Blog This!

This article was posted in the October Edition of my college magazine – ‘Vibrations’. To see the online edition of the same, kindly visit http://www.ssn.edu.in/vibrations/ssnoctvol2.pdf
And also this day marks my entry into my third year of blogging. Here goes the article!

Blog – A word that sparked the Internet lovers into a complete craze. A normal Internet user would be completely aware of what a blog is. For others who don’t, don’t go searching for the meaning of the word ‘Blog’ in a dictionary, cause you wouldn’t find it. Blog is derived from the word ‘Weblog’. Interesting news from Wikipedia tells that a guy named Peter Merholz jokingly split the word Weblog into ‘We Blog’ and thus the word ‘Blog’ was born.

Experience Web 2.0
Since the days when Internet became famous among the public, there was a need of sharing between the users around the globe. Although there was no technical updates in the World Wide Web, Web 2.0 was introduced which specified the new ways in which software developers used the web. A weblog is one of the treasures of Web 2.0

How blogging started?
People initially blogged to maintain a record of their day-to-day activities and their personal life. Later when blogs became more popularized, the option of posting a comment was introduced. Thus a blog became like a forum. Unlike a forum, where anyone can post their own topic and people can reply to it, a blog has only one user posting a particular topic but anyone else can post a comment.

Journal vs. Blog:
Not long after Blogs reached every corner of the world, people started blogging on their perspectives of life and the world around them. This is almost similar to a journal or a newspaper.

What can you do if you blog?
A blog is one’s own world. One can post a complete autobiography of him or maintain a diary of his personal activities. A techie can post on news related to latest technology. A movie buff can maintain a blog on movie reviews and latest news. In short, one can express his or her own views on the World Wide Web, all this for free. Moreover the user gets a free space for him on the web, which is much more like a web page. People who blog gets to meet people with similar interests thus solving the purpose of Web 2.0. Nowadays many people blog just for the sake of earning money. This can prove how much blogging has revolutionized the present generation.

Many companies maintain a blog for themselves, for their exposure to the entire world. Some managing directors and HRs of renowned companies own a blog and they regularly update it amidst their busy schedule. If you are a user of Orkut, then you would have known that Orkut too owns a blog for itself.

Freedom of Blogging:
A person who blogs (cannot be called as a blogger) enjoys the freedom of blogging and the experience it gives him. It is a place where one can unleash their creativity. If you are a person who dislikes writing, you may wonder how blogging could be of any use. The person who blogs (lets call him a blogger anyway) is forced to think and he is forced to do something original. By doing it, he is broadening his mind and looking at the society with a much broader view than other people.

Types of Blogging:
For people who enjoy writing, there is blogging and ofcourse but what for person who doesn’t enjoy writing? With blogging sizzling craze between everyone, different types of blogs came into existence. For a person who enjoys talking, there is audio blogging. For a person who likes to show it in action, there is video blogging more popularly called as Vlog. Mobile blogging, also called as moblog, allowed people to blog when they are on the move.

Where should you go if want to blog?
Blogger.com (owned by Google) and WordPress.com are two of the best options available to you if you want to blog. If you are a novice to blogging or to Internet, you may want to try blogger that has all the available tools for you to get started with. If you are an advanced user and have already blogged before, try WordPress. Some of the other options available to you are LiveJournal.com, MySpace.com, Yahoo! 360 and so on.

With blogging gaining more popularity around the world, blogging would exist for the next generation too and with competition rising among blog hosts, the road is set for the next generation of blogging. There can be a time when you would be chucked out of a job interview just because you don’t have a blog address. Lets travel and see!

Blog This!

This article was posted in the October Edition of my college magazine – ‘Vibrations’. To see the online edition of the same, kindly visit http://www.ssnce.ac.in/vibrations/ssnoctvol2.pdf
And also this day marks my entry into my third year of blogging. Here goes the article!

Blog – A word that sparked the Internet lovers into a complete craze. A normal Internet user would be completely aware of what a blog is. For others who don’t, don’t go searching for the meaning of the word ‘Blog’ in a dictionary, cause you wouldn’t find it. Blog is derived from the word ‘Weblog’. Interesting news from Wikipedia tells that a guy named Peter Merholz jokingly split the word Weblog into ‘We Blog’ and thus the word ‘Blog’ was born.

Experience Web 2.0
Since the days when Internet became famous among the public, there was a need of sharing between the users around the globe. Although there was no technical updates in the World Wide Web, Web 2.0 was introduced which specified the new ways in which software developers used the web. A weblog is one of the treasures of Web 2.0

How blogging started?
People initially blogged to maintain a record of their day-to-day activities and their personal life. Later when blogs became more popularized, the option of posting a comment was introduced. Thus a blog became like a forum. Unlike a forum, where anyone can post their own topic and people can reply to it, a blog has only one user posting a particular topic but anyone else can post a comment.

Journal vs. Blog:
Not long after Blogs reached every corner of the world, people started blogging on their perspectives of life and the world around them. This is almost similar to a journal or a newspaper.

What can you do if you blog?
A blog is one’s own world. One can post a complete autobiography of him or maintain a diary of his personal activities. A techie can post on news related to latest technology. A movie buff can maintain a blog on movie reviews and latest news. In short, one can express his or her own views on the World Wide Web, all this for free. Moreover the user gets a free space for him on the web, which is much more like a web page. People who blog gets to meet people with similar interests thus solving the purpose of Web 2.0. Nowadays many people blog just for the sake of earning money. This can prove how much blogging has revolutionized the present generation.

Many companies maintain a blog for themselves, for their exposure to the entire world. Some managing directors and HRs of renowned companies own a blog and they regularly update it amidst their busy schedule. If you are a user of Orkut, then you would have known that Orkut too owns a blog for itself.

Freedom of Blogging:
A person who blogs (cannot be called as a blogger) enjoys the freedom of blogging and the experience it gives him. It is a place where one can unleash their creativity. If you are a person who dislikes writing, you may wonder how blogging could be of any use. The person who blogs (lets call him a blogger anyway) is forced to think and he is forced to do something original. By doing it, he is broadening his mind and looking at the society with a much broader view than other people.

Types of Blogging:
For people who enjoy writing, there is blogging and ofcourse but what for person who doesn’t enjoy writing? With blogging sizzling craze between everyone, different types of blogs came into existence. For a person who enjoys talking, there is audio blogging. For a person who likes to show it in action, there is video blogging more popularly called as Vlog. Mobile blogging, also called as moblog, allowed people to blog when they are on the move.

Where should you go if want to blog?
Blogger.com (owned by Google) and WordPress.com are two of the best options available to you if you want to blog. If you are a novice to blogging or to Internet, you may want to try blogger that has all the available tools for you to get started with. If you are an advanced user and have already blogged before, try WordPress. Some of the other options available to you are LiveJournal.com, MySpace.com, Yahoo! 360 and so on.

With blogging gaining more popularity around the world, blogging would exist for the next generation too and with competition rising among blog hosts, the road is set for the next generation of blogging. There can be a time when you would be chucked out of a job interview just because you don’t have a blog address. Lets travel and see!

Bheema – Its different

After two years of wait for Vikram fans and also a much-awaited release, Bheema finally made it into the theatres during Pongal. Vikram had said in an interview that Bheema is a film worth waiting for. I managed to get tickets for the second day and even knowing that I would be missing a lazy day, I went to the theatre expecting something that a long wait should satisfy.

Spoiler begins here

Plot:

Chinna (played by Prakash Raj) is a big time rowdy who helps and saves the poor and the needy. Sekar (played by Vikram), who grows up with Chinna as his idol, later joins Chinna’s gang and together they dominate the local thugs headed by a local don named Periyavar (played by Raghuvaran). Sekar becomes the backbone of Chinna’s gang as he foils every attempt taken by Periyavar to take down Chinna and his men. Things get worse for both the gang as a newly appointed Assistant Commissioner (played by Ashish Vidyarthi) sees both the gang as a threat and appoints a group of police to hunt down the rowdies in the name of encounter. Meanwhile Sekar falls in love with Shalini (played by Trisha) in what looks to be a normal love story but little did they know that their love could decide the fate of Chinna and his men and including themselves.

——— End of Plot ———-

Spoiler ends here

Characterization:

Sekar:

Vikram plays as a serious character named Sekar, who grows up with Chinna as his idol, and takes up the job what Chinna did when he was young – to punish crime doers. But his arrogant heart is refurnished by Shalini – his love.

Chinna:

Prakash Raj is the second highlight of the movie having played the character of Chinna. Chinna proves that he is a good leader and inspires Vikram to follow his path. He is kind at heart and less arrogant than Sekar.

Periyavar:

Raghuvaran plays in a character named Periyavar who calls himself a local don. Truly Raghuvaran deserves a much better character. But Raghuvaran’s acting comes under no question.

Shalini:

Trisha plays as Shalini, who happens to be a normal heroine in the first half but later a character that could turn things around, though unintentionally. She even manages to capture the heart of an arrogant thug.

The movie is good. The climax was originally fixed and the entire movie was made to move towards it – the result being a dull first half which setbacks the pace of the storyline. But things heat up during the second half and the movie ends in a dramatic and unexpected climax.

Pluses:

1. Vikram
2. Prakash Raj
3. Trisha
4. Climax
5. Second half
6. Music

Minuses:

1. First half
2. Climax (!!?)
3. Slow and dragging storyline
4. Silly things that turned out to be twist.

Rating:

Music: 9/10

Story: 6/10

Overall rating: 7/10

Bheema – Its different

After two years of wait for Vikram fans and also a much-awaited release, Bheema finally made it into the theatres during Pongal. Vikram had said in an interview that Bheema is a film worth waiting for. I managed to get tickets for the second day and even knowing that I would be missing a lazy day, I went to the theatre expecting something that a long wait should satisfy.

Spoiler begins here

Plot:

Chinna (played by Prakash Raj) is a big time rowdy who helps and saves the poor and the needy. Sekar (played by Vikram), who grows up with Chinna as his idol, later joins Chinna’s gang and together they dominate the local thugs headed by a local don named Periyavar (played by Raghuvaran). Sekar becomes the backbone of Chinna’s gang as he foils every attempt taken by Periyavar to take down Chinna and his men. Things get worse for both the gang as a newly appointed Assistant Commissioner (played by Ashish Vidyarthi) sees both the gang as a threat and appoints a group of police to hunt down the rowdies in the name of encounter. Meanwhile Sekar falls in love with Shalini (played by Trisha) in what looks to be a normal love story but little did they know that their love could decide the fate of Chinna and his men and including themselves.

——— End of Plot ———-

Spoiler ends here

Characterization:

Sekar:

Vikram plays as a serious character named Sekar, who grows up with Chinna as his idol, and takes up the job what Chinna did when he was young – to punish crime doers. But his arrogant heart is refurnished by Shalini – his love.

Chinna:

Prakash Raj is the second highlight of the movie having played the character of Chinna. Chinna proves that he is a good leader and inspires Vikram to follow his path. He is kind at heart and less arrogant than Sekar.

Periyavar:

Raghuvaran plays in a character named Periyavar who calls himself a local don. Truly Raghuvaran deserves a much better character. But Raghuvaran’s acting comes under no question.

Shalini:

Trisha plays as Shalini, who happens to be a normal heroine in the first half but later a character that could turn things around, though unintentionally. She even manages to capture the heart of an arrogant thug.

The movie is good. The climax was originally fixed and the entire movie was made to move towards it – the result being a dull first half which setbacks the pace of the storyline. But things heat up during the second half and the movie ends in a dramatic and unexpected climax.

Pluses:

1. Vikram
2. Prakash Raj
3. Trisha
4. Climax
5. Second half
6. Music

Minuses:

1. First half
2. Climax (!!?)
3. Slow and dragging storyline
4. Silly things that turned out to be twist.

Rating:

Music: 9/10

Story: 6/10

Overall rating: 7/10

Bheema – Its different

After two years of wait for Vikram fans and also a much-awaited release, Bheema finally made it into the theatres during Pongal. Vikram had said in an interview that Bheema is a film worth waiting for. I managed to get tickets for the second day and even knowing that I would be missing a lazy day, I went to the theatre expecting something that a long wait should satisfy.

Spoiler begins here

Plot:

Chinna (played by Prakash Raj) is a big time rowdy who helps and saves the poor and the needy. Sekar (played by Vikram), who grows up with Chinna as his idol, later joins Chinna’s gang and together they dominate the local thugs headed by a local don named Periyavar (played by Raghuvaran). Sekar becomes the backbone of Chinna’s gang as he foils every attempt taken by Periyavar to take down Chinna and his men. Things get worse for both the gang as a newly appointed Assistant Commissioner (played by Ashish Vidyarthi) sees both the gang as a threat and appoints a group of police to hunt down the rowdies in the name of encounter. Meanwhile Sekar falls in love with Shalini (played by Trisha) in what looks to be a normal love story but little did they know that their love could decide the fate of Chinna and his men and including themselves.

——— End of Plot ———-

Spoiler ends here

Characterization:

Sekar:

Vikram plays as a serious character named Sekar, who grows up with Chinna as his idol, and takes up the job what Chinna did when he was young – to punish crime doers. But his arrogant heart is refurnished by Shalini – his love.

Chinna:

Prakash Raj is the second highlight of the movie having played the character of Chinna. Chinna proves that he is a good leader and inspires Vikram to follow his path. He is kind at heart and less arrogant than Sekar.

Periyavar:

Raghuvaran plays in a character named Periyavar who calls himself a local don. Truly Raghuvaran deserves a much better character. But Raghuvaran’s acting comes under no question.

Shalini:

Trisha plays as Shalini, who happens to be a normal heroine in the first half but later a character that could turn things around, though unintentionally. She even manages to capture the heart of an arrogant thug.

The movie is good. The climax was originally fixed and the entire movie was made to move towards it – the result being a dull first half which setbacks the pace of the storyline. But things heat up during the second half and the movie ends in a dramatic and unexpected climax.

Pluses:

1. Vikram
2. Prakash Raj
3. Trisha
4. Climax
5. Second half
6. Music

Minuses:

1. First half
2. Climax (!!?)
3. Slow and dragging storyline
4. Silly things that turned out to be twist.

Rating:

Music: 9/10

Story: 6/10

Overall rating: 7/10

SCG Wars: Umpires strike back!

The Cricket Test match between India and Australia held during 2^nd to 6^th January 2008 is the most controversial match I have ever seen. This would be the most discussed in recent times and it didn’t even spare a normal discussion in one of our classes. It even went onto a small unintentional debate whether the series should continue or should not. One even went up to saying that Ricky Ponting, captain of Australian cricket team, should be sacked. Even Peter Roebuck, former English player, shares the same idea. What led to all these comments? If you had missed out the live action, watch this video!

One or two bad umpiring decisions during a match is acceptable. But what happens when there were so many bad umpiring decisions that could decide the fate of the match and also lead to many controversies? Lets see the list of bad umpiring in that match.

1. Ricky Ponting tries to hit a ball that was going down the leg side and nicks it clearly to the Indian wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Even if the umpire hadn’t heard the nick, Ricky Ponting surely would’ve known that he had, so why doesn’t he walk away on his own, as even his own teammate Gilchrist does it himself and also advises others to? Ricky Ponting was on 17 runs then. He then went on to make 55 before he was given lbw (which was another wrong decision).
2. Ricky Ponting was given lbw when he had scored 55. If you could see in the video, it clearly hit the bat before brushing the pads.
3. Andrew Symonds would be the first ever batsman in International Cricket to be given four chances of batting. As an editor of CricInfo has said that even a shopkeeper in a nearby street could’ve heard Symonds nick to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Even Virender Sehwag would’ve forgiven Billy Bowden for giving him out wrongly during Australia tour of India 2004, but Ishant Sharma would not forgive Steve Bucknor for this wrong decision that went in favour of Symonds.
4. The second time Symonds was given not out was when Dhoni stumped Symonds off the ball of Kumble. Even when the third umpire was called to make the decision, he was given not out, even when the replay clearly shows that the batsman is out. On what basis was the decision given in favour of the batsman? Even the third umpire had made a mistake.
5. The third time, a similar type of appeal, but this time bowled by Harbhajan Singh. But this time Steve Bucknor, the umpire did not even cause any trouble for the third umpire but gave the batsman not out, when the foot of Symonds was clearly out of the crease. Not to forget, after all these not outs (two before when he had reached 50), Symonds went on to make 165 raising the Australian score that had been damaged very badly when the Australian top order collapsed.
6. Wasim Jaffer was clean bowled off a NO-ball. Its either the umpire was too lazy or had a backbone problem or had a row with Jaffer the day before.
7. Next is the worst (worst comparatively), when Dravid was given caught behind out by Steve Bucknor when the bat was nowhere near the ball. Neither were the gloves. Dravid, fondly called as the Wall of Indian cricket team, was building on a good innings when he was adjudged out wrongly. This was a major blow to the Indian batting.
8. Sourav Ganguly edged a ball to Michael Clarke at third slip, who, supposed to be a great fielder (Australia calls themselves so), catches it after the ball pitched near his hand and worst grounded the ball after catching it. Worst, he began celebrating as if he has taken the best catch of his lifetime. Sourav, who until then was playing an excellent knock of almost ten boundaries of his score of 51, stood his ground. Things couldn’t get worser for Sourav and India, as Mark Benson, the umpire consulted Ricky Ponting who was at second slip to make the decision. Up goes Ponting’s finger and Benson follows suit.

No umpires in the cricketing world would forget the existence of third umpire (maybe he was sleeping) and consult a fielder in the field who was among the team that made the appeal. Maybe Ponting had joined as an apprentice to Mark Benson. Even if there is such rule framed by the Aussies then that fielders could be consulted, there are three reasons that Ganguly deserved to stay,

1. It was Michael Clarke who caught the one-pitch catch. It was the same guy who refused to leave the ground when he clearly edged the ball to first slip during the same test match.
2. It was Ricky Ponting who was consulted to decide the wicket, who himself stood ground after clearly edging the ball to the Indian wicketkeeper earlier during the test match. See Bad Umpiring decision no 1.
3. It was Ricky Ponting again, who clearly grounded a ball after catching it and appealed for it earlier during the innings. How could he possibly give the better decision when he himself has made the same mistake before?

Why was Harbhajan Singh charged against racism and was banned for three consecutive tests when there was no evidence to prove it so? Sunil Gavaskar in an interview to Channel 9 had quoted Ricky Ponting that “What happened in the field goes off with the field. Lets celebrate the end of the day with a beer”. But the complaints were lodged against Harbhajan Singh. Maybe Ricky Ponting, the favourite victim of Harbhajan Singh, decided that dangerous Singh should be out of the tests and hence has lodged such a complaint.

Anil Kumble, the captain of India, rightly said that only one team was playing on the spirit of the game, after the match. Ricky Ponting has raised an objection to Kumble’s words. Australia can go around saying, “Every umpire has his bad time. Bad umpiring happens sometimes”. It was the same Australia, who after a massive collapse of their innings, lost to India’s meagre achievable total at Mumbai during the year 2004 in a match that didn’t even last for three full days. It was the same Australia that lodged a complaint about the unplayable Test track at Mumbai. If they could complain about poor grounds, why could India not complain about the umpires? After 2-0 down in the series, what chance has India got to get back into the series? Ofcourse it is probable but India has to win both the test matches to level the series but advance thanks to ICC standard umpires who wouldn’t make it happen.

P.S: My 75th post

SCG Wars: Umpires strike back!

The Cricket Test match between India and Australia held during 2^nd to 6^th January 2008 is the most controversial match I have ever seen. This would be the most discussed in recent times and it didn’t even spare a normal discussion in one of our classes. It even went onto a small unintentional debate whether the series should continue or should not. One even went up to saying that Ricky Ponting, captain of Australian cricket team, should be sacked. Even Peter Roebuck, former English player, shares the same idea. What led to all these comments? If you had missed out the live action, watch this video!

One or two bad umpiring decisions during a match is acceptable. But what happens when there were so many bad umpiring decisions that could decide the fate of the match and also lead to many controversies? Lets see the list of bad umpiring in that match.

1. Ricky Ponting tries to hit a ball that was going down the leg side and nicks it clearly to the Indian wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Even if the umpire hadn’t heard the nick, Ricky Ponting surely would’ve known that he had, so why doesn’t he walk away on his own, as even his own teammate Gilchrist does it himself and also advises others to? Ricky Ponting was on 17 runs then. He then went on to make 55 before he was given lbw (which was another wrong decision).
2. Ricky Ponting was given lbw when he had scored 55. If you could see in the video, it clearly hit the bat before brushing the pads.
3. Andrew Symonds would be the first ever batsman in International Cricket to be given four chances of batting. As an editor of CricInfo has said that even a shopkeeper in a nearby street could’ve heard Symonds nick to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Even Virender Sehwag would’ve forgiven Billy Bowden for giving him out wrongly during Australia tour of India 2004, but Ishant Sharma would not forgive Steve Bucknor for this wrong decision that went in favour of Symonds.
4. The second time Symonds was given not out was when Dhoni stumped Symonds off the ball of Kumble. Even when the third umpire was called to make the decision, he was given not out, even when the replay clearly shows that the batsman is out. On what basis was the decision given in favour of the batsman? Even the third umpire had made a mistake.
5. The third time, a similar type of appeal, but this time bowled by Harbhajan Singh. But this time Steve Bucknor, the umpire did not even cause any trouble for the third umpire but gave the batsman not out, when the foot of Symonds was clearly out of the crease. Not to forget, after all these not outs (two before when he had reached 50), Symonds went on to make 165 raising the Australian score that had been damaged very badly when the Australian top order collapsed.
6. Wasim Jaffer was clean bowled off a NO-ball. Its either the umpire was too lazy or had a backbone problem or had a row with Jaffer the day before.
7. Next is the worst (worst comparatively), when Dravid was given caught behind out by Steve Bucknor when the bat was nowhere near the ball. Neither were the gloves. Dravid, fondly called as the Wall of Indian cricket team, was building on a good innings when he was adjudged out wrongly. This was a major blow to the Indian batting.
8. Sourav Ganguly edged a ball to Michael Clarke at third slip, who, supposed to be a great fielder (Australia calls themselves so), catches it after the ball pitched near his hand and worst grounded the ball after catching it. Worst, he began celebrating as if he has taken the best catch of his lifetime. Sourav, who until then was playing an excellent knock of almost ten boundaries of his score of 51, stood his ground. Things couldn’t get worser for Sourav and India, as Mark Benson, the umpire consulted Ricky Ponting who was at second slip to make the decision. Up goes Ponting’s finger and Benson follows suit.

No umpires in the cricketing world would forget the existence of third umpire (maybe he was sleeping) and consult a fielder in the field who was among the team that made the appeal. Maybe Ponting had joined as an apprentice to Mark Benson. Even if there is such rule framed by the Aussies then that fielders could be consulted, there are three reasons that Ganguly deserved to stay,

1. It was Michael Clarke who caught the one-pitch catch. It was the same guy who refused to leave the ground when he clearly edged the ball to first slip during the same test match.
2. It was Ricky Ponting who was consulted to decide the wicket, who himself stood ground after clearly edging the ball to the Indian wicketkeeper earlier during the test match. See Bad Umpiring decision no 1.
3. It was Ricky Ponting again, who clearly grounded a ball after catching it and appealed for it earlier during the innings. How could he possibly give the better decision when he himself has made the same mistake before?

Why was Harbhajan Singh charged against racism and was banned for three consecutive tests when there was no evidence to prove it so? Sunil Gavaskar in an interview to Channel 9 had quoted Ricky Ponting that “What happened in the field goes off with the field. Lets celebrate the end of the day with a beer”. But the complaints were lodged against Harbhajan Singh. Maybe Ricky Ponting, the favourite victim of Harbhajan Singh, decided that dangerous Singh should be out of the tests and hence has lodged such a complaint.

Anil Kumble, the captain of India, rightly said that only one team was playing on the spirit of the game, after the match. Ricky Ponting has raised an objection to Kumble’s words. Australia can go around saying, “Every umpire has his bad time. Bad umpiring happens sometimes”. It was the same Australia, who after a massive collapse of their innings, lost to India’s meagre achievable total at Mumbai during the year 2004 in a match that didn’t even last for three full days. It was the same Australia that lodged a complaint about the unplayable Test track at Mumbai. If they could complain about poor grounds, why could India not complain about the umpires? After 2-0 down in the series, what chance has India got to get back into the series? Ofcourse it is probable but India has to win both the test matches to level the series but advance thanks to ICC standard umpires who wouldn’t make it happen.

P.S: My 75th post

SCG Wars: Umpires strike back!

The Cricket Test match between India and Australia held during 2^nd to 6^th January 2008 is the most controversial match I have ever seen. This would be the most discussed in recent times and it didn’t even spare a normal discussion in one of our classes. It even went onto a small unintentional debate whether the series should continue or should not. One even went up to saying that Ricky Ponting, captain of Australian cricket team, should be sacked. Even Peter Roebuck, former English player, shares the same idea. What led to all these comments? If you had missed out the live action, watch this video!

One or two bad umpiring decisions during a match is acceptable. But what happens when there were so many bad umpiring decisions that could decide the fate of the match and also lead to many controversies? Lets see the list of bad umpiring in that match.

1. Ricky Ponting tries to hit a ball that was going down the leg side and nicks it clearly to the Indian wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Even if the umpire hadn’t heard the nick, Ricky Ponting surely would’ve known that he had, so why doesn’t he walk away on his own, as even his own teammate Gilchrist does it himself and also advises others to? Ricky Ponting was on 17 runs then. He then went on to make 55 before he was given lbw (which was another wrong decision).
2. Ricky Ponting was given lbw when he had scored 55. If you could see in the video, it clearly hit the bat before brushing the pads.
3. Andrew Symonds would be the first ever batsman in International Cricket to be given four chances of batting. As an editor of CricInfo has said that even a shopkeeper in a nearby street could’ve heard Symonds nick to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Even Virender Sehwag would’ve forgiven Billy Bowden for giving him out wrongly during Australia tour of India 2004, but Ishant Sharma would not forgive Steve Bucknor for this wrong decision that went in favour of Symonds.
4. The second time Symonds was given not out was when Dhoni stumped Symonds off the ball of Kumble. Even when the third umpire was called to make the decision, he was given not out, even when the replay clearly shows that the batsman is out. On what basis was the decision given in favour of the batsman? Even the third umpire had made a mistake.
5. The third time, a similar type of appeal, but this time bowled by Harbhajan Singh. But this time Steve Bucknor, the umpire did not even cause any trouble for the third umpire but gave the batsman not out, when the foot of Symonds was clearly out of the crease. Not to forget, after all these not outs (two before when he had reached 50), Symonds went on to make 165 raising the Australian score that had been damaged very badly when the Australian top order collapsed.
6. Wasim Jaffer was clean bowled off a NO-ball. Its either the umpire was too lazy or had a backbone problem or had a row with Jaffer the day before.
7. Next is the worst (worst comparatively), when Dravid was given caught behind out by Steve Bucknor when the bat was nowhere near the ball. Neither were the gloves. Dravid, fondly called as the Wall of Indian cricket team, was building on a good innings when he was adjudged out wrongly. This was a major blow to the Indian batting.
8. Sourav Ganguly edged a ball to Michael Clarke at third slip, who, supposed to be a great fielder (Australia calls themselves so), catches it after the ball pitched near his hand and worst grounded the ball after catching it. Worst, he began celebrating as if he has taken the best catch of his lifetime. Sourav, who until then was playing an excellent knock of almost ten boundaries of his score of 51, stood his ground. Things couldn’t get worser for Sourav and India, as Mark Benson, the umpire consulted Ricky Ponting who was at second slip to make the decision. Up goes Ponting’s finger and Benson follows suit.

No umpires in the cricketing world would forget the existence of third umpire (maybe he was sleeping) and consult a fielder in the field who was among the team that made the appeal. Maybe Ponting had joined as an apprentice to Mark Benson. Even if there is such rule framed by the Aussies then that fielders could be consulted, there are three reasons that Ganguly deserved to stay,

1. It was Michael Clarke who caught the one-pitch catch. It was the same guy who refused to leave the ground when he clearly edged the ball to first slip during the same test match.
2. It was Ricky Ponting who was consulted to decide the wicket, who himself stood ground after clearly edging the ball to the Indian wicketkeeper earlier during the test match. See Bad Umpiring decision no 1.
3. It was Ricky Ponting again, who clearly grounded a ball after catching it and appealed for it earlier during the innings. How could he possibly give the better decision when he himself has made the same mistake before?

Why was Harbhajan Singh charged against racism and was banned for three consecutive tests when there was no evidence to prove it so? Sunil Gavaskar in an interview to Channel 9 had quoted Ricky Ponting that “What happened in the field goes off with the field. Lets celebrate the end of the day with a beer”. But the complaints were lodged against Harbhajan Singh. Maybe Ricky Ponting, the favourite victim of Harbhajan Singh, decided that dangerous Singh should be out of the tests and hence has lodged such a complaint.

Anil Kumble, the captain of India, rightly said that only one team was playing on the spirit of the game, after the match. Ricky Ponting has raised an objection to Kumble’s words. Australia can go around saying, “Every umpire has his bad time. Bad umpiring happens sometimes”. It was the same Australia, who after a massive collapse of their innings, lost to India’s meager achievable total at Mumbai during the year 2004 in a match that didn’t even for three full days. It was the same Australia that lodged a complaint about the unplayable Test track at Mumbai. If they could complain about poor grounds, why could India not complain about the umpires? After 2-0 down in the series, what chance has India got to get back into the series? Ofcourse it is probable but India has to win both the test matches to level the series but advance thanks to ICC standard umpires, who wouldn’t make it happen.

P.S: My 75th post

Look before you leap!

Happy New (Leap) Year to everyone! I am into my third year of blogging. Time passes away soon. It seems it is only last month when (2)007 began. We are into 2008 now! I am pleased to announce the formation of three groups, all aimed at one mission – to save lives or to help to save lives.

• T.AG.S – stands for The Animal Guardian Society, aimed at protecting and guarding animals. Finding homes for abandoned pups is one of the goals of TAGS. For more information, visit TAGS
• An organization currently not named, aimed at helping humans, doing social service and serving the needy.
• SSN – SAVBD (SSN Association of Voluntary Blood Donors) (currently) aimed at organizing blood camps in my college and to collect the database of those who are interested in donating blood.

I am glad to be part of all the above groups and also glad that all these groups formed co-incidentally around the same time. My best wishes to all the above groups!

Look before you leap!

Happy New (Leap) Year to everyone! I am into my third year of blogging. Time passes away soon. It seems it is only last month when (2)007 began. We are into 2008 now! I am pleased to announce the formation of three groups, all aimed at one mission – to save lives or to help to save lives.

• T.AG.S – stands for The Animal Guardian Society, aimed at protecting and guarding animals. Finding homes for abandoned pups is one of the goals of TAGS. For more information, visit TAGS
• An organization currently not named, aimed at helping humans, doing social service and serving the needy.
• SSN – SAVBD (SSN Association of Voluntary Blood Donors) (currently) aimed at organizing blood camps in my college and to collect the database of those who are interested in donating blood.

I am glad to be part of all the above groups and also glad that all these groups formed co-incidentally around the same time. My best wishes to all the above groups!