Tag: MS DHONI

A Different Stroke

On January 4, 2017

When people ask me, “So.. Where are you from ?”. On hearing Jamshedpur, in case they look perplexed I add on “Jharkhand” to answer. Each time, that confused look on their faces change to a slight elation, and they go like, “Oh.. Dhoni’s state”.

Thank you for Putting our state on the Map.

The news of MS stepping down isn’t shocking. It was expected. Captains in the Indian Cricket Team follow the same trajectory. Would have loved to watch him lead the team in the next world cup before stepping down, but well, not everything can be perfect as we wish it to be. Right?

I wrote this “Fan-letter” when he retired from Test Cricket and when I reread it, the emotions don’t seem to change a bit. Or to this post I wrote on his Birthday, which I rehash every year btw can tell you a lot.

MS made everyone proud. Sure, he has his share of haters as well, who might be elated at this news as well. Of course, To each his own.

Dhoni isn’t just about the Cricket he played. He’s every small-town boy’s (or girl) icon on dreaming of making something of themselves. When you watch the movie, MS Dhoni, which is, of course, dramatized to an extent, you’ll see the thought process of us, the small-towners. The makers never had to exaggerate that! Dhoni is just one famous example.

I’m sure we’ll get to see more of you as a batsman without the burden of captaincy. I don’t know if you’ll get back to your pre-captaincy swashbuckling self or maintain the captaincy cool. Or maybe a different stroke, altogether?

Here’s to a great 2017, MS!

Thank you, Team India!!

By farooq

On March 26, 2015

In Sports

Just when MS Dhoni got run out. The final nail on India’s world cup campaign was bolted and put to rest. It was not as if after a mammoth total of 329 was comfortable to be chased from the start, but till he was at the crease, there was little hope left in all of us, cheering from our homes and the huge numbers at the stadium itself.

We lost to a better team. We did everything right in the whole tournament. Surprisingly, our bowling attack was the superstar of the lot. We fielded well and most of our batters also got good runs on the board. This, coming from a team which was not in the list of favourites of hardly any. Even when it was the defending Champions.

Perhaps the game against Pakistan set things up. The passion rose and so did the performance. Beating South Africa and in the manner which we did ? Well, the hopes of 1.2 Billion were now scaling new heights.

Nasser Hussain made a statement the other day, actually putting a question to Rahul Dravid while in the commentary box, “ Did India peaked too early?”. Along came the cheeky reply from Dravid, “It is better to peak early then not peak at all”. Of course, it was a friendly jibe by Jammy. Now, I do wonder, did we peaked too early ?

I’m no expert. Just a cricket fan and hence reading too much into all this, or about the momentum would be wrong.

Anyways, as we stand now, we lost our first game in this world cup. Heartbreaking ? Yes.

You can see people out with swords, blaming one or the other. To the bizzare extent that people have been blaming Anushka Sharma whole throughout the day, just when Kohli got out!! Call it “Just Kidding” or anything, it just goes to show how we are so used to blaming something on others. Especially, Women. Not just that, the “Most watched English News Channel” in India says, ” Shamed in Sydney”?!!! I mean shame on you for even bringing such words out of your sensationalizing news channel only looking for TRPs. Stand by your country, not just when they win, but also when they lose. More so, when they’ve played exceptional cricket in the whole tournament. And they were not bad even today!!

I enjoyed the Australian tour, even though we couldn’t win. I enjoyed this World cup, when we won. Today, I am definitely sad that we couldn’t reach the finals, but I’m content that we could reach this far.

I would just like to say, Thank you Team India for putting up a good show. Hope you’ve learnt a lot and in future, you’d make us proud, again.

Dhoni, you fought hard. But then there’s only so much a man can do. You are the hope for us and I’m glad that you are not retiring now. That statement at the presentation ceremony that you are not retiring brought a smile, and I’m thankful for that.

Thank you, Team India.

Happy b’day MS!!

By farooq

On July 7, 2013

In Sports

A young boy from a city in Jharkhand, a newly formed state struggling to keep up after its divorce from Bihar, was making some waves in the domestic circuit. A (thumbnail) picture. with a lanky sunscreen laden face, adorned one small section of the sports column in the morning newspapers’ local edition.

After century knocks against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Pakistan- A teams, this India-A player was slowly getting his due attention. Although the Indian Team selectors picked Dinesh Kartick as the wicket keeper, the one year started off with a series of great performances by this Jharkhand lad in the domestic circuit.

And after a year, he was finally chosen to be in the ODI team travelling for Banagladesh.

A Dream come true.

Not just for him, but for a state trying to make its presence felt. We all felt like our dream was getting realised.

But it didn’t came without disappointments. He got out to a duck.

In the second match he played, of the two balls that he faced, one went for a Six. This six against the Bangladesh attack was the signal of what was to come later.

Next series, it was Pakistan

148* laced with 4 mighty sixes and 15 powerful 4s in just 123 balls, was when the world came to know of Mahendra Singh Dhoni!!!

This was not the end; this was a start to the storm that had made its way into the Indian Cricket team.

Innings of 182 against Pakistan by MS Dhoni at Vizag

The Pakistan series got him, his first Man-of-the-Series award and was followed up by the Sri Lankan series. Promoted up the order, chasing 299 against Sri Lanka, with 10 sixes and 15 fours, he stood up high in the record books as the highest score by a wicket-keeper batsman as well as by an Indian. 183*.

Rest, as they say is History. History which is glorious and promises to add more laurels in the coming years.

T20 world cup, ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy, IPL championship, Champions League are just a few of the trophies that the Indian Cricket Team or the Chennai Super Kings have won. This has been possible because of just one man. The captain marvel or the Captain Cool, as many call him. Giving coolness a whole different meaning.

Taking decisions with the cool as a cucumber mind. Imagine giving the final over to a nobody like Joginder Sharma the final over in the 2007 WC or even persisting with Ishant Sharma, who was way too expensive the crucial death overs, and not to mention how well they worked!!

His having faith in the players even in times of terrible form isn’t limited to match-time situations. He is known to back Ravindra Jadeja and even Rohit Sharma. Notwithstanding the jokes, criticism and their visible bad form, he backed them all and we all can see the effects.

Ravindra Jadeja is the best example of how criticism can give rise to a hero. Imagine the “Sir” tag attached to his name just for ridiculing him is slowly turning out to be an honorary title. Who knows, the Queen might just make this come true!!

Of course, when you are doing well, in Dhoni’s case “Exceptionally well” where he is known to have a Midas touch, there will be haters. And yes, there are.

But deep down, even they agree on what this One man has achieved and is capable of achieving (Although there’s hardly anything left).

Proud to belong to the state from where you come. Blessed to have watched you play. Honored to have you as our Captain and Pleasure to be a Dhoniette.

Happy b’day Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the coolest captain to have ever lead an Indian Cricket team.

To the CSK haters!!

By farooq

On May 25, 2013

In Sports

The final match is just hours away. Final of the Indian Premier League 6.

Two teams, Chennai Super Kings, and Mumbai Indians have made it to the finals.

On one side, it’s the “yet-to-be-a-winner” Mumbai Indians and on the other is Chennai Super Kings, the two-time winner, and the ONLY team to have reached the semifinals or playoffs EVERY IPL season. And for a while, we may just leave Champions league out of this picture, where also this team has shown consistency.

Now, going into this final, there has been a lot of talks. Or to be a little more clear, a lot of BULLSHIT thrown around.

There has been of course big revelations on the betting scandal, where 3 Players from Rajasthan Royals have been arrested, and the captain, team owners, officials questioned too. There has also been involvement of a “Bollywood connection” in the form of Vindoo Dara Singh, which has further opened many new “connections” of this scandal, including BCCI President N. Srinivasan’s son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan. This is how the stakes are stacked as of now. Just a day before the final of IPL6 scheduled to be held in Kolkata.

There is a significant question that I want to ask. Will you say this IPL was fixed if CSK wins it??

And is your answer influenced by recent happenings around cricket, where individual players have put this gentleman’s game to shame??

Well before you answer, let me just go back a year.

Same time, it was the final between CSK and Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR)!!

Instead of MI (this year), there was KKR. But this talk of it being fixed and CSK will end up winning, or “I’ll stop watching IPL if CSK wins” talk was still doing the rounds.

Was there a betting scandal unearthed that time as well?? Or were some players arrested??

So, why was there so much talk every time this Team called Chennai Super Kings does well??

The only logical answer that can come to my mind is, when you are at the top, there will be a lot of Dogs barking down there, to pull you down and that’s what is happening!!

I don’t have to say who the dogs are. Do I??

Isn’t it baffling that a team whose 3 players( Sreesanth, Chandela, and Chavan) were arrested, was hailed as the team of fair play and their captain holds the ultimate image of honesty continues to do so. And a team, whose owner’s son-in-law has been arrested, ends up becoming the team which fixes matches??

I agree that Dravid’s image makes it so and it very correctly shows a case of some rotten eggs.

But, when it comes to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, all of this just doesn’t have any significance. Hypocrisy at its very best!!

You point fingers at MS, just because of an alleged bookie sitting beside his wife during matches in the stadium?? Well, that same “Bollywood connection” has clicked lots of pictures with SRK, Preity, etc. Are they involved too??

Why just IPL matches, maybe, this guy fixed the World cup matches to bring in two effin trophies back home also??

You know what, haters will always remain haters, and I don’t give a rat’s ass, as to whether you guys stop watching IPL if we win this thing again,( as you have been claiming from many seasons) or NOT!!

We win the title again or not, depend on how we play out there at the Edens, and even if we don’t win this, we, the CSK fans will still always stand by it through its thick and thin.

I do believe that we will win this again, for the third time!!

And yes, I don’t mean to be rude, but

#$%& YOU CSK-Haters!!!!! (Yea, I know you get that)!!