Two Weeks - What a Concept? What a Success?

Two weeks down in the IPL and the excitement is just so riveting. The tournament is still wide open and finally the indomitable Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils have been beaten. There is no undefeated side in the tournament now and the third week promises to bring in some new surprises and changes to the TOP 4.

Unless Delhi and Deccan play horribly and they each repeat a performance from last year like Delhi did in the semi-final and Deccan did for the whole tournament, I think they are sure to be in the semi-finals this year. This means that the tournament is going to have a different set of semi-finalists.

Last years champs Rajasthan Royals, will really have to play out of their skins to get one of those spots while Mumbai, Chennai & Bangalore fight hard amongst themselves for the other one. Punjab will be the dark horse while Kolkata (sigh) they're going to be up for sale soon.

They are the biggest disappointment of this year's tournament. Just like last year they have a strong side on paper, however, a poor one shows up on the field. With all due respect to Brendon McCullum, he has very limited experience captaining a side at the highest level and it is showing in the way he is performing with the bat. Even after giving up the wicket-keeping duties he is unable to get the job done for his team. The statement he made above resigning from captaincy if his team does not get to the semi-finals is also evidence of his inexperience.

Harsha Boghle who is back on the air-waves again after I guess a termination of contract with ESPN-Star Sports has been fantasizing about the over 35's versus the under 23's (which I totally endorse) and to me, the over 35's, currently, are winning the show. Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Herschelle Gibbs & Sanath Jayasuriya have all proved their prowess with the bat.

Shane Warne should surely be their captain for his leadership and success with the ball, Gilchrist should be his deputy and if they schedule a match like that, Glenn McGrath might get a game (LOL). The bowling department would also be bolstered by Muralitharan, Kumble, Kallis and Boucher keeping wickets. Sourav Ganguly would make the cut while VVS Laxman would the dark horse.

Balls of the week:
Ball #1:
K P Appanna (Royal Challengers) bowling A B DeVilliers (Delhi Daredevils) with a beauty, drawing him out, beating him in flight and the ball clipping off-stump.

Ball #2:
Lasith Malinga's (Mumbai Indians) devastating yorker that got rid off Venugopal Rao (Deccan Chargers)


Innings' of the Week
Innings 1: Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians) v Kolkata Knight Riders
Innings 2: Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals) v Delhi Daredevils

Favourite Commentator - Jeremy Coney

One Week Later - Excitement Galore!

The IPL is exactly one week old and the excitement has been fascinating. After some upsets on Day 1 with the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals losing, the tournament is shaping out to be another roaring success, save for the rain interruptions.
Sometimes I think if more countries played cricket, we would have lesser famines and droughts in the world

The first week has provided some really thrilling games with yesterday Apr 23, 2009, being the most special. After a superb defense by the Delhi Daredevils or should I say a choke from the Super Kings, the game between Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders is clearly the game of the tournament so far.

Once again, the leadership of Shane Warne has to be commended, the things that he does on the field are amazing and it is a shame that he did not lead Australia on more occasions. Had he not taken the medication (drugs) that his mum gave him before the World Cup game in 2003, I think he would have been Australia's captain and not Ricky Ponting.

Yusuf Pathan was magnificient and to treat the mystery of Ajantha Mendis with such utter disdain says a lot of his character. He is such a clean hitter of the ball and his ability to clear even the biggest of grounds makes him the most apt player for this form of the game.

The other highlights for me in IPL2 are the manner in which the Deccan Chargers are playing. Clearly the new captain, coach and uniforms have made a big difference to these guys. They have won both their matches comfortably with a great degree of professionalism. Adam Gilchrist is still showing that he has a lot of cricket in him and all the criticism that he received towards the end of his career are now a thing of the past. A good thing for India is that Rohit Sharma is showing some good form too.

One has to mention the performance of my favourite player of all times - the man, the god, Sachin Tendulkar. He has been on the field for just one game, however, he is displaying an amazing sense of purpose with every move that he makes. He batted brilliantly in the first game and led the team on the field with the only aim to win.

The Delhi Daredevils do look as the strongest unit of paper and have shown that on the field in the two games that they have played. They've not used the newbie Dave Warner as yet or have called on the services of the veteran Glenn McGrath and they look undefeatable.

My quote for the week, "I've never been left out from a squad." McGrath replying to Mark Nicholas' question during the first game of the Delhi Daredevils if he has ever been left out of a team.

My dance for the week - Jeremy Coney, Dancing with the Chennai Super Kings cheerleaders and playing a shot over fine leg

My ball of the week - Shane Warne drawing out Bala Akhil (Bangalore Royal Challengers) from his crease and then bowling him out. The true wizard of leg spin bowling

My IPL Preview!

I've been waiting for this second season ever since the last one got over. Cliched as that sounds, however, it is true. If you know me well, you know that I am a glutton for cricket of any kind (my wife will reaffirm that). If you don't know me, this is another thing that you learn about me from reading my blog.

The Indian Premier League is a dream that I've always had and I am ecstatic about it becoming the greatest ever cricket spectacle. I am a great fan of the English Premier League of Soccer and the formation of this league in cricket makes the sport so much more appealing.

Cricket has never really had the club flavour to it in our part of the world (Indian Sub Continent) though domestic cricket leagues are well marketed and followed in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and of course England where it all began. The IPL though has the best flavour as it is a short format that packs in the most excitement.

The next big thing to watch will be the Champions League later this year after last year's event had to be cancelled after the Mumbai tragedy. Having said all that, the second season of the IPL has already had a ton of bad publicity because of its shifting to a foreign land amid all the chaos and confusion of the elections in India.

To me, this is a blessing in disguise because after what happened in Mumbai in November and in Lahore earlier this year, I don't think it would have drawn a lot of participation from the international stars if the games were played in India. The media has been very critical of the moves made by the tournament commissioner Lalit Modi which I have written about at length in an earlier piece. I feel that everyone should have opinions, however, I don't have to accept everything that people say and I am sure a lot of you who read this may not accept my opinions either.

Focussing on the games, my big picks for the year are going to be David Warner (Delhi Daredevils), Kevin Pietersen (Bangalore Royal Challengers), Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders), Andrew Symonds (Deccan Chargers), Andrew Flintoff (Chennai Super Kings), Tyronne Henderson (Rajasthan Royals) and Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians).

Tendulkar, I must make a special mention off as he has chosen to play only at the club level and not at the national level. This is the one format of the game that Tendulkar has not exceled in yet given the few games that he has played. His current form from New Zealand has shown us that he is now playing in the 'hot zone' and he is a proud man who would want the Mumbaikars to make some serious inroads at start of the tournament.

From the bowling perspective, I think both Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai Indians) are going to be a handful while Ishant Sharma (Kolkata Knight Riders) is going to use his speed to extract additional bounce from the now benign tracks of South Africa.

I feel the second addition is going to be a balance with a little in it for all departments of the game batting, bowling and fielding and I do not think the average score for most games are going to be in excess of 150 - 155 runs. Astute captincy and strategy employed by the coaching and management staff are also going to play a big part in how the games pan out.

With a lot of retired players still proving their class at the highest level, the second edition is going to be a challenging ones for the likes of Glen McGrath, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble to name a few who have been out of the game for a while now.

I certainly hope the young guns like Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja make the right kinds of impact on the tournament. I also hope that guys like Rohit Sharma, Robin Utappha and Irfan Pathan get a kick in their pants and start performing or else the big monies will soon dry up. The same goes for Robin Uthappa, I wouldn't be surprised if other teams adopt a similar strategy like the Rajashthan Royals did with the dumping of Mohammed Kaif.

This one is going to be a great one folks. Seldom have sequels done well in Hollywood or Bollywood, however, the IPL is only going to get better with each new edition.

Another Tax Season

It is getting close to the deadline to file taxes here in Canada. This time around I am a lot more eductaed in this regard. I know what I'm doing and I am actually employed as a Tax Associate.

I find doing taxes extremely thrilling and it is a great feeling to see huge smiles on people's faces when they hear that they are getting refunds. Not the same, when they owe money!

There are tons of credits that one can claim on their taxes and it is always best to spend time planning your year's finances so that you can get the most out of the taxes that you pay. Always check to see that the declarations that you give your employer at the start of the year are accurate so that they take the right amount of taxes from your pay checks.This simple step allows for a lot of relief at the time of filing taxes.

A rule of thumb to be employed is that if your earnings for the year are under 39,000 the amount of taxes taken out should be about 15%. Always check your pay stubs and do this calculation as this will help you a lot.

The last day to file a return is April 30, however, if you owe money it is best to file as early as possible to avoid late filing penalties and interest costs. Visit www.cra.gc.ca for the most up to date information on Tax Filing.

Lalit Modi - The Genius

There is a lot of anticipation about the second edition of the hugely successful Indian Premier League. Brain-child of the Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Lalit Modi, the IPL is a concept that has truly revoluntionized the manner in which cricket is watched, followed and broadcasted.

Mr Modi has been in for a lot of criticism about his methods, however, I salute this gentleman as one of the best things that happened to Indian cricket. India as a nation has always been the last to adopt the changes in the game, however, once adopted, they have taken the game to new levels.

We never played as much one-day cricket back in the days that I started watching cricket which was after our successful World Championship of Cricket victory in Australia. We never wore coloured clothing for most of our matches and we were one of the last teams to play a T20 international match if my memory serves me correctly.

Even though all of this has been a part of the history of Indian cricket, we are now the country that has the most capped one-day player in Sachin Tendulkar, the most amount of one-day matches played by a country in a year and clearly the most successful domestic T20 club competition.

This has all been possible due to the astute leadership of Mr Modi. The criticism of taking the IPL away from India is tremendous and well-known expat writers and journalists have condemned Mr Modi for what he has done. However, Mr Modi, has kept the sanctity of the tournament by ensuring a second edition.

The prospect of seeing the international stars doing battle with a host of young and upcoming domestic players in a foreign land is a treat for the true cricket lover. It will give the Indian players a taste of foreign conditions, bouncy pitches and prepare them for challenges at the highest level.

Personally I would have loved for the games to be played in England as it would have helped all the players participating in the World T20 get accustomed to the English conditions and the support and atmosphere created at an English venue would have added value to the tournament's calibre. The possibilities of several wash outs and rain-delays are huge and it is best that we are playing the tournament in a place where we will have minimal weather interruptions.

I truly salute you Mr Modi for preparing us for what promises to be another action-packed IPL season. The work that you have done is reaping us rich rewards and the confidence that you bring in staging big events makes all of us Proud Indians

Another change to DST!

Winter is finally on its way out! (or is it) We don't know that, however, that is what spring is about isn't it? A season of optimism and new life! Soon it will be beautiful, green and full of colour. A time for outdoor activity that will usher in summer and all the cheer.

The winter has been a tough one, yet again! We were better prepared this time and it seems to have gone away quite quickly. I hope I don't have to bite my tongue or burn my fingers for writing this. Last year, on this very day, we had the worst snow storm where it snowed for the entire day and the next morning we shovelled more than a foot of snow. This year, the weather has been spring like. I certainly hope it stays that way for sometime, we've had it with the winter and I am sure a lot of you share the sentiment.

Clocks change tonight and we lose an hour of sleep, however, the hour of daylight that we gain will certainly make the days ahead a lot brighter. This incidentally is my first piece on this blog for 2009. I had not forgotten about it; I've just been procrastinating. It happens to us all I guess at some point.

A lot has changed in my life over the last six months. I've been bitten by the recession knowingly and currently on the path to a shift in roles in my career. I am doing work that is new and exciting, however, temporary. In my quest for new work, I see how challenging the times have become and share the pain of all those who have been let go.

Times are tough right now and it may escalate to a point beyond control. There are people fighting to put things right but there are also those that are fighting against being put right. I hope the former emerge as winners and their methods bring success to those that are struggling.

Hopefully, we will spring forward successfully and leave the death of the drab winter as a distant memory.

070708 - A Year has Passed!

It's been a year! As cliched as it may sound, it has passed like a breeze. Only a year ago on this day, we set foot on Canadian soil, apprehensive, unsure and scared about what the country and the future had in store for us. It has been a fairy tale and everything has fitted in like a jigsaw puzzle.

We are blessed with good wishes from friends and family and we have been a great support system for each other which has helped us get through this last year hassle free. With everything there are ups and downs and it is so important to stay positive with everything that you do.

We hope that in this last year all our experiences have been a guide or a tool of information for those that have made Canada their home after us. We still have a lot to experience and I am committed to continue writing about everything new that I encounter.

As we sit back, relax and look back over the last year, it gives us both a great sense of achievement and accomplishment. It also makes us proud that we could achieve those mini goals month over month and reach where we are today.