mbfarookh

[mbfarookh]

India Miss A Glorious Chance To Add To Their Tally, But Oz Do

The stage was set for the grandest Cricket World Cup Final in the history of cricket. An unprecedented 1,32,000 cricket fans seated in the largest cricket stadium in the world, and the largest virtual/digital/television audience ever were witnessing the proceedings. As a spectacle, it rivalled any Olympic or World Games setting.

Two of the greatest and proud cricket playing nations with a rich CWC history and having the bragging rights of winning more than once (West Indies is the only other team in the club), clashed to pocket yet another coveted trophy.

True to expectations, the final was a spectacle even before the match started. The crowd was treated to a spectacular show by the IAF aerobatic team for close to 15 minutes. In the finals, generally, nine times out of ten the team winning the toss opts to bat first with an intention to pile up the runs and create pressure on the team batting second. It works most of the time, but Pat Cummins calls the toss right and against expert opinion chooses to field first. Main concern being the dew in the evening.

After the usual perfunctory comments by both the captains, the national anthems, and umpteen roars for no reason from a boisterous jam-packed crowd, the players took centre stage. I don’t know what the ICC was thinking, the pitch was not conducive for or befitting a final. However, it would be so for both teams.

The Indian openers realising that the wicket would get slow and would be untenable for free flowing stroke play after the initial overs, decided to make the powerplay overs count. At end of the powerplay, the odds were slightly in favour of Australia. But, soon, with the fall of Iyer Australia established themselves firmly in the driver’s seat.

King Kohli, a veteran of many finals, and Rahul got together to rebuild the innings. They almost took India out of the woods before one delivery got through Kohli’s immaculate defence and rolled on to the stumps. There was a collective moan of agony for Kohli, team India, and the entire Indian supporters both inside and outside the ground.

Jadeja came and went. Rahul lost his wicket to an unplayable delivery from Starc. The stage was set for SKY to showcase his T20 skills, but there remained only the tail to support him. Not an ideal stage at all. In fact, the question on everyone’s mind was whether the tail-enders would last the remaining overs. Bumrah and Shami certainly didn’t.

SKY’s proclivity to allow Kuldeep to hog the strike wasn’t helping India to get crucial runs which were like gold dust at this stage. But it was SKY who perished after an uncharacteristic innings, and it looked like India’s goose was cooked. Again, it was Kohli’s wicket that was the difference between a potential score of 300 and the rather frugal 240 India ended up with.

It was an unsavoury mid-innings break, if you were an Indian, despite all the gaiety and singing. The crowd knew India had fallen far short of what would have been a winning total.

Chasing a small total on a dicey pitch, Australia were circumspect after losing three quick wickets for less than 50 on the board. Once again, Bumrah and Shami were among the wickets.

Travis Head and Labuschagne were the saviours for Australia. They started slowly and cautiously rebuilding the innings with singles and twos. As was expected, the pitch eased out considerably as the evening progressed, and batting became so much easier.

Kudos for the batters for tiding over the difficult period and then enjoying the best batting conditions of the day. Travis didn’t lose his head and Labuschagne was patient enough for the champagne he would enjoy at the end of the match.

That is how they scripted a historic victory. No shame for India, they can hold their heads high for playing some of the most flawless cricket, until now. One bad day proved to be their undoing. Most fans would say losing the toss made all the difference. It is true, but I believe that to be a champion side India must have it in them to defeat not only the opposition but also any circumstances not in their favour.

Travis Head was the chief enforcer who put an end to India’s undefeated run, and what a time he chose?

Well played Australia, for a historic 6th World Cup win. Champagne time!

~mbf~

[mbfarookh]

Tense Battle Between The Proteas And The Kangaroos Ends In An Australian Victory

After the Kiwis flight was grounded by a masterful India, the focus, now, shifted to the other semi-final played in Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

South Africa and Australia clashed to earn the right to meet India, in the finals at the humongous NaMo stadium. The two strong teams play a similar brand of cricket and know each other only too well. South Africa have a slight edge over Australia in ODIs, but this was a knock out game, a semi-final on the biggest stage – Cricket World Cup 2023.

South Africa’s record in the knock out stages of any tournament is less than flattering. In fact, their record is so bad that they have earned the dubious tag of chokers.

It was important for the Proteas to win the toss and bat first if they wished to make a match of it. They’ve had a poor record batting second in this tournament. As such, South Africans heaved a collective sigh of relief as Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat.

At 24/4, the Proteas were beginning to have misgivings about batting first. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Killer Miller took the attack to Australia, a stunning rearguard action mixed with caution and attack took him to a well deserved century. Miller accounted for just about half the runs South Africa could manage, and it wasn’t much.

The Eden Gardens pitch generally plays tricks as the evening progresses, so, all was not lost for South Africa. They needed to bowl tight lines and lengths. However, the opening bowlers sprayed the ball and allowed Australia to race away to sixty in no time.

It was a topsy-turvey game, as Australia lost their way a bit. Australia had a fair bit of luck as crucial catches were dropped and a few umpire’s calls going their way. It was tense cricket all the way as things neared end.

Australia, 5 times champion and more experienced in knock out games held their nerve as the South Africans lost theirs. They created enough chances to win the game, but just couldn’t find the mojo to execute the killer punch.

South Africa once again go back to their shores with the tag of ‘chokers’ firmly imprinted upon their psyche. It has happened too many times for it to be termed an unfortunate coincidence, or bad luck.

Australia are through to the finals and will be worthy opponents for India. Both India and Australia have been in more than one final before and have first-hand knowledge and experience of what it feels like to play a nerve-wracking final.

~mbf~

[mbfarookh]

COVID - Condition Of Viral Infectious Delusions

Sitting at home during the COVID lockdown having nothing to do can be quite challenging. Those were the days when we were literally afraid of stepping out.

We were regularly bombarded with a ton of information (useful and useless) via the newspapers, TV news, and the social media each claiming in their own way that the end of the world was near… well, almost near.

No one exactly knew how to cope with this pandemic. Most people, however, were debating as to whether this COVID was natural or man made, an accident or a conspiracy gone wrong. But, what was beyond debate was the tragic loss of lives. The number of lives lost all over the world was catastrophic.

Human nature is such that it strives to see the funny side of life. It seeks comic elements in the throes of despair. No wonder – ‘life lives in spite of death and to spite death’.

Those were the days when my mind would wander and my imagination would flounder (if that is even possible). I began to think more about bacteria, viruses, and the micro-world. My imagination was working overtime. I began to imagine what would be going on in their netherworld, and I fell asleep…zzzzz…

000-000-000

“Good morning, India! And welcome to the SOS News. My name is Carena Vidis. Today, we bring you the latest on Carona Virus.

The corona virus pandemic has been, so far, winning the battle. In fact, it has taken the entire world to ransom. We’re forced to give it the royal treatment it has been demanding.

It’s the Trojan Horse we didn’t know, that entered our body, until it was too late. And, these tiny warriors have found and opened the chinks in our armour for others to enter and play COVID with our immunity.

We were too lazy, and drunk with our own infallibility, like the City of Troy. However, we have escalated the war against this unseen enemy and hopefully, unlike Troy, we shall win”.

Miss Carena Vidis presses a key and a song comes on…

We shall win no matter what

Never ever say we shall not

It is in our mind and our heart

We look cute but are so smart

We shall win no matter what

The fun nights are about to start

After a long fight I'll have a tart

Fighting with germs is a rare art

I’ll sleep after I tear them apart

We shall win no matter what...

Suddenly, the song is interrupted by a flashing sign…

Breaking News!

“It’s not as if we humans are the only ones saddled with this pandemic, news is trickling in that there are problems in the germ world too”.

Deep in the netherworld of microscopic pathogens; the home of bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms, things were not looking good. Even acute life threatening agents like Cancer, Hanta Virus, Ebola, AIDS etc., were beginning to feel jittery of the new kid on the block.

“Our reporter says…

An emergency meeting was called for and held at the highly secured, fortress like, headquarters of ‘Free The World From Humans’ party.

Cancy Onco, from the Cancer faction and General Secretary of the party, spoke at length about the new threat to their hegemony. The party has a presence in every country and, therefore, it is important to know what transpired in the meeting with regard to recent cataclysmic developments.

Mr Onco, in his opening address, opined that they should all remain united despite the factions in the core committee. He also spoke about the long haul that lay ahead. He requested all factions to bury the hatchet and join their RNAs and proteins to fight the new imposter who was threatening to take over the microbe world.

Onco advised all party members to tune in to the macro world to understand the gravity of the problem facing them. He said the humans were panic-stricken and locked themselves in their houses. Nobody was taking liberties; they also adopted a strict regimen of hygiene and cleanliness. That, according to him, was bad business for the microbe world”.

“We thrive in filth, and the recent focus on purchase of hand sanitizers and house cleaning liquids by humans is driving us out of business”. “We can’t allow that to happen”, he stressed with authority.

Miss Carena Vidis, “We provide you with further specific details received just now through our mole, Mr Gene Marburg, and we believe they are authentic.

Here is rest of the transcript of the meeting…”

Gun Chigun, from the Chikungunya faction, “Sh-t, where did this guy come from, how dare he usurp our territory?”

Jon Den, Dengue faction, “Oh, he jumped parole and hitchhiked from Wuhan”.

“How come, we didn’t know of this dude before”, asked Miss Mos Anophelia of the the Malaria(India) faction. “ Was our intelligence compromised?”

Mr Onco, “No, this guy is adept at disguises, first he appeared as SAARS, then as MERS and now as Carona or COVID.”

There was a collective gasp before an uneasy silence took over. All the members looked visibly shaken.

“How do we deal with this jerk, can’t we send some sharpshooters, maybe snipers, to liquidate this scumbag?” volunteered a confident looking Tubercool Rao of the Tuberculosis(India) faction, also a senior party member.

“No!” said Mr Onco, “Like I said before, he is good at disguises. Our intelligence says that he has many duplicates, as well. He also has access to 1200 WMDs, Protein Bombs, that could destroy the microbe world. So, one mistake could lead to a microbe world war, and we can’t afford that.”

Hiv Aiden, of the AIDS faction and President, “Mr Onco is spot on, we’re hiding with great difficulty from the humans. We must not give away our hideout, even if we have to bear the pain of drugs and chemicals dumped on us”.

Mr Onco’s heart surged with pride as he remarked, “In addition, people from my faction also have to bear the ignominy of Chemo and Radiation. It’s not something for the weak hearted”. He never lost an opportunity to inform the committee of the sacrifices they had made.

“The way the humans are seized with a fear psychosis, I fear they could do something covidiotic and direct their war against us instead of this duffer”; said an enfeebled Scrach Luper representing the almost defunct Leprosy faction.

It was a genuine concern and the old Luper knew a lot more about human behaviour. He was also a highly frustrated relic from the middle ages. He never forgot the fact that if it hadn’t been for a certain Jesus Christ, his faction would have been all powerful and he could have been elected the party general secretary. Now, all his supporters do is scratch.

The atmosphere in the hall was filled with trepidation, but there was also an eerie silence. All the members were lost in their own thoughts. After an eternity of self-introspection, someone dared to speak.

Histos Enteb, head of the ‘Bloody’ Diarrhoea faction and reeking of stale blood croaked, “Why can’t we wait in ambush until this douchebag enters the human body, and then attack him from all fronts?”

Mr Onco, displaying his great knowledge and capabilities, which was one of the reasons why he was successful in clinging to the all-important post, negated the suggestion “Mr RNA Covid, I believe that is his real name, has trained his followers to enter the nasal passage and immediately occupy the lungs.

There, they sit in hiding and multiply and build up an army before they are ready to strike. By the time we realise, it’s too late for us to besiege his bastion. All we can do is sit and pray, this guy can infect humans at an alarming rate”.

Clostros Bots, Vice President FTWFH and also Gen. Secretary of ‘Anti Human Party’ and belonging to the Botulism faction, is a ‘bacter’ who loves isolation and solitude. He seldom speaks, unless there is something worth speaking about. He had been observing the proceedings with a sense of detachment only he could summon. At last he spoke.

“Why do we have to fight this guy and his legion of followers?” He said. “Really, we don’t need to. The humans are doing a good enough job. They are using up all their resources in their war against this Covid bloke. It looks like they’ll succeed in the long run. That’s good for us too, in the meantime, we can lie low and continue to add to our stockpile of weapons.

We also need to develop a reliable defence against the Protein Bomb. After the battle drags on for a year or two, both the parties will be weak and lacking in resources. That will be the time for us to grab the situation to our advantage. If this guy is smart, as I think he is, he will surrender and forced to join our party. Additionally, we can dangle a carrot for him to take the bait, we can offer him the post of Party Spokesgerm”.

“In my opinion, it is good for our business to have him on our side rather than have him working against us”. Saying this, Clostros Bots took a deep breath and slowly sat down in his aluminium can.

The entire committee was struck by the simplicity and clarity of thought. They were wondering why it didn’t occur to them before.

Cancy Onco sprang to the dais and without further ado seconded the proposal. “Has anyone any objections to this brilliant idea?” he roared. All the members stood up in unison and kept on applauding. Cancy Onco took that as a unanimous approval and the motion was passed 121 to nil.

The satellite link from Gene Marburg was lost as he quietly and surreptitiously slithered away from his vantage position moving out with a sense of pride that was not misplaced. He had done his job, now, it was left for us humans to take the war to the nether world of microbes. However, first we had to deal with the immediate job on hand - COVID 19.

Miss Carena Vidis was back on the screen, her face radiant as the morning Sun. She knew it was one of the most important scoops of her ten year career, and she was working non-stop for the last 14 days to get this scoop, if everything went right, she could get a substantial raise.

“This is the SOS News, this was an exclusive scoop we brought to you. Please stay tuned for further updates… and now, the headlines…”

As she was reading out the headlines, she felt a tightness in her throat that wasn’t there a few moments ago. The itching in her throat too was growing… and then, came the first of many coughs. All at once, pandemonium broke loose.

000-000-000

In the pandemonium, I could discern a continuous beeping sound, it kept growing like the horn of a car approaching me. I was groping in the dark to locate the source of the sound, which was now more like ringing. I found something, the ringing stopped. I feebly opened my eyes, my hand was holding a table clock and my forefinger on the alarm off button.

mbfarookh ©