Gutsy Jumbo

Happiness keeps you Sweet,

Trials keep you Strong,

Sorrow keeps you Human,

Failure keeps you humble and

Success keeps you glowing,

but only Faith & Attitude Keeps you going..

Keep kumble in the above words and you will understand the whole scenario I am trying to tell you. I have seen few guys as determined , gritty as jumbo in my life who with their gutsy efforts have lead from the front by setting examples. No other bowler has won India more matches than him but still he has not got the adulation from the BCCI and even from Indians because we are always captivated by batsmen.

I don't believe in having a single idol for a person as every person has good qualities which one can imbibe and take inspiration from it. Anil's determination always inspires me in believing that nothing is impossible you just need to have faith and attitude. Continuing on the idols reading about Maradona in his autobiography I came to know a lot about him, how he challenged the money savvy FIFA for welfare of football players and his straightforward attitude is what one can learn from i.e if you are true from your heart others will believe you , there may be hard times but eventually victory will be yours. I have never seen a calmer player than Roger Federer , have you ever seen a tensed Federer ? I have not , this tells us how down to earth he is and what can be achieved by remaining calm in difficult times, not be being excessively arrogant like the cry babies aussies. Federer lost today in the semis after very long time we will not see him in any grand slam final.

I am big fan of arsenal manager Wenger his ability in investing less money in buying big shot players and spotting the talented players early when they are kids , its all awesome. There are many more in the line like Lance Armstrong he is in same class as jumbo determined , it was his sheer self belief that took him to winning Tour De France many times.

Coming back to kumble one can never forget the Antigua test where jumbo bowled with a fractured jaw and if i am not wrong took Lara's wicket. This was the day when cricket as game won and whole world became fan of the jumbo.

Kumble Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	124	223	38682	17319	603	10/74	14/149	28.72	2.68	64.1	31	35	8
ODIs	271	265	14496	10412	337	6/12	6/12	30.89	4.30	43.0	8	2	0
First-class	235		64631	28258	1115	10/74		25.34	2.62	57.9		72	19
List A	380		20247	14178	514	6/12	6/12	27.58	4.20	39.3	14	3	0
Twenty20	2	2	47	46	4	2/20	2/20	11.50	5.87	11.7	0	0	0

I hope the Adelaide pitch will turn tomorrow and kumble and bhajji will stear India to another great victory down under. We all are saying a great change in the way Indian tail is batting nowadays, with sachin gone at 360 odd runs nobody would have expected the score to cross 500 but kudos to bhajji, kumble and Ishant for fine display of batting. Dhoni learn something from them please you cannot do chappu type batting everywhere.

I feel that with this golden generation of India slowly fading this great Indian Australian rivalry may also end as I don't see any player of such high quality to match these 5 wise men ( sachin, ganguly, dravid, laxman and kumble).


Lets hope India win this match.

Kumble Adelaide Sachin Bhajji Jumbo

Something to Write

It's been a long long time since I have written anything, no not anything , anything except code. In the initial days Luthra kept egging us on to write something but now even he has got into the habit of writing only Code. Now since I have got no body to motivate me, I remember the words of one of our Professor – Self – motivation, ya self motivation is the word. So here I am trying to put something which makes some sense.
Last time I wrote I think it was after Wimbledon, some 5 month back. So I will try to recount all those events which occur in these months.
Cricket –we won the world Cup, what a tournament that was, that victory was the clear reflection of new India, bold, fearless and in your face attitude. But that victory gives rise to another debate, seniors vs. juniors, which is quite a natural thing corresponding to the fact that it was the youth which brought glory to our country. But do u think that Sachin Tendulkar is not among the best 11 players. Well I cant imagine an Indian team without Sachin, may be I am biased, but for me he alone is the man who is responsible for the growth of cricket. For my generation the image of Tendulkar Cover drive will always be the first one which comes to our mind, when the topic of Cricket comes up. And as far as Indian Cricket is concerned best is to enjoy it and then forget it. Leave the analyzing and dissecting part to India TV and AajTak Experts. They will definitely find out who is “Match ka Muzrim” .
Tennis – the only new finding of the past quarter Roger Federer can be defeated and that too by a 35 year old man. But that man is one Pete Sampras. Man that guy at 35 can still play, and play well to defeat Federer. Roddick hasn’t done that for I don’t know how many years. Well I would strongly suggest USTA to contact him for Davis Cup final against Russia. There is no way he will ever lose against the likes of Daveydenko and company. Other than that FedEx was quite awesome, you just cant hate that guy , you will want the other guy to win but still you will never want him to lose, and in most of the other cases it’s the second feeling which get the better of the first.
Football – beautiful game is it?? Arsene Wenger young lad shows us it’s still a beautiful game. Fabregas,Hleb,Rosicky,van persie make us forget certain Thierry Henry. Arsenal right now is at top , but this time surely the league is much more interesting with anyone of the big 4 having good chance of lifting the cup. And one more thing we wont be able to Stevei G and Wayne Rooney in next years Euro.
So my crap comes to an end. Do I miss something ya one thing Chak De India !! wonderful movie desi do write something on that….

..

Who will be the challenger??

So Henry out of England, lets now discuss something about “definitely the oldest championship” The Wimbledon. Since we are now playing with tradition, I remember one very absurd rule which was once associated with Davis Cup, probably the second oldest championship. There was this challenger concept in which all the other participant will fight among each other to challenge the defending champion. So in effect defending champion was required to play only 1 match.
Now just for a moment we assume that this year’s championship is played with the same challenger rule with a certain Mr Federer as a defending champion. Now just like any aajtak correspondent, I will give myself a certain amount of liberties to analyze the few players who I feel can challenge the King::
1. Rafael Nadal :: Well this guys biggest advantage is the timing of the championship. Winning a grand slam is a huge confidence booster, and last time that confidence carried him to the final, where he even managed to take a set from Federer. That in itself is a big achievement for a Spaniard who publicly says that grass is never his favorite surface.
2. Andy Roddick:: He is the perennial underachiever of the men’s tennis , who for his whole life has been trying to come out of the Fed’s shadow. Lets do something which the great jimmy Connors is trying to do, analyze his game. He has a great booming serve, a good forehand and a decent enough slice backhand. Still he never ever manage to show us that ”yes , this guy is going to defeat Federer ”. Why?? This is what Mr Connors has to find out…still if we continue to serve well probably he might be the challenger.
3. all journey men::: this special category is dedicated to all those players who are all good players but I don’t why , but we know that they cant win Grand Slam. These players include davydenkos , djokovic, Blake etc etc.
4. Last one can be some mysterious guy :: someone who is made for Wimbledon?? What a crappy definition of mysterious guy?? But really I mean it…someone who is born for a grass. Attributes required are quite simple, good old serve and volley game.

So analysis done. The really firework will start from today, I would like the challenger , whoever he may be, to win , but whenever the Roger comes to play , my loyalties switch sides. He is someone like Sampras, whom you will never ever want him to lose.

Nadal Defeat and French Open Hopes

King of clay Nadal was dethroned last week by none other then king of grass Roger Federer. Federer finally overcame Nadal on clay in the final of the Hamburg Masters thus breaking the phenomenal 81 matches winning streak of Nadal on clay. Federer was unable to beat Nadal in previous 5 occasions on clay but finally on Sunday he showed his class on Clay court beating Nadal 26 62 60.

Now all eyes of tennis fans will move to the French open which begins on Sunday 27th May. Defeat of Nadal at the hands of Federer will give much needed confidence to beat Nadal, now players of the likes of Nikolay Davydenko, Fernando Gonzalez, Novak Djokovic , Tommy Robredro will go to Paris with positive hopes in the second major of year.


This win will also give Federer confidence as he is going through lean phase for the first time since he became no. 1 in 2004. Federer is struggling by his standards and this victory has come at a crucial time. But beating Nadal at his den will be very difficult.




Let's switch over to Paris for enthralling tennis. Will it be Nadal again or will Federer will overcome his nemises this time or will it be some one else may be Fernando, Davydenko : we will have to wait till 10th, but one thing is sure it will not as easy as last year, others have raised their bar to beat Nadal and Federer.
Will they be successful ??? Let's enjoy the beautiful game of tennis in beautiful city of Paris from our homes :)



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Federer Loses!!!

Yesterday night I hear the news that Federer has lost.(Sorry for my ignorance match happened on Sunday) at Indian Wells. I couldn't believe my ears. He lost to Argentine Guillermo Canas 75 62 thus ended his 41 matches winless streak just 5 matches short of setting a new open-era record for the longest winning streak.

Canas has come back after serving a 15month drug suspension, though he was banned for 2 years but he had successfully got that cut to 15 months. He argued that the substance was contained in medication given to him by tournament officials. The ban started in June 2005 and ended in September 2006 . This is his first Masters Series tournament since 2004 after his comeback from the suspension

Federer said

He was just a guy who put me away when he had to,"

Roger is 3730 points ahead of Nadal in the ATP ranking, the lead melt by 500 points but still stay huge. After all he is a human. Probably this will make the tournament more interesting in the sense that all others will fight for it otherwise Federer would have been way ahead of them to even think of beating as he was champion here for the last 3 years.


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Federer Loses on way to Dubai Open Semis

Confused?
Federer has dropped sets in two matches in a difference of three days. Isn't it hard to believe ?
Yesterday he dropped a set for the second time in three matches but overcame Serbian teenager Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Thursday to reach the semifinals at the Dubai Open. Two days back he also dropped as set to Denmark's Kristian Pless in his first-round match on Monday

He advanced to the semifinals along with Germany's Tommy Haas and Robin Soderling of Sweden. Federer will meet Haas in the semis and has beaten the ninth-ranked German in seven of their nine meetings.

Federer said after the match

“The ball was out, but it’s hard to accept, match point,” Federer said. “It was a bit of a pity it went three and it had a bitter taste at the end with the netcord and Hawkeye.

“Maybe I should have closed it out earlier and not got to that position. I should have closed it out at 6-4 (in the tiebreak). I can only blame myself.”

Nadal was outsded from the tournament by Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-5 6-3. First set end was a controvertial one with arguments on whether ball has landed on the line or outside. Nadal thought the ball was out but Youzhny challenged the call and Hawkeye showed the ball to be just skimming the line. Both Nadal and the umpire believed the ball was out, but officials have to accept Hawkeye’s ruling.

“The mark of the ball was still on court and it was outside but in the challenge it was in, so that’s unbelievable,” said Nadal. “I say to him (the umpire), ‘look, the ball is out’, and he say ‘I know’.”

Youzhny also agreed the ball to be out

“It looked like it was out,” he said. “I saw the mark, but I just took the challenge because it was a very important point. When it showed it was good I was a little bit shocked. But anyway, you can have the same mistakes from linesmen or the chair umpire.”

Now Federer will meet Hass and Soderling will challenge Youzhny. Winner of the tournament will get a whooping $300,000 and 300ATP points. Federer will look to extend his winning streak to 40 matches.

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Salute the Legend : Roger Federer

Today marks the 161st week of Federer's reign as no 1 player in the tennis world. Today he has broken the record of Jimmy Connors who was no.1 for 160 consecutive weeks.



Federer Says

It was never really one of my goals to achieve this specific record. I had reached my goal in 2004, when I took over the lead in the world ranking. I remember the moment as though being set free somehow; I then suddenly started playing a lot better and gaining more confidence. All these changes have allowed me to stay at the top for this long. So it is rather surprising to me to beat Jimmy Connors’ 30-year-old record today.

Cutting the cake when Federer became No.1 for the 1st time
img src http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/gallery/?Event=federer161

This record is really commendable as no other player in the past 3 years has ever come near to challenge Federer for the no.1 post, though there were some battles with Nadal but Federer is far ahead of Nadal in ATP points. Federer has 8120 Atp points to Nadal's 4705. One more year of reign is on cards :)

Stats from Federer's Site

The stats

Consecutive weeks at number one
1. Roger Federer (SUI): 161 (between February 2004 and February 2007)
2. Jimmy Connors (USA): 160 (between July 1974 and August 1977)
3. Ivan Lendl (TCH/USA): 157 (between September 1985 and September 1988)
4. Pete Sampras (USA): 102 (between April 1996 and March 1998)
5. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS): 75 (between November 2001 and April 2003)

Total weeks at number one
1. Pete Sampras (USA): 286
2. Ivan Lendl (TCH/USA): 270
3. Jimmy Connors (USA): 268
4. John McEnroe (USA): 170
5. Roger Federer (SUI): 161
6. Björn Borg (SUE): 109
7. Andre Agassi (USA): 101
8. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS): 80
9. Stefan Edberg (SUE): 72
10. Jim Courier (USA): 58

Years ended at number one
1. Pete Sampras (USA): 6 years in series (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)
2. Jimmy Connors (USA): 5 years in series (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
3. John McEnroe (USA): 4 years in series (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
3. Ivan Lendl (TCH/USA): 4 years (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989)
5. Roger Federer (SUI): 3 years in series (2004, 2005, 2006)


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FedEx-King Of Tennis

Sports are said to be characterized by unpredictability be it Cricket, Football or any other game. Infact it is this fickleness of sporting world which always keep us attracted towards games. Remember Bangladesh defeating Australia last year, we were all so happy not because we ‘r big Bangladeshi fans but we want the aussies to be defeated. Now the question arises why we want them to be defeated, probably we don’t want the Cricket to become monotonous, dominated by one nation who keeps on steamrolling others. I think same thing is happening to tennis but with a difference, the domination of the King has an artistic touch to it so beautiful and melodious that it can be compared with Beethoven’s symphony.

Everytime I watches Federer play I just thought can this man ever had an off day. Mind you Roddick was playing well before he met Federer who just annihilated him. It was nothing but cold blooded destruction; you can just look at the expression of helplessness on Roddick’s face. He just can’t do anything. Coming to next match in Finals,Gonzales played very well but I always got the feeling that there is only winner. Or in Vijay Amritraj Star Sports Commentator words Gonzales was always on the backfoot be it serving, receiving or any aspect of the game. Federer’s shot selection, anticipation, court coverage is just awesome. He just makes the game looks so simple.
Now comes the big and inevitable question which arises every time Federer wins a Grand slam. Is he the best ever player world has seen??

My views on that are quite simple you can’t compare players from different era. Bjorn Borg is different from Pete Sampras who in turn is different from Federer (Forgot me I don’t know much about the other great champ Rod laver).what I feel is that you can’t judge a people alone on the number of grand slams he has won, we have to look at several other aspects too like the competition he faces at that time technology available on that era, all these things do count too. For example is Roddick, Nadal, Blake or Gonzales comparable to Aggasi, Ivanisevic (who on grass is a wonderful player) Edberg, Becker, Courier and lots of other name? May be or may be not, I am not saying that these players can defeat Federer but still you never know. Just Imagine Federer playing with a wooden racket against fired up John McEnroe in Wimbledon Center Court, well I would be the last person to predict the result.

So the thing is quite simple enjoy Tennis and forget about all other thing and as the Tennis Australia President said “All the Best Rogers for the French Open”

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