Last week was full of drama,glamor,glitter,action,class,thrills,suspense & adrenaline rush ! The 3rd test match between Ind & Aus was just too good if you are a Hyderabadi or a Delhite. Initially there were 2 double tons for the very first time in the history of Indian cricket - one from Gambhir's bat & the other from Laxman's blade. Laxman's knock was as usual a classy one, full of drives all around the ground. It happened time and again. Just when the knife is on the throat of VVS, he delivers a wonderful knock & silences all the critics!! This time it was no different. There were many debates on India's fab 4 before the beginning of this Border-Gavaskar series.
On day 5, after TEA of the 3rd Test there came a news which almost shook the complete cricket crazy nation - "Anil Kumble announces retirement !!!". I feel Anil has done a right thing by retiring - not because he is 38, but bcoz he has lost that spark in his bowling ever since he has taken over the captaincy. It was shocking as no one was expecting it to come so early. Nevertheless, I am sure his 19 years service to the INDIAN cricket will be remembered forever and he will remain as a source of inspiration to many upcoming young bowlers. The best part of his career is that he was never ever involved in any kind of controversies ! Its a known fact that, when it comes to cricket, Sachin is still treated as God in India. He has overshadowed almost every other player. We miss Sachin if he is not there in the squad. Lets see if we are going to miss Anil from tomorrow :( Next test match is supposedly Sourav dada's last test match. So another farewell speech is in the offing :( But I sincerely feel he should not retire so early, at least from tests. Test matches is all about having a good temperament & patience. and I think dada still has it in him. Sourav is known more for his captaincy than his skills & will be remembered forever as one of the strategist, as a thinking captain. Dhoni is going to takeover his legacy(not from Kumble or Dravid.... from Sourav!).
Out came the newest sensation, the wonder kid, the prodigy - Saina Nehwal ! This 16 year old girl has already created a storm in the world of Badminton. After reaching Semis in the Beijing Olympics she has won two back to back championships & now she has also won the world junior badminton championship. She is definitely going great guns.... jaise guru(Gopichand) waise sishya! Kudos young lady.... keep the spirit alive.... you still have a long way to go! Another Hyderabadi pro in the making. Hyderabad has stampeded its position in two major sports - BADMINTON & CHESS. Badminton is one of those sports which I play & love it to the core..... so the joy of being a Hyderabadi is even more ! I have absolutely no doubt about her creeping into the top 5 in the next few days. Its just a matter of time ..... she is already @ 12 !!
Then came the RACE DAY ! Huhuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !
BRAZIL calling......! This race is considered as the best race in the history of Motor Racing by many people. I feel proud to have watched it LIVE completely (@ midnight 12 IST) even without missing a single lap!! Believe me guys.... it was AWESOME.
Hamilton arrives with a comfortable 7 point lead over Massa. Everyone believed this time only a miracle can steal away the driver's championship from Hamilton. F1 2007 season's last race was also @ Brazil & it has decided the fate of championship. This time around it was a repeat of 2007. But there was slight difference.... last time Kimster(of Ferrari) has snatched victory from Hamilton(of McLaren) & this time it was the other way around.... Hamilton(of McLaren) has pulled the championship from the jaws of Massa(of Ferrari). Massa was at pole and Hamilton was at 5th & Hamiltion needed to finish just 5th to win the title(no matter where Massa finishes) & it was a must win for Massa. There were at least a dozen twists in this race. The end result has become highly unpredictable with each lap! It started with a slight drizzle, so all the team came out with intermediate tyres then changed to dry tyres after few laps as the weather became normal. Few pit stop errors & bad driving from Trulli costed him 5-6 places & Alonso once again showed his class to reach 2nd spot ahead of Kimi!!! After a lot of interesting laps the real drama happened. Hamilton was comfortable at 4th position. 5more laps to go..... in comes rain ! All Cars into pits to change the tyres except one ! That one was Timo Glock(of Toyota) & he decided the fate of this year's championship. 1 more lap to go..... Massa inching closer to the chequered flag.... Hamilton slowly cruising away at 4th position to win the championship. Rober Kubica(of BMW) was a lap down and was just behind Hamilton but still tried to overtake him ! Right behind Hamilton is Sebastian Vettel(of Torro Rosso). Hamilton lost his nerves and went to the insider corner... Vettel took the opportunity to overtake him!! and has done that with ease. The whole scene changed in less than 5 seconds. Suddenly Hamilton is down to 6th from 4th ! 4th is still Glock who decided to stay on track with dry tyres. Meanwhile the top 3(Massa, Alonso & Kimi) have finished the race(almost 30secs ahead of Hamilton & Vettel). Then came the last turn of the the last lap of the race...... this was truely nerve wrecking! F1 @ its very best. Timo Glock has slowed down just before the chequered flag and let Hamilton finish 5th :( All the celebration is Ferrai camp were shattered in seconds. I still doubt if Glock has done it purposefully. Massa wins the race but Hamilton celebrates !
In all..... it was a fabulous week. Hey guys... Renault is planning for a F1 road show in Delhi this Sunday. They are expecting to draw a crowd of approximately 3 lakhs!!! Now thats HUGE....This is going to be a mind blowing one. Now I wish I am a Delhite ! :-)
