RIP Sridevi : Exit Of The Magnanimous Queen

RIP Sridevi !!

Some people do not exist in your lives or you are unaware . Celebrities are like that . You like them or hate them but you can never ignore them. They become part and parcel of your day to day lives through their work and are part of your good and bad times without you being aware of their existence. When they exit, you realise it and it hurts !!

Sridevi was amongst such people who ruled the entire young generation of our times as we awaited the release of her films and were astonished by her dancing skills and a very different kind of aura she carried on the screen.

Ordinary to one of the prettiest, non actor to few of the finest actors , raw to one of most dignified and class apart personalities, may be  due to the influence of South Indian icon Rekha , Sridevi made a story worth a tell and to remember.

Second innings was due and when the stars are around with actors being a scarcity , she was needed the most. Sri left too early to even think or write about her obituary.

As they say in ‘Mayanagari’, The Show Must Go On !! The Bollywood would move on , the fans will find new stars or Icons but somewhere there , a place for Sridevi would always remain in their hearts , may be without being aware or      whenever the screens lit up with Sridevi movies.

A true Nagina without too much of Maqsad in life for superstardom and not much of English Vinglish but sadly not to be alive as Mom for daughter’s debut movie sums up Sridevi’s life.

A personality arrived , conquered and lived the life Queensize !

Time to say bye bye to magnanimous Sridevi !

- Jayawant

Virat - The New King Of Cricket

Virat reached a magical number to complete his 35th ODI century and is destined for a bigger glory with the master just around the corner to be overtaken.

However , when one goes past into the history books , this number of 35 was a unique number way back in 1990s.The greats of those times could never go past this number. They jointly held the record of most number of international centuries of 35 tons apiece. It was a big tie between the Little Master, King of cricket Sir VIV and unsung hero Desmond Haynes . Gavaskar had only one ODI ton against his name whereas VIV and Haynsey had 11 and 17 respectively with the latter being the record holder of highest number of ODI tons.

People like me were always optimistic that one day someone will go past the legend of ODIs Krish Shrikanth’s  record of 4 centuries for India and boy !! What a way to move past it. Sachin made a mockery of the number and Virat would put a question mark on the bowlers careers in the ODI format. Both these guys went past the number 35 in one format of the game only 😊 and seamlessly !

Indian Cricket has come a long way from the days of Gavaskar’s record of scoring 36* in first World Cup after batting for 60 overs  to a day when almost all ODI batting records being held by Indians .

However , the records do not come just by the passage of time . They are a byproduct of years of nurturing , arrival of superstars who make their presence felt and change the way the game is played in addition to the infrastructure provided to the teams . The records also come at the cost of some countries giving priority to other games or format of the sport and become minnows like West Indies or Australia who still rule and focus on the  test cricket. The count of centuries also come at a frantic pace with the way sports is played with increasing number of games in shorter duration however it  has also impacted the longevity of the players .Gone are the days of long careers .

Virat has been phenomenal against all odds and has maintained his form , delivered for his teams and been a legend of his own in short span of his career while adjusting to the nature and requirement of the game. Let’s wait and watch how many records continue to tumble in his era and what new targets would be set in , hopefully to be set aside by a future generation Indian.

100 was the number set by the blaster , let’s see where Virat stops or are we going to see a tie again like 35 , only time will tell . Till then !! Wait , Watch and Enjoy the game of new King of Cricket .

- Jayawant 

22 Yards in action for the past week

As we go gaga over Kohli’s 34th ODI and Dhawan’s 100 in 100th ODI , the silent ones achieved few milestones away from all the limelight and monopoly on the game.

Rangana Herath , became the highest wicket taking left arm bowler in test cricket moving ahead of the great Wasim Akram.

Afghanistan for the benefit of themselves and the mankind , making a statement in different kind of battle picking up modern day weapons of cricket bat and ball to demolish Zimbabwe through superlative performance in ODIs.

Slinga Malinga hanged his shoes in a quiet manner making himself a backroom boy for the Mumbai Indians.

Doug Bollinger after scaring few opponents for a short period for Kangaroos, calling it curtains down without a noise.

Smriti Mandhana achieving Kohlian heights and making South African women run all around the boundary ropes in a dominating hundred whereas Jhulan Goswami became the first woman cricketer to reach milestone of 200 ODI wickets . “Beti Bachao ....” true ambassadors of the game.

Ice cricket challenge conceptualised in Swiss alps for new 20-20 entrant of winter sports .The oldies had a gala time and who knows ? Maybe cricket going The Europe way !! 

And past legends urging BCCI to come out with some noble cause on the lines of McGrath foundation or pink battle for the men.

So all’s we’ll that ends well in this beautiful game of a cricket and that too in just a week .

Who will say week is short when 22 yards can offer so much diversity 😊

-Jayawant 

Dravid -The Master craftsman

Coaches win matches ? Sounds true to an extent in contemporary arena in sports .

The background boys make an immense contribution in building the onfield skills , temperament and off the field characters.

The biggest quality of any coach is selflessness , approach and content in the coaching and that's what came to a full circle when the man known for his integrity helmed the under -19 bunch of kids to glory, the world title .

Dravid is a story of self made stalwart . He has been a true idol for any youngster who wants to learn how to manage own career and passion. As a cricketer or any sportsman ,  one has to be prepared for peers with flamboyance, zeal , the extra attitude or few going over the board .That's where the coach develops a young career and makes one realise his true potential and play according to own style and strength and not to get bogged down with trends , TRPs and quick money.

Dravid was truly phenomenal in the Under -19 World Cup this time. Backing his own boys , grooming and allowing the captain to lead from front and forget his own greatness and mastery when the fact is that none of these youngsters were even born when the coach made his debut as a middle order bat way back in 1996.

A selfless cricketer, a true team man, a great leader and an immensely obedient servant of the game , Dravid deserved a top glorified trophy against his name especially after missing it in 2003 and obviously in 2011.

Circa 2018 !! The legend as usual took a backseat even though he was instrumental in India's one sided dominance in the entire tournament and registering one of the most effective clinical wins . Most importantly he handed over a great future in form of younger lot to the nation who would soon make it to the senior dressing rooms .

Some greats perform at all levels and still remain elusive when it comes to grabbing the headlines .. not anymore !!

Hope to see this Arjuna Awardee making it to 'Dronacharya' list soon !

-Jayawant



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