Greetings on Womens' Day 2025

 

Today (8th of March) is International Women’s Day .. ..  Appreciating all Women I know ! and special greetings to all of them  ~ International Women's Day 2025. Here is a photo of many women devotees and for sure, there would be many many achievers in any such group !!   Thirumangai Azhwar in his Thirumozhi pasuram says -  “ஒப்பவர் இல்லா மாதர்கள் வாழும் திருவல்லிக்கேணி” !!

 

Remember seeing that Test in Nov 1976 (those were the days when Chepauk would host Test matches during Pongal !)  

In some ways this is a western concept – marking a day and attaching all importance to it by marketing it. Our literature has good place for women and traditionally we are taught to respect elders and mother. Our moral stories are replete with instances of obeisance to mother and femininity holding them in high regard; yet 8th Mar would be a special day. 

When the world was in deep darkness and caught in the old thinking about women, then India used to worship women as Maatri Shakti and Goddess. We had women scholars like Gargi, Maitreyi, Anusuya, Arundhati and Madalasa giving knowledge to society. Even in the troubled medieval times, there were great women like Panna Dai and Mirabai in this country. 

When the nation is remembering the history of the freedom struggle during the Amrit Mahotsav, there are so many women who have sacrificed themselves. Immortals like Kittur's Rani Chennamma, Matangini Hazra, Rani Lakshmibai, Veerangana Jhalkari Bai to Ahilyabai Holkar and Savitribai Phule in the social sphere maintained India's identity. 

Thousands of miles away, Anne ascended power to become the  Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from  8 March 1702 and 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death in 1714. 

Any reference to women of fame would  be incomplete without  writing about ‘Avvaiyar’ -  great tamil poetess  whose statue  stands in the marina beach closer to Queen Mary’s college. She  lived in the southern parts attributed to sangam period. Reverred to be noble besides her extraordinary poetic skills, the term means ' respected old woman' or 'Grandmother'. Her works include Purananuru and Aathichoodi. She had cordial relations with the Kings Pari and Athiaman. Aathichoodi is a collection of single-line quotes written by Avvaiyar and organized in alphabetical order. 

According to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, King Janaka of Videha Kingdom held a Rajasuya Yagna and invited all the learned sages, kings and princess of India to participate. The yagna lasted for many days. The galaxy of scholars, included the renowned sage Yajnavalkya.  There  were eight renowned sages who challenged him for a debate, which included Gargi, the only lady in the assembled gathering of the learned.  Gargi and Yajnavalkya's exchange centered on the ultimate "warp" of reality ("warp" means "the basic foundation or material of a structure or entity). 

490  years ago this month in 1535 occurred the siege by Bahadur Shah who attacked Chittor Fort.  Rani Karnavati, wife of the late Rana Sangha fought valiantly, was expecting help from Humayun, who betrayed and .. ..   13,000 women including Rani Karnavati committed Jauhar and 3,200 soldiers committed Saka.   

 

Can you think of one sport where men and women compete against each other as equals? – in Tennis – the mixed-doubles !! Stumped?  It is  horse racing, where female jockeys regularly jump in the hot seat alongside their male counterparts ~ and it is not riders alone .. it is the horses too.   The horses carrying them towards the finish line are locked in their own battle of the sexes.  

India has seen many many women achievers.  Sarla Thakral, at the age of 21, became the first lady in India to acquire an aviation pilot license in 1936. Such an achievement at a time when Indian women were struggling for basic rights to education and healthcare was truly remarkable. Captain Radhika Menon ruled the tides by becoming India’s first female Merchant Navy Captain. Anandi Gopal Joshi was the First female doctor in India          1887 &  Cornelia Sorabji became the first female barrister in India in 1866. 

Test in Nov 1976 that I saw in Chepauk was between Indian Women & West Indies Women – only the 2^nd test that India was playing. India recorded its first-ever Test win in Nov 1978 against West Indies under Shantha Rangaswamy's captaincy at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna.  Team India has come a long way with many wins and laurels.  

The first woman to lead an Indian cricket team, the first woman to win a Test series and the first woman to receive a lifetime achievement award from the BCCI, Shanta Rangaswamy was a pioneer. Rangaswamy captained 12 out of the 16 Tests she played in since making her debut in October 1976.  She scored India's first Test century and smashed the first six as well. While she wasn't playing, Rangaswamy had also been a commentator with All India Radio. She was given the Arjuna Award in 1976.  More prominent is Dr V. Shanta, a prominent Cancer specialist and the Chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai. Her work won several awards including the Magsaysay Award, and Padma Shri. She has been associated with Adyar Cancer Institute since 1955, and has held several key positions, including its Director between 1980-1997.  

 

In recent decade, the woman comparable with  Kapil Dev was “Jhulan Nishit Goswami”  A decade and a half since bursting onto the scene, Goswami, one of the fastest bowlers in the women's game reaped rewards through control and minute deviations off the pitch. She surpassed Cathryn Fitzpatrick to become the highest wicket-taker in women's ODI history.     

This is a post on ‘wonder woman’ ~ it would not require a Nobel for a woman or any accomplishment  to be impressive and an influencer .. ..    this post is dedicated to all the Women known and those who influenced me – the list would start with my mother, sister, wife – my teachers at elementary school,  my female colleagues, my women bosses and my dear friends).. ..

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
8.3.2025

wall-hanging Parrrot !!

 

Attractive Parrot !  ~ what would you name it !!  - a wall-hanging !?! 

A portrait is a depiction of a person, usually showing the face, in the form of a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artwork. Most early representations  were clearly those of  rulers, and tend to follow idealizing artistic conventions rather than real features. 

A wall hanging craft is a decoration, an amulet, a religious or a symbolic object that is hung from the ceiling or another structure.

 

Here is a Parakeet hanging on the short wall !!

what will you do ! - when India wins in Champions Trophy 2025

 

Millions of fans now wait for Mar 9,2025 – Sunday thinking of Finals between India & New Zealand at Dubai

 

What will you do, when India wins !!   On 16^th Mar 2012 – this vegetable vendor  near   Gangai Kondan Mandapam, Thiruvallikkeni, Chennai 600005,  greeted his customers with  basketful of chocolates  celebrating the 100^th ton of SAchin Tendulkar.  Earlier he gave 1 kg  of tomato free to many  people when India won the WC 2011.
 
6.3.2025

Oval Office fiasco ! ~ high decibels leads one nowhere !! - காத்தோம்பல் சொல்லின்கட் சோர்வு.

Who is a successful leader ? – who is a good negotiator ?  Thiruvalluvar has dedicated one chapter for – அதிகாரம்-  “சொல்வன்மை / Power of Speech”  - and of significance is Thirukkural 642 !!  - heard of  Servant of the People  ??

 

The Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C.   It was here that US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a heated argument   

 

It had a bad start !!  A question from a reporter accused him of disrespecting the occasion by not wearing a suit and this immediately changed the atmosphere in the room, according to BBC reporters present. It was to be an all important strategic visit of Ukranian President to Washington amid negotiations to end the ongoing war, a significant agreement on minerals too was expected to be signed for support that US had provided to the country since Russian invasion in 2022.  BUT THINGS WENT WRONG  ..  .. ..     

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy – is a  former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019, most notably during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022. 

 

"Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media," Vance told Zelenskyy. "Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict." 

Conversations about a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia came to a screeching halt  after a tense meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy led to a cancelled press conference, a minerals deal off the table and Trump asking the Ukrainian president to leave, a White House official confirmed.  

Trump accused Zelenskyy of "disrespecting" the U.S. during their meeting Friday and said the Ukrainian leader was not ready to secure peace for his country.  "I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," Trump said.  He was to add in a social post : -  "I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace."

 

The tense war of words continued for several minutes, and Trump accused Zelenskyy of "disrespecting" the United States during their meeting. "The problem is I've empowered you to be a tough guy, and I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the United States," Trump said before the meeting wrapped up. 

"And your people are very brave, but you're either going to make a deal, or we're out — and if we're out, you'll fight it out. I don't think it's going to be pretty, but you'll fight it out, but you don't have the cards, spake Donald Trump. But once we sign that deal, you're in a much better position, but you're not acting at all thankful, and that's not a nice thing, I'll be honest. That's not a nice thing." 

But things took a turn south. After Zelenskyy said that Russian President Vladimir Putin couldn't be trusted and had breached other agreements, Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful for the support the U.S. has provided over the years and said the Ukrainian leader was in a "bad position" at the negotiating table.  "You're playing cards," Trump said. "You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country." 

After Vance told Zelenskyy Ukraine had manpower and military recruiting problems, Zelenskyy said war means "everybody has problems, even you" and that the U.S. would feel the war "in the future." "Don't tell us what we're going to feel," Trump responded. "We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're going to feel. 

"You don't know that," Trump responded as Zelenskyy said "God bless you" to him. Later, Vance implied that Zelenskyy, who was visiting Washington, D.C., to sign a rare earth minerals deal that has since been dropped, was ungrateful again and asked if he'd "said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting." 

It was a heated debate and did Ukraine no good as war of words eventually lead to a big, very big loss for one who had come to get something from USA.  Yet, struck to his wrong moves, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not apologize for the heated exchange with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, but told Fox News in an exclusive interview he is confident their relationship can be salvaged.  No one gains anything in a shouting match, which the Executive of a Nation ought to have understood.    

Exact numbers on financial assistance to Ukraine vary slightly, depending on what is considered aid. However, Congress has appropriated $175 billion since 2022 for aid to Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.  .. . and that is more than all  European assistance to Ukraine between January 2022 and December 2024 totals roughly $138.7 billion, the Kiel Institute, a German-based think tank, estimates, with the U.S. contributing $119.7 billion in that same time frame. 

Servant of the People, is a political satire comedy series created and produced by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy stars as the main character, Vasily Petrovych Goloborodko, a high-school history teacher in his thirties, who is unexpectedly elected President of Ukraine after a video filmed by one of his students goes viral, showing him making a profane rant against government corruption in his country. The series ran for three seasons between 2015 and 2019, as well as a film adaptation released in 2016.  The studio would soon become involved in Ukrainian politics, and in 2018 a political party of the same name as the show was registered. Running as its candidate, Zelenskyy was elected president of Ukraine in 2019. 

Zelenskyy's term was originally scheduled to end in May 2024, but the ongoing Russian invasion and the resulting ongoing martial law prevented the regularly scheduled presidential election from being conducted. He is expected to remain president for the duration of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Due to this extension of his term, Zelenskyy is the second-longest serving president in Ukrainian history, after only Kuchma. 

Just hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stepped into the Oval Office for his infamous meeting with President Donald Trump, he received a blunt warning from a US Senator.  "Don't take the bait," South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham advised, cautioning the Ukrainian leader against engaging in a heated debate with Trump, according to the New York Times. "I said, don't get into arguments about security agreements," Graham told the Times in an interview. 

Yet things went wrong right from his attire.  It was the first thing President Donald Trump said when Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky stepped out of his car at the White House on Friday. "You're all dressed up today," Trump said as he greeted him, referring to Zelensky's military-style black sweatshirt, adorned with the Ukrainian trident.  The Ukrainian leader has said his choice of clothing is a show of solidarity with soldiers fighting the Russian army on the war's frontlines.

 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should apologize to former President Donald Trump after a disastrous Oval Office meeting escalated into a heated exchange. According to Rubio, what unfolded in front of the cameras was only part of the story—Zelensky’s behavior before the live broadcast was the real cause of the tension.  The tension boiled over when Trump took offense to Zelensky’s treatment of Vance. The Ukrainian leader’s direct challenges to the vice president reportedly irked Trump, leading to a sharp back-and-forth. Rubio argued that Zelensky’s actions in the lead-up to the meeting were an attempt to corner the U.S. leadership and dismiss their approach to diplomacy. 

The Russo-Ukrainian War  began in February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied and annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists who began fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas war. These first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents and cyberwarfare. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and began occupying more of the country, starting the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The war has resulted in a refugee crisis and tens of thousands of deaths. 

Whether the fault rests with Russia or Ukraine – war causes huge losses, thousands die, it hits the economy badly .. .. .. people are suffering;  yet the ego of the President and his intransigent attitude failed the Nation.  The result of the meet is - US President Donald Trump is pausing all military aid for Ukraine. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen presents plan to mobilise some 800 billion euros ($841.5bn) for European defence, including the provision of “immediate” military support for Ukraine following the US’s suspension. 

In trying to display rhetoric Ukranian President has closed some doors and pushed his Nation to more.  difficult times.  

இதோ இங்கே - சொல்வன்மை / Power of Speech -  அதிகாரம் - குறள்  642   

ஆக்கமுங் கேடும் அதனால் வருதலால்

காத்தோம்பல் சொல்லின்கட் சோர்வு. 

வளர்ச்சியும் அழிவும் சொல்லுகின்ற சொல்லால் வருவதால், ஒருவன் தன்னுடைய சொல்லிற்க்கு தவறு நேராமலும்   நிதானித்தும் சோர்வு ஏற்படாமலும் பேச வேண்டும்.

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar
4.3.2025

India beats Australia - enters finals of ICC Champions Trophy 2025

 

Good allround performance by Team India – into finals now

 

A 106M hit by Hardik Pandya soared so high that one felt it would land outside Dubai !!

shining teeth ! - SYMA medical camp

Electric bulbs are among the inventions that changed human lives for good.  Light bulbs with a carbon filament were first demonstrated by Thomas Edison in October 1879.   

Seen human bulbs ? – we found them in   Happydent advertisements made by  Perfetti – who  introduced the functional chewing gum!! 

The scene depicted was a packed bus in Mumbai. A lady politely asks two men to vacate the ladies seat but  her request is met with denial as the men state that they can't see the sign board. Two youngsters sitting nearby decide to help. They open a pack of Happydent and consume the mint, post which they flash their powerful white smile on the 'Ladies Seat' sign clearly marked over the assigned seat. Other co-passengers join in too and the two men sheepishly get up from the seat and get out from the bus. The film ends with the tagline – ‘Dikha Battissi Kar Baat Achhi Si’ (do something good with a smile). 

This advertisement caught the attention of people and was  named as one of the 20 best ads of the 21st century in a public poll conducted by the Gunn Report, the global index of creative excellence in advertising.

 

On 2.3.2025, SYMA conducted a Medical camp for conservancy workers of Urbaser Sumeet, working in Zone 9.  Here is a pic taken by Aravind that shows the light and teeth.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
4.3.2025 

Homage to Padmakar Shivalkar

 

We often see Prejudice, Bias and selective admission !!  Those following Cricket especially of Tamil Nadu from 1970s would remember this Ranji Finals played at Chepauk on 18 & 19 (yes only 2 days) Apr 1973 !! 

There was a time when people thought, spoke and wrote that it is easy to play for India if you are a ‘Kar’ or play for Bombay – to my mind there were -  :  Farokh Engineer,  Ajit Wadekar, Eknath Solkar, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar,  Hemant Kanitkar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ramnath Parkar, Ghulam Parkar  &  .. ..  We also thought Sunil Manohar Gavaskar when he was captained gave chances for every Mumbaikar !!  

India was hailed as land of spinners –   the famous quartet Bishan Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Venkatraghavan prospered – there were the likes of VV Kumar,  Dilip Doshi, Padmakar Shivalkar, Rajidner Goel, Rajinder Hans, Dhiraj Parsana, V Ramnarayan,  Rakesh Shukla, Raghuram Bhat and more – who could not make the cut over the dominance of the quartet and Ranji matches were ‘bowler-dominated !’

 

The man who passed away yesterday was a ‘Kar’ – took close to 400 Ranji wickets, played for Bombay at a time when they literally swept Ranji – yet never played for India !!!  

His first-class debut had come all the way back in April 1962, when he was picked in a Cricket Club of India President's XI against an International XI that was making a world tour. Against that team, which included luminaries such as Bob Simpson, Tom Graveney, Colin Cowdrey, Everton Weekes, Richie Benaud and Sonny Ramadhin, Shivalkar took 5 for 129 and 2 for 44 in a drawn game.

 

One of the finest left-arm spinners in the country, who was unlucky to not have played for India as he was played cricket in an era where the famous 'spin quartet' was at the peak of its powers, Mumbai stalwart Padmakar Shivalkar passed away on Monday at the age of 84. 

In an epic 20-year career which stretched from 1961-62 to 1987-88, ‘Paddy’ Shivalkar took a staggering 589 wickets in 124 first-class matches@19.69, with a best haul of eight for 16. Shivalkar, who made his Ranji Trophy debut at the age of 22, was recalled at the age of 48 for his last two first-class matches, with the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Delhi at the Ferozeshah Kotla in the 1987-88 season being his last FC game. Shivalkar took 361 Ranji wickets for Bombay (now Mumbai), the most by any bowler when he retired. He had 11 ten-wicket hauls (joint-second). Overall, he played 86 matches for Bombay, capturing 419 wickets. 

In the Duleep Trophy, he scalped 74 in 15 matches for West Zone. In the Moin-ud-Daula, he scalped 23 wickets in seven matches. He played for Rest of India against Indian XI in a National Defence fund match in April 1972 at the Brabourne Stadium. He took five for 77, and his victims were Eknath Solkar, Gundappa Viswanath, Syed Abid Ali, S Venkatraghavan and Syed Kirmani. He took nine wickets in the match. In 2017, he received the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour conferred by the BCCI on a former player.  Shivalkar toured Sri Lanka with a strong Indian side in 1973–74, playing in both matches against Sri Lanka and taking four wickets.. 

"One of the regrets I have is that, as the then captain of the Indian team, I could not convince my fellow selectors to pick Goel saab and Paddy to play for India," Sunil Gavaskar told The Hindu when the BCCI awarded Goel and Shivalkar the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award in 2017.  

Gavaskar shared a dressing room with Shivalkar when Bombay (the most successful team in the Ranji Trophy, enjoyed their greatest period of dominance. Shivalkar featured in ten of Bombay's victorious Ranji Trophy campaigns from 1965-66 to 1976- 77.   

Now on that Ranji finals (18,19,20 Apr 1973) – TN fans would always feel bad for losing to Bombay by 123 runs, after bowling them out for 113 in their 2nd essay.  Kalyanasundaram returned magical figures of 6.3-2-8-4.    Bombay had a very formidable line-up : Sunil Gavaskar, Ramnath Parkar, Ajit Wadekar, Ashok Mankad, Sudhir Naik, Dilip Sardesai, Eknath Solkar and the great spinner Padmakar Shivalkar. For those interested, the team that represented Tamil Nadu was : PK Belliappa (keeper); R Mirza, Michael Dalvi, Abdul Jabbar, P Mukund, AG Satwender Singh, LJ Edmonds, Srinivas Venkatraghavan (Capt), R Prabhakar, B Kalyanasundaram and VV Kumar.  TN  scored 80 & 61. 

That win was fashioned by Padmakar Shivalkar who had figures of : 17.5-10-16-8 & 15.1-8-18-5 !!  Homage to that silent warrior – Padmakar Shivalkar

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar

4.3.2025

Irreverent, shameful tweet; arrogant insistence !! Rohit stands tall !!!!

 

ICC Champions Trophy has moved to the next level – the Semis.  Now India will play Australia, New Zealand plays South Africa.  Capt. Rohit Sharma, has said that India does not enjoy any  significant advantage at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium -  "We don't know which pitch will be used in the semi-final, but whatever it is, we will have to adapt and see how it goes. And it's not our home either - this is Dubai. We don't play so many matches here, it's new for us as well."

 

This tournament, Rohit Sharma has marshaled his resources so well that the absence of Jasprit Bumrah has not been felt.  His acumen was so good that against Kiwis, India played 4 spinners, a rare luxury in ODI. 

Perhaps Indian wins do not go well with some even within India !!!!!  A social media post by Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed on Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma’s body weight triggered a controversy, with people calling it body shaming and totally unwarranted.  The mood clearly is  “leave sportspersons alone”. 

Her X handle reads :  Dentist, National Spokesperson-Indian National Congress- AICC.  In her now-deleted post, Ms. Mohamed had said that the Indian captain is “fat for a sportsman.”. “Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had!” she wrote. 

Netizens were quick to comment -  It seems Shama Mohamed’s criticism of Rohit Sharma stems more from her disappointment over Pakistan and Bangladesh’s elimination from the Champions Trophy 2025 than anything else. India, led by Rohit, handed both teams decisive defeats—Pakistan by 6 wickets and Bangladesh by 6 wickets in the group stage—knocking them out of the tournament. Her remarks about Rohit’s fitness and captaincy could be a reflection of that frustration, especially given his key role in orchestrating those victories and leading India to the semi-finals. The sting of seeing her favored teams exit early might just be the real fuel behind her sharp words. 

Replying to a post praising Mr. Sharma, Ms. Mohamed asked what was so world class about the current captain when compared to his predecessors Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, M. S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and the rest. 

Reprimanding Ms. Mohamed for her comments, the Congress urged her to delete the post on the Indian cricket team captain. Taking to X, Pawan Khera, who heads the party’s media and publicity wing, said Ms. Mohamed’s view does not reflect the party’s position. “The Indian National Congress holds the contributions of sporting icons in the highest regard and does not endorse any statements that undermine their legacy,” Mr. Khera said. 

“The Congress, which has lost over 90 elections under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, is now body-shaming the Indian cricket captain, at a time when our national team is in pursuit of the Champions Trophy! This is a premeditated put down to undermine the team’s morale at a crucial time. Their disdain for our icons is apparent. They resent a self confident India,” said Amit Malviya, the BJP IT Cell in-charge, on X. 

Supporting Ms. Mohamed, veteran Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Sougata Roy told a news agency, “Rohit Sharma hit a century sometime back but otherwise, he gets out at 2, 5, 10, 20 runs. He should neither get a place in the team nor be the captain. What the Congress leader said is absolutely correct”. Even after such terrific backlash, Ms. Mohamed struck a defiant note and said that she was entitled to her views in a democracy. “It was a generic tweet about the fitness of a sportsperson. It was not body-shaming. I always believed a sportsperson should be fit, and I felt he was a bit overweight, so I just tweeted about that. I have been attacked for no reason,” she said. 

Now read something on Cricket records and that would make one understand the fallacy of the tweet; ignorance of its maker or the arrogance  & politics behind such body shaming !!  

A century in Cricket  - when I started watching Cricket in mid 1970s, Sunil Gavaskar would grind the bowlers and make one with exquisite straight drives; but Century was nowhere in sight -   after almost a decade of initiation into ODI, came the first century in ODI, that epic 175 against Zimbabwe. 

Then came one by Krish Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Ravi Shastri … .. centuries were rare but now Virat Kohli has 51; Sachin Tendulkar 49; Rohit Sharma 32; Sourav Ganguly 22;  Shikhar Dhawan 17; Virender Sehwag 15; Yuvraj Singh 14; Rahul Dravid 12 & Gautam Gambhir 11 (the ones above 10)

 

Those of us who watched in Nov 2013, Rohit’s  superb innings against Australia – 209 in the 7th ODI at Bangalore would remember that it was distinctly separable phases……… first 50 runs – 71 balls (SR 70.42) Next 50 runs – 43 balls (SR 116.28) Next 109 runs- 44 balls (SR 247.72) ~ so it was not speed all the time and there was a time when he was farming much of strike, but Dhawan was scoring freely.  Those  209 runs (the second highest ODI score ever at that time) placed him in a new sphere  16 sixes (a world record), 12 fours (he hit more sixes than fours), 9 twos, 47 singles, 74 dot balls.  

13th Nov 14 was destined to be different for those who watched at Kolkatta and for the player himself.   Kohli won the toss, decided to bat - Angelo Mathews bowled the second over -   it was 2;0;0;0;0;0 – certainly no indicator of what were to happen. The carnage ! – the  27-year-old was caught at long-off from the final ball of the innings, looking for the boundary that would have levelled the List A record of 268, set by Ali Brown of Surrey against Glamorgan in 2002.  Before 2010, no batsman had passed 200 in 2,961 previous one-day internationals, today it  is the fourth 200 in four years, all of which have been made by India batsmen in India.  

It was  Rohit Sharma playing an International match in  10-weeks began with a touch of nerves. He was even kept scoreless in one Angelo Mathews maiden. By the end of the innings, there was no shot he had not played. No part of the ground he had not exploited. No bowler who escaped his brutality. Rohit amassed 45 more runs than any ODI batsman had ever managed in an innings, finishing on 264 from 173 balls when he was finally caught off the last ball of the innings.   

Rohit's innings was so outrageous that the first 100 runs, which were hit at a run-a-ball, seemed achingly humdrum in comparison to the 164 that followed!!  There were many incredible shots, from among his 33 fours and nine sixes, but the most gobsmacking was the six off Kulasekara at the end of the 48th over, when he walked across to off stump, took a half volley from about a foot and half away from him and flicked it high over the midwicket boundary. It was the kind of shot, and innings, that seemed in open defiance of physics.  

The highest individual score had progressed – for sometime it was Glen Turner’s 171 made in 1st WC; then Kapil Dev made 175 n.o in 1983 WC; Richards made 189; Saeed Anwar 194 at Chepauk  ….. Sachin first breached 200; Sehwag upstaged him………..  .  

Rohit scored ODI double-hundreds for fun- 3 of them, won six IPLs in the first 15 editions of the tournament, scored five hundreds at the 2019 ODI World Cup, and when he finally got to open in Tests in 2019, three quick hundreds in his first series in the role, one of them a double.  

In 67 tests he has 4301 runs; highest 212; Avg 40.57 – 12 100s; T20s 159 matches 4231 runs; 121* highest; 5 tons & in ODIs 271 matches 11064 runs; 264 highest – 32 tons …. .. .. and most important statistics not to be missed is 88/340/205 – the sixers he has hit in Tests / ODI & T20I.  

I vividly remember this guy who made his debut against England in Dec 1984 – the bowling lineup missing Kapil Dev read, Chetan Sharma, Manoj Prabhakar, Ravi Shastri, Roger Binny and Rajinder Sing Ghai. A couple of decades ago, was present at Chepauk stadium eagerly watching the Indian Cricketers train .. .. Dilip Vengsarkar came out did a little bit of stretch near the pavilion barriers and was standing with hands on hips [he perhaps had the easiest of stance at crease and made runs with elan]; Sunil Gavaskar walked around talking to people and practicing mock drives; spinners were rotating their arms – Kapil Dev captured attraction with his exercise drills, then went running around the ground as hundreds of us cheered him as he got closer – alongside Rajinder Singh Ghai ran so easily and tirelessly for 6 or 7 rounds of the stadium – we all spoke about his attitude and stamina – he was to play in only 6 one dayers making a solitary run and 3 wickets in all. 

For sometime, there was so much of talk about Yo-Yo test, the fitness bearrier.  At that time a  former member of the Indian coaching staff said the team management should keep in mind that aerobic endurance can’t be the only criterion for selection. “The yo-yo test can’t be the only criterion to test a cricketer’s fitness. It’s a skill-based sport. There’s so much mental stamina that’s required too,” he said, adding that many of the past legends would have failed the test.  True can one imagine putting the likes of Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Bedi, Gundappa Viswanath, Vengsarkar, Ashok Malhotra and more going through this – is it not he talent that is material ?

 

Judge the players by their talent and how they have performed against International teams ~ not merely by how fit they look !! – here is a fit photo of Umesh Yadav and Hardik Pandya, that was circulating a few years ago.  

Most inappropriate by that Congress spokesperson and bad that she insist that she is entitled to her opinion.  Shame.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
3.3.2025 

Squirrel in love !!

 

காதலித்து கல்யாணம் செய்துகொண்ட அக்கா,  வீட்டுக்காரருடன் சண்டை போட்டுக்கொண்டு கோயம்புத்தூரிலிருந்து மதுரையிலிருக்கும் புகுந்தவீட்டிற்கு வர,  மாமாவை சமாதானப்படுத்தி அக்காவை சேர்த்து வைப்பதற்காக   கிளம்புகிறான் கதிர்வேலன்; அங்கே  தன் பழைய நண்பன் மயில்வாகனத்தை   சந்திக்கிறான்.

 

இது கதிர்வேலன் காதல் கதை !  எங்கள் மாடியில் வளரும் கதிர் மீது காதல் கொண்ட அணில் இங்கே !!

3.3.2025

Economical bowling in ODI and those who went for over 100 !

Cricket, more specifically, the shorter versions (ODI & T20) are becoming more  batsmen oriented – Rohit Sharma’s new record of 264 is another pointer to this and in a few years now we have 4 double hundreds (another matter altogether that all 4 are made by Indians in Indian wickets).

Many would not know that Bishan Singh Bedi, the classical leftarm spinner had figures of 12-8-6-1 – that was in the match against East Africa in 1975 World Cup.  The worst bowling performance in terms of more than 100 runs conceded is :

Player	Match	Bowling	Season	RPO
Mick Lewis	Australia v  South Africa	10–0–113–0	2006	11.30
Martin Snedden	New Zealand v  England	12–1–105–2	1983	8.75
Tim Southee	New Zealand v  India	10–0–105–0	2009	10.50
Brian Vitori	Zimbabwe v  New Zealand	9–0–105–1	2012	11.67
Vinay Kumar	India v  Australia	9–0–102–1	2013	11.33

As could be seen 3 bowlers have given 105 runs – but in 12, 10 & 09 overs.  Karsan Ghavri was taken for 85 runs in the initial WC and later Snedden’s 105 stood for quite a while before Mick Lewis (who ?) conceded 113 in that run carnage. 

In ODI 214, in June 18, 1983, Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 3 wickets.  New Zealand, having been put in on a lively pitch, were 116 for nine before a last-wicket stand of 65 between Snedden and Chatfield restored a gleam of hope.  Chasing 182 in 60 overs, Lanks were sailing at 129 for two but Kuruppu and couple of balls later Duleep Mendis fell – creating chaos and mini-crisis.  Roy Dias saw them through.  Asantha Demel was the Man of the Match for his 5 wicket haul.

Batting first NZ line up of Glenn Turner, John Wright, GP Howarth (Capt), Martin Crowe, Bruce Edgar, J Coney, Richard Hadlee, Warren Lees, Lance Cairns  – were all back at 116 before Snedden’s 40 and his partnership with Chatfield brought some respectability. Lankans bowlers excelled – De mel took 5 for 32  but it was Somachandra De Silve, the leg spinner who strangled the Kiwis. He had unimaginably good figures of 12-5-11-2.

Dandeniyage Somachandra De Silva played only 12 tests and 41 One dayers……. Not due to any lack of talent but this man born in 1942 played most of his Cricket when the island Nation did not get test status. He took 37 test wickets and 32 One day wickets. Remember him bowling well, when Sri Lanka toured and played 3 unofficial tests during 1975-76.  

Cricket was in their family - Dandeniya Hemachandra De Silva, the eldest of four brothers played first-class club cricket in Sri Lanka, later  died in Melbourne. A right-hand opening batsman, DH was renowned for his astute captaincy where he went to the extent of testing the laws of the game. DH was charity commissioner at the Colombo Municipality and later became Municipal Commissioner of Kandy.

The much talented younger brother Somachandra de Silva was a great leg spinner who  later became chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee when Sri Lanka finished runner-up to India in the 2011 World Cup. His other two brothers were Premachandra de Silva who went onto play unofficial tests for Sri Lanka and Gunasiri de Silva.

That bowling performance was indeed standout.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

21^st Nov. 2014.