Spiffing March

*deep breath* Been a while it has…To be honest I was out of ‘personal stuff’ to write about late last year, so I took some time off the blog. Didn’t really help though; not till March. I mean this month really set the tone for a series of ridiculously bizarre yet ‘ftw’ events that finally pimped up an otherwise dry and boring start of the countdown to the apparent end of days scheduled later this year. But the pick of them all was last week’s Budget. While Mr. Pranab Mukherjee looked in control, India’s financial magnum opus seemed rather unsettling. And after we’ve taken a battering in the last 6 quarters, the opposition did their bit to churn out a concrete strategy from the FM to cope with the deteriorating fiscal issues. But then, March 2012 sure gave the sports fan a lot to cheer about. And this being my first article this year, I’m going ‘jock’ with this one…

a New Beginning...?

The media has pretty much done enough to get the world glaring at his recent track record; no pressure. Leave the guy alone!!!! But frankly there’s no denying it, Indian cricket fans just can’t get enough of Virat Kohli. So much so we’re ready to bid adieu to a once irreplaceable asset to Indian Cricket, the man we idolized a year ago…a certain Dhoni ??? Truth be told, Kohli’s got it all…he oozes confidence, packs a cover drive whose CRACKing sound every fan strains to hear, he’s gritty with the cojones to take on a rather feisty Australian crowd. May be that’s what India is about today, not play book skill and technique but pure entertainment. And a newbie who can deliver just that… he’s literally made Shewag look obsolete…rightfully so. While the country now ponders over whether Virat is ‘THE ONE’, his unrelenting swagger always rekindles hopes when we lose our coveted opening pair; off late under 50 runs, only to hear all of India still breathe easy and go, “Arre, Virat hai na!”

No. 1...again

A lot has happened on the soccer front this march but nothing as splendid as a rookie Swansea breaking Manchester City hearts. Every United fan will remember the day we finally got those annoying City ticks off our rightful top spot. Sure the season is far from over but the past 2 weeks at No.1 have been divine. Be it Rooney’s brace against West Brom or Balotelli’s disgusted face as he walked off the pitch, that’s one weekend no one will forget in a long time. And while order was restored in England, Barcelona’s numero uno- Messi, netted 5 blazing goals in a single Champions league game, the first of its kind. I mean how does he do it time after time? As Barca close the gap on Madrid, Messi inches closer to that inevitable Footballer of the Year award for what is it, the fourth straight year?? Not to forget Fabrice Muamba whose radical cardiac arrest made the headlines late last week? Hope he does get better.

True Grit...India's WALL

Nearer to home, a sad yet grateful mourn swept through the entire country as Indian Cricket’s most reliable batsman called it a day at the International scene. Rahul Dravid, any test bowlers nightmare and one of India’s best, reminisced his years in Indian colors at a press conference that I personally have played over and over again in awe of his humility and sheer class. When everything fell apart, he would slog it out to lead unimaginable fight backs and he would do it on a regular basis. He had this incomparable calm off the field as well. Unlike most Cricket greats, he was never Loud or flamboyant so to speak. Wonder who came up with his nickname, coz it’s ridiculously apt. Miss him we will.

Finally...

And to wrap up this month’s ravishing stories, what better than a fairy tale the world was waiting for. For a guy the country has practically worshipped for the past 23 years, we’ve never spared Tendulkar any grief, considering we literally questioned his presence in the ODI squad post our Australian nightmare. O well, I’ll save the hypocrisy for later, this one’s all about his century. I was at the barber getting a hair cut when Tendulkar got into the nintes. The little TV at the saloon was my ticket to history in the making and the story of how Suresh Raina kept Sachin off strike for almost 2 overs when the latter was on 98, was best described my Bihari barber…and I quote “Raina kya chu**ya hai be”. It kinda struck me then, it’s not a mere earth shattering record achieved, it’s the fact that the whole country literally lives each moment with him that makes him a sensation. As the Tendulkar era nears it’s end, lets cherish the lil man in his sundance hat sporting the Indian colors and the elusive jersey number 10 as he takes the field and continues to enthrall.