Goodbye. Forever.

I may never have liked the food in Sha Tin College. May never have 'dug' the fact that the school had a ton of useless rules. I admit that I never liked the exteriors of the school, and the first time I saw it back in July 2004, I used a few choice epithets immediately; words that would be unfit to write in this column.

Having said that, I must admit, I really enjoyed my time in Sha Tin College. Before coming to 'SC', I was quite indisciplined, made a ruckus in classes, and pissed off a large majority of my teachers with jokes that they didn't quite see the funny side off. In addition, I do believe some found me arrogant and rude, which is fair enough, I must say.

Anyway, after coming to 'SC', I sobered down immediately, achieved a few notable things, made some strides in cricket, and generally met a whole new bunch of people who have had an indelible impact on me. Barring the points mentioned above, I do not think I disliked anything about SC, which is saying something. Plus, ever since I reached Year 13, I began noticing that something interesting happened almost everyday, which is testament to the vibrant population of the school, as well as the pleasantly hectic lifestyle I was forced to lead whilst in my last year of high-school.

The last few weeks especially were unforgettable - being President of HKMUN, Playing a televised cricket match with some great cricketers, Re-using SC's cricket nets on the 5th floor for the first time in eons, and winning Ms. St John's 'Apprentice' show, despite having competition in the form of geniuses/prodigies. Sweet.

I'm not one for long goodbyes. All I will say that it has been a great experience, and it has truly been a pleasure meeting some personalities, and taking part in some memorable activities.

Although the IB exams are all-too-close, it does feel, that school has already come to an end.

To everyone in SC '06 - Goodbye, take care, and make yourself proud.

Power-hungry? Me?

Being the PRESIDENT

I always knew MUN was pretty hard work, but after presiding over 5 debates and spending around 15 hours on the same damn chair, I am now convinced that MUN is not easy. But is it fun? Hell-friccin-yes.

I thoroughly enjoyed being the President, period. The power associated with it is something I obviously enjoyed, but the ability to influence debates, the ability to make anything happen is one that I will remember for a long time. Being called "Mr. President" and "Sir" (I forgot who called me Sir, but I swear someone did) was awesome. I have to admit, the normal Ashwin-coolness was not on view on the first debate, since I was probably as nervous as anybody in the auditorium. However, in a about half an hour, I knew I was the boss (well to be fair the Secretary General was as much of a boss as I was, but never mind).

The quality of debates this year? Decent. I would not go as far as to say that they topped last year's heroics, but there were moments that certainly stick in the brain. I believe the Zimbabweans pissed numerous delegates off - I for one wholeheartedly back their ridiculous antics - MUN is supposed to be as much fun as it is supposed to be educational, and I believe Zimbabweans epitomized that particular theory of mine.

I must say, it was hard to adjust to normal life afterwards. I need to realize that no longer will people shut up immediately after being instructed to do so, and people will also not always bend to me if I bang a gavel. I’m not sure when I’ll get to feel that in-control and powerful ever again!

Full credit also goes to Michelle and Lawrence for being great Parlimentarians. They were the ones that counted the number of times I banged my gavel, which provided some interesting statistics later on, in the HKMUN press. Also, a word for Daniella, the Secretary-General - although I must have broken around 12326 MUN rules (as Aditya Balasubramanian quite eloquently pointed out, on 12326 occasions), it was all worth it, because the quality of her speeches was really quite staggering, bordering on unbelievable!

Although I said immediately after MUN that I wouldn’t want to be President again, I take that back. I would love to be the President again.

In the words of President Bhat, and the many Chairm(e)n (and Chairwomen, to be politically correct) before me, I shall now 'conclude' this little summation of my Presidency with the words I said 1,232,043 times in 2 days:

"Delegate, please conclude."

An Indian cricket fan's ridiculous optimism, or a chillingly accurate prophecy? Find out in 2007.

India will win the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

You heard it here first.

After seeing India demolish Sri Lanka, tackle a 20-unbeaten-games-on-a-trot South African team without Sachin scoring any runs, and then seeing India romp home 4-1 against Pakistan IN Pakistan, I am now fairly convinced that India, along with Australia, are one of the top two contendors for the trophy. Going by the law of averages, since Australia have already won the damn thing twice in a row in 1999 and 2003, it will be India's turn, come 2007.

Why? There are many reasons that I can put forth to bolster my argument. However, I will give only three - and such are my arguments, that I feel that these three points will be more than enough to summarize all that I feel is good about Indian cricket right now.

Reason no.1 why India will win in 2007 - DHONI. That one word carries a million meanings, because he is a million things to million people. Some say he is a slogger, some say he is a raging-bull, some say he is a "rock star" (quote unquote Ravi Shastri), some love his hair (including Pakistan's very own Prez Parvez). But to me, Dhoni is a cross between Michael Bevan and Shahid Afridi - ie - a Shahid Afridi with a brain. When Shahid thinks about the game (once in ten matches), he is destructive. Dhoni? He may not look like he is thinking when he is biffing 150kph short balls over cow corner, but he thinks in 10/10 matches. Thats why he averages well over 50s in ODIs, with a S.R. in excess of a 100. Unbelievable.

Reason no.2 why India will win in 2007 - The young brigade of pace bowlers. We all know that Pathan, Zaheer and Agarkar (Nehra?) will be loitering around somewhere, bowling their seam ups and bringing some experience. But it is the presence of RP Singh, Sreesanth, and promising quickies in Munaf/VRV Singh that really indicates a healthy-as-hell future. Think our bowlers are innocuous? Tell that to the Pakistani batting line up, that never looked like getting a big total thanks to early inroads in ODIs 2, 3, 4 and 5 recently.

Reason no.3 why India will win in 2007 - It's the 'F' word - FIELDING. Jeez our guys can field. India is arguably one of the top 3 fielding sides in the world right now, along with Australia and England. Guys like Yuvraj, Raina and of course Kaif are easily in the top 10 best fielders in the world - and with a safe-as-a-house Dravid in slips, an ever reliable Sachin patrolling the boundaries, and other committed youngsters, this team looks set to truly emphasize what 'catches win matches' means.

Am I a dreamer? Am I being optimistic? Some would remember me being cocksure that India would win the WC Final in 2003. I was wrong. Terribly wrong. This time - I won't be. I am a firm believer in the law-of-averages, and if you look at the batting average of MS Dhoni, you will realize why I regard statistics highly.

I shall end with a quote of NS Sidhu, that truly embodies my beliefs (and his slightly twisted ones too): "Statistics are like mini-skirts. They reveal more than they hide!"

The woes of watching India lose in cricket

Why I can’t stand it when India loses a series:

1. It is difficult to enjoy anything for at least a day after the loss, since I always dwell on where India went wrong. Pasta doesn’t taste any good, the ice-cream does not register on the tongue, and the funny TV show appears lame.

2. Some idiot somewhere in India stones a house, burns an effigy, paints a car black, etc.

3. Faggot past-cricketers attempt to analyze why India went wrong. Their analysis is always incorrect.

4. I try and stay clear of Cricinfo, succeed for two days, then go back on to check some other games’ score, and in the background read some comment like “India – misfortunes reappear”, or “A story of unfulfilled promises”. Hate those damn articles.

5. People say Sachin is past it.

6. India drops in the rankings.

Making Frito's acquaintance

The day I bowled Phil DeFreitas.

Phil DeFreitas. Over 10,000 First-Class runs. Over 1200 First-Class wickets. Me? Around 100 runs in Hong Kong’s First-Class cricket. Around 20 wickets.

To say the odds were a bit heavily stacked against me would probably be the understatement of the year. Yet, as (Frito) DeFreitas took a few steps down the track, I pitched the ball up, got it to swing, got Frito to try and bash it out of Kowloon, and took his leg stump out of the ground.

I ended up with my best bowling performance ever in Hong Kong’s Sunday League; 13-6-25-4. To those who don’t know cricket, let’s just say that those are good figures. Out of my 4 wickets, one was Hong Kong’s captain Tim Smart, one was Ryan Eagleson (ex Ireland player, and current Hong Kong Player). And DeFreitas.

Someone once said that cricket is a great leveler. I found that out whilst batting during the same match; I was out LBW first ball. And that too by some dude who got cracked for 4 fours in his previous over.

Aw, who the hell cares. I got DeFreitas out. Smoke that, buddy.

India winning the HKG Sixes '05 - Amazing!

This is an article I wrote on the Hong Kong Sixes 2005 for Cricinfo (October 2005). For some reason, they didn't accept it. What the hell.

Wow. India won the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes. For the first time ever, the Indians made it happen here in Hong Kong. They had reached the final once before, in 1996, and lost it to West Indies. Nine years on, and who should they beat, but West Indies, in the final of one of the most anticipated cricket tournaments in the world.

For all the excitement and thrilling moments in the tournament courtesy India, the final was, to put it simply, a bit boring. India had chased down 56, 75 and 67 prior to the finals, and the prospect of hunting down 73, in five 8-ball overs (all the other matches that India played contained five 6-ball overs) almost appeared ‘easy’. Not that the final was wholly devoid of tension; seeing the consistent Bangar’s leg stump flying around in the hazy air of Hong Kong, and the magical Sodhi getting caught for not too much did not ease any Indian fan’s nerves. However, Robin Singh and Kanitkar forged an unexciting yet extremely important partnership, to take India to victory. India’s victory in this tournament is perhaps even more important in light of the fact that the actual Indian team has only won a single final in their last fifteen attempts, in proper ODIs. I have not been so excited as an Indian cricket fan for a long, long time.

Earlier in the tournament, India roared back from a loss to the West Indies in their first pool match, to rout South Africa, and then beat Pakistan in a thoroughly entertaining game. Chasing 75 for victory, Bangar caressed and prod balls to the 40-45 meter long boundary in the ‘Kowloon Cricket Club’ to hit 24 in the first 5 balls of the Indian innings, which proved to be invaluable, as all the pressure was lifted. Sodhi, the entertainer that he is, ensured that nobody in the crowd forgot this win for a while, by smashing a 6 to get India to victory. The celebrations by the Indian team members made me wonder for a second whether this was a World Cup game!

However, the most exciting match that India played came against the Sri Lankans. The interesting thing about this 40 minute game was that it only got interesting in the last five minutes. India did well to bowl out SL for 68, and after ambling along for 4 overs, realized that they now needed a daunting 19 of the last over. Sunil Joshi tried to heave the first ball, and missed completely. 19 off 5 required, and the traditional “It’s over” look given by Indian fans was on view. A six of the next ball was nice to see, but 13 off 4 was still tough. Next ball – six more. This one truly got the crowd going; 7 off 3 was still difficult, but not impossible. The equation then came down to 6 needed of 2 balls. Being an Indian, I had not cheered much for the last two sixes, because I was only too familiar with India flattering to deceive in cricket matches. This time, however, India was up for it. Sodhi sent the next ball sailing way over the ropes, and secured an incredible victory, that will remain etched in my memory for a long, long time.

It was just a 5-over tournament. Only 3000-odd people were in the crowd. A good majority of the players in the tournament were nowhere close to being household names. Yet, it turned out to be the best tournament I have ever witnessed. It had a certain drama about it. Every ball provided pure entertainment. People ranging in ages from three to eighty-three were present. People ranging in heights from 2 feet to 7 feet were present. But more importantly; it was the presence of the victorious Indian team which really struck a chord, and set Hong Kong alight, albeit for just a few hours.