Records in Danger. #WC2015

     
      There can be no bigger stage than ICC World Cup for milestones to tumble.  Few records look vulnerable to tumble this season. With just 3 weeks left for the World Cup to kick start, Lets have a look at 5 records which are likely to be broken this time.

#1 Most Hundreds.

       No wonder the God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar owns this record with 6 centuries. Not to forget the nervous nineties. Sachin was one of the reason why Indian player played their heart out to gift him the world cup. It seems that 6 world cup hundreds record would be tough to break but AB de Villiers current smashing spree could break down Sachin's record.

      The South African has smashed 3 centuries already at world cup stage. Considering his recent 31 balls hundred he could easily match up with Sachin's record.

Mahela Jayawardene (3) and Dilshan (2) playing their last world cups are too on the list.

#2 Most Ducks.

     AB de Villiers would begin the world cup with 4 ducks,just two short of Nathan Astle. Nathan took 22 matches to get 6 ducks whereas De Villiers has done that almost in 15 matches. Looking at the form he is currently in, achieving this feat is tough yet possible.

#3 Most Dismissals.

     With no surprise Australian Glovesman Adam Gilchrist leads the chart for most dismissals in big tournament.Gilchrist has a spectacular record of 52 dismissals (45 catches and 7 stumpings) in 31 matches. This definately played the dominent role in Australia's worldcup history.

     The above record is to be broken by another gaint player. Kumar Sangakkara. At 47 wickets, Kumar has a great chance to take down Gilchrists record. It seeems just the matter of time when Sangakkara achieves glory.

#4 Most 4 wicket hauls.

   
    Sahid Afridi holds the record with 4 four wicket hauls in 20 matches. He shares this record with legends like Sharne Warne and Muttiah Muralidharan. Playing in his final world cup, its worth to put money on Sahid Afridi to break this one. Considering that Pakistan would be playing against Zimbabwe, Ireland and UAE, he has great opportunities to achieve this feat.

#5 End to Losing Streaks.

      Pakistan has had tough time against India, losing all the matches they played against India on this bigger stage. India and Pakistan have played against each other in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2011 and have lost all. Looking at the Indian squad this time, the losing streak might end.

 Ironically India too has lost all the matches they have played against South Africa. (1992, 1999, 2011)

The World Cup looks set to provide plenty of action right from 14th of February.

MSD ERA

       

             For the past 9 years or so, at some point of time, all the wicketkeepers in India must have wondered whether they have chosen a wrong profession. Such is the flair of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. One big brand ambassador of cricket, A destructive batsman, Captain cool, A man with midas touch. A revolution in Indian cricket. 

        Who would have ever believed that India would be No.1 in ICC test rankings.  The sudden announcement by MSD to retire was disappointing at one level and surprising too. It was somewhere coming soon, but never expected it to happen in between the series. Maybe knowing that series was already lost must have triggered him to take such decision.

        When Dhoni took over the Captaincy, he probably had the best team ever India had and India henceforth rosed to the pinnacle of test rankings. It seem to have lost it in the last two years where Dhoni and his team suffered white wash at Australia and England.

#SARCASM

            But now when he has retired, Who can replace him? Or Do we have a replacement? Getting in Wriddhiman Saha or Dinesh Karthik is our best available option. With Dhoni gone, India needs someone like Yuvraj Singh in the middle lower order to play with the lower batsmen. With three back to back centuries in Ranji, I hope selectors are watching.

       Speaking to Wisden India, Indian cricket team director Ravi Shastri described how Dhoni conveyed the decision to his teammates. He said: “Dhoni came to cricket like a tiger and left like a lion. When he walked into the dressing-room, got the team together and said what he had to, he caught us all off guard. There were no dramas, he just said, very openly, ‘I can’t play all formats anymore, so I’m announcing my retirement from Tests.’

“He has always been someone who will do what he wants to, and he stayed true to that till the last moment. To have the guts to say to his team that he could not go on playing all formats, it tells you how honest he is with himself and his mates.”

        He added: “He did not think about playing 100 Tests and celebrating that, he did not worry about what people might say. He knew the time was right and the respect for him has just gone to another level within the team. For every cricketer, you know in your heart when your number is up. But it still takes a lot to walk away. To do what he did, the way he did it, all his career, it’s something people in all walks of life should reflect on. Someone once called me the champion of champions, but, to me, Dhoni is the real champion of champions.”

        Somewhere Dhoni has too many haters for getting in too many Chennai Superkings player in the Indian National Team. But then he has to be respected for giving India the crown of World Champions in all the formats.

Let us all thank Mahendra Singh Dhoni as wish him luck to defend the World cup in 2015.

Rise Above Fear.

      A Nature Enthusiast. Spending weekends with nature. For me hiking, trekking, rock climbing enjoy more priority than late night clubbing. Yet another weekend,Yet another trek! This time it was Sudhagad. Sudhagad fort is believed to have been in existence since 200 BC. The first reference of Sudhagad is in the year 1436 when the Bahamani Sultan won over the fort. In 1657 the fort came under the control of Marathas.

      My Pinnacle Group had planned a trek to this nature bound place! Sudhagad! Reached Pali village, Base village of this fort! Had a quick introduction of every person and we were now ready for the trek. Along with the ropes and latches, one thing is a must to carry for the survival. The Mountain Dew. Like the tag line says, Rise Above Fear!

Sudhaghad Peak.

A tricky situation, moreover a challenging situation for us was about to come. The trek leader told us that two of the group members were suppose to reach Pali village from opposite way,ie Pune. It made no sense for the complete group to wait for the other two late latifs to arrive. So the group decided to move ahead. Being one of the experienced trekkers, Davesh Sharma, Pratik More and I decided to stay back at the base point untill they both arrive.

Group walks ahead leaving we three behind.

             Not at all surprising that we had no networks in our cellphones! Good we had some great stock of Mountain dew to break down the heat. Spent almost 45 minutes more at the base camp waiting for other 3,we had no other option but to move ahead with the trek. Waiting at the base camp for 45 mins means that we were lagging behind the group by 45 minutes and also that we didnt had anyone to guide us the way as it was simply a very densed jungle! Inshort We were screwed! Surely a Challenging task for us!

             Here began our trek. We had to be quick so that we cover the 45 minutes lapse and also make sure we walk the right way or else we were sure to be lost in the dense Sahyadris.

Here we began our run to catch up with the group.

       We kept walking in the direction which our group headed! For our convenience the group members had made various direction marks in the jungle, guiding us the way. Every moment we felt we were lost...we kept searching for the clues. And finally at a point of time,we were lost! All we had was a motivation to Rise Above Fear.      

         Spent more 5-10 mins searching for a clue and then realized we were already misleaded long back when we considered a stick as a clue for us but it wasn't a clue. Didn't know what to do! No network in our cellphones to contact the group. Tensed! Finally we came up with an idea which Maulas of Shivaji maharaj used to communicate when lost in Jungle. Scientifically proven, the pitch "AeeeOOOO" travels longer than any other made sound. So we kept yelling Aeeooo in all directions and wait for the reply to come. Sign of relief! The Group heard our voice and responded the same Aeeoo!  We followed the direction from where the voice came. This happened for next 15-20 minutes.     

       And now again came a challenge. We Shouted Aeeooo and when the response came we three pointed 3 different directions. We didn't know from where the sound was coming because of the echo. We were lost again!! By fluke we decided to move in a particular direction. Surprisingly that turned to be right one! Kept walking ahead and then later realised that we three were walking on the opposite side to the group with a dried waterfall and a river 20 feet deep in between. 

      Here came another challenge! We had no ropes and required instruments but were suppose to rappel down  20 feets,cross dried river and again climb 20 feets. Now thats surely a challenging Task!Building some great faith within us,having few sips of Mountain Dew, we rappelled down without ropes and then climbed the opposite side.

       Was surely a tough task! But we went through it!  And finally we had covered the lapsed 45 minutes and met the group. The smiles on our faces were huge. We had done it!

Pinnacle Group.

It was the effect of the Mountain Dew words "RISE ABOVE HATE" that charged us up to beat down the fear.

Here's a link the Mountain Dew facebook page. 

https://www.facebook.com/mountaindewindia

Game; Set; Championship!

       It was only after 77 years when Andy Murray became the first British Man to win the Wimbledon, beating  the world No 1, Novak Djokovic, in three sets. Defeating No 1 was never an easy task! Murray Relished this challenge with ease! 

    Yeah, this was history, Murrays straight 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Novak was an end to British frustration in their own backyard. It was an hard fight. 3 hours, 9 minutes looked completely one sided. But then last game looked like another 77 years, when Murray had three match points before putting it away after four deuces.

The Reasons because of which Andy Murray Could Relish the Challenge.

• He didnt let Djokovic breathe.

             Andy Murray fought great! Novak Djokovic led 4-1 in 2nd set and 4-2 in the 3rd still Andy Murray didn't allow him even a single space to breathe.He never allowed Djokovic to cut loose. Ended up winning three straight sets. If Djokovic would have been allowed to win the 3rd set after going 2-0 down, Murray would have surely been in trouble. 

• Murray Covered The Court Well.

                The way Murray moved on the court was pretty outstanding. His sprints to Djokovic drop shots were applaud able. That shot in particular when he was serving for the championship point at 5-4 in the third set. Remarkable! Not sure if a Tennis player or a Sprinter.

• Crowd Support

                Well it was his own backyard.The crowd was all behind him and he used them well. The noise when he entered the court must have surely boosted him up. Crowd support play an important role in a players game.Who can understand better than the fans here in India. The shout Andy Andy Andy was taking flair while Andy kept winning game after game. They made sure Djokovic wont have a comeback in the match.

• Won over Pressure

                It wasn't at all easy situation for Andy Murray in the last set when he lost 3 championship points entering the deuces. Adrenaline was pumping high. It was just last season when he failed to relish the challenge in the finals against Roger Federer. He made sure this time that he finishes things in style.

In almost every set he was behind Djokovic. Never gave up. Made sure he goes for the set even when he lagged behind by 4-1. 

           

                                              He was firm to make History!

  

                    

Shikhar Dhawan..Relishing Challenges

The Beast Refined #XtremeDrive #XtremeSports

       Tata Safari Storme!! The Real SUV. The feel of driving an SUV is simply epic! Epicness certainly increases if that SUV is Tata Safari Storme! It surely gaurantees the most enjoyable ride in the most difficult terrains. It is a Beast at heart! One of the SUV's meant to be feared on road or offroad.

Thanks to Indiblogger,We had a chance to withness the greatness of Tata Safari Storme. 

      A Marketing guy from Tata Motors introduced us to the Storme with all the features and statistics defining it as a Beast on road! The car is truely epic! Awesome interiors! Stylish projector Headlamps,classy roof rails and the Electronic Shift-on-Fly mode!

                                       

The Epic Car Interiors!

 Began the extravaganza, Rope pulling contest, Where my team Hear Me Roar pulled the Storme in just 5.65 seconds. No wonder we stractched all physics to make sure we pulled it properly in least time. No wonder the rope kept breaking! There were bruises and even few twisted ankles.

                           

It wasnt over!! The thrill was still awaiting! The On road as well as Off road experience! 

Xtreme Rides by professionally trained drivers is what we got with Bumble Bee, See Saw , Dwindlersand the most awesome one – The 45 degree incline.

Then the best part of the meetup! The Off Road drive. Tata Storme has anauto-incline feature, where without any acceleration, the car climbs a slope as steep as 45 degrees using its own torque! Such is the power of the Storme. It was truely an out of the world experience! Later the professional driver gave us a ride over the natural inclines! Mind you it gave us a feeling of riding in desert!. 

Here's a video of Off road experience with Tata Safari Storme.

visit-  www.safaristorme.com

From 140 kmph to 120 kmph.

   

          How important it is to have a good pace bowler in a side! While talking about pace one could only remember the heroics of the trio Pakistan.Shoiab Akhtar Wakar Yunis and mighty Wasim Akram. Dont forget the Australian trio of Brett Lee,Gillespe and Mcgrath. West Indies too is known to produce great fast bowlers.On the other hand India rarely enjoyed the cushion of great fast bowlers who could easily bowl 145 150 kmph.

       Pace bowlers in Indian Cricket team has always been a myth. With due respect to all the pace foundations we have all over India working on en-number of bowlers. MRF pace foundation is one such great foundation building young pacers since ages. Lately we had likes of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron bowling quickies. It was simply a rare moment when Commentator said "TWO INDIAN FAST BOWLERS BOWLING AT TANDOM". But then after a season or so,Where does this pace dissappears? Surely an Unsolved mystery!

      We definately had hand full of great pace bowlers in the team. Zaheer Khan was once known for bowling consistently above 140 mark! But today if you end up watching Zaheer bowl he merely touches 130... (135 rarely). Another example is Ishant Sharma. Bowled beautiful pace in his debut in Australia,later lost line,length,pace everything! And today in the absence of Zaheer Khan he is our main Spearhead Bowler!! This shows the condition of poor Indian Pace Bowling.

      At times heard Great commentators and ex Indian team players defending this myth by saying that the hot climate of India kills the speed on the bowler quickly. Even the robot rusts after a period they say! 

       Well a simple question... The temperature at India and neighbouring Pakistan or may be even West Indies is the same.They never made such reasons though! Sohaib Akhtar didnt lose even a fraction of speed even at the end of his carrier. Why only Indians? Something to do with coaching? May be; Maybe not! Moreover the huge yearly schedule and no much rest is the only reason for this drop in pace. One week is the max gap an Indian player gets between two consequtive series. Ipl got over just a week back and now we have Champions trophy to follow! 

       We must have few more bowlers,so that we could rotate them as per the importance of the series or else we would be forced to watch Slowpokes like Pravin Kumar and Munaf Patel! These swing bowlers could do wonders with a bit more pace.No doubt they bowl beautiful but the charm of Pace bowling is mesmerizing! Dale Steyn is the live example!! One would prefer watching quick Steyn swing instead of Pravin or Munaf! Any day!