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Magnificent Three: Neesham-Watling-Brendon Tuesday, the 18th of February, 2014. A glorious day for New Zealand Test Cricket. The whole of this cricketing country came to an ecstatic standstill concentrating on the happenings in the second Test against India in Wellington, cheering every run taken by their hero cricketers and cheering particularly one big hero named Brendon McCullum. From overnight 571 for 6 New Zealand decided to carry on for those great reasons that made their countrymen proud. Skipper Brendon McCullum became the first New Zealand batsman to achieve a triple hundred in the country’s 84 years of Test Cricket history. From 281 not out overnight he continued to show his grace and power achieving the target very soon. His historic 302 created one of the greatest landmarks for NZ cricket. Besides, Jimmy Neesham became the first No.8 batsman to hit a hundred on debut. And more, NZ also created the record for its highest ever innings total of 680 runs in Test histo

Team India has done the absolutely unthinkable. True, it is known to be immensely capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. However, to the extent as demonstrated on the fourth day of the second and last Test match against New Zealand in Wellington is an extremely rare occasion in the annals of test cricket. Scuttling out New Zealand for less than 200 in the first innings and then taking a sound lead of 246 runs, getting 5 NZ wickets for just 95 runs in the second innings this victory defying strategy is incredible. Okay, the Indians dropped their main tormentor Brendon McCullum twice. But what after that--for nearly full two days! More than the Indian bowlers Captain Dhoni must answer. Even in the unlikely event of India managing to draw this Test irreparable damage has already been done in losing the fourth consecutive overseas Test Series and languishing nearly three years without a win overseas. Of course, we must applaud the tremendous batting performance a

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He made absolute fools of all in this wonderfully rule-breaking country of ours including this writer. This writer, inspired so foolishly at the prospect of an ‘honest’ government coming to rule the capital, called upon him not to go overboard . But enough political knowledge was necessary to understand the reality that he wanted to go overboard all the time so that he could blissfully avoid governance, go back to the streets and start anew his blame-game kind of  ‘ darbari ’ politics. Arvind Kejriwal, the 48-day old Chief Minister of Delhi, resigned tonight because it had been his game plan to climax his departure with the Jan Lokpal Bill (Peoples’ Ombudsman Bill against corruption which is stronger than the Lokpal Bill already passed by the Indian Parliament). Alas! Thanks to all his drama and brinkmanship he proved himself to be as good and shrewd a politician like others we are always used to. Like the others he too holds the common man in a fittingly unhealthy contempt wit

The Indian Cricket Selectors today in Bangalore announced the Indian squads for the ODI Tournament Asia Cup and the ICC World Twenty20 and axed fast bowler Ishant Sharma from both the teams. This was expected largely due to some consistent poor cricket by Ishant, particularly in South Africa and New Zealand. Suresh Raina who had a string of dismal scores over the past few months was dropped from the one-day team for Asia Cup, but was retained for the ICC World Twenty20. Cheteshwar Pujara, the Test specialist, comes into the ODI team replacing Raina. In fact, both Ishant and Raina were dropped during the on-going India Tour of New Zealand. Struggling Yuvraj Singh has been accommodated in the T20 team, but not taken back in the ODI team. Both of the tournaments are going to be hosted by Bangladesh. The Asia Cup starts on February 25 while the ICC Twenty20 World Cup begins from 16th March, 2014. The moot question is why the Indian Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni goes on uns