Sports : life magnified

Arjun Atwal’s performed impressively at the Buick Invitational. He again showed improvement is required in finishing off tournaments. That will hopefully improve in the future. The Telegraph, Calcutta, reports:

Arjun Atwal came close to winning his maiden PGA Tour title, but in the end finished tied fourth after missing three close putts in the last three holes of the $ 5.4 million Buick Invitational at the Torrey Pines.Atwal (71) missed a four-footer on the closing 18th and was shut out of the three-way play-off which was won by Tiger Woods, who himself birdied the 18th to get into extra time.

With his victory in the Corus Chess Championships, Anand becomes the first player to win the tournament 5 times. He also becomes the 4th player ever to break the 2800 barrier in the ELO rating points. Anand as a chess player is a constantly improving genius as indicated by his ELO. More here.

Will has brought to focus an aspect of South African cricket I was unaware of.

It is officially shaky now regarding the final of FA Cup final scheduled to be held at Wembley. The new stadium design has always looked brilliant and it is shaping up to be the same in reality as well. Football fans world over still hope for the date with Wembley on May 13th is kept.

W.G.Grace brushed aside the umpire telling him the people had come to see him bat and not him umpire, allegedly among many other legendary tales. It was the Yadav show in Lalu’s attempt to quote-unquote - popularise the game with even his son making over 100 runs in a Lalu XI vs Media XI. We used to joke that Lalu had so many children that he could form his own cricket team. He has formed a Lalu XI at least with a son of his playing in it. A start for sure.

Reports The Times of India:

An exhibition cricket match played between Lalu XI and Media XI at Moinul Haque Stadium here on Saturday saw not only the Union minister bowling a 50-ball over but also the umpire’s reluctance to rule any of his deliveries as ‘wide,’ ‘no-ball’ or even declare him out. What’s ore, the team strength numbered over 25 and runs were added to the scoreboard in 20s and 30s.

I remember the emotional Federer after winning Wimbledon last year. He did it again as he embraced Laver after winning the third consecutive grandslam. As BBC reports, he has become the first man since Sampras in 1993 to win three consecutive grand slam titles.

The clay season should be classic this year with Federer, Nadal, Coria among others battling it out. As a Federer fan, I hope this is the year in which he wins his first title at Roland Garros.

I had the feeling in the first session. Thoughts came back of this match. Jagdish seems to agree.

At National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan has suffered just one loss. In the last 10 tests here, 8 matches have provided results. India has never won here (losing twice and drawing thrice). Inzamam averages above 70 here. A lot more facets here. Inzamam and Akhtar face injury worries and there are soft mumblings that they may not be as effective even if they play.

The grass is unlikely to be shaved off the wicket as it would mean backlash. There has already been a lot of frustration among fans and media after the first two tests. In these circumstances Pakistan has a slight advantage. A combined effort from India though could see a memorable win. It can be safely said that most people are praying that this match does produce a result. I am hoping that we see some brilliant cricket in the match and a superb inning from Tendulkar, at a ground he returns 16 years since he made his debut, which shuts a portion of the people who feel he is past his best for good.

It is game on!

Reebok is apparently going to tussle with Nike over pants of cricketers. Hmm.

Amelie Mauresmo has had to wait for her first grand slam title as CNN reports:

Mauresmo had the second-longest wait for her first major title in the Open era, taking 32 Grand Slam tournaments to win a final — Jana Novotna won Wimbledon in 1998, in her 45th major.

What has to be seen for the future is whether she can reach the No. 1 spot again in her career. That all can wait and the sweetness of success can be enoyed for the moment though.

Powered by a commendable bowling effort by unknown Pankaj Singh taking 10 in the match, supported by Sanjay Gill, Rajasthan out classed Orissa. So Rajasthan gets promoted to division 1 with the effort from stars who belonged to other states - like Gill (Delhi) and Ajay Jadeja.

I had brought this up in this post a few days into the 1st test. Rudi Koertzen agrees to an extent. He says:

There is nothing wrong if the ICC considers a change in laws that allows such Test matches to be called off at tea with the consent of both captains when a last-day result is not possible.

I am loving this new weekly column on cricinfo. The profiled Ashwell Prince and Brett Dorey earlier. It is now time for India’s R.P.Singh. RP concentrates on line and length and that is a quality which isn’t found much in modern fast/swing bowlers. I have been impressed by whatever little I have seen of the guy. Hopefully he can swing India to many glories in the future years, developing a yard of pace in time.

Marcos Baghdatis had a memorable interview after knocking out Roddick described by my friend Jono here.

Baghdatis’ interview with Courier after the match was hilarious. Courier brought up Baghdatis’ girlfriend Cammy (who is stunning), and Baghdatis refused to answer how long they had been together for. Then Courier asks if Baghdatis will watch Johannson vs. Ljubicic, and he replies saying no he’ll be sleeping. His coach will watch while he sleeps with his girlfriend. Courier’s reaction was gold!

Baghdatis had already conquered Roddick and Ivan Ljubicic. He has now conquered the master of five sets, David Nalbandian, with a 6-4 in the 5th. The Cypriot (yes that is we call people from Cyprus) has been the flavour of the tournament. Not many apart from tennis fans can lay claim to know the name Baghadatis two weeks ago.

In another match which has been reported as top notch, Henin-Hardenne defeated Sharapova to reach the women’s final. She faces Mauresmo who went through after Clijsters had to retire due to injury in the third set.

The Aussie Open has been superb with some brilliant matches despite many top stars withdrawing before the tournament.

The Sportstar magazine is bigger and cheaper. It has also cut the out of its name. The annual subscription costs as little as Rs. 5 an issue now. In the world of inflating prices, the magazine has managed to keep its price the same for more than 16 years. It now cuts down on the prices. In the price sensitive Indian market, this will surely increase sales.

When Federer defeated Nikolay Davyadenko in a close match, he ensured a seventh consecutived grandslam semi final. Only Ivan Lendl with 10 has managed more. Nicolas Kiefer won his marathon encounter versus Sebastian Grosjean.

Martina Hingis bowed out to Kim Clijsters Clijsters faces Mauresmo next. The Aussie Open has seen some good matches so far. Hopefully the final stages sees some more exciting stuff.

Sambaran Banerjee was the wicketkeeper captain when Bengal won the Ranji Trophy in the 1989-1990 season. Another wicketkeeper, Deep Dasgupta is the captain this time.

Is this a sign of good things to come for the Bengal side? After the flack Kaif and Raina recieved for making 50s and not converting them to big 100s from chief selector More, Bengal can expect nothing except a serious battle.

With home advantage, Uttar Pradesh looks like the slight favourites. But Bengal has been playing cohesively as a team with every one performing.

It should be a very interesting Ranji Final come Sunday.

That was Vince Carter’s response to the 81 of Kobe Bryant. I concur.

Dr. Saeed Durrani in Daily Times letters suggests Rakhi as the name for the India-Pakistan series. While Ashes symbolises destruction, Rakhi is the symbol of bonding. I like it.

Younis Khan and Kamran Akmal love to bat versus India. They know how to play the Indian spinners very well. Pakistan can make quick runs and put India under pressure tomorrow if they are brave enough to go down that road. With only 1 wicket for Pakistan, they find themselves in a position to decide the possible course of the match. A draw does look the likely outcome even if both teams intent to play for a win from the current scenario.