2018-19: moment of reckoning for Indian cricket

After a long home season that saw the Indian team rise to the No. 1 spot in Tests and ODIs, here comes the acid test.

Over the next year and a half, the team will be touring South Africa, England, Australia and New Zealand, culminating with the World Cup in England in 2019.

We will now know the true mettle of this team. Are they home tigers, or can they roar abroad too? This team has the mettle, skill and hunger to maintain its standings, and while in the last few years, they have come close, they have not been able to cross the line. I believe this team can do it.

There's only one weakness that we need to sort out - the form of Rahane. There are many that are knocking at the doors for that spot - Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey, Priyank Panchal and Prithvi Shaw. If he doesn't find his mark, he will have to make way.

So let's see how this team goes about in defending their title.

Review of 'Ittefaq'

A whodunit, after a long time! Ittefaq means coincidence in Urdu, and this movie is loosely based on its namesake made almost 40 years ago, starring Rajesh Khanna and Nanda.

I was eagerly looking forward to this movie, after all, it's perhaps 1% of Bollywood movies, which are not based on typical boy-meets-girl stories.

I was hugely disappointed to say the least. The plot is set up very nicely - a double murder and both the prime suspects claim innocence. For about an hour of the movie, the director has you intrigued.

But as the movie nears its ending, it starts getting predictable. The director tries to 'surprise' you in the end, but it doesn't audaciously shock you. One just goes 'oh, ok'.

What I would have liked were more perspectives, more suspects and a few red herrings.

But I must commend Karan Johar for trying something different. And just for that effort alone, I would rate this move as 'above average'.

Signages

I was at a prestigious IT show today called the Bengaluru Tech Summit. Organized at Bangalore Palace, the show boasts of 100s of speakers, exhibitors and topics. But what was missing were any useful signage. It took me a while to locate where I needed to go, and that too only after I asked a few people around.

But I don't blame the organisers for having overlooked the importance of having proper signs to direct people. That is another attribute that we Indians possess - of not giving signage its due importance.

And you see examples of that everywhere - roads, railway stations, airports, and even large residential campuses.

Perhaps we assume that people are smart and will figure their way!

A song I want to be part of

Have you every listened to a song, and wondered if you could be part of the song? Well, I have one such.

From the movie Kitaab (1977, directed by Gulzar), there's this song, 'Dhanno Ki Aankhon Mein', composed and sung by Pancham. The song is about an engine driver (of a steam locomotive) who expresses his love for Dhanno, a village belle. Dhanno lives in a village that is close to the railway line that this particular train passes through.

And it seems that everytime the train nears Dhanno's village (early morning, dawn time), Dhanno walks up to a hillock, lantern in hand, and waves out to Ustad (the engine driver). In the song, Ustad, upon seeing Dhanno flings something towards her - a gift, I think it's a dress of some sort. And one assumes that this is a ritual.

I don't know the actress that does Dhanno, but Ustad is played by a character actor by the name of Ram Mohan. Another titbit about this movie - there's Master Lucky, a kid played by Lucky Ali!

The song is one of those sticky numbers, but what makes it stand apart is the unique music, typified by a strange noise, as if someone is playing a guitar inside a hollow drum.

I've always been fascinated by steam engines, and as a kid, wanted up to grow up to be an engine driver. Whenever I see this song, I want to be Ustad, driving that engine and singing that song.

Dhanno ki aankhon mein, hai raat ka surma, aur chaand ka chummaaaaah....

The Great Indian Queue

I was listening to a recent BBC podcast that listed out 50 (or 51 to those who followed) inventions that changed the modern economy. The list included all kinds of things, from the paper clip to diesel engines to the atomic bomb.

If I were allowed to indulge, I would like to add one more modern invention - The Queue System.

Imagine how disorderly things would be if it weren't for this system where everyone patiently waits their turn by standing in a line and waiting to be served.

Here's how Wikipedia defines the queue:

Queue areas are places in which people queue (first-come, first-served) for goods or services. Such a group of people is known as a queue(British usage) or line (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing in a queue or in line, respectively. (In the New York City area, the phrase on line is often used in place of in line.) Examples include checking out groceries or other goods that have been collected in a self service shop, in a shop without self-service, at an ATM, at a ticket desk, a city bus, or in a taxi stand.

But Indians being Indians, we have created our own version of the queue. Here are some of my observations:

a. There will always be someone who tries to break the queue using ingenious ways.

b. If you maintain a gap with the person in front of you, the one from behind will surreptitiously creep up on you and try to overtake you.

c. No mercy will be shown for the elderly  or pregnant women

d. Will not wait patiently to be called. Will go to the counter un-called

e. My favourite - there will always be 3-4 people at the counter, standing next to each other. That itself is a mini-race of its own.

I'm sure if you think further, you will have more idiosyncrasies to add of your own.

But I wonder why we have such a morbid aversion to queues and are always trying to beat the system. One way to look at it is that we're competitive people - always trying to get ahead. The problem is that it's always at the detriment of the other.

India's ODI team has a few weaknesses

With the ODI World Cup less than 18 months away, I think this is the right time to point out a few weaknesses in the team.

1. Dhoni: He's well past his prime. If you look at his last year or so, he has tried to mould himself into a gatherer, than an explosive finisher, which he was brilliant at. What is it with older cricketers refusing to leave when the time is right? I think the selectors need to start phasing him out and develop someone new. There are quite a few in the domestic circuit. Even DK won't be a bad option

2. Kedar Jadhav: Having been given such a long rope, Jadhav has not really proven to be the dependable and consistent No. 5. You can talk about his magic arm, but that alone will not win you matches. His fielding is shoddy. Need to look at someone new.

3. The No. 4 spot: We tried multiple players at this spot - Rahul, Rahane, Manish Pandey, without much success. My personal vote goes to Manish Pandey. His form may have deserted him recently, but he is capable of creating magic.

4. Too dependent on Bumrah and Bhuvi: Over reliance is always dangerous. I would start trying out new options that are available. Shami can be included, but definitely not Umesh Yadav - he leaks too many runs

If we sort these weaknesses out, India can become a super strong team and augment its current strengths:

a. Spinners - Chahal and Yadav are proving to be match winners. But I will keep Jadeja, and not Ashwin as the third option

b. Fielding - barring Jadhav and Bumrah, almost everyone is athletic

c. Match winning batsmen - Kohli, Rohit and Dhawan. Yes, I will still persist with Dhawan

d. The X factor: Hardik Pandya. Has the potential to become a great allrounder

These are my thoughts. Let's see how things pan out from now until June 2019.