The one? Meh.

How difficult is finding a car? An automatic (i don't know how to drive a manual), low mileage, low cost car. How tough can it be? The answer is very tough. I cannot for the life of me find a good car. Now i am not asking for a fancy Merc or BMW for less price. No. I need a Honda or a Toyota or a Nissan or a Mitsubishi. Turns out the market is down. The dealer i went to few days ago almost cried about it. May be he was just trying to rip the foreigners. Who knows.


Seriously, if finding a car is so difficult, how difficult is finding a spouse? Love marriage or arranged, finding your life partner is increasingly becoming difficult. Or may be its just in the Havyaka community. I do not know what the girls are looking for in a guy. Special software Mojo perhaps. My mother is worried about finding a girl for my brother. He is currently working for the great NRN. He is studying for IAS as well. So plenty of whatever the Havyaka chicks are looking for. I did not want all this hassle. I finished college and as soon as I got into my job, I asked my best friend to marry me. Problem solved. Now, it is not a normal thing to get married when you have a eligible elder brother. But he was not interested in it and I couldn't wait. Its been two years and we are married and happy. I am married and she is happy. (Old joke I know.. but manchi joku kaadhanDi?)

Many people asked me how did you realize that she was the one? Ok not exactly the truth. Only one person has asked that till now. (that’s my wife.. ). Anyway for girls its pretty straight forward. As Ashish Shakya puts it, Indian girls look for just three things in guys. Fair, god fearing and not Rahul Mahajan. Couldn't agree more about the third one. I'm not sure about first two though. What do girls look for? Money and looks? I am not sure. I heard that Sarah Jessica Parker from Sex and the City (**cough**horse woman**cough**) gives advice on such stuff. She is, as the hiphop lingo puts it, batshit insane. Just something to remember before you search for advice and read and say “Holy &*$%”.

For guys, although there's a lot to love about being single, (You save money on Valentine's Day gifts, you get to meet new and interesting people) it all about how pretty the girl is to you. If she can cook well, that’s just an added perk. Whoever said the best way to man's heart is through his stomach was wrong (A man who looks like a teletubby can get good chicks only in south Indian movies ) Also, if you already did not know it, way to a woman’s heart is not through her stomach. It may not bode well. This was as government likes to put it ‘janhith me jaari”.

If you ask any married person on advising about getting married, you would get the best advise possible. Don’t. It puzzles me when feminists say whatever a man can do, woman can do better.. In fact, the guy would be doing all chores. You know feminist people, it would be better if she would just do the work. It’s ok if she doesn’t do it ‘better’. I may have played with the ladies pride like Tyson did with Holyfield’s ear. But hey.. it was just for fun. I am going to take Ashish Shakya’s help again. “Take it with a pinch of salt. If you have lemon and tequila with it, it’s even better.”

P.S: There was no purpose in writing this. Its random and crazy. Just like my life right now.

La.. wait for it.. goriiiiii....

Shoaib Actor is retiring? The most controversial cricketer of all time (yes.. sorry pa Andrew Symonds.. You just missed out.. ok? ok.), the man who put liability in "reliability", the sportstar who reinvented the good old game of Lagori.. (eventhough he used 3 sticks instead of 7 slabs, he proved that old Indian games are actually better to watch than western games.. RSS should probably thank him.. and the tradition is being continued now by Slinga' Malinga, yes the great haired one..)

It has been 13 years. Lot of things have changed including Indian cricket team's attitude.. But one thing has not. Shoaib and his disciplinary issues. How will it impact the Pakistani cricket? What does this actually mean? well, apart from Mohd Asif probably OD'ing by taking in too much of that stuff which got him caught in Arab airport when celebrating this news, I am not sure if there will be much impact on cricketers.. You see Shoaib has hardly played proper cricket.. Apart from the publicity and one off matches where he would find his aim, he was as useful to the team as Ravindra Jadeja was to Men in Blue.

Cricinfo says "his averages in both forms are the fourth-best for any Pakistan bowler who took more than 150 wickets, while his Test strike rate of 45.7 is second only to Waqar Younis' 43.4" .. What does that say? Apart from Waqar is a great fast bowler? Shoaib can bowl well if he found his rhythm. That if is so big it makes Inzamam look petite. It was so rare that it looked as if the batsmen gave their wickets due to sheer shock. I remember two of his spells. His spell against Aussies where he made Ricky Ponting, the Waugh brothers and Adam Gilchrist call their mommies is one of the best I have ever seen in Test cricket. And the way he bowled Dravid and Sachin at Kolkata..

He hardly bowled a lot in tests.. He bowled more than 30 overs in an innings only three times. and most consecutive matches he has played is 7. You could never be sure when he was fit. His body parts kept breaking down, his run up from pavillion used to take more time than a Payal Rohatgi's acting career, he fought with his opponents, he fought with his teammates.. he hit opponents with the ball and he hit teammates with the bat.. So there probably isn't a cricketer who can be more unique. And he spoke with a Bledy Amrikan accent.. How many Pakistani cricketers can talk in English? let alone an accent..

"Today I step ahead for the most significant phase of my life and walk off," thats what he said "I have decided to say goodbye. This World Cup is my last and the coming matches in the tournament would be the last few of my international career. Mentally I wanted to continue perhaps forever. But I must make way for youngsters to take over." This coming from a man who had said "How many diamonds can you retrieve from one single mine; there has to be an end somewhere. I don't see any natural fast bowler after me." is interesting. Way to go chief.. By the way he also said "My pace is up there"..Up where? (Asif.. are you listening? I hope its not for you...)

But look at what he said.. What a lousy retiring statement.. This totally doesnt suit a Pakistani cricketer. There is no "for now" or "return on condition".. Learn from Mohd Yousuf. He is so classy in retirement statements.This is how he 'retired' - " This is my retirement. I have retired from international cricket. For now, this is it. For now this is my retirement.”. See how Yousuf carried out the backfoot defence? Textbook perfect.

Even with all his news making ability, he was more exciting than any other bowler with the exception of Shane Bond. Even when he was a total idiot, he was exciting and newsworthy. Also, I hope he is actually retiring because I dont want this write-up to be a waste.

Other aliens.. In your face.. ha.

Aliens can never be the same again.. Move over ET.. The greatest creature from outer world has arrived.. Simon Pegg and Nick frost have taken the idea of cute n' sweet alien and then punched ET's face with it.. The smoking, drinking, trash talking alien Paul is here everyone.. The quirky English comedy works.. This has to be the funniest alien movie I have seen. By far..

Paul is actually the name of the dog which is killed when the alien spaceship crashes. The name sticks and the alien is christened Paul. He talks in English fluently and its not the science fiction brain fuzz thing which enables him.. He just does. Thats bloody brilliant. I was tired of all the directors trying to show that aliens are alien to the technology we use. Sure, he has super power like other aliens do in other movies. but he is not that odd creature who is uncomfortable around earthlings.. and he doesn't have weird robotic way of talking. He uses more cuss words than a mobster in a Scorsese movie.. And he doesn't say "take me to your leader". He is the brain behind most alien stories for 70 years.. and now He is trying to escape from the leader, "the big guy" who is infact Sigourney Weaver (who does know a thing or two about aliens.)

The English nerds Graeme and Clive (Pegg and Frost) help him escape and are supported by a conservative christian who is shown the truth and a covert agent (Kristen Wiig and Jason Bateman). After the adrenalin filled journey, its the happy endding. The simple yet unpredictable storyline is carried very well by the cast.You sometimes feel that Seth Rogen actually tries to takes over Paul and ruin it.. But thankfully he has failed..

Simon Pegg.. What do I say.. the man cannot do anything wrong, can he? Blood and ice cream trilogy (Shaun of the dead, Hot Fuzz, third movie yet to come.) is awesome but he just went one step ahead with Paul... With his best buddy Frost, he creates his weird yet lovable creature. The chemistry between the two (three if you include the green wacky dude..) is very interesting to see. Their teamwork and effort is sincere.. More sincere than a group of college boys trying to get some weed.

Im going to give five out of five, ten out of ten, an A+, two thumbs up.. Whatever way you can put it.. It is not a family oriented movie.. But you can leave your family behind, go have fun. Trust me, you will have fun.

ಏಕಾ೦ತ ಮತ್ತು ಒ೦ಟಿತನದ ನಡುವೆ...

ಮನಸ್ಸಿನೊಳಗಿನ ಮೌನವೇ..
ಏಕಾ೦ತ, ಒ೦ಟಿತನ.. ಯಾವ್ದೋ ಒ೦ದು. ಏನು ಅ೦ತ ಹೇಳಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗ್ತಿಲ್ಲಾ ಕಣೆ.. ಹೇಳ್ಕೊಳ್ಳೋಕೆ ಗೆಳೆಯರು ಅ೦ತ ಇದಾರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ.. ಬಟ್ ಯಾರು ಇಲ್ಲ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅನ್ಸತ್ತೆ.. Horrible feeling...

ಗೆಳತಿ ನೀನಿರುವಾಗ
ಜಗವೇ ಹೂವಿನ ಬೀಡು..

ನಿನ್ನಿ೦ದ ದೂರ.. ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಮೈಲಿ.. ಮದುವೆ ಆದ್ಮೇಲೆ ದೂರ ಇರೊದು ಕಷ್ಟ ಕಣೆ ಚಿನ್ನು. ನಿನ್ನ ಜೊತೆ ಮು೦ಜಾನೆ, ಗೊಧೂಳಿ, ರಾತ್ರಿ.. ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಇಷ್ಟು ದೂರ ಬ೦ದು ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿದ್ನೇನೋ ಅನ್ಸತ್ತೆ ಕೆಲವು ಸಲ. ದುಡ್ಡು ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ತು೦ಬಾ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಸರಿ. ಆದರೆ ಇಷ್ಟಪಟ್ಟು, ಪ್ರೀತ್ಸಿ ಮದ್ವೆ ಆಗಿರೊ ಹುಡ್ಗೀನ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಬ೦ದಿದ್ದು ಸರೀನಾ ಅನ್ಸತ್ತೆ. ಇಬ್ರಿಗೂ work tension, frustration.. ಇಬ್ರು ದೂರ ಇರೋ ಬೇಜಾರು.. ಮಾತಿಗಿ೦ತ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಜಗಳ.. ಇದೆಲ್ಲಾ ಬೇಕಾ..

ನಾನು ನೀನೆ ಇರುವಾಗ.. ದೂರವಾಗಿದೆ ಪರಿಸರ
ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ನಾವು ಆಲಿಸುವ.. ಮನದ ಮೂಲೆಯಾ ಇ೦ಚರ..

ಈ ಹಾಡು ಕೇಳ್ದಾಗ, ನಿನ್ನ ನೆನಪು ಉಕ್ಕಿ ಬ೦ತು.. ನಾವಿಬ್ಬರು ಜೊತೆಗಿದ್ದಾಗ ಎಷ್ಟು ಹಿತವಾಗಿತ್ತು ಏಕಾ೦ತ. ನಮ್ಮ ಲೋಕ, ಸರಸ, ವಿರಸ, ಸಲ್ಲಾಪ.. ಈಗ.. ನೀನಲ್ಲಿ.. ನಾನಿಲ್ಲಿ.. ಲೈಫು ಇಷ್ಟೇನೆ..ಇಲ್ಲಿ ದುಃಖ ಹ೦ಚ್ಕೋಳೋದಿಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾರು ಇಲ್ಲಾ ನ೦ಗೆ.. ಇರೊ ಒಬ್ಬ ಗೆಳೆಯ೦ಗೆ ಅವ೦ದೇ ನೂರಾರು ಚಿ೦ತೆ.. ಆದರೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಗೆಳೆಯ ಜೀವದ ಒಲವಿನ ಜಾಗ ತು೦ಬ್ಸಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗುತ್ಯೇ? ಇಲ್ಲ.. Don't answer.. ನ೦ಗೆ ನೀನೆ ಬೇಕು..

ಕಾದು ಕಾದು ಕಲೆತಾಗ.. ತ೦ಟೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆ ತನುಮನ
ಬೇಗನೆ ಕಾಡಿ ಬೇಡುತಿದೆ.. ನಿನ್ನ ತೋಳಿನ ಬ೦ಧನ

ಮುದ್ದಿನ ಮಡದಿನ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಜೀವನ ದುಸ್ತರ ಆಗೋಗಿದೆ.. ಆಮೇಲೆ ಯಾವತ್ತೂ ನಿನ್ನಿ೦ದ ದೂರ ಇರಲ್ಲ... ನ೦ಗೊತ್ತು.. ಈ ಮೊದ್ಲು ಎರಡು ತಿ೦ಗಳು ದೂರ ಆದಾಗ್ಲು ನಾನು ಇದೇ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದೆ.. ಬಟ್ ಈ ಸಲ ಗಾಡ್ ಪ್ರಾಮಿಸ್.. ಎಲ್ಲರ ಜೀವನಕ್ಕೆ ಒ೦ದು ಧ್ಯೇಯ ಇರತ್ತೆ.. ನನ್ನ ಜೀವನದ ಧ್ಯೇಯ ನೀನು.. ಸಮಾಜ ಹಾಳಾಗಿ ಹೋಗ್ಲಿ. Long distance relationship ಆಗಲ್ಲ ಅ೦ತ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಹೇಳಿದ್ರು.. ನಾನೇ ಕೇಳ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಎರಡು ದಿನಕ್ಕೊಮ್ಮೆ ಫೋನ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರೆ ಸಾಕಾಗಲ್ಲ.... ಇನ್ನು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸಮಯ ಕಣೇ... ನೀನು ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಬ೦ದುಬಿಡು...

ನನ್ನಾಣೆ ಕೇಳೆ ನನ್ನ ಪ್ರಾಣವೇ.. ನ೦ಗೆ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾರಿಲ್ಲವೇ..
ನಿನ್ನಾಣೆ ಕೇಳೆ ನನ್ನ ಪ್ರಾಣವೇ.. ಬೇರೆ ಯಾರು ಬೇಕಿಲ್ಲವೇ..

ನಾವು ಭೇಟಿ ಆದಾಗ, ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹೊತ್ತು ಮಾತು ಬೇಡ ಕಣೇ.. ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಮಾತಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಲಿ.. ಬೆರಳುಗಳು ಮಾತಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಲಿ.. ಒ೦ದು ಅಪ್ಪುಗೆ.. ಬಿಗಿಯಾಗಿ, ಹಿತವಾಗಿ.. ಇಡೀ ಜಗತ್ತೇ ಸ್ಥ೦ಭಿಸಿ ಹೋಗಿದೆ, ನಾನು ನೀನು ಇಬ್ರೇ ಇರೋದು ಅನ್ನೋವ೦ತಾ ಒ೦ದು ಅಪ್ಪುಗೆ.. ನ೦ಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಬೆಸ್ಟ್ ಫ್ರೆ೦ಡ್ ಬೇಕು.. ನನ್ನ ಚಿನ್ನು ಬೇಕು.. ಮಾತು ಬೇಕು.. ಮಾತಿನ ನಡುವಿನ ಮೃದುವಾದ ಹಿತಕರ ಮೌನ ಬೇಕು.. ನೀನು ಖುಷಿಯಿ೦ದ ಅಳ್ತೀಯಾ.. ನಾನು ನಿನ್ನ ಕೂದಲಲಿ ಕೈಯಾಡಿಸ್ತಾ ಹಣೆಗೆ, ತು೦ಬುಗೆನ್ನೆಗೆ ಮುತ್ತಿಡ್ಬೇಕು.. ಲೈಫು ಅಷ್ಟೇನೆ...

Breakfast... The desire...

I’m stuck here in the pizza burger eating country. There are a few Indian restaurants here but none are as delightful as the good old Darshinis in Bangalore. Every morning I wake up saddened by teh fact that I do not get to eat a proper south Indian breakfast. See, I do not have the time to cook and frozen food just doesn’t feel right... That’s when I miss the darshinis and upahars. Ghar ka khana is not an option here and bahar ka khana is not available.. The tacky title reminiscent of Bhatt family is because its catchy...

Breakfast is very important. It as important as an implant to an actress. Doesn’t feel complete without it. I for one miss it a lot. Breakfast that is. Without it I feel like Sreesanth bowling to Hayden who just hit the previous ball to boundary. Frustrated and ready to snap.

Life was so simple when you are at home. You would wake up, thank the big guy, if you are the conservative type and go brush. You would have tea ready. Sip tea, fight for newspaper with your sibling, then go for bath, thindi (or as Mysore/bangalore people say Tifan) ready. Food which is as yummy as Scarlett Johansson in bubble bath (Dosa, uppittu, chitranna, kottige, pundi, in some special occassions shyavige.. yumm. and with that you will hv chutney, sambar, jenu, rasayana.. slurp slurp..) My dad is a better cook than my mom. (Men are always better at cooking and my sweetheart would agree) and my dad was the cook at home. So dad ka haath ka khaana was awesome. Eat go to school/college.. No tension.. no problem.. For someone who always had lion's share in every food item at home, nothing could hv been better.

Moved to Mysore for engineering.. Suddenly realized how important a good breakfast is. Sure Nagaraja Bhatru, Shankara and Mukunda (that was one crazy dude..) prepared good breakfast (Sure MH guys won’t exactly agree. but when you leave MH, you realize the value) but it was nothing like home.. MH life is full of memories (good bad great weird etc.). Should probably write about it sometime. Byak to the ishtory.. Even though it was served at inhumane 6:30 in the morning, it saved us lot of money.. If you wake up late escaping from Warden ( the call "ಆಮಾಯ೦ತು ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಚಾರಿಣಃ... ಒಳ್ಳೆ ವಿಧ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳು.. ಏಳ್ರಪ್ಪಾ.. ಏಳೋ ಶಮ೦ತಾ..", Shammi was my roommate for all four years in hostel and deemed the warden as his enemy, still rings in my ear..), you had the wonderful Harsha bar(th). 1 Re Idly, 1:50 coffee/vada, 5 Rs variety rice (that’s the term my Bangalore office canteen uses),with what can only be described as supremely awesome mosarubajji.. Take a bow Harsha bar(th). I'm 27 now and never in my life have I had better food for less money. Hygiene? They have not heard of the word and probably think it is some phirangi disease.. That was the greatest place on earth for us. Well, along with GTR. GTR was little over the budget and had heard of hygiene. One Masale n coffee, your day is set.

Then had to leave and spend two months in Coimbatore. Apart from getting scolded by the traffic police for not knowing Tamil (ille saar konjam konjam teriyum.. ) and talking about Arsenal due to a fanatic roomie, the most memorable thing was the food. Tamil Nadu is the best place for Idly vada. Trust me on that. Although they dint teach us Tamil as a foreign language, we learnt tidbits and were successful in ordering different stuff (You don't understand. Tomato Rice is a KANNADA word for the waiter in Bangalore/Mysore. Not for TN one. You need to say Thakkali saadam.). Romba nice no?

Once I came to Bangalore, LCenter canteen was the only option. The food was as good as my cooking. Ghar ka khana you say? Meh.Cooking ran in family blood. It somehow ran away from mine. When I got married, I thought hard times are over.. Still LCenter canteen was my saviour. My wife isn’t a morning person. So avalakki bhath was the only edible thing..

And when i came to Amrika, here there was no option and I realized how important Indian breakfast is.. Eating bleddy corn flakes is the best option here. I’d rather eat pieces of cardboard rather. When you put milk, I do not think you can differentiate. Since waking up and waking up my roommate are the biggest tasks in the mornings, I sencerely hope someone gets a H1 visa or a green card and starts a blooming hotels. Or a dosa camp. Sadly my visa type will not allow me... O Darshini.. Where art thou…

trust and see what happens...

Why woud someone who trusts you a lot put you in a spot? You get to know that they are unhappy and you make your best attempt to get in touch with them and they simply ignore you. Is it because they want to know that they are not happy, but do not wish to discuss with you? For someone who wants you to know they are depressed, shouldn't they be making an effort to talk as well?

You are in middle of something, and you get to know that the person is depressed. You are concerned and you try to contact him/her. You mail/call/skype/gtalk or whatever you can. But there is no response. How do you feel? Scared that he/she has done something to self? How many people felt that way? or how many have done that to you? I figured out that it happens to me more often than not. Is it just me? or people love to play with me? I do not know.

Normally, I'm not an emotional person and im not that sentimentally attached to people around me. But there are some who have proved special and I care about them. And the sad part is they dont bother about it. Whenever I talk/meet, they paint the sad picture. But will not respond when I want to be there for them. They are busy shopping or going out with other friends.

Walter Anderson had said "We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone - but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy". I feel trust is the most important part of an relationship. Be it love or friendship. That is the best thing you can get. Not mutual admiration, not love, not the time spent together. Its the knowledge that you have the other person come what may and you will be there for him/her. There are people who misuse this. I'm not denying the fact. But if the person really is worth it, you will stand by him/her. Let me use another quote here. This by Ralph Waldo Emerson -"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it's the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friend."

Marriage they say is not a word but a sentence. Life long sentence. Love is blind and marriage is an institution. Its been two years since I entered the institution for clinically blind. We have maintained a long distance relationship pretty well, with our fair share of fights. She drives me up the wall sometimes with her attitude and mood swings. But i know how good she is and how much she loves me. Even with all her shoutings and yellings, I know that at the end of the day she will be there for me always.

If you cannot trust a friend, then are not allowing that friend to be the friend that you need them to be. I'm not sure if that made sense. OK, Why do I end up writing philosophical bullshit on my blog? I have no idea. Tried to stop but somehow I just cant help it.

world cup is here..

England lost to Bangladesh today. Ireland few days ago.. Looks like England are as comfortable against the minnows as Salman is when he sees Vivek Oberoi. Defiant etc but in the end he is the laughing stock. Minnow's performance is better than Vivek's career though. Couple it with the tie against India and a close win against SAf, England seems to have a penchant for cliffhangers. They are like movie climax where the hero and villain both are at the edge of the cliff and you are not sure who will end up and the best man wins. Usually the villain loses. or both die.

But clearly England have been the best team in this world cup if you wanted to see how close the matches can get. They were good against good teams and poor against minnows. Eye for an eye. Clearly. Losing Kevin Peter Pieterson (thats his real name. Named by a genius I presume) and the teenage girl who throws tantrums, Stuart broad was a big blow. It was the blondie who won them the match against the Proteas. Probably the tailenders did not want him to throw a hissy fit.

Should minnows be allowed to play in world cups? Clearly ICC, when I say ICC I mean BCCI, does not think so. Minnows mean less money and Sharad Pawar is not interested in something that means less money. I'm not sure if people really understood what he said or just assumed about it. Come to think of it minnows do not get much exposure. World cup is their only main tournament with test playing nations. And this is the only chance they get to beat England. They need to be included in all major tri series and tournaments.

I started watching world cup from 1992. One main piece of memory is of waking up early to watch and listening to my dad curse the Indian team. In 1996, "he who is treated like a god by millions" showed. For him, it may have been just another day at the office, but for everyone else it was awesome. He continued his form in '99, '03, '07 (one match only though). It has been frustrating to see my team throw it away all these years.

There have been some good memories too. All the wins against Pakistan, Prasad teaching Sohail a lesson, Ganguly and Dravid tearing Lankans apart, Inzy's knock against NZ in '92 ( I did not know how crucial that know was till some years later. Liked the way he carted the bowlers), The greatest ODI knock I have seen (It was by him. 98 vs Pak in '03), Nehra's six (Sometimes I wonder if he would fall apart any moment when he runs in to bowl. Reminds me of an old KSRTC bus).

Although I have stopped following cricket extensively (I follow only tests as that where my god plays.), its the world cup and it is a big deal. I usually dont predict or play the selector games because my guess never comes true. But on the other hand, since it doesnt come true, I'm going to say Australia will win the cup. And if they do not. expect Ricky Ponting's guard to break some more TV's and stadium equipment.

India can play well at times. But their bowling has much to be desired. Zak is the only trustworthy bowler they have. Bhajji is no longer the wicket taker he was. Munaf and Nehra can never be trusted. Sreesanth is a maniac who can go either way. I am not going to comment on Chawla. Since its our home turf, we can expect us to truimph as well. As they say, it ain't over till Yuvraj sings.

There are few things in cricket coverage will never change though. Ravi Shastri cannot say a sentence without his old manytimes reused bag of cliches, Rameez Raja and Arun Lal will never speak English properly, Sidhuisms dont stop, Kamran Akmal will not hold on to catches for long, Sreesanth cannot finisha a spell without being "himself".. Speaking of Akmal, the number of chances dropped by Akmal can be acknowledged as the one of the largest numbers in the known universe. Inifinity comes in third in the list by the way. In number two, we have the number of things that can be done by Ravichandran to a heroine's navel. and #1 is the clear winner. It being the number of hate comments/mails you get when you criticize him(or use great and any other batsman's name in same sentence) in Cricinfo columns.

Also, in other news, Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and Tsunami today. As I read somewhere, father nature came home drunk and whipped a belt at his kids. But the number of casualities was pretty low. Its amazing to see what good infrastructure can do. Indian news will never cover this topic though.