To Each His (own) Cup

 With three days in the countdown, we approach towards the most anticipated sporting event in 2011. World Cup Cricket is back to the sub-continent after 15 years. With 14 countries, 49 games and one and half months of cricket, this time its anyone's cup. After more than a decade of Australian dominance, with three consecutive world cup wins, 2011 is expected to reign in a new champion. Gone are the times when games involving Australia were considered one sided. And gone are the days when every team used to play for second place.  

The departure of greats like Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Mat Hayden, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Andrew Symonds  from the Australian team has created a vacuum in the champion team which is being filled by nascent young blood who still are trying to make a mark and carry forward the Australian legacy forward. Their sole inspiration being their three time world cup champion and two time world cup winning captain Ricky Ponting.  But even he seems vulnerable without the support he enjoyed for the last eleven  years.  After losing both their warm-up games to two competitive teams- India and South Africa, Australia has further illustrated their vulnerability. 

“The chokers” South Africa and “The Unpredictable” India- the two teams which defeated the Australians in the warm up games have been pitted as the front runners to win the cup this year.  Both team ooze experience, talent, and youth which were the attributes associated with the Australians in the last decade. The one attribute, unlike Australia, which is not generally associated with either of these teams is ‘Aggression’. Between the two who ever exhibits that aggression on the field might  stand a good chance of going all the way at the Wankhade stadium.  The closely fought one day series in South Africa between these two teams, which the host country won 3-2, showed the level of competitiveness we can expect by them during the tournament.  The key to South Africa’s success will be their bowling attack with the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, who are  backed by  some aggressive batting by Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. What they lack is a quality spin bowler who will play a key role in slow and turning tracks of the sub-continent.  

 For India, one name stands above all- Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The ability to overcome his jinx in ICC tournaments will be the biggest factor. Even after more than 20 years in international cricket, Tendulkar possess the same passion and energy as a 16 year old when he first made his debut. Considering that winning a world cup is the  only achievement which has eluded him, with this being the last attempt, in this illustrious career, we surely hope to see the little master light up the night skies of India with his bat. Apart from Tendulkar, India has an array of talented batsmen like the Sehwags, the Yuvrajs and the Pathans who on a given day can completely change the balance of the game and win it on their own.  A proof being the recent India and New Zealand series where a quick fire century by Yusuf Pathan single handedly won the the game for India. The one concern which India has is, its pace bowling department. An injured Zaheer Khan is the key to India’s success in the initial and death overs. His pace and swing has rattled many opening batsmen  and his reverse swings and yorkers have sealed the fate for many tail end batsmen in recent years. His swift recovery  before the crucial games against South Africa and England hold the key to India’s success and entry into the final four. The one department which the Indians can be rest assured is with spin bowling. The experience of Harbajan Singh backed with the talent of youngsters like Ashwin and Chawala; along with part time support from Pathan and Yuvraj gives India’s charismatic and inspiring captain, (Mr Cool)M.S Dhoni the options he needs to take control of the game.  

This is what the pundits say and I acknowledge that. But one team which I am rooting for and expect a lot from is England. Yes… to the surprise of many I am backing England along with my home team.  After years of searching for the right combination and physically fit players, I believe England today has one of the most talented batch of players. Led by an experienced and attaching batsmen like Andrew Strauss, he has to his disposal players who rally around each other to build innings and partnerships. Their biggest assets being the brand name K.P (Kevin Pietersen) who with his power and aggression can change the shape of a cricket ball without running the yards.  The  top order support of Strauss, Trott and Bell with K.P and Collingwood in the middle order  form a competitive batting  order. In the bowling department, the pace of Tremlett and Anderson couple with the all round ability of Brensan  can fluster and finish the innings of any competitive team in a given day.  Their biggest plus in the bowling department, considering the sub-continental conditions would be Graeme Swann- considered as the best spin bowler in contemporary times.  Their poor performance  down under in ODI’s after winning the Ashes is always in the back of my mind. But considering their previous performance and team composition I would not hesitate to bet my money on them to make the last four. They might not be as strong as India or South Africa but they are no more push overs of the late 90’s and early 2000.

No one in their sane mind would rule out Australia and Sri Lanka from reaching the finish line but there is something in these two teams which says that they will need to play out of their skins to beat the top performers. Unfortunately New Zealand, a team which historically has performed well in ICC tournament , due to their recent performance  in Bangladesh, India and even back home against Pakistan, will face trouble to regain the respect it once had in world cricket.  I would rank Pakistan under the same category due to their  highs and lows (very lows) in recent months, with allegation of spot fixing and  infighting within the team. They no longer possess a leader like Imran Khan or Wasim Akram who can rally the team together in good and bad times, keeping the focus on cricket and winning.  One team which, if any, can spring up an upset is Bangladesh.  And this was made clear in a recent series against New Zealand where they  won the series 7-0 against the likes of Vittori, Styris, Oram, McCullam and Taylor. Speaking as a patriot and a cricket lover, I hope this does not repeat against India and England in the tournament. But with no doubt in my mind, it will be a close fight between Bangladesh and West Indies (2 time champions) for the fourth place in Group-B. 

Considering it would be premature to zero-in on who would stand on the podium in Mumbai on 2^nd April, I can be bold enough to only point out the top four. Call it prediction or wish,  I put my vote for India, South Africa, England and a toss off between Australia and Sri Lanka. For now  lets sit back and enjoy every ball flying over the ropes and every ball hitting the timber!

TAHRIR

It's taken 30 years for people of Egypt to experience and celebrate the true meaning of the word Tahrir (Liberation). After being bound and trapped in a system which projected itself as the wish of the people, Egypt  has ridden high on this wave of liberal revolution which has swept the Arab world at the turn of the new decade.  Friday 11^th February will be marked as a red letter day in not only the Arab but also world history, as the day when Egypt was freed from its shackles. Horreyah! Horreyah !  (Freedom) is what we heard around Egypt, especially Tahrir Square, when Vice President Suleiman announced on national  television the words which the protesters have been waiting to hear for 3 weeks.  A paradigm shift in the order of business has taken  place, where the people have been empowered to oppose the subjective treatment of the state and stand united for their freedom and liberty.

Protests which started on the 25th of January showed the world a side of Egyptians which has always been swept under the carpet by the Mubarak regime. After two weeks of intense protest which had both sides of a coin-nonviolent and violent; superficial reforms by the government and tactics of clinging to power by allowing the situation to fade away with time resulted in the protest almost losing its fizz. But the emotional televised interview of one man – Wael Ghonim, the Goggle executive- after his release from 14 days of captivity by the government  ignited the dwindling spirit of the people driving thousands more into their little Egypt (Tahrir Square) which was the symbolism of their protest and ideals.  After the crushing disappointment  on 10^th February , when (ex)President Mubarak announced his determination to continue as president - the world predicted dark clouds ahead of the peaceful protests. Surprisingly, what we see now are fireworks  in the clear skies over the  pyramids. Visuals such as a women praying on the street with the Egyptian flag as her carpet, the giant Egyptian flag flowing over the head of thousands under the hot sun, human chains protecting the square etc. demonstrated the true nationalistic feeling which was emancipated in this revolution.

What started out in the virtual world through Facebook and Twitter has taken its shape at Liberation Square- ousting one of the most powerful autocrats in the world. As Wael Ghonim said- “I thank Facebook and would like to meet Mark Zukerberg to thank him personally.” Over these 18 days the Egyptians have demonstrated a character analogous to their last ‘Pharaoh’-one of determination and resilience. But as history will write it, the determination and voice of thousands is no match for even a Pharaoh.  

After all the celebration and excitement in the night skies of Egypt, it will wake up tomorrow for a new day. A day with no association to the name “Mubarak”, a day which marks a new era in Egyptian history. But the Egyptians and the their supporters should not ignore the challenges they face ahead. The spirit of unity , freedom and liberation should not fade away with the smoke of the fireworks. Such an abeyance is a battle only half won, exposing the country and its people to another Mubarak. History has never been with the victorious for too long in this region and the fear of recidivism will cause anxiety not only in Egypt but rest of the world. So as we take a turn at this historical corner, one should not be surprised to see a domino effects in the rest of the Arab world; with the only lingering question being- Who is next?

The Social Network

No, this blog is not about 2010s biggest movie or about its prospects at this year’s academy awards. It’s about a tool which has empowered people around the world. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (If I can categorize it into a social media) have changed the way people communicate, express their opinion and as per the latest trend…. start a new revolution! Mighty autocrats have fallen to their knees, governments have been ousted and the world has been forced to take notice. 

The inception of Facebook was on the premise of networking university students who share their personal bio, pictures, relationship status and college gossips. Now Facebook has more than 600 million active users of all ages- young and old who not only use this media for what it was created for but also for what we see in Tunisia and Egypt. Talking about Twitter, whose inception was to bring the mobile short messaging system onto the web, where multiple people can read(follow) messages and micro blogs posted by users. As per a recent survey- 40% of the messages on Twitter were found to be countless babble, 9% pass-along value and 4% news. But this 9% pass-along value messages have assembled thousands if not millions of angry and frustrated users on the streets of Tunisia and Egypt. 

By now people around the world following the news will be aware of why I have been specifically citing these two counties. In Tunisia, the pictures and videos of the ill treatments inflicted by the police were flashed on these social networking sites. The brutal images of Muhammad ibn Bouazizi self-immolation, an act of protest against the security forces in Tunisia resulted in igniting the suppressed frustration and anger of the people of Tunisia against their government and autocratic leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. This single act of protest spread like a wild fire on social media to gather steam amongst the people resulting in what is now called “The Jasmine Revolution”. Uploaded pictures and videos on Facebook and YouTube brought the ugly truth of the government on every laptop and desktop in every home and office. Tweets from twitter were used to spread messages and organize protests and rallies. In combination with these tools and street protests the people of Tunisia were able to successfully oust their autocratic ruler in January. This was slated as the first successful contemporary revolution in any Arabic nation. 

What the world saw in Tunisia, was expected to spread like a contagious disease in the neighboring Arabic countries. And within weeks another strong republic, Egypt had thousands of people on the streets demanding the resignation of the incumbent president- Hosni Mubarak. There are striking similarities in the process in which these protests were organized- no surprise – Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Apart from galvanizing support for these protests, social networks have been utilized to request medical support to injured protesters, inform family out the country about their well being, release information and news which are restricted by the state run media in the country etc.  With a motive to control the anger and unity which was engulfed the country through these medium, the Egyptian government ordered for the shutdown of the internet. Thus acknowledging the power and influence of these 21^st century accessible and convenient medium. 

These social networking sites have surprisingly had a 66% success rate of driving a revolution to its goal from the decade they came to existence. But one should not forget Iran, where the concept of using social media to protest and galvanize support was first initiated., in spite of its failure. The question remains, are we witnessing an era where there is a shift from violent and bloodshed revolutions to a more quiet, bloodless and a socially networked revolution!!