Stat Turd explains why you should love Raina too:

This might sound slightly gay….

Well screw it, so what if it does.  I have a man-crush. Yes. I ‘m going to go ahead and say it:

I heart Suresh Raina.

Raina hai mere dil mein

I am going to try to make a case of making you like him too.

This uber-talented cricketer has taken a while , but hopefully (fingers crossed) has found a role.We all know that he had it in him- the “it” factor, but it was there for all to see in this season’s IPL. The flowing offside cover strokes with the extravagant follow-through of the bat, the cheetah-like quick singles and twos, the exhuberant fielding and catching, and the general attitude make him one of my favourite current players.

Let’s get into some more nitty-gritties.Looking purely at the numbers reveals some interesting trends. For comparison’s sake – I’ve also taken Rohit Sharma’s (another exciting player) numbers, which I tend to think is a somewhat fair comparison.  I did so because:
1. Both played in teams which atleast reached the semis
2. Both are similar character players – batting all-rounders who bowl a bit
3. Both are under 23
4. Both are considered as possible future candidates for the soon-to-be-vacant Indian middle order
5. It’s my wish.

DA DATA

Run Lola Run!

And their bowling:

Phull toss

Now, since I am so kind let’s just have a graphical look at their performance in IPL2009.

Worm da Batting

and bowling comparison:

Worm da bowling

and finally

Fielding:
Avg Dismissals per Game
Rohit Sharma
2008 – 0.62
2009 – 0.31
Suresh Raina
2008 – 0.63
2009 – 0.50

Test Results

From this, we can see a few things:
1. I suck balls  at graphs and shit
2. Raina has the better batting average, and less deviation from the average
3. Raina has the better bowling economy , and less deviation from the average
4. Rohit’s taken more wickets than Raina

Note:
1. Both dropped on their avg dismissals/game from last year
2. My guess is that this could happen because we could have had more dismissals in the form of

batsmen getting clean bowled or caught behind because of the nature of the pitches this time. The right way would be to analyse the breakdown of dismissals (number and nature) , but neither do I have the data nor the inclination immediately at hand to do that rigourous exercise.
3. Both hardly bowled much last year
4. The averages for both dropped from last year.

Ghajini and Momentum

During the course of the IPL month, the ONE thing that all the players and commentators repeatedly kept harping on like a broken tape recorder was MOMENTUM. I can understand where they’re coming from psychologically, as well as in such a league format – it helps you rack up some points. So examining the case of momentum in retrospect:

1. Chennai Super kings best run of matches were between Matches 6-10 : 5 Wins
Raina’s performance in those matches:
Batting: 98    32    32    32    13 (41.4 per game, 10 runs above his average)
Bowling: 1W    0W    1W    0W    0W (0.4 W per game)
Avg:     5.5    7    8.6    4    7  (6.42 runs per game given)

2. Deccan super chargers best run of matches were Matches 1-4 : 4 wins on the trot
Rohit’s performance :
Batting : 36    52    3    18 (27.25 runs per game, same as average)
Bowling : DNB    DNB    0W    1W (0.5 W per game in those he bowled, otherwise 0.25W per game)
Avg:      DNB    DNB    8    6  (7 runs per game)

Thus, if “momentum” is indeed that important, then:
1. We can make the case that Raina actually contributed more to his team from his core competency (eh..excuse me for using such a business term here) of batting during his team’s run than did Rohit for the deccan team
2. Bowling for both didn’t actually have that much of an effect on their teams respective winning streak (in fact, we can even make the case that Rohit didn’t bowl much at all during the streak!)

(in)CONCLUSION

Now , add everything up and making skewed conclusions, I came up with a few pearls:
1. Both are hopefully going to carry the baton forward for the Indian middle order
2. Both are better bowlers than you actually give them credit for (atleast in the mini (50) and micro-mini (20) versions of the game
3. Raina is developing a little more consistency in his game on both fronts.
4. Rohit is more of a match-winner (hat-tricks, the more useful 30+ scores)- Deccan did end up winning it all. After their 4 Wins in a row, they won matches here and there and made it when it matters most.
5. But, if you’re looking for a run,

Raina gives the team a more consistant chance of winning.

6. I need an Excel for Dummies book.

We (or should I say BCCI) are quite fortunate to have both these players play for the Indian team.While I would love to extrapolate and synthesisze this info over their careers in the longer format of the game, it will be more fun to actually watch it play out.

These 2 guys are hopefully going to be around for a while. Enjoy the ride while it lasts. Ladies and gents , get your Raina posters and memorabilia.  And oh, please give me the pleasure of saying , “I told you so.”, when you actually fantasize and giggle about Raina in your sleep. And if you don’t believe me, here’s actual proof – some disturbing visuals of members of the current team professing their undying love for the machine.

It's a strange kinda love as Fredster looks on in jealousy

Get out of my dreams, get onto my bike.

Jiski biwi choti to uska bhi bada naam hai

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Akon wants to have your baby:

I wanna smack that

Repost!

After a very long lay-off,I thought of getting started in blah-ing away again. Back doing some frustrating stuff, the recession and all that shit.  And thus,I thought, why not spew some horsecrap on the world wide web?!

I’m sure most of us have been through the annual month-long lovefest that is the IPL T20. A gala occasion where cricketers, politicians , actors, businessmen and business-women, and of course, us poor unsuspecting fans get together and collectively jerk off over this pinnacle of ectasy , the mish-mash of sports and entertainment. It’s not the question of whether we like it or not. We cannot escape it. It is now part of our DNA, our annual routine. Just like going to the loo, the IPL T20 is here to stay.

In a zombie-like manner , we’re going to be following it every year, trying to foster some sort of an allegiance to some uninventively named team , hoping that it would give us the much needed conversation breaker that we so badly need when meeting the folks at work the next day (some of whom we’d normally avoid like the 14th century plague).  Be it the  zoo-zoos , the skimpily clad cheerleaders, Sivamani, or the “strategy” break, there’s something in it for everyone.

There as entertainment , no doubt. I must admit that it was interesting in many parts, and of course, unless I’m a fan of one of the regional soaps, I’d probably settle for a sport on TV at 8pm every day.

Quite a lot of moments this time around. The Fakeiplplayer probably takes the cake for some of the best nicknames that anyone could conjour up for the players. In retrospect – it’s just that ONE NAME!! I mean,  I cannot think of Sreesanth as Sreesanth anymore – he is appam chutiya. There are no 2 ways about it. His face, expressions and actions , nay his WHOLE EXISTANCE can only be summarized aptly with those 2 words.

2 simple words! I don’t even know how someone thought of those 2 commonly used words individually in 2 different parts of India, and put them together for this unique being. It is so uniquely beautiful.  I am sure that we are not far away from the day when  a father asks his 10 year old son, “Mone/beta , what do you want to be when you grow up?”   to which the son, with sparkle in his eyes, the nostrils flaring up like a spanish bull , responds,” pa, I want to be an appam chutiya.” , and spreads his hands and runs around the house. It could be you.

The nostrils. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that his nostrils so friggin huge that they are single handedly capable of creating a vaccum around him, or creating the ultimate cyclone, alternatively upon inhalation or exhalation?   And his celebration of Dhoni’s wicket- well , the less said about it, the better. DUDE, STOP MAKING AN ASS OF YOURSELF REPEATEDLY!

Some other gems found:
1. Virat Kohli –  I know he’s got attitude and all, but the boy takes it a little too far! Dude , stop praising yourself and your contribution in all interviews. Actually, stop giving hte interviews. It’s ridiculous when you find some kid saying how important his contribution of 15 was. We recognize it, so stop trying to suck yourself on national tv.

2. The celeb ladies are really getting a little annoying to watch. Shilpa Shitty aka the mascot of the World Plastic Association, and Priety Zinta – she of the this-is-the-first-time-I-am-watching-cricket-EVER fame being shown time and time again was getting really old by the end. DROP THE ACT.

3. The closing ceremony
It was by far one of the worst performances in the history of bad performances.  A-kon should change his spelling to A-con. The dude was so bad that I’m quite sure even his mom would have turned off the tube, grimacing in pain and agony. They first had a complete mix-up with the pre-recorded song, playing it 3-4 times. Finally when they did show Akon on TV, i thought perhaps it was just an intro song. The poor freak went on to “sing” the same thing.  What we witnessed next was a milli-vanilli part duex in action, except that this clown didn’t even have the talent to lip-sync.  To make matters worse, he decided that he wasn’t close enough to “his people”  , and proceeded to bond with the audience and sing his next song. What then followed was a discourse in “how not to be an asshole when you’re lip-syncing in a concert”.
All that he and his DJ actually did was shout “woah! ho” and other strange noises while the actual recorded song was being played in the background. Conman gamefully tried to get the audience going by saying ” sing along ” and other such words of encouragement.  The eclectic crowd though, were too busy trying to get their Hi’s and hellos to their kith and kin watching the show, and not to mention that it didnt look like anyone there knew the song he was singing.
I thought the nightmare ended there, but boy was I wrong.  The organizers  had a trick or 2 up their sleeves , frequently exposing akon at periodic intervals time. Whether we were drooling at the Miss bollywood contestants, or fantasizing rain dancing with (Her?-I-can) Katrina ,  Akon would spring out of nowhere and shatter those dreams.

Friggin a$$hole – I hate you!