Goodbye Laloo, Welcome Nitish!

The Bihar verdict is out!! The voters have spoken!! Its been a vote for change this time in Bihar with the Rashtriya Janata Dal( RJD) alliance virtually wiped out of power in the state. Out of the 243 seats in the Bihar assembly, the National Democratic Alliance comprising the Janata Dal United and the Bharatiya Janata Party bagged a whopping 145 seats, well clear of the magic number of 122. The blame game has started but it was refreshing to see Laloo accept defeat gracefully and welcoming the new government in Bihar.

As far as the media coverage goes, it was extensive with every news channel wanting a chunk of the limelight. I even noticed that the different news channels were jostling over who gets to talk to the winner first and it ended with Barkha Dutt of NDTV dragging a NDA MP and filming an interview with him. It was also surprising to see Rajdeep Sardesai on CNBC. He has joined the channel and is currently involved in launching a 24 hour English news channel called IBN. Lots of ex NDTV journos are now involved in it and are helping Rajdeep as well. Hoping that it launches soon, because for Indian Politics, Rajedeep Sardesai is the man to watch.

On to other happenings and the India V South Africa match was abandoned in Chennai today due to persistent rain. Sad, considering that I had gone to the stadium and had to return disappointed.

The biggest challenge that the NDA has is to improve Bihar. The big question to be asked here is whether anyone can ever improve Bihar to a large extent and put Bihar on the path to recovery. Its a question, which will be answered, perhaps as time passes.

Cheers from a very wet Chennai!!

Heights of desperation??

I was orkutting in general and found some scraps in girls' scrap books that really speak of these guys' very low self esteem. Call it weird/funny/desperate, I think it speaks volumes about the heights of desperation that these guys are going through.
Some excerpts from random scrap books:

hi..thought of scrapping becoz im badly n need of freindz...n ur profile 2 is impressive..just check out mine n decide...but whtever it b plz do scrap back...me waiting.......

hiiiiiiiii
know me no na i know how can u know me if u wanna then add me up.
one compliment u looking graet a typical indian girl

Hi xxx... yyy from zzz. Came across ur profile. Nice 2 c u. Like 2 be in ur buddies list. Will u add me to it? Scrap me n we'll know 'bout each other

And this one takes the cake!!!

Hi ,

I am xxx here from yyy.

Tell me abt ur self!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you knw tamil language!!!!!!!!!

eppadi iruuka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DDDDiiiiiiii

Disclaimer:
I have just picked up some random quotes and have no intention of offending anyone.

Cheers,

WHAT????????

Roy Keane has left Manchester United Football Club!!!!!!!!! This is the latest news and the most shocking piece of news I have heard in a while!

Apparently, the future at the club was untenable and after playing for tweleve years, it was time to move on!!! Getting Michael Ballack to Old Trafford seems to be even more important now!

More on the story later!!
We all will miss you KEANO!!!

*Later edit:The Manchester United website has some more news and quotes from Sir Alex, David Gill and the man himself.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said:
“Roy Keane has been a fantastic servant for Manchester United. The best midfield player in the world of his generation, he is already one of the great figures in our Club’s illustrious history. Roy has been central to the success of the Club in the last 12 ½ years and everyone at Old Trafford wishes him well in the rest of his career and beyond”

Roy Keane said:
“It has been a great honour and privilege for me to play for Manchester United for over 12 years. During my time at the Club I have been fortunate to play alongside some of the best players in the game and in front of the best supporters in the world. At all times I have endeavoured to do my best for the management and the team.

"Whilst it is a sad day for me to leave such a great Club and Manager I believe that the time has now come for me to move on. After so many years, I will miss everyone at the Club.

"I send my best wishes for the future to the management, players, staff and supporters of the Club.”

Chief Executive David Gill said:
“Roy has been a towering figure at the Club for over a decade. His dedication, ta
lent and leadership have been qualities that have marked him out as one of the true greats. On behalf of everyone at the Club, we wish him every success in his future career.”

I am still in a state of shock. It was a common rumour that Roy was leaving at the end of the season and all Man Utd fans were prepared for that. But, so early and suddenly!!! Astounding! He din't even get to play a farewell game at Old Trafford!!!

Its Exam time.. Again..

Yeah, its that time of the year when one is required to prove to the university that he/she has gained something over the past few months. Its exam time again folks! Its 2 in the morning and my exam about 32 hours away and I am not even close to being prepared.

Shall keep updating as and when time permits
Cheers everyone!

Minister without a portfolio

News came in this evening that Natwar Singh has been stripped of his Foreign Ministry portfolio. Apparently, the official reason was that there would be a conflict of interest since the committee set up to probe the Volcker report would have to contact the United Nations Officials via the External Affairs Ministry. Clearly, Natwar Singh then could not remain boss.

However, he has not been asked to leave the cabinet. Which means, he still gets Union minister treatment like a free bungalow, free telephone calls every month, and other allowances that only union ministers are eligible for. And whats more, he doesn't have to discharge any duties till his name is cleared.

Talk about leading a relaxed life!

Normal Service Resumes!

Manchester United finally put in a performance that was long awaited this evening at Old Trafford. Their opponents -- the premiership champions and seemingly invincible Chelsea. It was over a year ago that Chelsea last suffered a premiership defeat. Incidentally, that was also in Manchester.

It had been a tough 7 days for Sir Alex and his side as Man Utd got comprehensively beaten by Middlesborough 4-1 last weekend and then by Lille in the Champions League in midweek. Captain Roy Keane ( who is injured btw) got into the players and criticized them for their lack of committment and desire on the pitch. But, it seemed a long shot. I for one, did not expect United to beat Chelsea because I thought that Chelsea just had too much quality in the midfield with the likes of Essien, Shaun Wright Philips, Lampard, Joe Cole, Duff, Makelele, and Robben.

We started well, kept up the momentum, scored a goal through a wonderful header from Scottish international Darren Fletcher and soaked up the pressure from Chelsea in the final third of the match.

The victory brings us within 10 points of Chelsea with a game in hand. Thats against Wigan Athletic, who are new comers to the Premiership and currently lie second above United and below Chelsea. I hope that this is the turning point of our season and this win enables us to put together a good string of results and hopefully catch Chelsea

GO REDS!!!
Cheers,

Another Test, more interesting though!

Global Personality Test Results

Stability (83%) high which suggests you are very relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.. Orderliness (43%) moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment. Extraversion (56%) moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

Take Free Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

trait snapshot:
rarely irritated, positive, tough, non phobic, fearless, likes the unknown, self reliant, high self control, confident, trusting, strong instincts, prudent, optimistic, willful, likes parties, prefers a specialized career, takes charge, altruistic, strong, high self concept, adventurous, practical, thoughtful

Looking at the results, I would say they are reasonably accurate!
Test courtesy Brownie
Cheers,

Its the festive season, but......

Its that time of the year again! Diwali is coming up in about 24 hours and so is Id/ramzan later this week! So, its celebration time for a lot of people all over the country and to those desis living outside India.

However, this year in itself has been characterized by quite a few calamities resulting in a lot of people losing their lives. It started of with the Tsunami (techincally, it was in 2004 but still.. ), then there were the hurricanes Katrina and Wilma (nice names for hurricanes!!!), the POK quake, the floods in Mumbai (Bombay), rains in Chennai. There have also been other terrorist attacks both in London and in New Delhi. Not to forget the train accident a couple of days ago in Andhra due to the rains!

So, while we celebrate, it is only fitting that we take a moment to remember the poor and innocent souls who lost their lives for no fault of theirs.

If you're planning to celebrate and have fun, please remember that there are so many people out there who have been deprived of their near and dear ones and who can't celebrate!

Happy Diwali and have a wonderful time this festive season!

Cheers,

Egpytian Hieroglyphs

My name in Egyptian!!!
Cheers,

My name using Egyptian Hieroglyphs!

Try your name

Script by

The brain test

Another one of those online tests!!

Abhi, you are Left-brained

Most left-brained people like you feel at ease in situations requiring verbal ability, attention to detail, and linear, analytical ability. Whether you know it or not, you are a much stronger written communicator than many, able to get your ideas across better than others.

It's also likely that you are methodical and efficient at many things that you do. You could also be good at math, particularly algebra, which is based on very strict rules that make sense to your logical mind.

Taken at around 11 pm. Courtesy Sanjeev.
You can barely see the mechanic in the background.
For details, refer previous post Here.

Cheers,

A Tiring day, I must say!!

Yeah, Saturday was a pretty tiring day and I was totally gone when I came back home. Hence the delay in the post.

I had to go to college inspite of the fact that it was a saturday. To make things worse, I had slept only at 4 am on Fri night, wait, scratch that, make it Saturday morning. Hence woke up feeling all groggy and was still in a somnolent state as I trudged into college. I had two tests, part of the Continuous Assessment Tests (CAT) as the SVCE junta call it. And in between these two, we had a gap of about 2 hours. I had to run around to pick up a few photocopies, get records signed, meet my recommenders and a whole lot of other work. And even though I had 2 hours in the morning before the first exam, yours truly hadn't touched his books and hence had to spend the time sleeping/studying/looking around, not necessarily in that order.

First exam done and I had given a reasonably good paper. Started work on the aforementioned photocopies, records and recommendations et al.. Yeah, I had to have lunch also in the middle since I was starving. I had gotten up late and had hence missed breakfast. Another task at hand was to prepare for the second exam. Anyway, I got around to doing most of these things and gave a good paper much to my surprise.

Boarded the bus and got some much needed shuteye. Sleep is the most refreshing thing! The level by which one's concentration improves after a nap is amazing. Ok, Enough digressing. Back to where I was. Yes, I am back home and eat something and settle down on the couch to watch a football match. A friend of mine calls and says lets go to Landmark. (Btw, for the uninformed, Landmark is a huge bookstore in Chennai). But before that he said, he needed to go to the ATM for withdrawing some cash. Since he didn't have a bike at that moment, it was decided that I pick him up and we first visit the ATM and then make pur way to Landmark. Mind you, the time was 7.35 pm already. I leave asap and reach RK's place (the friend is RK, Btw) and we head towards Pondy Bazaar. This ATM was somewhere close to Maya's plaza and it was on the right hand side of the road. RK suggested that I take a right some 100 metres before and just park and wait while he goes to the ATM. This is beacuse there was no place to turn opposite the ATM. Being the wise guy that I am, I rode along slowly on the bike on the wrong side of the road looking around for a place to park. I had completely forgotten that there was a police station next to the ATM.

Well, a plainclothes cop caught me and demanded to see my license. I demanded to see his Identity Card and he produced one. Likewise, I returned the favor producing the Driver's license. He was drunk and high and was talking as if he was the head of the police force. All I could do was humor him and by this time, RK had also joined in. He demanded 110 bucks and told us to go into the station, get a challan(or whatever he called it.. don't really remember) and pay at a mobile court on monday. We were getting late as it was past 8 already and we din't know when Landmark would close. Our man then launched into a long story about he finishing B.A in 1971 (Congratulations, Mr. Head Constable) and that he had a son who was about our age pursuing Engineering in Jeppiar College. ( Well done, Mr.Son of Mr. Head Constable, you make your papa proud!!). RK found this bit funny , I must say. I wisecracked saying, "We are also like your son, can't you let us go this one," for which both Mr.Head Constable and RK launch into vociferous laughter. Anyway, we humored him and then paid him 50 bucks by which he probably would have gone to the nearest wine shop and gotten himself another "quarter". I know people, its encouraging corruption but then, it was getting late and we din't want to go through a whole bunch of paperwork.

This done, we finally made our way to Landmark and reached there by 8.28. Went in and we were done with our work in 5 mins. Both me and RK were browsing through the books section till the landmark people decided to shut up shop and switched off all the lights. Time for us to leave. By this time, we were both reasonably hungry as well. Made our way to Sweet Chariot, just across the road from Landmark at the Ispahani Center. Had something to eat, and finally I dropped RK off at about 10 pm.

Did i say finally?? Well, that was what I thought as well. Was looking forward to going home and watch the highlights of Man Utd playing Sunderland. But alas! It was not to be. My vehicle developed a flat rear tire near little mount and the time was about 10.15. I had to wheel the bike for about a kilometre and half till a petrol bunk. Unfortunately, the shop there was closed, (why blame the poor shop owner, it was saturday night, he probably would have gone off for a nice booze or a movie with his lovely wife) and I decided to call Sanjeev whose house was quite near. Sanjeev came and we decided to park the bike at his place and then come and take it the next day. As luck would have it, at about a distance of 300 metres from the petrol bunk, there was one puncture shop that was still open, mind you, the time was about 10.45 now. On removing the tube, this chap said that there are 4 punctures, one fresh one and three at places where the stickers from earlier puncture mendings was peeling off! He said that I would be better of buying a new tube. Logical, yes! Except for the fact that I would not be able to buy a tube at that unearthly hour. This man offered to buy me one from a house of some mysterious person who will not talk to customers. The deal was that both me and him go to the guy' place but I stay out of sight. Sounded maha shady to me. I refused telling him to mend the punctures and that I would have the tube changed at my convenience. Sanjeev, thanks for giving me company dude! I owe you one.

Got the bike mended at 11.30 and drove back home all tired and irritated. I wanted to post this yesterday but was just not upto it.
Phew! This has ended up being a long post, though I din't intend to make it one!
If you are still here, thanks for being patient.
Cheers,

I am an easy rider!!??

Got this from some blog when I was randomly blog-hopping. Why don't you guys take the test as well!

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Cheers,

Untitled

I couldn't come up with a title:-D.
Anyways, been pretty busy with a lot of stuff lately, mainly applying stuff. This thing just takes up so much of your time!! Will post soon!!
have a great weekend
Cheers,

Chappell vs Ganguly : Is the saga over??? - Part 2 of a two part post

To continue from where I left off in Part 1, there were other allegations levelled against Ganguly. One of them was that Ganguly spread tall tales about stuff that Chappell supposedly told him but Chappell denied these things by saying that Sourav only targeted middle order batsmen as they were the people most likely to replace the skipper in the Indian Line-up.

Chappell concludes by saying
"As I said to you during our meeting in Colombo, I have serious reservations about the attitude of some players and about Sourav and his ability to take this team to a new high, and none of the things he has done since his reappointment has caused me to change my view. In
fact, it has only served to confirm that it is time for him to move on and let someone else build their team toward the 2007 World Cup.

This team has been made to be fearful and distrusting by the rumour mongering and deceit that is Sourav's modus operandi of divide and rule. Certain players have been treated with favour, all of them bowlers, while others have been shunted up and down the order or left out of the team to suit Sourav's whims.

Ladies and Gentlemen ( and third sex too!!), the jury is out on this issue. And I guess, time is the best judge on all these matters.

**Updates**

Freddie Flintoff has spoken against Ganguly by calling him arrogant and terming him "Lord Snooty". Read the full story here.

Sunil Gavaskar on the other hand has spoken in favour of Ganguly but as he himslef admits, he has seen very little of Ganguly.

**End Updates**
And I am sure this is not the last we are hearing about this!
Cheers,

Chappell vs Ganguly : Is the saga over??? - Part 1 of a two part post

I would think not!!! Judging by the run of events today, definitely not! Chappell and Ganguly were called upon to present their respective cases in front of the BCCI's special committee. This committee consisted of noted names like Ravi Shastri, Sunny Gavaskar and BCCI (*so called*) administrators like S.K Nair and Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the president. Also present was past BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, though I can't understand why he was called.

A quick flashback as nothing of great significance took place today. All the action took place over the last few days!

It all started with Saurav Ganguly telling the media after the first test match in Zimbabwe that he had been asked to step down by the coach. This was later denied by Greg Chappell in his by-now-famous E-mail to the BCCI president. More on that later.
This was the beginning of what would turn out to be one of the most hostile and much publicized confrontations in Indian Cricket's long history.

This done, soon after the Zimbabwe tour ended, Greg Chappell fired an email to the BCCI defending his position in the entire matter and also voicing his views on the current state of the Indian team and its captain. This was a 6 page email that was leaked to the media (sources unknown :-))

Greg Chappell begins by saying that he had never asked Sourav to step down but to rethink his position after the end of the series. Ganguly had asked him for his opinion on his current batting form to which Chappell replied, "I told him that I thought he was struggling as a player and that it was affecting his ability to lead the team effectively and that the pressure of captaincy was affecting his ability to play to his potential. I also told him that his state of mind was fragile and it showed in the way that he made decisions on and off the field in relation to the team, especially team selection."

He goes on to say that Ganguly used to make frequent changes to the team and that his frame of mind was not proper and this reflected on his decision making skills both on and off the pitch!

He also added and I quote :
"I also told Sourav that his nervous state was affecting the team in other ways as he was prone to panic during pressure situations in games and that his nervous demeanour was putting undue pressure on the rest of the team. His nervous pacing of the rooms during our batting in the final plus his desire to change the batting order during our innings in the final had also contributed to nervousness in the players waiting to go in to bat. His reluctance to bat first in games I suggested was also giving wrong signals to the team and the opposition and his nervousness at the crease facing bowlers like Shane Bond from NZ was also affecting morale in the dressing room".

Chappell further goes on to say that based on all these above mentioned observations and some other comments from fellow team members, he is of the opinion that Sourav should consider stepping down and allow some other member (Rahul) to lead the team and look ahead to the WC 2007!

Coming to the most shocking part according to me! The feigining of injury during the practice match against a weak Zimbabwe 'A' side!! According to Greg Chappell,
"The following day Sourav batted in the match against Zimbabwe 'A' team in the game in Mutare. I am not sure of the exact timing of events because I was in the nets with other players when Sourav went in to bat, but the new ball had either just been taken or was imminent when I saw Sourav walking from the field holding his right arm. I assumed he had been hit and made my way to the players' area where Sourav was receiving treatment from the team physiotherapist, John Gloster.

When I enquired as to what had happened Sourav said he had felt a click in his elbow as he played a ball through the leg side and that he thought he should have it investigated. Sourav had complained of pain to his elbow at various stages of the one-day series, but he had resisted having any comprehensive investigation done and, from my observation, had been spasmodic in his treatment habits, often not using ice-packs for the arm that had been prepared for him by John Gloster. I suggested, as had John Gloster, that we get some further tests done immediately. Sourav rejected these suggestions and said he would be 'fine'. When I queried what he meant by 'fine' he said he would be fit for the Test match. I then queried why then was it necessary to be off the field now. He said that he was just taking 'precautions'.

Rather than make a scene with other players and officials in the vicinity I decided to leave the matter and observe what Sourav would do from that point on. After the loss of Kaif, Yuvraj and Karthik to the new ball, Sourav returned to the crease with the ball now around 20 overs old. He struggled for runs against a modest attack and
eventually threw his wicket away trying to hit one of the spinners over the leg side.

The next day I enquired with a number of the players as to what they had thought of Sourav's retirement. The universal response was that it was 'just Sourav' as they recounted a list of times when Sourav had suffered from mystery injuries that usually disappeared as quickly as they had come. This disturbed me because it confirmed for me that he was in a fragile state of mind and it was affecting the mental state
of other members of the squad.

When we arrived in Bulawayo I decided I needed to ask Sourav if he had over-played the injury to avoid the danger period of the new ball as it had appeared to me and others within the touring party that he had protected himself at the expense of others. He denied the suggestion and asked why he would do that against such a modest attack. I said that he was the only one who could answer that question.

Rest in part 2
Cheers!

Dress codes, mobile phone ban, What next???

Anna University has done it again!!!(don't think that it is fit to be called a university anymore, more like a prison) Quite clearly, there is a generation gap between the VC of the univ and the students of today. I don't think anything else would explain the actions taken by him and mentioned in the title!!

Recently, he announced a bizzare set of rules that would apply to all the 230 odd colleges that are affiliated to this Univ. That constitues like most of the engineering colleges in the state barring the IIT, NIT and a few deemed universities. Banning mobile phones during lecture hours is one thing, imposing a blanket ban on them is another. What rights does the university possess to tell me when and where to use my mobile phone?? I agree that its use can be curbed during the lecture hours but not during my free time!! Does the university pay my bill?? Considering the fact that most of the colleges are located outside the city limits, cell phones are essential as many a time, delays can occur on account of traffic jams and students need to inform their loved ones at home in order to reassure them!!

Coming to the dress code part, this is the most ridiculous rule I have ever come across. Fine, I agree that students should dress conservatively but this doesn't mean he tells us what to wear. This move seems to be a sexist one according to the girls because it prohibits them to wear anything other than Salwars. Tell me, does this mean that guys will stop ogling at them and concentrate on academics. Students who study regularly will continue to do so and people who don't won't change their attitude overnight and start concentrating on their books just because such weird rules are imposed!!! It doesn't spare guys as well, we apparently are not allowed to wear jeans!!! What!! Why!!! Reason given is that engineers are professionals and should dress professionally. I mean, its the brains of the engineer that matters and not the appearance in the end!!! Most college goers are teenagers or people just out of their teens, they shouldn't be told what to wear!! At an age where they are allowed to drive, drink leaglly, elect a Prime Minister, use credit cards, the last thing they want is for someone to tell them what to wear!!! I think the univ should stick to imparting education and not moral policing. Parents know best and when they don't object, why should the Univ?? Do you really think that this rule would be followed by students?? I don't think so as the only thing that guys wear is their unwashed faded blue denims.

Instead of wasting its time on such trivial things, the Anna Univ must concentrate on improving the standards of
1. Question Papers

2. Evaluation System ( The less said the better!!)

3. Supporting colleges by providing infrastructure

4.Good quality faculty

I could go on and on!!!!

Footnote:-
Quote from the Anna Univ website. Read it here

Its been pasted here for easy reference!!


Taking its penchant for disciplinarian education a step further, Anna University has banned the use of cell phones and prescribed a dress code for students in all engineering colleges across the State from Thursday.

It will also take a serious view of any film-based cultural events being held in such colleges, Vice-Chancellor D. Viswanathan told The Hindu .

The restrictions will be in force in 227 engineering colleges, apart from the university's four constituent colleges where a ban on camera phones is in force. The varsity has dispatched letters to the effect to the institutions. "There will be no military-like strictness in implementing the rule and institutions have been asked to go about it in a phased manner," Dr. Viswanathan said. Students violating the ban will be warned and then proceeded against according to the code of conduct rules.

The dress code states that students should not wear jeans, t-shirts, skirts or sleeveless and tight-fitting outfits and enjoins them to dress conservatively.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, while certain outfits detract from the seriousness of academic pursuits, cell phones, especially those that come with cameras, cause problems on campus and eat into valuable lecture time.

THE ASHES HELD ALOFT

this might be on everyone's blog!!! But what the hell!! :-P

The Ashes are back with the English!!!

For all you non-cricket lovers out there, forgive me for posting about the ashes twice in a row. Well, this post is slightly behind time but what the hell!!! Better late than never!!

If you haven't already heard it from someone, hear it now..

THE ENGLISH HAVE WON THE ASHES !!!!!!

Michael Vaughan and his team have totally outplayed Ricky Ponting's men and have beaten them comprehensively to bring the ashes back to the Northern Hemisphere after a gap of 18 years. Ricky Ponting was gracious in defeat though accepting that England were just too good for them. A quick recap:

Lords - England beaten comprehensively by a margin of over 200 runs! I was like, this is going to be another one-sided affair with the Aussies steamroling the Englishmen.

Edgbaston - A thriller which went right down to the wire!! England should have won easily but Brett Lee played a heroic innings but England prevailed winning by the slimmest margin of 2 runs

Manchester - Again a thriller, the Aussies were forced to hang on till the last ball, infact for four overs, McGrath and Lee survived Harmison and Man of the Series Flintoff. Match Ends in a draw

Trent Bridge - This was a superb performance by England and they won this by 3 wickets

The Brit Oval - It was all down to this one test match. England needed to avoid defeat to get the ashes and that is exactly what they did. Another fact which helped was that it rained quite a lot and a lot of time was lost to that.

Never again will umpire Rudi Koertzen remove the bails to such a loud cheer. England had done it!!!!! And the ashes were back!!!!!

What a thriller!!!!

I am yet to recover from the nervy thriller that just ended in a deserved victory for the home side. For all you people who still do not know what I am referring to, I am sorry to say this but you guys have missed some of the finest test match cricket this generation has ever seen. Not yet got the funda??? Its the ashes test series that is presently on between England and Australia with England being the home side!!!

For those who don't follow too much cricket (and I doubt if anyone like that exists), the ashes is a legendary test series that is played between england and australia for the ashes urn!! I am not going into the funda of the legend and how it was named the ashes etc.. Maybe I shall leave that for another day.

This current edition of the ashes is a 5 match series being played at various venues across England. The first match was at the "mecca" of Cricket, ie, Lords. This test match was won in a rather convinving fashion letting us all believe that it was going to be another one sided serious with the Aussie juggernaut rolling ahead and crushing England and regaining the ashes. But, the rest of the series, so far atleast had something else in store for us. The next three test matches at Edgbaston, Manchester and Trent Bridge were real thrillers. They had everything in it, brave batting, superb bowling, bad umpiring decisions, good fielding, some excellent catching, match winning or match saving knocks, you name it!!!! The one at Edgbaston was won by England, the victory margin being two runs.

The next one at Manchester was even better!!!!! It was heartbreaking to see England not being able to clinch this one as a defiant Ricky Ponting played one of his best innings scoring 156 and then Brett Lee defending for all he was worth to keep England from winning the test. All England needed here was 1 more wicket and they would have been home!!!

The fourth test which is the most recent one and just finished an hour back had Australia with their backs to the wall again and this time, the English made sure that it remained that way by winning this one. This time, the margin was three wickets!!!!

Am really looking forward to the finale!!!

Cheers