Game on...

They say tough times brings teams together.  They say adversity brings out the best in us.  Looks like that is what is happening to Team India in the ongoing Champions Trophy in the UK.   AlI the talk about match fixing and spot fixing and conflict of interest seems to be bringing out the best in team India.  I am writing this blog just ahead of the semi finals where India will play Sri Lanka.  But got to say this - looks like team India is firing on all cylinders.  I have never seen the Indian team perform so commandingly well in a tournament before - especially one played outside the sub-continent.  All aspects of the Indian team seems to be clicking well and India is clearly the best team in the tournament so far.
Our bowling is superb, with the exception of Ishanth Sharma.   Bhuvaneshwar Kumar continues to impress one and all - the amazing thing is the carry he gets even when he is bowling around 130 kmph.  I don't think it is because of the wickets alone - I feel the carry he …

Like I always do, I enjoyed watching the French Open this year.  I am a big Rafa fan and it was great to see him win the cup, yet again.   Modern tennis is such a hard and competitive sport.  In this, winning 8 out of the last 9 French Open tournaments is nothing short of miraculous.  

I have always wondered why I loved watching tennis so much.  There is a primal draw that I feel towards tennis and I have wondered why.  Is it because of the star cast that men's tennis has?  Guys like Federer and Nadal and Djoko are great champions who are also very different from each other - is that the reason why watching men's tennis is so interesting?  While that is surely a reason, I feel there is something more.  When I watch mens tennis, I see folks give it their all in the field.  You watch guys like Ferrer and Haas and Robredo hit every ball like that is the last ball they are ever going to get.  They lose their fair share - but they ensure that their loss is not because of lack of ef…