kings 0

Man of the match: Herschelle Gibbs (Deccan Chargers)

Umpires: Ian Howell (South Africa) and T. Wijewardene (Sri Lanka)

TV umpire: Shashank Ranade (India)

Match referee Devdas Govindjee

Deja Vu

"Perhaps, SRK would have been better off to support continuity rather than get mixed up in matters that are alien to him. After all, we are talking about serious, competitive cricket and not some movie shoot." (source)

This is so very similar to what they told him when he delivered PBDHH, the first movie he produced: You're an actor, don't get mixed up with production business since you know nothing about it.

Shah Rukh said he's motivated, not by success, but by failure. I want him to remember that, especially tonight after yet another KKR defeat, this time at the hand of Mumbai Indians (they
won by 92 runs). Scorecard can be referred here.

After some thought, I've made up my mind that the match is just a game. Like life is just a game. If life is not going the way I want, I can't commit suicide. The same goes with the match. Just because they're currently on a losing streak, doesn't mean they can give up for the rest of the tournament. After this match, they'll be facing another match, and another, and another... until the round is finished. Next year they'll face another tournament, and the game goes on. As does life.

I've also made up my mind that Shah Rukh will be okay. He was okay all the while I was not around as a fan to support him so what am I worried about? That people will laugh at him when he comes home to India? People have always laughed at others when they're losing, and then come back to lick their asses when they're successful. It's the way of the world. That he's losing fans left and right coz of KKR's unpopular decisions? Fans come and go even without him joining the sports industry. Actually, I left his fandom in 2000 and I came back in 2008, so it's not a big deal for me. And what will my worry benefit him anyway? Nothing. All I can do is wish him all the best, that's it. And that's what I will do...

...as soon as I can get logged into the KKR website. Man, its jammed. I guess everyone's trying to show how important they are by writing "I TOLD YOU SO" messages and unsolicited advices on how to manage a cricket team to Shah Rukh, KKR and the KKR management.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Forgive me father, for I'm going to sin...

As a Shah Rukh fan, I'm going to say something that's considered blasphemous by all Shah Rukh fans right here in my SRK-dedicated blog:

I don't think Shah Rukh's close participation with KKR and IPL game is good for the team.

(gyaaaaaaa! *runs far far away from all angry SRK-fans*)

Lemme make that clearer. I don't think it's his fault at all. He's doing the best he can for the team, I believe that. I love his passion and involvement. I know he used to be a sportsman back in his school and college days and anyone who says he knows shit about cricket deserves a resounding slap on their faces. I'm learning the sportsman spirit just by following his progress throughout IPL.

But it seems that the Indian media loves to tear him apart. The cigarette controversy is the newest on the block. I bet if Shah Rukh were to fart loudly at his seat, a new NGO will be created to impose ban against farting loudly in the stadium just to have him removed from the grounds.

I think for the sake of his team's peace of mind, he should go underground for a bit. No blogging, no SMS-ing, no interviewing, no television program. Say NO to any interview when you're back on home ground this week, Shah Rukh! At least until his team gets to semi-finals. What's the point of appearing in NDTV if KKR is gonna be the lowest total scorer again (I fervently hope not)? 2 years in a row of being behind Preity's and Shilpa's teams will not aspire confidence in their sponsors, I can tell ya that.


I seriously hate the way this article was written. It really pisses me off that they're dismissing KKR so lightly. Lemme tell you people, his Dreamz Unlimited faced severe criticisms when it started its business but now you guys are calling him a shrewd businessman due to RC Ent's success. Give him some years in IPL (as long as he doesn't make good of his promise to exit if it didn't work out for a year, that is) and you'd be eating your bloody words.

I'm seriously in no mood to do any work right now. My stomach is churning. See, this is why I don't get involved in sports or why I only support the winning team. I'm too high-tempered and can't suffer defeat well. I'd likely smash something tomorrow morning at the lab, unless KKR wins tonight. I need to go for lunch.


And here's a fresh controversy, right from the KKR camp. I don't think they can afford this right before a crucial game, really. What is the management doing?? I feel like banging a table and shouting, "Order in the court! Order in the court!" ...or something.


News headline 1

Port Elizabeth: Shah Rukh Khan's team Kolkata Knight Riders ran in fresh trouble as the management asked Akash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar, the two players, to return home, saying they did not fit into the team's scheme of things. This decision is viewed as another experiment from Coach Buchanan after removal of Sourav Ganguly from captaincy. However team management had a different story to tell.

KKR's chief executive officer Joy Bhattacharya said, ‘The decision had been taken after the team management met the two players. They are two very good, senior, international players. So, the coach John Buchanan, and the team management thought that if they were not going to have the opportunity to play, it would be unfair to keep them here'.

KKR was in controversy for past few days due to a blog which revealed all the happenings in the team to the world. Akash Chopra was alleged to be the man behind the blog. However, he denied the allegation later.

It is believed that KKR sent the two players in an effort to check their budget. It is worth mentioning here that KKR is the only team that has a gamut of managers for almost every task, most of them being close to Coach Buchanan.

News headline 2

PORT ELIZABETH/DURBAN: There's a lot on Shah Rukh Khan's plate at the moment and it's not about his team registering a few wins here in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

There's a major storm brewing inside the Knight Riders camp and one is not even talking about the mystery blogger here.

If the Baazigar doesn't get his act together quickly, his dreams of KKR being crowned Baadshahs Of IPL-2 could metamorphose into a Knightmare.
The players inside the team are learnt to be bracing themselves for a revolt. It's not a question of if. It's when.

The players are just looking for someone to stand up and speak. Knight Riders have sent two of their players Aakash Chopra and Sanjay Bangar back to India, saying they do not fit in their scheme of things any more.

Joy Bhattacharya, the team director, said, "Chopra and Bangar are senior players. The team management decided to send them back because they do not fit in the plans right now. It's not good for them to not be playing and merely travel with the team. That's why, after discussions with coach John Buchanan, we decided to take this step," Bhattacharya added.

He also stressed that there won't be any more re-enforcements. The players find this a ridiculous theory because Knight Riders' coach John Buchanan had backed Chopra big time and played him at the crucial No. 5 slot ahead of the more fancied Laxmi Ratan Shukla.
Skipper McCullum too was all praise for Chopra last week. "He is a key figure in the middle-order for us. He was extremely good during the practice sessions in Bloemfontein and that's why we have decided to keep him in the squad. We're expecting that he will come good in the matches to come," McCullum had said.

Now, both the coach and the captain have egg on their faces. "Laxmi can at least go and hit big if he gets the time to stay there. With Chopra, it was a blunder right from the start. And when he (Buchanan) finally dropped Chopra, who does he pick? Bangar! And for which position? Number six? Pull out his (Bangar's) career stats and tell me when was the last time he set the field on fire, especially when the team is 70-4 with 10 overs remaining" two players from the KKR camp argued.

They find the treatment being meted out to the individuals, absolutely shocking. To back their point, they say, "Do you know the kind of staff travelling with us? It's bigger than the team."

Of course, there's John Buchanan, director — cricket operations, chief coach Mathew Mott, assistant coach Brad Murphy, wicket-keeping coach Wade Seccombe, bowling coach Andy Bichel, assistant coach for strength training Michael Buchanan (John's son), team director Joydeep Mukherjee, trainer Adrian Le Roux, physiotherapist Andrew Leipus, fielding coach Jon Deeble and last heard, the players were saying Buchanan's second son is also a part of the camp. Apparently, there are around five to six more simply touring here as different kinds of managers in charge of the team.

Malaysia is being considered as a neutral zone for replacement venue by Pakistan Cricket Board

Malaysia Jadi Venue Berkecuali, Pilihan Lembaga Kriket PakistanBy: Ramjit-->
NEW DELHI, 14 April (Bernama) -- Malaysia mungkin menjadi venue berkecuali bagi Pakistan menganjurkan siri perlawanan kriket antarabangsa berikutan kesangsian pasukan asing bermain di negara itu.Pasukan negara asing keberatan untuk beraksi di Pakistan berikutan kejadian serangan hendap oleh sekumpulan lelaki bersenjata ke atas pasukan kriket Sri Lanka di bandar Lahore awal bulan lepas.

Dalam kejadian itu, enam pegawai polis dan seorang pemandu terbunuh dan beberapa pemain Sri Lanka mengalami kecederaan.Memandangkan keadaan keselamatan tidak menentu di negara itu, Lembaga Kriket Pakistan (PCB) terpaksa mengubah perlawanan antarabangsanya ke negara luar selepas pasukan asing enggan berkunjung ke negara itu.

Pengerusi PCB Muhammad Ijaz Butt berkata Malaysia, yang menganjurkan Kejohanan Tiga Negara Piala DLF -- Australia,, India dan West Indies di Akademi Oval Kinrara pada 2006, mempunyai potensi untuk dipilih sebagai venue berkecuali.

"Kami mempunyai beberapa venue pilihan dan kami mengkaji kesesuaiannya," kata Butt seperti dipetik dalam laman web kriket Cricinfo."Kuala Lumpur, Ireland dan Glasgow adalah antara venue pilihan. Belum ada keputusan muktamad pada peringkat ini dan berharap satu keputusan akan dibuat bulan depan," katanya.

Selain itu, England dan Emiriyah Arab Bersatu (UAE) juga dalam senarai PCB bagi menjadi hos bagi siri perlawanan ujian dan perlawanan antarabangsa sehari (ODI) yang akan diadakan sepanjang 12 bulan akan datang.-- BERNAMA


Malaysia Bersedia Jadi Gelanggang Berkecuali PakistanBy: Ramjit-->
KUALA LUMPUR, 15 April (Bernama) -- Malaysia bersedia menjadi gelanggang berkecuali bagi Pakistan menganjurkan siri perlawanan kriket antarabangsa berikutan kesangsian pasukan negara lain bermain di negara itu.Setiausaha Kehormat Persatuan Kriket Malaysia C. Sivanandan berkata Malaysia sudah mempunyai dua kompleks kriket yang mendapat pengiktirafan daripada Majlis Kriket Antarabangsa (ICC) untuk dijadikan gelanggang bagi siri perlawanan ujian dan perlawanan antarabangsa sehari (ODI).

"Akademi Oval Bayu Emas di Kelang (Selangor) dan Akademi Oval Kinrara (Selangor) memang sudah mencapai tahap untuk penganjuran kriket bertaraf antarabangsa,""Jadi dari segi fasiliti kita memang dah bersedia dan kita mempunyai tenaga kerja yang mencukupi untuk penganjuran kejohanan seperti itu," katanya ketika dihubungi Bernama.

Pasukan negara asing keberatan untuk beraksi di Pakistan berikutan kejadian serangan hendap sekumpulan lelaki bersenjata ke atas pasukan kriket Sri Lanka di bandar Lahore awal bulan lepas.Pada kejadian itu, enam pegawai polis dan seorang pemandu terbunuh dan beberapa pemain Sri Lanka cedera.Bagaimanapun kata Sivanandan, pihaknya belum mendapat maklum balas rasmi daripada PCB.

Sementara itu, Setiausaha Agung Persatuan Kriket Melayu Malaysia Rosmanizam Abdullah berkata daripada tinjauan PCB pada awal tahun, PCB lebih berminat dengan Akademi Oval Bayu Emas."Akademi Oval Bayu Emas memang diiktiraf sebagai gelanggang kriket terbaik di Asia Tenggara dan telah mendapat pengiktirafan ICC untuk kejohanan besar sejak tahun 2004," katanya.-- BERNAMA

Kolkata Knight Riders is playing tonight againts Mumbai Indians!

Yikes! I'm getting more and more agitated. I wish I could watch it... grrrr. Why don't we have this game on ASTRO so that I could at least beg my brother to let me come over and conquer his TV set for a few hours?

KKR is the only team that has not shown its true potential. The match that they won was cut short by rain. The other point was gained becoz the game was abandoned, again due to rain. Both the games that they played from start to finish, they lost. Is it any wonder that I'm very worried? I'm an opportunist who doesn't understand loyalty in supporting a team. If it were the old me, I'd always go for the winning team/a team that I feel have the strongest chance of winning (Delhi or Chennai, I can't decide), or a team that's giving me a good game (Deccan). Needless to say, I don't have much of a sporting spirit in me. I'm learning from Shah Rukh how to be a sport and still have faith in the team I support from the beginning to the end regardless of what's happening at the points table (I'm currently obsessed with it).

At this point in time, the only reason I'm supporting KKR is because of Shah Rukh. Seriously. Guys, come on. Please give us a good game tonight. If I(we) send an abundance of my(our) positive energy, can you promise me(us) that you'll win?

I have to distract myself with work, otherwise I'll get sick from over-anxiety.

Delhi Daredevils beat Bangalore Royal Challengers by 6 wickets

Source
Bangalore Royal Challengers innings (20 overs maximum)
Jacques Kallis b Nannes 0 (1 ball)
Robin Uthappa c Sangwan b Nehra 3 (8)
Kevin Pietersen b Vettori 37 (40)
Ross Taylor lbw b Mishra 31 (45)
Virat Kohli c Dilshan b Nehra 22 (46)
Mark Boucher c Mishra b Sangwan 36 (31)
B. Akhil not out 8 (6)
Vinay Kumar run out (de Villiers) 0 (1)
Pankaj Singh not out 1 (2)
Extras (lb-5, w-5, nb-1) 11
Total (for seven wickets in 20 overs) 149
Fall of wickets 1-0 (Kallis, 0.1 overs), 2-10 (Uthappa, 1.2), 3-72 (Pietersen, 9.3), 4-78 (Taylor, 10.6), 5-139 (Boucher, 18.6), 6-139 (Kohli, 19.1), 7-145 (Vinay Kumar, 19.3)
Bowling
Derek Nannes 4-0-24-1
Ashish Nehra 4-0-34-2
Pradeep Sangwan 4-0-32-1
Amit Mishra 4-0-19-1
Daniel Vettori 4-0-35-1

Delhi Daredevils innings (target: 150 runs from 20 overs)
Gautam Gambhir c Boucher b Pankaj Singh 16 (25 balls)
Virender Sehwag c Pietersen b Pankaj Singh 7 (7)
Tillakaratne Dilshan not out 67 (86)
A.B. de Villiers b Appanna 21 34 (23)
Dinesh Karthik c Kallis b Akhil 12 (13)
Mithun Manhas not out 23 (21)
Extras (w-4) 4
Total (for four wickets in 19.2 overss) 150
Fall of wickets1-11 (Sehwag, 1.4 ov), 2-42 (Gambhir, 5.4 ov), 3-84 (de Villiers, 13.1 ov), 4-106 (Karthik, 15.4 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ
Vinay Kumar 3.2-0-28-0
Pankaj Singh 4-0-31-2
Jacques Kallis 3-0-37-0
Anil Kumble 4-0-22-0
P.Appanna 4-0-24-1
B.Akhil 1-0-8-1
Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers chose to bat first
Points: Delhi Daredevils 2, Bangalore Royal Challengers 0
Man of the match: Tillekratane Dilshan (Delhi Daredevils)
Umpires: S. Asnani (India) and B.G. Jerling (South Africa)
TV umpire: Billy Doctrove (West Indies)
Match referee: Yashpal Sharma (India)

Kings XI Punjab beat Rajasthan Royals by 27 runs

Source
Kings XI Punjab:
Ravi Bopara c Patel b Kamran Khan 11 (15 balls)
Karan Goel run out (Jadeja/Asnodkar) 0
Kumar Sangakkara run out (Rawat) 60 (51)
Yuvraj Singh c Rawat b Patel 2 (3)
Mahela Jayawardene c Kamran b Patel 7 (10)
Irfan Pathan b Kamran 39 (33)
Piyush Chawla not out 6 (6)
Wilkin Mota not out 1 (2)
Extras (b 2, lb 2, w 9) 13
Total (for six wickets in 20 overs) 139
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Goel, 0.1 overs), 2-21 (Bopara, 4.1), 3-38 (Yuvraj, 6.1), 4-48 (Jayawardene, 8.2), 5-123 (Pathan, 18.1), 6-130 (Sangakkara, 18.6)
Bowling:
Kamran Khan 4-0-15-2
Dimitry Mascarenhas 4-0-29-0
Munaf Patel 4-0-24-2
Yusuf Pathan 4-0-30-0
Shane Warne 4-0-37-0

Rajasthan Royals:
Swapnil Asnodkar c Powar b Pathan 3 (4)
Graeme Smith c Sangakkara b Pathan 2 (6)
Robert Quiney c Sangakkara b Abdulla 7 (8)
Yusuf Pathan c Goel b Chawla 10 (13)
Dimitry Mascarenhas b Abdulla 4 (2)
Ravindra Jadeja b Abdulla 37 (44)
Abhishek Raut c Powar b Chawla 1 (4)
Shane Warne not out 34 (33)
Mahesh Rawat not out 4 (6)
Extras (lb 5, w 5) 10
Total (for seven wickets in 20 overs) 112
Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Asnodkar, 1.1 overs), 2-9 (Smith, 1.5), 3-23 (Quiney, 4.1), 4-27 (Mascarenhas, 4.3), 5-36 (Pathan, 6.4), 6-42 (Raut, 8.4), 7-102 (Jadeja, 18.1)
Bowling:
Ramesh Powar 2-0-10-0
Irfan Pathan 4-0-26-2
Yusuf Abdulla 4-0-21-3
Vikram Raj Vir Singh 4-0-19-0
Piyush Chawla 4-0-22-2
Yuvraj Singh 2-0-9-0
Toss: Kings XI Punjab, who chose to bat first
Player of the match tba
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (South Africa) and K. Hariharan (India)
TV umpire: Mark Benson (England)
Match referee: Gundappa Viswanath (India)

Hmmm...

I'm alarmed at all the bad press the IPL is getting from their own media. And the status the journalists are affording crack bloggers (cult??) is absolutely disheartening.

Maybe it's because IPL is more than just cricket. Maybe it's because the culture of clubs has not really infiltrated into the psyche of the Indian people yet, the way it's been for soccer in Europe. Maybe the instant success and the crores upon crores of profit allegedly made by the organizers has made some people very unhappy coz it's not being channeled their way. Maybe it's because some of the team owners are glamorous Bollywood stars and the spotlight that's constantly being shone on them (Shah Rukh especially) rather than on the game and players has made cricket professionals and fans very uncomfortable and touchy.

Whatever's the reason, it (the bad press) is keeping IPL in a very visible mode. I'm a firm believer of "No publicity is bad publicity" so this is actually a good thing, except that at the moment it's dragging me down a bit, emotionally speaking. Here I am ...trying to know cricket since I know nothing about it as my country is not a cricket-mad country and I've never been a sports enthusiast, trying to understand the pulse of the game, trying to get into the seriousness of it all... the wins, the losses, the ties. And at the end of the day, I have to read an article that says a crack blogger is possibly IPL 2009's biggest entertainer ...not the game, not the players, not the team owners, not anyone who's connected to the game in a professional way. The attitude in the media treatment of the T20 tournament disappoints me.

However, I also firmly believe that things will get settled after 5 years. I always give anything a chance to get better in 5 years, after which I'll despair and leave if it's still going steadily downhill. I want to see how KKR would develop as a team in 5 years. Will the team outshine Shah Rukh in 5 years or will he still need to babysit it after every loss and cheer for it after every win for it to pick up its spirit. Who will stay on and become the star players that KKR will absolutely not be able to do without (other than Sourav, that is). When the foreign players start being 'sold' to opposite teams at later biddings in the manner of club culture, how will it go with the current passionately-territorial fans in India (after all, Sourav Ganguly's removal from captaincy has elicited such an extreme response).

So many interesting questions and none of the passionate cricket fans who know a whole lot better than I do are asking them. Instead, they're concentrating on momentous issues long past their date of being important to the current game on the field. Decisions have been made and the results are being recorded in real time to be studied for workable future gameplays, guys. Get with the program!

I've been searching the youtube for new clips after the 3rd and 4th game and not finding any. That's weird. The game with RJR (the first tie in the history of IPL) should get a few interviews out of someone, if not Shah Rukh. The only ones I found are on the game itself, which is highly unusual. Has the media settled into a rut after only a week into the IPL 2 tournament, or are the journalists currently focusing very hard on the crack blogger as the fountain of their wisdom? I'd like to advise the media covering IPL to deliberately split itself into two faces: the professional mask that records things as they are and the tabloid mask that constantly chases sensational materials regardless of the reality. It's the only way you guys (and us) can stay sane in this reluctant partnership.

I'm blabbing so much... is my nervousness showing? O God, somehow I wish it were Tuesday morning so that I could look up the result already.

2nd post in my KKR blog, pasted in a place where I absolutely KNOW that it won't get rejected...

Is this post being reviewed too? Coz I would like to understand why my first post was rejected. Did it get spit out by some technical glitch or have I written something truly sensationally controversially unpublishable? I hope it's the latter coz it sounds cooler.

I love to blog. I'm blogging everywhere about most of my interests and my favourite topic: myself. Before KKR website became this spiffy, I've started blogging about the team and IPL 2 in my own blog and will continue to do so since no one has the power to 'review and approve' my posts there except myself. I like the creative freedom that promises.

There're some things I need to clarify though (for anyone who, for whateva reason, stumbled onto this blog) - I came into cricket through Shah Rukh Khan (he's a Datuk in my country and I'm intensely patriotic so naturally I'm here to support him), before he got involved with KKR I knew virtually nothing about it, now I want to know more about it, and I'm keeping myself up-to-date with the progress of the championship through the internet coz: (a) My country is not a cricket-loving country, (b) I don't watch TV so I don't own cable, (c) Broadband is still slowass in my country that none of the suggestions on watching the games through streaming works here.

So forgive me for being unknowledgeable about the game and yet still want to comment on it. Forgive me for liking Shah Rukh Khan more than cricket itself. Heck, forgive me for being female as that seems to be a sore point with some fanatically devoted cricket male fans. But I'm taking an interest in KKR and you gutsy, smart guys just have to live with that. I'm waiting for RC Ent to come out with DVDs of KKR matches in IPL so I can watch them and learn how to calculate their points table (games by other teams simply won't make me interested enough to follow and work stuff out). I'm obsessed with the points table coz it looks like maths (the +ve and -ve numbers mesmerize me) and I think I'm stupid in maths and therefore need tosolve every maths problem I'm being presented with to prove to myself that I'm not entirely hopeless.

I'll be posting this over at my blog too, in case this post is also rejected. Just to be on the safe side.

Rejected??

That's what it says. I dunno why my 1st post in my KKR blog was rejected. I hate rejection of any kind, no matter if it's a technical glitch and that it's my fault for not entering some required information. Maybe that's why I never got into creative writing even though some people told me I should. With technical writing, there's a space where I will never get rejected as long as I pay for the registration fee because we believe that any result is publishable. You just need to find the right media.

I've pasted the same text again in my KKR blog and am waiting for those few minutes they've promised. Let's see what'll happen. Personally, I hate it when I'm being told that my post is being 'reviewed and approved'. Why must it be?? As if anything I have to say is that important to be reviewed and approved by anyone. You busy people should have more important things to do than reviewing and approving my posts. I'm not being sarcastic about this.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Shah Rukh's blog posts

1st post, 2nd post.

My comment to his first:

Dear Sir,

I knew nothing of cricket and now I'm posting the IPL 2 scoreboards in my blog and tyring to understand how the heck is a points table calculated, all because you came on to the scene. Needless to say, I'm your fan and I support your team because you believe in them, and I believe in you.

A lot of the things you said in your post and interviews are common sense, but somehow they can still make me go, "hey, that's right!" especially about losing and winning, giving something our best shot, living with our decisions, etc. Everytime you say something, I think it's not that I learn new things, but I learn to look at the same old things with new eyes.

From the credentials, I think KKR has a good set of players and has about the same chance as the other team to win the tournament. I know you said last time that if it didn't work for 1 year, you'll leave. But I hope you'd stick with it the way you stick with the movie industry. I think the journey will be immensely beneficial, not just to you, but also to us all.Thank you for being here.

Ami

I didn't comment to the second because I think he was talking to his team members there.

Reading the comments in his posts, I realized how far the internet has come in teaching us how to be rude to perfect strangers. What do we know of Shah Rukh Khan apart from what we watch on screen, the details of his life in his biographies and his thoughts dispersed in interviews? Zilch, nothing, nada. And yet, some people think they have the right to criticize his decisions as if he were their subordinate or a 4-year old young member of their family. But of course, Shah Rukh would say, "It's okay. It's their point of view."

I have this aversion to typos, bad grammar, abbreviations, swear words and bad manners in internet comments. I've had my share of them before in my other blog and it's soured my whole experience of writing there. I'm not a public figure, so I don't have to 'bear with it' like celebrities and politicians, which is one of the many reasons I left that blog. I'm happy that no one has ever commented to my posts here despite it having some on-and-off visitors. I thank you for your restraint.

I was ecstatic not because he has started blogging, but because of the manner in which he's writing his posts. His words are simple, his messages are clear, he's matter-of-fact, he's not a verbose blogger, he writes as is needed and not more, he's not out there to explain the losses nor the wins but only to state his stand, and he's not apologetic. I would hate it if he had whined about the controversial issues surrounding his team. I've never thought of him as whiner, and I'm glad he's proven, at least to me, that he's not by his first post.

Frankly, I don't understand people who are harshly judgmental on decisions made by others concerning their lives, enterprises, fights, etc. Let them do it. And if you don't support them ...leave, switch off, scram. Don't go all over their space with insults and hate-filled complaints, burn their posters and effigies, etc. How childish. That's what I can't stand about sports the most... the extreme childishness of the fans and supporters. Maybe coz they're mostly made up of 8-year olds dressed up in adult bodies.

The episode with Mumbai Indians this Monday is already hurting my stomach. I'm so nervous. I wish I could be at the stadium or at least in front of a TV monitor to watch it. I think the year KKR win the championship, Red Chillies should come out with a DVD of the whole KKR-IPL matches. I bet a lot of us would have liked to own that. I know I do.

I've bought the Mother of All Books!

Shah Rukh's fandom has to be the easiest on my pocket of all the other fandoms I've been in so far. I can count on one hand the stuff I've bought relating to him (with all the movies being relegated to just 'DVD' tag). The most expensive purchase has to be the one I made yesterday, and even that can be tax-exempted so it's 'free of cost' come next year.

Yep. I bought the 4-kilo thing. I love the chapters on 'The Others' that he did. I think those are the most brilliant. I haven't read the first few, but that's coz I was very clear about not wanting to read it in one linear progression.

What made me bought it, finally? Well, I did want to buy it the day I bought Anupama's but like I wrote, I didn't have the budget, it being bleedin expensive as it is. But reading the excerpts of the book whetted my appetite and I thought ...what the heck, one day I may not feel this strong urge to read it anymore so I might as well do it now. I couldn't find it at the bookshelf (although I did find Amitabh's biography) and I had to wait for nearly half an hour for the bookstore people to get it for me from whereva, but it's worth the wait.

Okay, I confess. What I wanted was Shah Rukh Can (can you blame me? Look at the cover!), but not finding it on the shelf, I couldn't bring myself to write down the title and ask the bookstore girl to find it. I was too embarrassed. I didn't want to be identified as a Shah Rukh fan, or anyone's fan, at a counter. I'm an extremely shy person, and this is the first time I have ever deliberately asked for a book about a celebrity at a bookstore. With 'Still Reading Khan', the title is vague enough (it sounds like fiction) and once the book was in my hand, it didn't matter if they knew whose biography I was searching desperately for coz I could just scram outta there to another counter to pay for it, and thereby escaped scrutiny. The entire time I was waiting at the counter, I put on my 'stone-faced, cultured and polite' mask on to hide my awkwardness every time I ask the girl whether the book was found yet.

I won't do a book review on it coz I generally suck at doing reviews. But it did make me want to change several things in my blog, namely my post labels. It also made me want to write a whole bunch of emails to the author coz while reading it, my brain was flooded with words I wanted to say about what 'Shah Rukh Khan' means to me as a fan. I may or may not write those emails, depending on my laziness, but I do applaud his effort. I absolutely agree that there're more books to be written about Shah Rukh because post-Still Reading Khan he has gone and done more stupendous things that need to be recorded. And it'd be cool if someone who writes as well as Mushtaq does would continue writing about Shah Rukh.

Why write biographies? Well, don't you know? It's one of the ways (I would say, the most effective way) to immortalize a mortal, darling. You'll understand the impact of Mushtaq's and Anupama's and all the other biographers' written words 100 years down the line. Be patient and wait for it, if you're still alive by then, that is.

Kolkatta Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings abandoned due to rain

For someone who knows nothing about cricket, I think I will always remember IPL 2 as the tournament where the team I support has experienced everything across the board on their very first week: Won, Lost, Tied and N/R. That should be an achievement in itself, yes?

Joke aside, I want them to quickly pick themselves up from their 'languishing' position in this 2nd week. I don't know why I think this, but their match against the Mumbai Indians is their break it or make it stage. I hope the climate agrees with me and postpones its torrential wrath to another day (when KKR is not playing hehe). I shall wait for the result of that match with a lot of anticipation and nervousness.


News update
Cape Town, April 25: Incessant rains made it impossible for the umpires to start with the Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders IPL encounter at the Newlands stadium, Cape Town, as a result, the game had to abandoned with both the teams having to share a point apiece.

The rain god did show mercy for sometime when the weather remained clear for just ten minutes in between. However, the drizzle revived again, making the weather in Cape Town very unpleasant.

Both the teams badly needed a win as each of them has lost two matches out of three. Before coming to this match, by virtue of their one win each, they had two points.

Chennai Super Kings now stand at third position in the points table while Kolkata Knight Riders are languishing at seventh spot.

Deccan Chargers won against Mumbai Indians by 12 runs

Deccan Chargers:
Adam Gilchrist c Shah b Bravo 35 (20 balls)
Herschelle Gibbs run out (Bravo/Khan) 58 (44)
Dwayne Smith b Jayasuriya 35 (22)
Rohit Sharma c Dhawan b Bravo 3 (5)
V.V.S. Laxman c Nayar b Bravo 0
Y. Venugopal Rao b Malinga 9 (10)
Ravi Teja lbw b Malinga 9 (9)
Rudra Pratap Singh c Jayasuriya b Harbhajan 4 (4)
Fidel Edwards b Malinga 1 (3)
Pragyan Ojha not out 0 (2)

Extras (b 2, lb 7, w 5) 14

Total (9 wickets in 20 overs): 168

Fall of wickets: 1-63 (Gilchrist, 6.5 overs), 2-124 (Smith, 12.5), 3-136 (Sharma, 14.4), 4-137 (Laxman, 14.6), 5-141 (Gibbs, 15.4), 6-156 (Venugopal Rao, 17.4), 7-161 (Singh, 18.4), 8-163 (Edwards, 19.2), 9-168 (Ravi Teja, 19.6)

Bowling:
Lasith Malinga 4-1-19-3
Zaheer Khan 4-0-32-0
Dwayne Bravo 4-0-34-3
Harbhajan Singh 4-0-27-1
Sanath Jayasuriya 3-0-29-1
Dhawal S Kulkarni 1-0-18-0

Mumbai Indians:
Sanath Jayasuriya c Gilchrist b Singh 1 (8)
Sachin Tendulkar c Gibbs b Ojha 36 (27)
Jean Paul Duminy c Smith b Ojha 47 (40)
Shikhar Dhawan b Ojha 3 (7)
Dwayne Bravo lbw b Edwards 21 (18)
Abhishek Nayar c Gilchrist b Edwards 10 (6)
Harbhajan Singh c Smith b Singh 20 (8)
Zaheer Khan not out 4 (6)
Pinal Shah not out 1 (1)

Extras (lb 6, w 6, nb 1) 13

Total (7 wickets in 20 overs) 156

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Jayasuriya, 1.4 overs), 2-86 (Tendulkar, 10.5), 3-92 (Dhawan, 12.3), 4-105 (Duminy, 14.3), 5-120 (Nayar, 16.2), 6-144 (Bravo, 18.2), 7-154 (Harbhajan, 19.3)

Bowling:
Fidel Edwards 4-0-27-2
Rudra Pratap Singh 4-0-27-2
Harmeet Singh 1-0-19-0
Dwayne Smith 2-0-15-0
Pragyan Ojha 4-0-21-3
Rohit Sharma 1-0-8-0
Y Venugopal Rao 4-0-33-0

Toss: Deccan Chargers, who chose to bat first

Points: Deccan Chargers 2, Mumbai Indians 0

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (Sri Lanka) and Simon Taufel (Australia)

TV umpire: S.D. Ranade (India)

Match referee: D. Govindjee (South Africa)

2nd week into the IPL 2009

I have posted the points table for last week's matches in this post.

This is the match schedule for this week. Full schedule can be found here. The bolded + red font teams were winners for the respective matches. The gold-ish font is for marking KKR match days.

Date :2009 ISTGMTTeam vs TeamVenue
April, Sat 254 pm7 pmMumbai Indians vs Deccan ChargersDurban
April, Sat 258 pm11pmChennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders (abandoned due to rain)
Cape Town
April, Sun 264 pm7 pmBangalore Royal Challengers vs Delhi DaredevilsPort Elizabeth
April, Sun 268 pm11pmKings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan RoyalsCape Town
April, Mon 274 pm7 pmDeccan Chargers vs Chennai Super KingsDurban
April, Mon 278 pm11pmKolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai IndiansPort Elizabeth
April, Tue 288 pm11pmDelhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan RoyalsPretoria
April, Wed 294 pm7 pmKolkata Knight Riders vs Bangalore Royal ChallengersDurban
April, Wed 298 pm11pmKings XI Punjab vs Mumbai IndiansDurban
April, Thu 304 pm7 pmDeccan Chargers vs Delhi DaredevilsPretoria
April, Thu 308 pm11pmRajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super KingsPretoria
May, Fri 14 pm7 pmMumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight RidersEast London
May, Fri 18 pm11pmKings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal ChallengersDurban
May, Sat 24 pm7 pmDeccan Chargers vs Rajasthan RoyalsPort Elizabeth
May, Sat 28 pm11pmDelhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super KingsJohannesburg

Kings XI Punjab won against Bangalore Royal Challengers by 7 wickets

Bangalore Royal Challengers:
Jesse Ryder b Abdulla 32 (21 balls)
Robin Uthappa c Yuvraj Singh b Pathan 0 (1)
Jacques Kallis c Jayawardene b Abdulla 62 (46)
Kevin Pietersen c Goel b Abdulla 0 (2)
Rahul Dravid c Singh b Chawla 10 (13)
Ross Taylor c Jayawardene b Abdulla 35 (22)
Virat Kohli c Bopara b Singh 2 (3)
Praveen Kumar lbw b Pathan 13 (7)
Vinay Kumar not out 1 (1)
Pankaj Singh b Pathan 0 (1)
Anil Kumble not out 5 (3)
Extras (b 4, lb 1, w 3) 8

Total (nine wickets in 20 overs) 168

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Uthappa, 1.1 overs), 2-48 (Ryder, 5.2), 3-48 (Pietersen, 5.4), 4-73 (Dravid, 10.3), 5-134 (Kallis, 16.3), 6-142 (Kohli, 17.4), 7-159 (Taylor, 18.4), 8-162 (Kumar, 19.1), 9-162 (Pankaj Singh, 19.2)

Bowling:
Ranadeb Bose 2-0-24-0
Irfan Pathan 4-0-35-3
Yusuf Abdulla 4-0-31-4
Piyush Chawla 4-0-19-1
Yuvraj Singh 3-0-28-0
Ravi Bopara 1-0-4-0
Vikram Raj Vir Singh 2-0-22-1

Kings XI Punjab:
Ravi Bopara c Ryder b Kallis 84 (59)
Karan Goel run out (Vinay Kumar/Uthappa) 19 (19)
Kumar Sangakkara c Pankaj Singh b Kumble 26 (18)
Yuvraj Singh not out 30 (17)
Mahela Jayawardene not out 1 (1)

Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 9) 13

Total (for three wickets in 19 overs) 173

Fall of wickets: 1-52 (Goel, 6.4 overs), 2-92 (Sangakkara, 12.3), 3-158 (Bopara, 18.1)

Bowling:
Praveen Kumar 4-0-36-0
Pankaj Singh 2-0-20-0
Jacques Kallis 4-0-51-1
Vinay Kumar 1-0-4-0
Kevin Pietersen 2-0-16-0
Anil Kumble 4-0-19-1
Jesse Ryder 2-0-23-0

Toss: Bangalore Royal Challengers, who chose to bat first

Points: Kings XI Punjab 2, Bangalore Royal Challengers 0

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and T.H. Wijewardene (Sri Lanka)

TV umpire: Simon Taufel (Australia)

Match referee: D. Govindjee (South Africa)

Friday, April 24, 2009

The remaining post 2nd match clips

I couldn't find anything post 3rd match on youtube so I decided to paste these ones I just found instead:





Thursday, April 23, 2009

SRK and Ads - Sprite, Pepsi, etc

Who's Mandira?

I dunno if some people have gone, "Huh??" like I did when Shah Rukh said in the 2nd post match interview that the interviewer did her first film with him. I looked it up ...coz I'm crazy like that ...and guess what film is it?

(Picture source)

Yep, Mandira Bedi was Preeti in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge! It's another instance of Bollywood meeting cricket and now in the IPL, she's the co-host of Extraaa Innings for T20.

It's like maths...

I've been trying to figure out what the heck are those +ve and -ve points about. After reading up on it, I went @_@ ...so I figured I'd paste it here to confuse everyone else who knows zilch like me about cricket. This article was written for ICC Champions trophy 2006 in India (does the IPL 2 also have the same set of rules?). I'll be pasting the points table at the end of every week's matches.

How to make Points table of a cricket tournament

Points table for a cricket tournament is a set of boxes which catches no attention before half the cricket is played. But after that, it becomes the only important thing.... till the things get straight.

The Semi-final qualifying rule :-
1. Team with maximum number of wins. If a tie,
2. Team with maximum number of Points. If still a tie,
3. Team won between those two. If still equal (which can happen in case of that match yielding a No-Result)
4. Team with maximum number of Bonus Points. And if still equal,
5. Team with better Net Run-rate.

How is Net Run rate calculated :-
To calculate the Net Runrate of any team in a cricket tournament, the integrands you need are total runs made by that team in that tournament, total overs played by them to make those runs and then the same for against them.

Subtract the two decimal numbers and you will have the net run rate. For example - If India played two league matches in a tournament which also included Pakistan and Australia, find the following :

- Who won. And by batting first or second.
- If batting first team won, subtract their run rate from the opposition run rate and you have the net run rate of that cricket match.
- If batting second team won, divide the target by 50 and calculate what was the chasing team run rate when they hit the winning run. The difference will be your net run rate for that match...

Similarly, the losing team will have that much Net Run rate themselves - BUT AS NEGATIVE.
Now add all run rates of all the league matches played by a particular team and thus you will have the Net Run Rate for the, in that cricket tournament.

Note- the simple catch while calculating the Net run rate is that the winning team may not play or bowl their full quota of overs. The moment they win the match, their run rate will be calculated from that many overs while the losing team's Net Run rate will be calculated by full 50 overs...

That's it.

How points are given in league matches :-
Read carefully - (a) Each win : 5 points if team also won the bonus point.(b) Each win : 4 points if Bonus points was not won.(c) A tie or no result - two points each.(d) Loss : 0 points.

How a "bonus point" is won in an ODI :-
If the winning team can keep their run rate 1.25 times more than the team they beat - they win the bonus point from that match. For example, If Australia bats first and make 250 runs, Indian team needs to win the match at a run rate of (250/50)* 1.25. Which equals to 6.25 runs per over. Which in turn means that India must win the match in 40.1 overs (251/6.25) or of course - less than that.

In case India bats first and needs to win the bonus point after scoring 250 from 50 overs, they need to restrict Australia from scoring more than 187 runs. This is calculated as India's batting run rate was 5. To have a run rate 1.25 time better than Australia, India must not let Australia score more than 3.75 (5-1.25) as a run rate. Thus a total of no more than 187 from 50 Overs for Australia while batting second.

I hope it is clear enough to understand. But if it doesn't, leave your query at our cricket forum and I'll send you the answer.

What does a "No result in an ODI" means :-
It's amazing if you can pay attention to what people say when there was no clear winner from a cricket match. Some say it was a draw, some tie, some no result and some something else. The point is that an ODI can't be draw and only two test matches till date have ended up as tie... read on --

When a cricket match, test or one day International finishes with both the teams making exactly same number of runs - the match is called as tie. Otherwise, a draw can only happen in a test match when the dominating team fails to bowl out 20 opposition batsmen (or get them retired hurt), after scoring more runs then them. There is not a single Draw ODI and there never will. BECAUSE THE TERM IF WRONG ITSELF..!!

A "No Result cricket match" means what it says - no result. This is mostly caused by Rain god when even at least 20 over per side match was not possible. This was no draw, no tie but a Simple no result. Equal Points are shared in this case.

Match tied: Rajasthan Royals beat Kolkata Knight Riders - super over

Source
Rajasthan Royals beat Kolkata Knight Riders in a thrilling Super Over finish in an Indian Premier League match here Thursday.The match was decided through the Super Over after both teams were tied at 150 at the end of regulation play.

Source
Rajasthan Royals

Graeme Smith c Gayle b Mendis 15
Paul Valthaty c Sharma b Anureet Singh 5
Rob Quiney c Gayle b Sharma 6
Yusuf Pathan c Yashpal Singh b Mendis 42
Ravindra Jadeja c Yashpal Singh b Sharma 22
Dmitri Mascarenhas b Anureet Singh 27
Abhishek Raut not out 21
Shane Warne not out 2
Extras (lb 3, w 7) 10
Total (for six wickets in 20 overs) 150
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Valthaty, 1.6 overs), 2-14 (Quiney, 2.2), 3-70 (Smith, 8.1), 4-73 (Pathan, 8.6), 5-112 (Jadeja, 16.2), 6-125 (Mascarenhas, 17.6)
Bowling
Ishant Sharma 4-0-36-2
Anureet Singh 4-0-35-2
Ajit Agarkar 1-0-14-0
Ajantha Mendis 4-0-19-2
Sourav Ganguly 3-0-23-0
Chris Gayle 4-0-20-0

Kolkata Knight Riders (target: 151 runs)

Chris Gayle c Jadeja b Warne 41
Brendon McCullum c Kamran Khan b Mascarenhas 3
Laxmi Shukla c Rawat b Kamran Khan 13
Brad Hodge c Rawat b Patel 5
Sourav Ganguly c Rawat b Kamran Khan 46
Sanjay Bangar c Smith b Kamran Khan 2
Yashpal Singh c Raut b Warne 20
Ajit Agarkar not out 1
Ishant Sharma run out (Kamran Khan/Rawat) 1
Extras (lb 8, w 9, nb 1) 18
Total (for 8 wickets in 20 overs) 150
Fall of wickets: 1-25 (McCullum, 3.6 overs), 2-60 (Gayle, 8.2), 3-67 (Shukla, 9.5), 4-71 (Hodge, 10.5), 5-94 (Bangar, 13.6), 6-143 (Yashpal Singh, 18.5), 7-149 (Ganguly, 19.5), 8-150 (Sharma, 19.6)
Bowling
Yusuf Pathan 4-0-27-0
Dmitri Mascarenhas 4-1-29-1
Shane Warne 4-0-25-2
Kamran Khan 4-0-18-3
Munaf Patel 3-0-36-1
Ravindra Jadeja 1-0-7-0
Toss: Kolkata Knight Riders chose to field
Points: Rajasthan Royals 2, Kolkata Knight Riders 0
Man of the Match: Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals)
Umpires: Mark Benson (England) and M. Erasmus (South Africa)
TV umpire: A. Saheba (India)
Match Referee: Gundappa Viswanath (India)


Source
Yusuf: I know it was the most important innings from me and my team. I learnt a lot of things when i got out in the first innings against Mendis. I expected him to bowl in the same areas and I was ready to play my shot.
Warne: The crowd was fantastic. In those situations, both sides would have looked back and said we would’ve done that. For Yusuf Pathan to just walk out there and club a few sixes like that, well done to him, it was fantastic. (On choosing Kamran Khan for the last over): I thought about Yusuf. Kamran gave 6 runs off that last over, I thought he did it well. If you can bowl such a good last over, you can bowl the super over.
McCullum: Yeah it’s pretty disappointing obviously. We thought we were going to get ourselves across the line and even in the Super over we thought we had a reasonable score but the way Yusuf came out and played… He just blew us away. Sourav did incredibly well to get us back into the game. It’s incredibly disappointing but we’ve got a game in two days time so we’ve got to try and rebound. (For the super over) I think Ishant was an option but in the end Mendis, he’s an incredible bowler. Things could have gone differently if we had that catch taken (on the second ball) who knows how it would have unfolded.

Fast forward to the super over - Gayle blasted 15 off the super over from Kamran Khan. Then a major blunder by McCullum to give the ball to Mendis when Yusuf was on strike. Yusuf goes on and seals a terrific match with a couple of massive hits. Yusuf was mobbed by his team mates as Shilpa Shetty went wild alongwith her sister.