Funtoon - 1

When only the best matters!

"Kapil Dev did not cross fifty in his last 105 ODIs spanning over six and a half years. He did not take four wickets in an innings in the last 50 matches. And in the last 25 matches of his 225-match career, he scored at 11.50 and averaged 43.31 with the ball! And now Kapil is asking Sachin Tendulkar to quit! 

Are five ODIs since the World Cup sufficient to write off a genius with 18000 runs and 48 centuries? And does Kapil Dev remember the last few days – nay, years – of his own career?"

- Writes Arunabha Sengupta in Cricountry.com.

Personally I think I have already stopped caring about Cricket. And I think even the slightest interest that I have for Indian cricket is just because Sachin is still there. I can assuredly say me along with millions of fans across the globe will stop watching cricket once Sachin announces his retirement. And in recent days, I keep hearing people say Sachin should stop playing cricket, including some of his peers and seniors. Added to the already existing pressure, this, arrogant prick announced his retirement couple of days back.

I understand that Sachin is not near the beginning of his end. But that doesn't mean he is near the end either. And for Sachin's sake, why cant we let him finish his 100th ton at his own pace? Even if he decides to let it go and finish it like a fragile unfinished poem, with 99 tons, let it be. But I feel it should be his own decision, not other retards. I read somewhere that he has passed 29 international innings without a century. What happened to the 50's, 60's and 90's during that time?

I feel bad when Dhoni is not backing Sachin up. When I think about it, he is the Captain who gave the World Cup to Sachin immediately after receiving it from the presenters. Can't he handle the fan pressure (and we are ruthless in expectations too!) when the team is not performing well.. ok.. for a significant amount of time? I know its easy to say and write than to be, but, its Sachin we are talking about!... Let him be! 

For all the matches he has won for India, India can lose few matches to make her son reach the milestone.

====== I was in rage today morning when  I read Ganguly [ I personally dont like him much..Sorry all Dada fans] commented that Sachin should retire.. with that feeling sustained in me, I entered the shower.. =====

Its amazing what a hot shower can do you... Its as if you drain all the hatred and rage along with the lather... I could see everything with a smile which made me come out with the following poda-mokha-naaye-ish fun-toons.

For those who dont know Tamil or Tamil songs:

Ponting: Hey dude! Come lets play Volley ball in banana garden. (they are not allowing us to play cricket - understood)

Sachin:  Wait da.. will hit a century in cycle gap and come!

Dhoni (voice over) : Don't angry me!

Next one, I wanted to try Sachin's caricature..but when I tried, it came out like Suruli Rajan. So had to mix and match the best available resources :)


For those who find it difficult to read: Above the stumps: Statistics. Balls coming towards him are - Ganguly, Kapil Dev, Media, Fans, Team mates / Selectors.

This one, wanted to try a 'troll' toon strip ending with a slap face. But thought Chiti-Rajini would be a better option..

Rough translation:

Mr.Maambazha-vai-maama: Does God exist?

Chitti [memory 1 terabyte. Speed 1 zeta hertz]: Yes.

Mr.Maambazha-vai-maama:When will he hit hundredth hundred. 

Chitti: Hypothetical 'Koshtin'!

Fervent Rajini fan will know why thats 'Koshtin', and not Question. :)

Long Live SACHIN!

PS: all the pictures are copyrighted and owned by Shanmuga Bharathi Nageswaran.

Dhanush's Sachin Anthem - My thoughts / Review

After "Kolaveri Di", a song about 'Sachin'.For a brilliant idea it is, could it even go wrong? Well, sadly, it did!


It seems like a great idea to combine the two elements that India loves so much -- Sachin and Kolaveri -- but Dhanush and Anirudh have slipped big time here. 


The song and the video are poorly crafted, edited and does not give us the josh which  just a thought about Sachin can ooze in our hearts. Its not patriotic and its not even singing about Sachin. The lyrics reads like a half baked rambling one might write in an unprepared engineering examination.
The video montage showing Sachings photographs is pathetic. A classic straight drive against Lee, the hook shot againt England in 2003, the shot down the third man against Akthar, Sachin lifting the world cup - few of many - during the interludes 'hittu mama.. six-u mama..' would have done wonders to the video! 


Who wants to see Dhanush and Anirudh - who looks like minuscule version of Ishanth Sharma ready to rest in peace immediately after the shoot - in a song about Sachin? And was Anushka even there?









Plus the timing of this song is ridiculous! When India is struggling with its performance overseas and people are losing interest in Sachin's 100th hundred, the energy level with which we face this song is too low!


With all the hype and expectations after Kolaveri, the makers should have put in more effort and care. Last few seconds when the cast cries 'Sachin.. sachin' in pouring rain is the only good thing about the song.


So what should've been in the lines of 'when unstoppable force meets an immovable object', just passes a muster.


And of course it trends in twitter! People are going to tell how much they dislike this one!
Few things just happen. They are not to be re-created!

Sachin 200*

It has been two days since it happened. But the joy bestowed by Sachin to his fans and the cricketing fraternity alike is exponentially increasing. Even now, 7 out of 10 facebook updates acknowledges this accomplishment by Sachin...

The ability of one man to bring so much joy and unite the most diverse country on earth leaves people with different reactions. Some have gushed that they can now die happy, some have wept tears of joy, some have re-iterated the fact that there is only one God that they worship.

I'd like to say Sachin Tendulkar is not god.

He is not god, because there is ample scope to question the existence of a god, but there is no scope to question the godliness of Tendulkar. No sir, he is far beyond mere godhead.

"I want to touch Sachin's feet": Gavaskar

"South Africa weren’t embarrassed. They were privileged to be on the same field as Tendulkar. Those who watched will never forget." : Wisden

"Tendulkar's journey is about joy and purity and a landmark is merely a comfort stop." : Harsha Bhogle

"I was in the office, streamed d vid and had a party later :)" - Gaurav Asida

"mera toh next day paper tha phir bhi match dekhne stadium gaya Awesome batting" - Akshay Bhandare

"I did not go to my CAT classes.. I was watching him play" - Puneet Dham

(The last three are the comments by some of his fans in Cricinfo.com)

And I am one of the privileged few who watched the match live, not even missing a single moment. Tendulkar’s innings was a microcosm of his career: flashes of pure genius and strokes of awesome dare but ultimately defined by the relentless appetite for scoring runs. He looked spent before the end but there were no calls for a runner or any look-how-tired-I-am histrionics.

The genius of the innings lay in its art.Edges? There weren't any. Miscues? Not here. Each and every four that was struck was sweeter than the last and most of them weren't even chased by the fielders. It was a chanceless innings.

There is nothing more benumbing than watching history being made. The mind is welled with cliché’s floating through it, but by and large it is a sense of helplessness coupled with an inability to describe when words should flow to record that moment for posterity.

Shall we call it walk into history books — but wasn’t he already there? He was already a legend, he was already a cricketing God. He had more records than platinums notched up by the Beatles; I could go on and on. He has it all; maybe he always did.

So, when he steered the ball behind point for and then strolled across 22 yards of turf for his 200th run of the day, what did it bring us — I would say a sense of relief ! We can always rejoice later.

First, we need to take a deep breath and then take a bow.Was Sachin destined only to be an accumulator: a collector of masterful hundreds and thousands of exquisitely crafted runs? So what really is his potential? God, if there is one, alone knows that.

Such is the level of expectations from him — we want nothing less than first, the most, the best, the highest, and whatever else from him. No longer,they can take away his centuries, they can take away his runs, just like they cannot take away his genius.

Doubtless, each one of the celestial fans, ranging from his father to Bradman and Trumper, and a whole lot of others would have been standing and applauding an epic. Legends by their nature dominate the sport they take to. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan. Carl Lewis. The list could go on. But seldom has there been one, who has been pristinely clean. And to me, nothing would devastate me more than if I found something ‘not right’ about Tendulkar. May that day never come.

And that is the reason why he has got the most runs... most centuries.. most awards and most respect than any other player in the world!!

Having watched and worshiped this legend from my childhood days.. this double ton is very special to me..!! Oh yeah! I will be able to carry on with that memory for the rest of my life... :)

Afterall... It could only be Sachin, for cricket's sake!!