Vishal's Blog

  I try telling my daughter about Diego Maradona but she shrugs and continues playing with her dolls. She escapes when I persist. She never returns so I catch hold of her to tell her about Maradona's dribbles, his audacity, his shrewdness and the ‘Hand of God’. She listens as if un-listening. She enquires about her birthday gift. I tell her I would buy her a no. 10 Argentina jersey with Maradona’s name printed at the back. She makes faces and is not interested. Knowing well that lives of great sportsmen can inspire, I hit the keyboard to draft a letter for her to read in the future… to tell her about Maradona hoping she would seek inspiration from it few years down the line. That letter goes this way…   My dear Vidita, Diego Maradona? Who? You’d wonder. Different things to different people, I’d say. To some he was like a graceful dancer with the ball at his feet. To others he was a brilliantly gifted footballer but also flawed. To many like me, he was a gen...

  In the SPOTLIGHT 1) This picture is from the beautiful Tadoba WLS clicked in 2018. This guy is a celebrity cub and is known as Chota Matka. The name is derived from Matkasur, the tiger who fathered him.  2) This picture is of the beautiful Tigress Noor clicked in Ranthambhore in 2020 sighted on the fourth safari followed by three luckless trips on that weekend 3) This again is Noor. As I mentioned, she was sighted on our fourth safari and stayed with us for a good 45 minutes presenting infinite opportunities to go berserk with the camera 4) The below is the picture of a Tigress known as Devado - female. She was born in the vicinity of that village hence the name.  5) As you can make out, the tigress was a moving away from our vehicle but miraculously stopped for a second or two to pose for us. 

‘Dipa, will you perform the Produnova? The question was posed to Dipa Karmakar (the first Indian female gymnast to qualify for Olympics) by her coach Bishweshwar Nandi before the Common Wealth Games (CWG) to which she replied - ‘Yes, Sir. I am willing to even jump from the second floor of a building to win.’ While reading her biography (Dipa Karmakar – A small wonder), I stop for a while to open YouTube on my phone to watch the video of Rio 2016 when she performed the deadly Produnova vault. I had a distinct memory of the picture in which the young Indian gymnast was reaching out to embrace her emphatic coach after a superlative performance. The action begins with an elegant and graceful looking Dipa Karmakar approach the podium. She is cool under pressure which speaks volumes about the mindset and temperament of a young Indian in her mid-twenties. Having narrowly missed a podium finish in CWG 2010, she won a bronze at the CWG 2014 performing Produnova but her hand had inadve...

    By the time of your reading this one, Australia has won the first test match by 8 wickets. In my mind’s eye, I could see Virat Kohli packing his bags, preparing to leave for India for the birth of his first child.   I still believe the Indian captain is the only one capable in the current lot to take the team forward after a performance which was lacking in intent but sadly, he will not take any further part in the series leaving severe headaches for Rahane & company to deal with. The Indian team was all out for a paltry 36 and the way they surrendered was unprecedented .   One of the reasons why India lost was of course the start provided by the openers wasn’t good as it should have been… specially Prithvi Shaw the under-19 sensation.   We have seen Rahul Dravid on many occasions and in Adelaide as well when in 2003 he singlehandedly won us a test match. Whenever Dravid played it appeared he treated every delivery with utmost respect be it his fir...

What’s my take on the Concussion Substitution controversy? England Vs Australia – Second test at Lords - 2019 In the first innings, Steve Smith was batting on 80 and was well placed for a longer one. One of Jofra Archer’s deliveries bowled at 148 kph rose menacingly to hit the batsman on the neck. A dazed Smith languidly walked off with uncertainty looming over his further participation in the match. He later returned to add 12 more runs to his tally before he was trapped leg before on 92. Cricket Australia announced that Smith will not able to participate in the match any further. The Australians took advantage of the new rule of ‘Concussion Substitution’ allowing them to make a like-for-like replacement of the injured player. Steve Smith was thus replaced by another batsman Marnus Labuschagne. In the second innings, needing 264 to win, the Australians were in a precarious position when Labuschagne walked in the middle. He scored a patient 59 to help his team draw the match....

    Why am I a Federer fan and would always be?   In 2001, the game of tennis was nicely placed with some good young players coming up. None, however had challenged Pete Sampras, the reigning champion on grass so far.   At Wimbledon, he was the defending champion having won seven titles in the past eight years. In the fourth round, his opponent was a pony-tailed Swiss teenager named Roger Federer playing for the first time on the Centre court.   Watching Federer play some delightful strokes that day made me feel like an amused child watching a skilled magician perform jaw dropping tricks.   One particular moment in the match I so vividly remember was my perfect Federer-moment.   Here’s what happened -   The first set of the intriguing match was locked at 6-6 and Sampras was leading the tie break at 4-3 with Federer serving.   He emphasized  with a chest high serve. Sampras jumped back and returned with a backh...