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.

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Nuggets of Sholay: One - Oont Pahad Ke Neeche

Those born in the 60s and 70s have this surreal fascination for the Hindi movie Sholay - in varying degrees of intensity. Many of us regard this as the greatest (Hindi) movie ever made, and a few of us go completely crazy discussing finer points of the movie. So I'm beginning a new series, where I will capture one nugget from the movie and talk a bit about it. These nuggets could be trivia, unknown facts, mysteries or the language used. I will begin by analyzing muhavras (idioms) used in Sholay. For me, the movie is a bhandaar (storehouse) of muhavras , and many of them are unique only to the movie. Muhavra: Oont ka pahad ke neeche ka aana (ऊंट का पहाड़ के नीचे का आना) Toward the end of the movie, (at 2h.45m), Veeru, who has arrived to save a trapped-by-dakus Basanti, is himself captured by Gabbar's minions. As he is being pulled into the den, Veeru tries to violently break free, when Gabbar remarks nonchalantly ' Aaj aaya hai oont pahad ke neeche ' 'आज आया...

Nuggets of Sholay: Three - Loha Garam Hai, Maardo Hathoda

The third of this series on Sholay is also a muhavra . And it's an example of the genius of Salim-Javed. Muhavra: Loha Garam Hai, Maardo Hathoda (लोहा गरम है, मार दो हथौड़ा) The proverb has been used brilliantly in the movie - why? I will explain in a bit. It appears at (1h.49m) when Girija (from Pipri village) brings the news that Gabbar's nomadic arms suppliers ( Hira aur uske saathi ) have appeared near his village. That's when Thakur tells Jai and Veeru by predicting that Gabbar will certainly appear to buy arms and says ' Loha Garam Hai, Maar Do Hathoda '. The English equivalent of this proverb is 'Strike while the iron is hot' and even Latin, ' Carpe Diem '. This expression refers to art of the lohar or the blacksmith. In order to get the desired shape, the blacksmith must hit the piece of iron when it is red hot. Once the iron cools down, it cannot be shaped. This idiom has existed in English since at least the 1500s. We find early...

Nuggets of Sholay: Ten - Maine Aapka Namak Khaya Hai Sardar

I must confess that bringing this series of Sholay nuggets to you has been an immensely joyful experience. The many hours and days of research, thinking and writing have provided me an escape from the otherwise dull period of the wretched lockdown. And I hope you are enjoying reading it too! In this episode, I'm digging out a proverb that is neatly ensconsed in the famous ' Kitne Aadmi The ' scene. Muhavra: Kisika Namak Khana (किसिका नमक खाना) Did you realise that Gabbar Singh (the Late Amjad Khan) is introduced well after the first hour of the film? Surprising, considering the import and gravity of the character, but Salim-Javed were true masters at the art of storytelling, and they surely had very good reason to do so. Anyway, when Gabbar is diabolically playing the Russian Roulette of bullets with the three hapless dacoits, at 1h.10m, Kaalia (the Late Viju Khote) s-s-s-s-stammers, ' S-S-S-Sardar, Maine Aapka Namak Khaya Hai, Sardar .' To which, we all k...

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