the last semi final

Mood : Ecstatic

Listening to : Billie Holiday

Chennai just won the IPL semifinal against Mohali. Dhoni vs. Yuvraj.

Its not as if it was a match that went down to the last ball. It was a pretty straight forward match, and it was pretty obvious that Chennai could bag it. A good 100 partnership between Raina and Parthiv made all the difference. Punjab had set up a very meagre total of about 116. All Chennai had to do was focus and win it.

Ntini was awarded the man of the match and it was well deserved. His enthusiasm and energy in the field was thrilling and his big smile would put any non-supporter to shame. He, along with Dhoni, commented on the fact that there were many people in Mumbai supporting Punjab and there was a sparsity of Chennai fans. In spite of that, Chennai performed brilliantly, by fielding tightly and bowling even without giving an inch(except that last over by Balaji).

Finally commentator Arun Lal asked Dhoni whether he even faced pressure...(he should have asked that when Dhoni was giving his 10th class Board!)...and Dhoni, diplomatic that he is, said "Well, ofcourse.." but amended by saying that he concealed it well! This is partly my reason for supporting Chennai; I dislike Mohali because of its rather brusque captain who did not perform well at all in the series. He relied too heavily on Marsh, who was a very dark horse. But other than that, Singh has relied more heavily on his bowlers who, tonight, could not defend such a sparse total.

I still don't know whom to root for in the finals. Its India vs. India.

Lets see....

Cricket and Inflation broadcast

Mood : Bored, Pensive, Irritated, Frustrated..awaiting.

Today is the big semifinal. Delhi Daredevils vs. Rajasthan Royals.

I was keeping my fingers crossed for Delhi. They played well in their earlier matches, but were very shabby in the latter. Wondering how they even managed! But now they are facing the Royals who have lost just 2 to 3 matches in total. With the likes of Warne, Pathan and "the younger boys" that they have, they might total Delhi out. I'm not sure what chances Delhi has of going to the finals. Seems like today its sudden death! Many are hoping that Delhi and Chennai make it to the finals like Morkel and me, but that looks to be seen.

In other more important news, seems like price of petrol and diesel may escalate but not to rupees 10....no....its just between rs.2 to 5. Well, isn't that a relief...five bucks...which is now being called a moderate hike ! All this results from what I call the spiralling effect, when our dear Finance minister decided to forgo the farmers loans and did not think of any other way to earn that money...! Then Mr. Gandhi decided to increase that loan further, without thinking about substituting any other means of earning that....this along with the increase in the salaries of the IAS... SUPER..

WELCOME TO THE 8.1% inflation!

The difference between Clench and Grind

I decided to celebrate the end of my exams with a visit to the Dentist. Call me adventurous, but I like to live on the edge. A few months of toothache, coupled with occasional disprins twice a week will make you fret a bit or more. After diagnosis, the result was 4 cavities and the BIG ONE, a Root Canal. Pain I was prepared for, along with loss of liquid cash.
All in all, it did not turn out too bad. Still the last day was eventful, with the assistant dentist, asking me to clench my teeth by which he meant that I should imagine eating food. I mistook that for grinding my food, which I think is the way one eats food. So just to prove that I am right, here’s what my Oxford Genie says :

To clench : when you clench your hands and teeth… you press them together tightly, usually showing that you are angry, determined or upset
To grind : to break or crush something into very small pieces between two hard surfaces or using a special machine (drill).
Turns out, my five years in literature haven’t been a wasting!

2. On the other hand, I just finished reading an easy biography on Al Capone (do not read as Wikipedia entry). It was fun, neutral attempt to capture his personal life and events in a less serious tone. It was fun to read about him, because I haven't seen Scarface but heard just rave reviews. After Capone, I started with an assorted Whodunit series. Lets see how that goes cause I'm a sucker for those. Wondering whether I should buy the Twilight series or just be happy with the movie version...

3. On the sports side, IPL is fun to watch...Delhi being in the semis is a bonus too. The problem is that they'll be facing the Royals; Rajasthan Royals, not the Challengers! Raikkonen's battling with Hamilton for the top spot.....EXCITING...mind numbing to watch Kimi get no points along with driving Sutil out...!! BAH

4. Loved this game called Submachine. Technical and escape/maze game. Start with part one here...very easy....then follow it up with part2, part3 and part4. There's also one called Submachine zero.

5. Started watching Pushing Daisies and Chuck. Interesting mid-exam snack type.