Hussey the magnificent!

In an otherwise lacklustre game where David Warnered KKR, there was one thing that stood out. David Hussey's magnificent catch to dismiss Collingwood.

Yes, Angelo Mathews showed 'em how to do in England last year; but David's was equal if not better.

Have a glimpse!!

And last night, Malinga was slinging it as if yorkers were going extinct! As usual he got 3 wickets out of four - actually the hat-trick ball missed the stump just by that much!

And Tiwari-ji is proving that he can match Dhoni in Samson-like locks as well as pyrotechnics. The boy did mention one pertinent thing few days back - "IPL has more visibility than domestic matches."

You bet! I like the hinter-land candour from the youngster. Hope he bashes a few more!

Pool is languishing at about half-way stage. Hope the tempo will pick up in the second half of the tournament!

Answer to BQ-6:

The gentleman introduced Googly to cricket. Check Wiki on how he came about that innovation.

Only Bob managed to googly it correctly ;-) Congrats.

Now for BQ-7:

Dhoni, Bhajji and Yuvraj are talking to each other about the Hummer collection of Sachin: Dhoni says: "Sachin has at least four Hummers." Bhajji says: "No, he has less than four Hummers." "According to me," says Yuvraj, "Sachin grandpa has at least one Hummer."

Question is: If you know that only one of the three friends is right, how many Hummers does Sachin possess?

Have a good Mittwoch.

Entries and Answers at the usual place.

PS: SPK stands at $11.50 & nobody has a clear lead. Four people with one correct answer, so far. So, it is up for you to grab by answering the questions, folks!

And at the end of Week #2...

Here are the W2 highlights from my perspective:

1. CSK's jaundice has relapsed very badly. Desperate for any remedy - including praying for Srikkanth to pad up and Bollinger to arrive early - all for what? Just to end up one place above KXIP, I suppose.
2. KKR seems to be lesser and lesser wickets only to lose - the last win is an aberration
3. Warnie has gotten out of his Poker stupor to make it four-in-a-row for the Royals.
4. PZ has proclaimed that Yuvi is (like) her brother - Yewwwviii...
5. Piyush Chawla for the world cup? Cheeka what were you smoking?? Until Albie smote Warnie for three consecutive DLFs, Piyush has conceded more sixers than anybody in IPL. Go figure!
6. Best Commentary: MI v CSK game: LS and Danny Morrison - After Shikhar Dhawan holed out tamely to Raina at mid-wicket, LS says: That is the first Karbonn Kamaal Catch of the day! to which Danny pipes in - Actually Shikhar wanted to hit a DLF maximum but it ended up as a Karbonn Kamaal Catch making it a Citi moment of success for the Chennai Super Kings!!!
Oh, my Gawwwddd!!
7. Something tells me that Gambhir will not be able to play WCT20 and Sachin will be air-lifted to the Windies!
8. And people are right to crib that both Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa have missed out to Yuvraj Singh who seems to be growing day-by-day - around the waist, that is!

Now for the answer to BQ-5:

Not Los Angeles or Salt Lake City.

The only famous pan-handle in the USA, to my limited knowledge is the Florida Pan-Handle and it has the capital of Florida i.e. Tallahassee, the Godly city. Didn't I ask you guys to google? Hmmmm...

And here goes BQ-6:

A simple question....

What is Bernard Bosanquet's contribution to cricket?

Have a good week.

PS: SPK is at $ 11.20

35 v 35 or CSK's Full Toss Mania!

In a game between two 35-year-old damsels, the Big Boss lady won it, all thanks to some Kal Ho Na Ho type of batting by the KXIP-ians.

And finally, Delhites showed some spunk to make the Bengaluru Udugaru look like the drunkard that their owner showed himself to be. By the way, no prizes for guessing what Vijay Mallya was drinking the other day - when he had to hurriedly put the glass down as the cameras were zooming in on him. Whyte and Mackay of course! But G tells me that it would be some single malt and that Mallya-saab would not drink his own poison - and I have to respect his judgement in this matter! STOP DIGRESSING NOW.

Now that Dhoni is back in the team, CSK seems to be on Liv-52 already. But then his bowlers had other plans. வேணாம்... வலிக்குது... அழுதுடுவேன்... (Don't bother for the translation... you know the feeling!)

Answer to BQ-4:

It is not a clip, not an instrument to clean ears (ooh!), not an instrument by ancient gynaecologists (yewwwwww!) but a musical instrument called Morsing.

While Ganesh Kumar, Guru and Chets tried to be innovative, only the old-young man Sivasubs gave the right answer. Good show!

Now for BQ-5: An easier one. Ok lah! Go Google.

• Which is this 'Godly' US city that is on something that resembles a handle of a pan?

Be prompt.
Be good.

PS: SPK is at $9.10

CSK Jaundiced?!?

I have to say that I was too distraught on seeing my beloved CSK losing to KXIP - that too through the Super Over and that too by a hitherto hidden reverse sweep by Yuvi. Just goes on to show the utility of one Mr MSD. Hmmmmm...

By the way, have decided that the margin of victory for this super over shall be NA (so in future, if you think that a match will be decided based on super over, you can put in NA!)

KKR is getting back to its good habits ;-)

Cheeka (our beloved chief selector) has already approached Sachin for the Windies trip. Apparently, the thinking goes along these lines in the shady corridors of BCCI: If 2007 T20 was all about youth and inexperience, then 2010 will be all about oldies and experience.
You can never write off these guys :-)

Answer to BQ#3:

Most of you did not read the question right, I think. I had asked for the most common IPL uniform colour and its wavelength - of course in a long-winded way :-)

By a distance, it is Blue or cousins of Blue - so the right answer should have been 380-495 nm. Wiki is correct for a change here.

Only Guru and Anand Re attempted to get the wavelengths right. Half points guys!

Now onto BQ#4:

Simple one. What is this contraption?

Usual Place. Usual Thing.

P.S. Special Price Kitty stands at $7.20. Keep the guesses coming guys, so that you get better prizes for the quiz winners...

Delhi Mongoosed!

There are bats and then there is the Mongoose!

Maan!

What Hayden did yesterday to Delhi was to show that apart from Nannes there is hardly a bowler in their side! Parnell to come in, perhaps!

And Deccan continue to stutter and move on.

KXIP seems to sound and like a defunct FM station from the states. Preity Zinta's expression after Mahela's dismissal said it all.

Here is the W1 Highlights of IPL3 from my perspective:

1. BQ came back with - er, not exactly a bang, but with at least a small roar!
2. Mongoose has arrived
3. But Dilshan and the scoop are yet to be seen.
4. Tendulkar pitched hard for a spot in T20 India team
5. Kallis has forgotten how to get out (Like Adam - the first man lah, not knowing how to die!)
6. We know what Lalit Modi liked when he was a teen ager (Abba, UB40...)
7. There are less number of Citi Moments of Successes and DLF Maximums, from the mouth-pieces that is - even though the number of sixers of the tournament stands at a whopping 131 right now!
8. Only one 100 thanks to Yusuf madness (by the way, the best comment of the week was from Harsha: Yusuf likes to bat in binaries!!)
9. And Deccan Chargers are still to win at their real home - Hyderabad!!

Have fun.

Answer to BQ#2:

The house was supposed to be the dream home of Sachin Tendulkar. But unfortunately, as in life, it was a hoax. It is the Nautilus house in Mexico City. Go figure!

Only Rajesh got the first part right about it being touted as Sachin's new house. Congratulations to you, for giving the first correct answer to this edition of BQ!

Now for BQ#3. An easy one.

What is the most common wavelength of the visual effect that is caused by the spectral composition of the light emitted, transmitted, or reflected by IPL3 uniforms?

I need a number or range of numbers with proper units.

Enjoy.

Dilli Ki Batti Bandh!

Dilli Ki Batti Bandh!

(Delhi's Light was off!)

Everybody wanted Sehwag to do the needful chasing the highest IPL3 score. There was initial euphoria due to those crazy no-backlift, no-follow-through legside pickup shots off Zaheer and Malinga. It soon faded as a jet-lagged Bravo bowled slower than usual and Viru played so early that his first shot was completed by the time ball arrived within his reach :-)

And the rest, as the saying goes, is philosophy.

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By the way, what is the side bet that Sachin will be in the World T20 squad?

Response to the pool - ahem, can improve.

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Answer to the BQ1:

Don't come around looking for me with bricks :-)

Lalit and Utsav are two of the famous models of HMT watches from India.

Unfortunately, nobody even attempted in spite of the two hints along with the question.

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Now for BQ2: (Courtesy Biju)

This zany house was in the news recently. Why?

Answers to the usual place.

PS: SPK is at $3.80.

Kya Hua Tera Wadah?

Kya Hua Tera Wadah?

(What happened to your promise?)

It is 8.25 pm SGT.

Still not COB for yours sincerely!

Regular service to resume from tomorrow after the DD vs MI game tonight.

Quick update on the points:

Winning team: 2 points
Winning margin: 4 points
Maximum wickets: 2 points
Sixers: 2 points

Total: Maximum 10 points

Question #1 of the quiz shall be answered tomorrow. (means, you can still send in your answers!)

Enjoy.

Oh! by the way, the Special Prize Kitty (SPK) stands at $3.50

Promises... Promises...

It is good that CSK is winning against Dada's purple-heads... one sort of gets into a better mood to promise that:

- by tomorrow close of business, the latest updates to the positions will be published in the blog.

And you shall promise to send:

- the semi-final line up - revised or new!
- answers to the question #1 from previous post...

Deadline for the match on 17th March 2010: DD vs MI - 10 pm SGT


Enjoy!

Doggy delays!

The past few days have been hectic and hence could not update the s/sheets and therefore the pool is in a kind of blind spot right now. Of course, the fact that there were dogs on the hallowed grounds of MAC did not help!!

And on reasonable demands from a few of the players, you can submit the Semi-Finals line up guesses until 17th March 2010 - Wednesday 10pm SGT. Those who have already submitted their guesses are allowed to change the same before the above dead-line.

Fret not! While the 'B' portion is languishing from lack of attention from my side, the 'Q' portion is off with this post...

Question #1:

What is the timely connection between our dear IPL Commissioner and the Umrao Jaan girl, Rekha?

PS: By the way, Lalit Modi wanted to have Rekha do her Umrao Jaan or Utsav dance number along with UB40, Lionel Riche, Abba... aaaarrrgghhh! Can't write anymore :-)

(c) Thanks to Cartoonstock.com for the picture above.

IPL3 - BQ is back!

Ok, here we go on the simple rules:

Framework upto Semi-Finals:

* At least ten games & one semi-final line up commitment needed
* 3 bucks per guess for the games / 5 bucks per guess for the semis lineup; thereof 10 cents per guess goes towards special prizes
* Final winners give a commitment of donating at least 10% of their winnings towards charity

1. There are five things that you need to respond for each game:

Winning team, Winning Run Margin, Winning Wicket Margin, Max number of wickets by which team, Number of Sixers in the match

2. Please send in all your entries by 8pm SGT to lnspatta@gmail.com
3. Please ensure that you give both the winning ranges: run-margin & wicket-margin
4. Please do not invent your own margins; stick to the published ranges shown below
5. If you are using Excel to track your guesses, when you cut-and-paste, please use Rich Text for pasting; the PCX format is painful from gmail.

Over and above that, you need to give me the Semi-Final line-up by 12th March 2010 10 pm SGT via email as above. Each Semi-Final line up costs 5 bucks.


Run Margin Ranges:

Between 1 to 20 runs (both inclusive)
Between 21 to 40 runs (both inclusive)
Between 41 to 60 runs (both inclusive)
Above 61 runs (61 and Infinity inclusive)

Wicket Margin Ranges:

By 1 to 3 wickets (both inclusive)
By 4 to 5 wickets (both inclusive)
By 6 to 8 wickets (both inclusive)
By 9 to 10 wickets (both inclusive)

Which team will take the most number of wickets in the match?

Either of the team names OR Same

Number of Sixers (ya lor! DLF Maximums mah!!) in the MATCH:

0-3 (both inclusive)
4-7 (both inclusive)
8-11 (both inclusive)
12++

Don't Fret! The Quiz is on :-))

(btw, BQ stands for Bets and Quiz; sounds British, eh?)