Chak De India

On Sunday evening, taking some time of from watching cricket, I went and saw ‘Chak De India’. It is a tremendous film, very well directed and capturing a lot of the emotions, which professional sportsmen go through.

But the film made me think. Over the years I have considered my self to be a sports enthusiast. So have a lot of my other friends. We all are lovers are cricket but we follow other sports as well. We all were delighted when Ashsish Ballal saved the penalty stroke which fetched India the gold in hockey at Bangkok, we all were proud of Gopichand when he won the All England Championship. And Leander Paes and his brilliance have made so many of our Sunday afternoons memorable.

But hang on. There is a similarity here. We always watch and support our male sportsman. Or is it just me. ‘Chak De’ is a film about 11 women making the nation proud. India over the years has produced some very fine female athletes. But they are never talked about in the same breadth as their male counter parts.

I did a small survey (this survey included both mal and females) to find out whether it was just me or generally the entire country had an apathy towards female sportsmen. Here is a sample of the survey

Q1) Who is the captain of the Indian Women’s cricket team. Most common Answer: Dunno

Q2) Who is the captain of the Indian Women’s Hockey team. Most common Answer: Dunno

Q3) Who is the captain of the Indian Women’s Football team. Most Common Answer: Do we have a Women’s Football team.

Yes we do have a Women’s football team. They had qualified for 2004 Asian Games (something which their male counterparts couldn’t do). And the captain of the Women’s cricket team is a elegant lady from Hyderabad called Mithali Raj. She has to her credit the highest individual score in Women’s Test Match cricket. Something which Sachin Tendulkar doesn’t have.

Common guys. We need to change our attitude. Sania Mirza apart no female sportswomen are talked about in this country. And Sania is more talked about for her clothes then for her game. Admittedly, sometimes the Women’s game can be a bit slow compared to the men’s game. But at least we can support all those individuals who are representing the Tri -colour.

So next time any women’s team is playing lets cheer them instead of comparing them to their male counterparts and pointing out their differences. Lets really prove to everyone that we are a changed country.

Perhaps that’s what Chak De India is all about.

By the way Captain of the Women’s hockey team is Binita Topo. And Dalia Akhtar is the captain of the Indian Football Woman’s team.

What a game

To watch Sachin Tendulkar Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly in harness on Saturday afternoon, and then to admire VVS Laxman, was to be transported to a different world: a world of delicacy and enchantment, buttressed by the rock-solid foundations of the straight bat and the clear mind. Michael Vaughan played splendidly, but he wasnt the same.
My previous blog had aroused quite a few emotions. Particularly after Sachin had scored 91 on Sunday. In the circumstances it was a brilliant innings. But was it a normal Sachin innings? We did not see any straight drive. Throughout the innings, Sacin was never his dominating self. He was very tentative and was even hit on his head. Can you ever remember Sachin being hit on his head prior to 2001?

Of course there was some evidence of his class. On Saturday evening we saw a cut and a cover drive to raise the hairs from our necks. On Sunday, we had some mid-wicket deflections manoeuvered by those powerful wrists, sweep shots at various angles to outwit the field placements and, in particular, an exquisite stroke over extra cover to remind us of the genius. But the problem is that these days we need reminding of his class - time does not wait, not even for Sachin Tendulkar.
There are runs left in this mesmerizing cricketer but they will not come with the free spirit that captured our hearts all those years ago. They will come from the mind that allowed it to flourish. This is no bad thing; it's just not quite the same. That’s all I am trying to say.

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I had written in one of my previous blog that Test cricket is more exciting than the one-day game. I think the last two Test matches have justified that.
I have found cricket very boring this year. This is largely due to the fact that for most part of the year all we have seen are meaningless one-sided one-day contests. My interest has been revived by stunning cricket played in England over the last two weeks.
The Test Match at Nottingham had some memorable moments, which showed us why this game is such a beautiful game. Memories will linger forever………..of watching Sidebottom bowl beautifully and yet get no rewards,………………of watching Zaherr bowl with such aggression, ………of watching Vaughn make batting look so ridiculously easy………………..of watching the Indians in despair as England fought back through Vaughn and Collingwood and then jump in joy at the fall of each subsequent wickets after the second new ball had done the trick…………. Of watching a famous Indian victory. Oh what a beautiful game.