It's 4:00 p.m., and if things are going according to plan, the ACL finals should be in progress now. It's time for the final post!
Let me start off by sharing how this blog came into existence. The idea came to my mind almost as soon as plans for the ACL were announced. After all, every prestigious cricket league needs its own anonymous blogger! Once team owners had been identified and bidding began, I decided it was time for me to start!
But first, I was going to need help - we have 2 offices, and I could only cover one without arousing suspicion. Fortunately, I found not one but two ideal accomplices - they helped gather information, mis-direct the public, and even wrote parts of the blog. They were especially creative in assigning some of my favorite nicknames. Most importantly, they were able to maintain complete secrecy on my, or should I say, our identity. Thanks team! We did it!
That our identity has been well-hidden is evident from the fairly well-distributed voting on the blog (apart from the two obvious choices) - very few people have picked out the correct answer(s)! I even hinted that the answer lies in analyzing who has been around for most the matches, but very few people seem to have picked up on it. Some of you data-driven types may have been misled by the post timestamps - blogger allows posts to be scheduled in the future (like this one), and also allows blogs to be posted with old time-stamps.
Anyway, enough detail - back to the story of the blog. The next step was to announce the existence of this blog. I created a Gmail ID and sent out emails to 12 people. I didn't, however, anticipate that our high-tech mail servers would send some of these to people's Junk E-mail folders. Fortunately, enough people got the note, and before long, several people knew about the blog. The rest, as they say, is history.
Before I come to the all important part, let me say how wonderful it's been to see people enjoying our work. It's been truly rewarding for all of us who've been associated with it. For those who many not have appreciated being featured here, I apologise for any trouble this has caused you. All comments on the blog have always been meant in humor, and have hopefully always been received that way.
Let me also share some metrics from the blog - since inception, we have had over 4,100 page hits, with the average person staying on the site for approximately 2m 40s. That's a pretty substantial productivity loss. Interestingly, while most people have accessed this blog from the office, my site meter shows that 80% of visitors connected via "dial-ups" - says something for our network, huh?
Finally, to the important part - Who am I. Quoting from the movie 'Analyze This' - "Who am I? Who am I is a question for the ages. That's the one we're all searching for, to find out who I am, who's in there, who wants to come out and say, 'Hey, I'm hungry'".
So, on that note, it's goodbye from me! See you in Season 2 :)
P.S.: Many of you have read the fakeiplplayer blog - you really didn't think I was going to reveal myself, did you?
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Second-Last Post
Thank you to everyone who has voted! The poll is now closed.
My final post is also ready, and will automatically appear on the blog at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, while I'm watching the finals. That way, the suspense can last another 2 days! (don't you just love Blogger!)
Don't forget to check back tomorrow!
My final post is also ready, and will automatically appear on the blog at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, while I'm watching the finals. That way, the suspense can last another 2 days! (don't you just love Blogger!)
Don't forget to check back tomorrow!
What's The Right Punishment For A Fake Faker?
Humpty Dumpty has just sent out another of his stupid emails, announcing fake results to a fake contest. I'm going to be the bigger man and just ignore him. Humpty - please consider yourself ignored.
Don't forget to vote for the real fakeaclplayer, right here. Voting closes shortly!
Don't forget to vote for the real fakeaclplayer, right here. Voting closes shortly!
Semis/Finals Predictions
Before I get into predictions, an important message - If you haven't already voted for who you think I am, please do so now. Voting closes at 5:00 p.m. today!
Semi 1 - Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Osama's Taliban
The Anda-Bondas go into this match on a high - they're the top-ranked team in the ACL. And they should feel good about it, even though it's actually because the Vindaloos lost their final game, and not because the Anda-Bondas did anything special.
I call the Anda-Bondas to win this one - Supari Gupta is a player for big occasions, and they don't get much bigger than this. KaaliZabaan will need to come good tomorrow as well. Betaal can also feel positive - this opposition did not complain to the umpires about his bowling.
The Taliban have been hugely inconsistent so far, so a lot will depend on which Taliban team shows up - the one that beat the Vindaloos, or the one that tied with the Crayditors. My prediction is that the latter team will show up. Shikari Shambhu is their big-game player, and can easily turn a game around on his day. Babbar Pasha will need to be at his best to keep Supari quiet. The other key element here is Osama - his team were awesome when we wasn't there to support them. He needs to learn from that.
Semi 2 - Big Vindaloos Vindaloos v/s Psychat's Merchants
I'm wary of predicting anything here, given my poor track record with the Merchants. I'm, however, going to go with a win for the Merchants. Yes, that's right, I call the lower-ranked team to win.
The Merchants will be lifted by the return of HeyRam - without him, they managed to give the Vindaloos a good fight. With him, they'll be confident of "crushing" the Vindaloos.
The Vindaloos have successfully thrown off the tag of favorites - I think they may even have deliberately thrown away the game against the Taliban because they were that worried about being seen as favorites. I think that's a problem. When your opponent is scared of you, that's half the battle won. No one is afraid of the Vindaloos any more. And what's more, bad attitude and sportsmanship is only tolerated from winners, not from losers.
On a side note, I heard an interesting take on the Vindaloos loss to the Taliban - that they were under pressure to maintain their 100% record, and choked!
Finals - Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Psychat's Merchants
Once again, I'm wary of predicting any game where the Merchants are playing. However, I call the Anda-Bondas to win. They played the Merchants on day one of the contest, and won fairly comfortably. Like that game, I see this one turning into a HeyRam/Supari contest too, and this one could be decided by whoever plays better on the day.
The Anda-Bondas will have one big advantage - a 2-hour break after their first game. The Merchants, on the other hand, will end up playing 40 overs back-to-back.
Semi 1 - Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Osama's Taliban
The Anda-Bondas go into this match on a high - they're the top-ranked team in the ACL. And they should feel good about it, even though it's actually because the Vindaloos lost their final game, and not because the Anda-Bondas did anything special.
I call the Anda-Bondas to win this one - Supari Gupta is a player for big occasions, and they don't get much bigger than this. KaaliZabaan will need to come good tomorrow as well. Betaal can also feel positive - this opposition did not complain to the umpires about his bowling.
The Taliban have been hugely inconsistent so far, so a lot will depend on which Taliban team shows up - the one that beat the Vindaloos, or the one that tied with the Crayditors. My prediction is that the latter team will show up. Shikari Shambhu is their big-game player, and can easily turn a game around on his day. Babbar Pasha will need to be at his best to keep Supari quiet. The other key element here is Osama - his team were awesome when we wasn't there to support them. He needs to learn from that.
Semi 2 - Big Vindaloos Vindaloos v/s Psychat's Merchants
I'm wary of predicting anything here, given my poor track record with the Merchants. I'm, however, going to go with a win for the Merchants. Yes, that's right, I call the lower-ranked team to win.
The Merchants will be lifted by the return of HeyRam - without him, they managed to give the Vindaloos a good fight. With him, they'll be confident of "crushing" the Vindaloos.
The Vindaloos have successfully thrown off the tag of favorites - I think they may even have deliberately thrown away the game against the Taliban because they were that worried about being seen as favorites. I think that's a problem. When your opponent is scared of you, that's half the battle won. No one is afraid of the Vindaloos any more. And what's more, bad attitude and sportsmanship is only tolerated from winners, not from losers.
On a side note, I heard an interesting take on the Vindaloos loss to the Taliban - that they were under pressure to maintain their 100% record, and choked!
Finals - Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Psychat's Merchants
Once again, I'm wary of predicting any game where the Merchants are playing. However, I call the Anda-Bondas to win. They played the Merchants on day one of the contest, and won fairly comfortably. Like that game, I see this one turning into a HeyRam/Supari contest too, and this one could be decided by whoever plays better on the day.
The Anda-Bondas will have one big advantage - a 2-hour break after their first game. The Merchants, on the other hand, will end up playing 40 overs back-to-back.
Mid-Week News
We're less than 48 hours away from the big post-finals party! Here's some team news -
The Anda-Bondas are in high spirits. As the team to finish at the top of the table, they have a lot in their favor - an easy semi, a break before the finals, and the "favorites" tag. As Big Vindaloo says, though, the best team rarely wins. Betaal, the team captain, is taking no chances - he has asked Humpty Dumpty not to send any more public challenge emails. The last time Humpty did that, his team lost. KaaliZabaan has been seen practicing his batting in the aisle - specifically everyone's favorite T-10 shot, the Rahul Dravid forward defence. Obviously, he needs to, after his debacle in the last innings.
The Blackbucks have taken their shocking elimination from the tournament as expected - sportingly. They have wished all the other teams well, and moved on in life. Everyish still looks pretty disappointed - he now roams the aisles looking sad. I hear he has now turned his attention to this blog and to me, and that he is using his contacts in the intelligence industry to track me down. For those of you who didn't know this, Everyish used to work for the CIA before he moved here. And they are instructed to assassinate anyone who tries to verify that. If you ask him, though, he'll give you a fake story, just like James Bond says he works for "Universal Exports".
The Crayditors are relieved that their torture is now over. All of them have returned to the real world - attending meetings, doing projects, and reading this blog as outsiders to the tournament. Dushman's "leadership" meetings have suddenly died down. Craydit and Peda are collectively lobbying Lalit Modi and his real-world boss, Great Leader, to investigate match-fixing in the Vindaloos-Taliban shocker. They are demanding a formal investigation, as well as a 10-point penalty to both teams involved, so that the Crayditors can qualify for the semis. What's the point guys? You haven't beaten any of the teams so far. Do you really think playing more games will change that?
The Merchants are pretty worried about their semi. They had not counted on facing the almost-all-conquering Vindaloos. On top of that, they are also worried by the low expected turnout of their fans - 2 of their 3 fans (those are whole numbers, not ratios) have said that they won't turn up on Friday because of deliverables. No worries guys - you'll still have more fans than the Vindaloos. Psychat is also worried by a study conducted by Betaal, showing that the Anda-Bondas have more support at the Village, especially from the smarter sex. Frankly, I'm not surprised - after all, the Anda-Bondas do have more "eye-con" players.
The Taliban are in a state of shock. They were expecting to watch the semis from the sidelines, and still seem to be following the same thought process. They need to wake up. I think they'll only realise that they're in the semis 15 minutes after they lose to the Anda-Bondas. Shikari Shambhu has been seen pacing the aisles at the Village with a new found confidence and self-belief. Babbar Pasha has finally started speaking too ... on this blog, at least, if not in the real world. Osama has been strangely subdued - I think he subscribes to the theory that the higher you go, the harder you fall.
The Vindaloos are celebrating their loss to the Taliban. They have finally gotten rid of the "favorites" tag, and according to Big Vindaloo, that somehow means that they now have a better chance of winning. For some reason, his team mates are buying this nonsense, even though no one else is. Frankly, I think he needs to do a better job on Friday. Against the Taliban, he looked a lot like Brendon McCullum in IPL2 - hands on the hips or behind his head, with a worried look on his face, and not being able to do anything to fix the situation. Like KaaliZabaan, AnotherBun should also be practicing his batting in the aisle - if my stats are right, he's on a hat-trick of ducks.
Finally, thanks to everyone who has cast their votes. However, I'm disappointed with the low turnout - only 58 votes have been cast. I'm expecting at least another 20-25 votes. Please vote soon - the poll closes today at 5:00 p.m.
The Anda-Bondas are in high spirits. As the team to finish at the top of the table, they have a lot in their favor - an easy semi, a break before the finals, and the "favorites" tag. As Big Vindaloo says, though, the best team rarely wins. Betaal, the team captain, is taking no chances - he has asked Humpty Dumpty not to send any more public challenge emails. The last time Humpty did that, his team lost. KaaliZabaan has been seen practicing his batting in the aisle - specifically everyone's favorite T-10 shot, the Rahul Dravid forward defence. Obviously, he needs to, after his debacle in the last innings.
The Blackbucks have taken their shocking elimination from the tournament as expected - sportingly. They have wished all the other teams well, and moved on in life. Everyish still looks pretty disappointed - he now roams the aisles looking sad. I hear he has now turned his attention to this blog and to me, and that he is using his contacts in the intelligence industry to track me down. For those of you who didn't know this, Everyish used to work for the CIA before he moved here. And they are instructed to assassinate anyone who tries to verify that. If you ask him, though, he'll give you a fake story, just like James Bond says he works for "Universal Exports".
The Crayditors are relieved that their torture is now over. All of them have returned to the real world - attending meetings, doing projects, and reading this blog as outsiders to the tournament. Dushman's "leadership" meetings have suddenly died down. Craydit and Peda are collectively lobbying Lalit Modi and his real-world boss, Great Leader, to investigate match-fixing in the Vindaloos-Taliban shocker. They are demanding a formal investigation, as well as a 10-point penalty to both teams involved, so that the Crayditors can qualify for the semis. What's the point guys? You haven't beaten any of the teams so far. Do you really think playing more games will change that?
The Merchants are pretty worried about their semi. They had not counted on facing the almost-all-conquering Vindaloos. On top of that, they are also worried by the low expected turnout of their fans - 2 of their 3 fans (those are whole numbers, not ratios) have said that they won't turn up on Friday because of deliverables. No worries guys - you'll still have more fans than the Vindaloos. Psychat is also worried by a study conducted by Betaal, showing that the Anda-Bondas have more support at the Village, especially from the smarter sex. Frankly, I'm not surprised - after all, the Anda-Bondas do have more "eye-con" players.
The Taliban are in a state of shock. They were expecting to watch the semis from the sidelines, and still seem to be following the same thought process. They need to wake up. I think they'll only realise that they're in the semis 15 minutes after they lose to the Anda-Bondas. Shikari Shambhu has been seen pacing the aisles at the Village with a new found confidence and self-belief. Babbar Pasha has finally started speaking too ... on this blog, at least, if not in the real world. Osama has been strangely subdued - I think he subscribes to the theory that the higher you go, the harder you fall.
The Vindaloos are celebrating their loss to the Taliban. They have finally gotten rid of the "favorites" tag, and according to Big Vindaloo, that somehow means that they now have a better chance of winning. For some reason, his team mates are buying this nonsense, even though no one else is. Frankly, I think he needs to do a better job on Friday. Against the Taliban, he looked a lot like Brendon McCullum in IPL2 - hands on the hips or behind his head, with a worried look on his face, and not being able to do anything to fix the situation. Like KaaliZabaan, AnotherBun should also be practicing his batting in the aisle - if my stats are right, he's on a hat-trick of ducks.
Finally, thanks to everyone who has cast their votes. However, I'm disappointed with the low turnout - only 58 votes have been cast. I'm expecting at least another 20-25 votes. Please vote soon - the poll closes today at 5:00 p.m.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Final Round Match Reviews
2 out of 3 again :(. Here are the match-wise deep-dives -
Merchants defeated Crayditors
This one was truly a waste of everyone's time. In summary, the Crayditors lost. Again. How surprising. Yawn.
The Merchants were always sure to win, especially with HeyRam's return to the team. The Crayditors were always sure to lose, especially without Zen in their team. To set some context, Zen is the only guy in Craydit's team who knows how to play cricket. I'm excluding Peda and Dushman, who should probably be playing in the ARL (Analytics Retirees League) anyway.
For the Merchants, HeyRam shone (as always) with some big hits and some tight bowling. HeyRam2 put in a good performance as well. Peda and Dushman tried to fight back for the Crayditors, but the Merchants eventually won comfortably.
The Merchants end in 3rd place, and will meet the Vindaloos in the semis. However, they'll be worried that the Zen-less Crayditors were able to push the game as far as they did. This "lion" has been looking more and more like an overgrown cat with every game. And let's not forget, this is on their home ground. The other sad part of this win was that it prompted yet another painful note from Radio Bharati. Message for her - beating the Crayditors is NOT an achievement. EVERYONE has done it.
The Crayditors will just be relieved that their participation in the ACL is finally over. They can now relax on the sidelines and enjoy some cricket. And for a change, the loser may not be so obvious.
Anda-Bondas defeated Blackbucks
This was a pretty one-sided game. Supari Gupta starred for the Anda-Bondas, yet again, removing RRC early on. And after B-Shoe fell to a rare rash shot, the rest of the Blackbucks crashed pretty meekly. The Anda-Bondas were left with a ridiculously easy total to chase, and did so pretty comfortably. They were not helped by KaaliZabaan, who'll be embarassed that he mis-read the line of a straight ball. Honorable mention to Betaal - he may not know how to bowl, but he showed that he can field decently.
At this point, the Blackbucks would not have minded so much, and would have been been looking forward to meeting the Vindaloos in the semis. Things were, however, about to take an amazingly shocking turn for them.
Taliban defeated Vindaloos
Yes, you're reading that right. The hapless Taliban, who have been terrible at everything so far - batting, bowling, fielding, sledging etc. - beat the best team in the ACL, and did so in style.
The Vindaloos fielded first and played in their normal rude, mean, intimidatory style. They were on top of things, until the Taliban's Shikari Shambhu decided to take charge. He has been in good nick lately, and decided he would hit pretty much everything for 6 so that he wouldn't have to run for 1s and 2s. Just-Any-OtherBun had a bad day - first dropping a crucial straightforward catch, and then getting out first ball - his second failure in a row. The Vindaloos were clearly in a hurry to finish up and head home - Scoobo and Daffy both perished trying to hit big shots, when even singles would have won the game. PaanParag was out off a freak delivery, and that was just the excuse the Vindaloos needed to practice their umpire-intimidation. Rumor has it that they have a special aggression coach from Australia, and it definitely shows in their game. The decision stood, however, and eventually, the Vindaloos crashed out for 32 (or 33, depending on who you ask). And while I don't have all the stats available, I do believe that is the lowest total for any team in any innings against any opposition in the ACL. Clearly, the Vindaloos are a record-setting team.
Honorable mention for the Taliban's Babbar Pasha - his Murali-style spin completely bamboozled the Vindaloos batting, facilitating yet another top-order collapse.
On a sad note, it seems that the Taliban have followed the Merchants in setting up their own radio station. Radio Anindigo has apparently sent out a Radio Bharati type email, although this was apparently sent to a select, unfortunate few only.
The magnitude of the loss means that the Vindaloos drop to 2nd, and will now face the Merchants in the semis. The last time these 2 teams met, the match went down to the last ball. In the other semis, the Taliban knock the Blackbucks out on run-rate, and will face the top-of-the-table Anda-Bondas.
Take a moment to sympathise with the Blackbucks - the team with the best sporting spirit should leave the ACL with their heads held high. They've proven that nice guys don't finish last - they finish second-last.
Finally, these are my last post-match reviews - my final post will be on the day of the semis and finals, so I won't review them. That final post is also where I'll reveal my true identity. Speaking of which, if you haven't already voted for who you think I am, what the hell are you waiting for? Please do so on the top-right of this page right away. Poll remains open till 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Merchants defeated Crayditors
This one was truly a waste of everyone's time. In summary, the Crayditors lost. Again. How surprising. Yawn.
The Merchants were always sure to win, especially with HeyRam's return to the team. The Crayditors were always sure to lose, especially without Zen in their team. To set some context, Zen is the only guy in Craydit's team who knows how to play cricket. I'm excluding Peda and Dushman, who should probably be playing in the ARL (Analytics Retirees League) anyway.
For the Merchants, HeyRam shone (as always) with some big hits and some tight bowling. HeyRam2 put in a good performance as well. Peda and Dushman tried to fight back for the Crayditors, but the Merchants eventually won comfortably.
The Merchants end in 3rd place, and will meet the Vindaloos in the semis. However, they'll be worried that the Zen-less Crayditors were able to push the game as far as they did. This "lion" has been looking more and more like an overgrown cat with every game. And let's not forget, this is on their home ground. The other sad part of this win was that it prompted yet another painful note from Radio Bharati. Message for her - beating the Crayditors is NOT an achievement. EVERYONE has done it.
The Crayditors will just be relieved that their participation in the ACL is finally over. They can now relax on the sidelines and enjoy some cricket. And for a change, the loser may not be so obvious.
Anda-Bondas defeated Blackbucks
This was a pretty one-sided game. Supari Gupta starred for the Anda-Bondas, yet again, removing RRC early on. And after B-Shoe fell to a rare rash shot, the rest of the Blackbucks crashed pretty meekly. The Anda-Bondas were left with a ridiculously easy total to chase, and did so pretty comfortably. They were not helped by KaaliZabaan, who'll be embarassed that he mis-read the line of a straight ball. Honorable mention to Betaal - he may not know how to bowl, but he showed that he can field decently.
At this point, the Blackbucks would not have minded so much, and would have been been looking forward to meeting the Vindaloos in the semis. Things were, however, about to take an amazingly shocking turn for them.
Taliban defeated Vindaloos
Yes, you're reading that right. The hapless Taliban, who have been terrible at everything so far - batting, bowling, fielding, sledging etc. - beat the best team in the ACL, and did so in style.
The Vindaloos fielded first and played in their normal rude, mean, intimidatory style. They were on top of things, until the Taliban's Shikari Shambhu decided to take charge. He has been in good nick lately, and decided he would hit pretty much everything for 6 so that he wouldn't have to run for 1s and 2s. Just-Any-OtherBun had a bad day - first dropping a crucial straightforward catch, and then getting out first ball - his second failure in a row. The Vindaloos were clearly in a hurry to finish up and head home - Scoobo and Daffy both perished trying to hit big shots, when even singles would have won the game. PaanParag was out off a freak delivery, and that was just the excuse the Vindaloos needed to practice their umpire-intimidation. Rumor has it that they have a special aggression coach from Australia, and it definitely shows in their game. The decision stood, however, and eventually, the Vindaloos crashed out for 32 (or 33, depending on who you ask). And while I don't have all the stats available, I do believe that is the lowest total for any team in any innings against any opposition in the ACL. Clearly, the Vindaloos are a record-setting team.
Honorable mention for the Taliban's Babbar Pasha - his Murali-style spin completely bamboozled the Vindaloos batting, facilitating yet another top-order collapse.
On a sad note, it seems that the Taliban have followed the Merchants in setting up their own radio station. Radio Anindigo has apparently sent out a Radio Bharati type email, although this was apparently sent to a select, unfortunate few only.
The magnitude of the loss means that the Vindaloos drop to 2nd, and will now face the Merchants in the semis. The last time these 2 teams met, the match went down to the last ball. In the other semis, the Taliban knock the Blackbucks out on run-rate, and will face the top-of-the-table Anda-Bondas.
Take a moment to sympathise with the Blackbucks - the team with the best sporting spirit should leave the ACL with their heads held high. They've proven that nice guys don't finish last - they finish second-last.
Finally, these are my last post-match reviews - my final post will be on the day of the semis and finals, so I won't review them. That final post is also where I'll reveal my true identity. Speaking of which, if you haven't already voted for who you think I am, what the hell are you waiting for? Please do so on the top-right of this page right away. Poll remains open till 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Friday, August 7, 2009
And The Nominees Are ...
I had originally planned to publish this poll next week, but Humpty Dumpty's "initiative" has forced me to advance things a bit.
As I mentioned in my last post, I'll reveal who I am on 14/Aug, and that will also be the last post on this blog (I can hear Psychat's sigh of relief!). But before I do all that, let's see what the public thinks. And since I know what I'm talking about (unlike Humpty), let me help you with some nominees. Those of you who are paranoid enough to think that this might be a group effort can select more than one name -
1) Betaal (Anda-Bondas): Fun guy with a good sense of humor. Good communicator. Has good reason to dislike the Vindaloos and the Merchants. Has been around for most of the games, including ones where he wasn't playing
2) Big Vindaloo (Vindaloos): Excellent communicator, good writer. More importantly, present for most of the matches. Allegedly proposed the idea of a FakeIPLPlayer-like blog in an ACL owners meeting (maybe the other owners can confirm this?). Good friends with another nominee, TheyBooDa (see no. 11)
3) Dushman (Crayditors): Seems pretty frustrated with his team's losses. Known to be a good writer. Always comes across as busy, but no one seems to know why. Is this why?
4) KaaliZabaan (Anda-Bondas): Has the literary and creative skills to write in the blogger's style. Has also been present for most of the matches
5) Lalit Modi (Merchants): Everything in the blog carries his stamp on it. Well known for his creative ways to have fun. Known movie buff. Key stakeholder in the success of the ACL. And who else would have the courage to publicly mock their own team, or the ACL commissioner?
6) Osama (Taliban): The writing lines up well with what we might expect from him. Also, his team has been losing all through out - could this be the reason why?
7) Peda (Crayditors): Another one from a losing team. Also, how many people (besides him and Dushman) would dare to poke fun at Lalit Modi?
8) Psychat (Merchants): Most active person on the blog, apart from the blogger himself. Seems so "offended" that most people think it's a big drama. Could be the ultimate mis-direction
9) Supari Gupta (Anda-Bondas): New-comer to the organization, so no one really knows much about him. What's his communication style like? What's his sense of humor like? How much does he know about blogging? No one knows. Has one of the mildest nicknames. Has also attended more games than most
10) Superstar "Master" Reddy (Non-player, Villager): A quiet non-participant so far. Well known for his extreme sarcasm and cynicism. Usually quiet, but hears everything. Has been known to go around assigning nick-names to people
11) TheyBooDa (Non-player, non-Villager): Another quiet non-participant. Known for his writing style and his superior presentation skills. Also usually quiet, with good listening skills. Good friends with Big Vindaloo. Has also been known to go around assigning nick-names to people
12) VackyJacky (Blackbucks): Wrote post-match reviews for the pre-ACL matches. Has been extremely quiet since. Or has he? Not like his team has won much over that time. Interestingly, his is the least covered team on this blog
13) Someone else: Knowing FakeACLPlayer after so many weeks of blogging, there's a good possibility that this is all a hoax and the real blogger's name doesn't even appear here
Please vote in the poll at the top-right of the page. Feel free to leave behind comments on your choice, especially if you choose "someone else".
Voting closes at 5:00 p.m. on 13/Aug. Make sure you get your votes in before then!
As I mentioned in my last post, I'll reveal who I am on 14/Aug, and that will also be the last post on this blog (I can hear Psychat's sigh of relief!). But before I do all that, let's see what the public thinks. And since I know what I'm talking about (unlike Humpty), let me help you with some nominees. Those of you who are paranoid enough to think that this might be a group effort can select more than one name -
1) Betaal (Anda-Bondas): Fun guy with a good sense of humor. Good communicator. Has good reason to dislike the Vindaloos and the Merchants. Has been around for most of the games, including ones where he wasn't playing
2) Big Vindaloo (Vindaloos): Excellent communicator, good writer. More importantly, present for most of the matches. Allegedly proposed the idea of a FakeIPLPlayer-like blog in an ACL owners meeting (maybe the other owners can confirm this?). Good friends with another nominee, TheyBooDa (see no. 11)
3) Dushman (Crayditors): Seems pretty frustrated with his team's losses. Known to be a good writer. Always comes across as busy, but no one seems to know why. Is this why?
4) KaaliZabaan (Anda-Bondas): Has the literary and creative skills to write in the blogger's style. Has also been present for most of the matches
5) Lalit Modi (Merchants): Everything in the blog carries his stamp on it. Well known for his creative ways to have fun. Known movie buff. Key stakeholder in the success of the ACL. And who else would have the courage to publicly mock their own team, or the ACL commissioner?
6) Osama (Taliban): The writing lines up well with what we might expect from him. Also, his team has been losing all through out - could this be the reason why?
7) Peda (Crayditors): Another one from a losing team. Also, how many people (besides him and Dushman) would dare to poke fun at Lalit Modi?
8) Psychat (Merchants): Most active person on the blog, apart from the blogger himself. Seems so "offended" that most people think it's a big drama. Could be the ultimate mis-direction
9) Supari Gupta (Anda-Bondas): New-comer to the organization, so no one really knows much about him. What's his communication style like? What's his sense of humor like? How much does he know about blogging? No one knows. Has one of the mildest nicknames. Has also attended more games than most
10) Superstar "Master" Reddy (Non-player, Villager): A quiet non-participant so far. Well known for his extreme sarcasm and cynicism. Usually quiet, but hears everything. Has been known to go around assigning nick-names to people
11) TheyBooDa (Non-player, non-Villager): Another quiet non-participant. Known for his writing style and his superior presentation skills. Also usually quiet, with good listening skills. Good friends with Big Vindaloo. Has also been known to go around assigning nick-names to people
12) VackyJacky (Blackbucks): Wrote post-match reviews for the pre-ACL matches. Has been extremely quiet since. Or has he? Not like his team has won much over that time. Interestingly, his is the least covered team on this blog
13) Someone else: Knowing FakeACLPlayer after so many weeks of blogging, there's a good possibility that this is all a hoax and the real blogger's name doesn't even appear here
Please vote in the poll at the top-right of the page. Feel free to leave behind comments on your choice, especially if you choose "someone else".
Voting closes at 5:00 p.m. on 13/Aug. Make sure you get your votes in before then!
Lying, Cheating & Stealing
Humpty Dumpty's email is a complete disgrace. I know that mid-year reviews are coming and he probably needs stuff to write about, but this is just plain bad. He's trying to leverage my popularity for his own narrow personal gain.
So let me share some facts. Firstly, Humpty Dumpty has absolutely no idea who I am. He probably has a guess (or 2 guesses. Or 3. Or n), but is by and large clueless about my identity. Let alone my identity, he probably can't even name all the players on his own team (except for Supari). Secondly, he is definitely not my best friend. He speaks to me for about 5 minutes every week, on average.
To see how lost and confused Humpty really is, see point #5 on his email - "All judgements are final, and I will not dispute any of them". Who's making the judgements? Why is Humpty promising not to challenge them? Isn't he running this thing? If not, who is? I'm not, for sure!
So I'm forced to issue a disclaimer, just like companies do for absconding employees. This impostor has no association with me whatsoever. Any person dealing with him does so at his or her own risk.
For those who really want to know who I am, all will be revealed on Friday, 14th August. And it will be revealed right here, on this blog, and nowhere else. Also, stay tuned for the official fakeaclplayer poll, coming this evening, after the matches.
P.S.: Message to Humpty Dumpty, a quote from the movie "Hulk" - "You're making me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry."
So let me share some facts. Firstly, Humpty Dumpty has absolutely no idea who I am. He probably has a guess (or 2 guesses. Or 3. Or n), but is by and large clueless about my identity. Let alone my identity, he probably can't even name all the players on his own team (except for Supari). Secondly, he is definitely not my best friend. He speaks to me for about 5 minutes every week, on average.
To see how lost and confused Humpty really is, see point #5 on his email - "All judgements are final, and I will not dispute any of them". Who's making the judgements? Why is Humpty promising not to challenge them? Isn't he running this thing? If not, who is? I'm not, for sure!
So I'm forced to issue a disclaimer, just like companies do for absconding employees. This impostor has no association with me whatsoever. Any person dealing with him does so at his or her own risk.
For those who really want to know who I am, all will be revealed on Friday, 14th August. And it will be revealed right here, on this blog, and nowhere else. Also, stay tuned for the official fakeaclplayer poll, coming this evening, after the matches.
P.S.: Message to Humpty Dumpty, a quote from the movie "Hulk" - "You're making me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry."
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Final Round Predictions
The ACL is finally approaching its conclusion (thank God!). Here are the predictions for tomorrow's matches -
1) Psychat's Merchants v/s Craydit's Crayditors
A match-up that puts my most accurate predictees (Crayditors, 100%) against my least accurate predictees (Merchants, 25%).
I'm going to call the Merchants to win in a walkover. I can't imagine the Crayditors making the long trip to the Village for a meaningless game. Morale in their camp is understandably low. Craydit still wants at least one win for the tournament, but he has a better chance of winning Rakhi Ka Swayamvar Season 2 before that. Peda & Dushman remain unavailable (Hey Peda - whatz going on?). Zen is threatening to go on strike because of the lack of support he has been getting. Kisna has been complaining that captaincy has put him under a lot of pressure, just like Sachin Tendulkar a few years back.
The Merchants will be happy with the walkover, even if it isn't ideal preparation for the semis. If the match does happen, they'll at least have more support than the Crayditors (everyone else will be playing at the same time). They'll also want to take special care to make my prediction come right this time - a loss might put them in 4th place, and hand them a semi against the all-conquering Vindaloos. Plus Radio Bharati will then need to send another broadcast in the questionable "sporting spirit of Merchants".
2) Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Everyish's Blackbucks
Even though both teams are through to the semis, this is the only match of the week with something at stake. If the Blackbucks win, semi-final spots will be decided on net run rate, and they then have a chance of avoiding the Vindaloos in the semis. A win for the Anda-Bondas, on the other hand, will give them momentum going into the semis, and will cement their place as second-favorites.
I call the Anda-Bondas to win. The Blackbucks are a decent side, but not that good. This prediction could still go wrong if RRC comes up with another brilliant batting performance. B-Shoe is also overdue for a big innings now. Betaal's bowling is always unpredictable, and could swing this match either way. One thing is for sure - he won't be called for chucking, because the Blackbucks (unlike the Vindaloos) are too sporting a team to do something like that.
3) Osama's Taliban v/s Big Vindaloos Vindaloos
Mathematically, a win for the Taliban might still take them into the semis. However, let's remember that this is a team that has lost 3 in a row, surpassed only by the Crayditors. The Taliban also have the worst net run rate in the entire ACL, so a win by itself won't be enough - it needs to be a big one. Practically, the Indian football team has a better chance of defeating Brazil.
Naturally, I call the Vindaloos to win. They will not want to lose momentum going into the finals, and this match is a good opportunity to practice all the aspects of their game - batting, bowling, sledging, umpire-intimidation etc.
One area that the Vindaloos might want to work on is their opening. They have a habit of losing their top-order pretty quickly, irrespective of who they're playing against and who they send in. The Taliban should keep that in mind, lest they start celebrating after picking up 1-2 early Vindaloo wickets.
The Taliban should also feel good if (when?) they lose this one - they will become the second side to qualify to watch the game from the sidelines. Not the most glamorous job, but still important. Well done!
1) Psychat's Merchants v/s Craydit's Crayditors
A match-up that puts my most accurate predictees (Crayditors, 100%) against my least accurate predictees (Merchants, 25%).
I'm going to call the Merchants to win in a walkover. I can't imagine the Crayditors making the long trip to the Village for a meaningless game. Morale in their camp is understandably low. Craydit still wants at least one win for the tournament, but he has a better chance of winning Rakhi Ka Swayamvar Season 2 before that. Peda & Dushman remain unavailable (Hey Peda - whatz going on?). Zen is threatening to go on strike because of the lack of support he has been getting. Kisna has been complaining that captaincy has put him under a lot of pressure, just like Sachin Tendulkar a few years back.
The Merchants will be happy with the walkover, even if it isn't ideal preparation for the semis. If the match does happen, they'll at least have more support than the Crayditors (everyone else will be playing at the same time). They'll also want to take special care to make my prediction come right this time - a loss might put them in 4th place, and hand them a semi against the all-conquering Vindaloos. Plus Radio Bharati will then need to send another broadcast in the questionable "sporting spirit of Merchants".
2) Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Everyish's Blackbucks
Even though both teams are through to the semis, this is the only match of the week with something at stake. If the Blackbucks win, semi-final spots will be decided on net run rate, and they then have a chance of avoiding the Vindaloos in the semis. A win for the Anda-Bondas, on the other hand, will give them momentum going into the semis, and will cement their place as second-favorites.
I call the Anda-Bondas to win. The Blackbucks are a decent side, but not that good. This prediction could still go wrong if RRC comes up with another brilliant batting performance. B-Shoe is also overdue for a big innings now. Betaal's bowling is always unpredictable, and could swing this match either way. One thing is for sure - he won't be called for chucking, because the Blackbucks (unlike the Vindaloos) are too sporting a team to do something like that.
3) Osama's Taliban v/s Big Vindaloos Vindaloos
Mathematically, a win for the Taliban might still take them into the semis. However, let's remember that this is a team that has lost 3 in a row, surpassed only by the Crayditors. The Taliban also have the worst net run rate in the entire ACL, so a win by itself won't be enough - it needs to be a big one. Practically, the Indian football team has a better chance of defeating Brazil.
Naturally, I call the Vindaloos to win. They will not want to lose momentum going into the finals, and this match is a good opportunity to practice all the aspects of their game - batting, bowling, sledging, umpire-intimidation etc.
One area that the Vindaloos might want to work on is their opening. They have a habit of losing their top-order pretty quickly, irrespective of who they're playing against and who they send in. The Taliban should keep that in mind, lest they start celebrating after picking up 1-2 early Vindaloo wickets.
The Taliban should also feel good if (when?) they lose this one - they will become the second side to qualify to watch the game from the sidelines. Not the most glamorous job, but still important. Well done!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
A Bad Day At The Office
1 out of 3 for the week is, admittedly, pretty poor. So in addition to the regular match highlights, I'm going to provide insightful analysis on what I missed in my predictions.
Vindaloos defeated Merchants
Two important factors swung this thrilling game away from the Merchants - HeyRam's absence (my sources had indicated that he might be available for this one), and good away support for the Vindaloos. The schedule change meant that the Village was nowhere near as intimidating as the Merchants have been able to make it so far - but more on that later. I now have only 1 out of 4 right for matches involving the Merchants. Decent consistency, but I need to work on my direction.
On the field, HeyRam2 continued to shine for the Merchants. For the Vindaloos, AnotherBun and Daffy both failed, relatively speaking, but the match was eventually won by the so-far-quiet ScoobyDooby. The man who's also called Scoobo by his FFF (Family, Friends, and Fans) stayed at the crease to guide the wobbling Vindaloos to a thrilling win. An honorable mention to Frustoo Madrasi who became the first fielder to take a catch against his own side - with sportsmanship like that, he's clearly a misfit in the Vindaloos.
So the Vindaloos remain unbeaten, and are already looking to the finals. News from FakeIPLPlayer is that the Kolkata KnightRiders are trying to secure the services of their Bangla Brigade - AnotherBun, Daffy, Scoobo and Kaddoo. All 4, however, have told Shah Rukh Khan that they will join only if Souravda is made captain. More to follow here ...
The Merchants are clearly crushed. The fact that they pretty much snatched defeat from the jaws of victory will hurt. That the Vindaloos, in spite of being the away team, still had more support also carries a message. Psychat has responded the only way he can - printing more arbitrary comments on this blog. I'd delete them, but they're funnier than my posts! The Merchants can look to the positive side though - they play the Crayditors next, and that should help them warm up for the semis nicely
On a side note - I was surprised to see yet another Radio Bharati note, in spite of the loss. I thought it was nice of her to send it. However, the opening few words - "sporting spirit of the Merchants" - almost had me fall of my chair in laughter! And going by the buzz on the floor(s), I'm not the only one. Talk about faking it! For a detailed analysis on the word "fake" and it's harmful effects on mankind, please see Saikat's comment to my last post at http://fakeaclplayer.blogspot.com/2009/07/round-4-predictions.html. It quotes someone called Encarta (new Merchant team member at the Village?)
Blackbucks defeated Taliban
This was a competitive match for the most part, but eventually ended with a comfortable Blackbucks win. My error here is pretty embarassing - I was fooled by the Taliban performance from last week, against the Anda-Bondas. Turns out it was an outlier.
On the field, RRC batted brilliantly for the Blackbucks, scoring half their total. He was well supported by B-Shoe, and this partnership pretty much won the game. While fielding too, B-Shoe was a livewire, and his sharp reflexes clearly put the Taliban under pressure. The Taliban, for their part, got themselves into trouble with their poor fielding - several catches went down, which, for them now qualifies as "meeting expectations". They then made things worse with their poor running - 2 batsman were run out in the first 2 overs. From that point on, the Blackbucks never looked back.
The match was especially noteworthy for on and off the field incidents involving the Taliban's MARshmallow. He threw quite a few tantrums while batting, fielding, and even off the pitch. I think he was just pretending to be upset, just like he (and some of the other Taliban players) have been pretending to know how to play cricket.
The Blackbucks are through, and I'm really happy for them. They're the only team that plays in the spirit of the game (for the most part, anyway), and would be deserving winners of a fair-play award, if it existed (the fact that their isn't one says something for the ACL, don't you think?). Unfortunately, it is exactly this that is going to hinder their progress in the semis.
The Taliban are, well, pretty much out of the semis. Mathematically, they can still make it - all they need is a huge win over the unbeaten Vindaloos, coupled with other results going their way. Practically, I think an ice cube would have a better chance of surviving a hot day in hell.
Anda-Bondas defeated Crayditors
My only correct prediction for the week, and as you'll all agree, the easiest one of the three.
On the field, Supari Gupta succumbed to the menacing Crayditor bowling - hahaha, that would be funny if it were true, wouldn't it? Well, but he didn't do much today. Instead, KaaliZabaan held the innings together, and outscored the entire Crayditors batting line-up himself. It seems KZ now has a new motto - KZ ka bas ek hi vaada, sledging kam cricket zyaada.
Craydit surprised everyone by playing this do-or-die encounter himself. Not like he had a choice - both Peda and Dushman refused to play today. They have realised that the Crayditors are a lost cause, and have started focusing on "leadership" items - endless meetings, "strategic" discussions, statuses, templates, presentations etc.
The match itself was pretty boring to watch - hardly any big hitting, no exciting finish, nothing. It would have helped if the Crayditors had followed my advice and not wasted people's time on a foregone result.
The Anda-Bondas have now all but sewn up second place, and will feel good going into the finals. Make no mistake though - today's performance highlighted their weaknesses for any opponents who were watching. The fact that they still won says a lot for the inability of their opponents to capitalize.
The Crayditors are now out of the ACL semis. On the positive side, they are the first side to qualify to watch the semis from the sidelines. Bravo! They now face the tough task of picking themselves up and heading to the Village to play their last match, knowing that they have nothing to play for, not even pride.
Vindaloos defeated Merchants
Two important factors swung this thrilling game away from the Merchants - HeyRam's absence (my sources had indicated that he might be available for this one), and good away support for the Vindaloos. The schedule change meant that the Village was nowhere near as intimidating as the Merchants have been able to make it so far - but more on that later. I now have only 1 out of 4 right for matches involving the Merchants. Decent consistency, but I need to work on my direction.
On the field, HeyRam2 continued to shine for the Merchants. For the Vindaloos, AnotherBun and Daffy both failed, relatively speaking, but the match was eventually won by the so-far-quiet ScoobyDooby. The man who's also called Scoobo by his FFF (Family, Friends, and Fans) stayed at the crease to guide the wobbling Vindaloos to a thrilling win. An honorable mention to Frustoo Madrasi who became the first fielder to take a catch against his own side - with sportsmanship like that, he's clearly a misfit in the Vindaloos.
So the Vindaloos remain unbeaten, and are already looking to the finals. News from FakeIPLPlayer is that the Kolkata KnightRiders are trying to secure the services of their Bangla Brigade - AnotherBun, Daffy, Scoobo and Kaddoo. All 4, however, have told Shah Rukh Khan that they will join only if Souravda is made captain. More to follow here ...
The Merchants are clearly crushed. The fact that they pretty much snatched defeat from the jaws of victory will hurt. That the Vindaloos, in spite of being the away team, still had more support also carries a message. Psychat has responded the only way he can - printing more arbitrary comments on this blog. I'd delete them, but they're funnier than my posts! The Merchants can look to the positive side though - they play the Crayditors next, and that should help them warm up for the semis nicely
On a side note - I was surprised to see yet another Radio Bharati note, in spite of the loss. I thought it was nice of her to send it. However, the opening few words - "sporting spirit of the Merchants" - almost had me fall of my chair in laughter! And going by the buzz on the floor(s), I'm not the only one. Talk about faking it! For a detailed analysis on the word "fake" and it's harmful effects on mankind, please see Saikat's comment to my last post at http://fakeaclplayer.blogspot.com/2009/07/round-4-predictions.html. It quotes someone called Encarta (new Merchant team member at the Village?)
Blackbucks defeated Taliban
This was a competitive match for the most part, but eventually ended with a comfortable Blackbucks win. My error here is pretty embarassing - I was fooled by the Taliban performance from last week, against the Anda-Bondas. Turns out it was an outlier.
On the field, RRC batted brilliantly for the Blackbucks, scoring half their total. He was well supported by B-Shoe, and this partnership pretty much won the game. While fielding too, B-Shoe was a livewire, and his sharp reflexes clearly put the Taliban under pressure. The Taliban, for their part, got themselves into trouble with their poor fielding - several catches went down, which, for them now qualifies as "meeting expectations". They then made things worse with their poor running - 2 batsman were run out in the first 2 overs. From that point on, the Blackbucks never looked back.
The match was especially noteworthy for on and off the field incidents involving the Taliban's MARshmallow. He threw quite a few tantrums while batting, fielding, and even off the pitch. I think he was just pretending to be upset, just like he (and some of the other Taliban players) have been pretending to know how to play cricket.
The Blackbucks are through, and I'm really happy for them. They're the only team that plays in the spirit of the game (for the most part, anyway), and would be deserving winners of a fair-play award, if it existed (the fact that their isn't one says something for the ACL, don't you think?). Unfortunately, it is exactly this that is going to hinder their progress in the semis.
The Taliban are, well, pretty much out of the semis. Mathematically, they can still make it - all they need is a huge win over the unbeaten Vindaloos, coupled with other results going their way. Practically, I think an ice cube would have a better chance of surviving a hot day in hell.
Anda-Bondas defeated Crayditors
My only correct prediction for the week, and as you'll all agree, the easiest one of the three.
On the field, Supari Gupta succumbed to the menacing Crayditor bowling - hahaha, that would be funny if it were true, wouldn't it? Well, but he didn't do much today. Instead, KaaliZabaan held the innings together, and outscored the entire Crayditors batting line-up himself. It seems KZ now has a new motto - KZ ka bas ek hi vaada, sledging kam cricket zyaada.
Craydit surprised everyone by playing this do-or-die encounter himself. Not like he had a choice - both Peda and Dushman refused to play today. They have realised that the Crayditors are a lost cause, and have started focusing on "leadership" items - endless meetings, "strategic" discussions, statuses, templates, presentations etc.
The match itself was pretty boring to watch - hardly any big hitting, no exciting finish, nothing. It would have helped if the Crayditors had followed my advice and not wasted people's time on a foregone result.
The Anda-Bondas have now all but sewn up second place, and will feel good going into the finals. Make no mistake though - today's performance highlighted their weaknesses for any opponents who were watching. The fact that they still won says a lot for the inability of their opponents to capitalize.
The Crayditors are now out of the ACL semis. On the positive side, they are the first side to qualify to watch the semis from the sidelines. Bravo! They now face the tough task of picking themselves up and heading to the Village to play their last match, knowing that they have nothing to play for, not even pride.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Round 4 Predictions
Round 4 matches have been rescheduled, so I have to come up with my predictions earlier than usual. Message to the organizers - it is NOT a good idea to rush someone who controls the universe (yes, that's me).
This week sees some pretty tight matches. Here are the predictions -
1) Psychat's Merchants v/s Big Vindaloos Vindaloos
Some people are calling this a preview of the finals. While I don't think the Merchants deserve to get that far, this should still be interesting. Lalit Modi has already started the dirty mind-games (is anyone really surprised?), with a plug for the Merchants in his public broadcast. He has also been actively promoting the team at team meetings, lunch breaks, smoke breaks, and any other chance he gets. Seriously, am I the only one who sees a conflict of interest here?
As one of only two Vindaloos at the Village, Kaddoo has been trying to garner local support for his team, without much luck. Apparently, he's even gone so far as to threaten the two home umpires, who, let's just say, have been "lucky" for the home team. Clearly the Vindaloos are feeling some pressure.
With both teams assured of a spot in the semis, some people think there's not much to play for. I disagree. The winner of this one is likely to finish top of the table. That will give them an easy semi-final - either Blackbucks or Taliban. So the winner of this one is, in fact, pretty much through to the finals.
I call the Merchants to win, thanks to their numerous home advantages. The Vindaloos should be okay with that - better to lose now than in the knock-out stages. The biggest downside - yet another irritating email from Radio Bharati, with the dreaded overused phrase "yet another crushing defeat"!
2) Everyish's Blackbucks v/s Osama's Taliban
Both teams remain one win away from a semi-final spot. And that would be a major over-achievement for whichever team makes it. The one that loses can take heart - they wouldn't have been competitive in the semis anyway.
I call the Taliban to win, simply on account of their momentum. In their last match, they looked like they were finally understanding what T-10 cricket is all about, and will fancy their chances this week. The Blackbucks' body-language shows that they are still reeling from last week's massive defeat, and it will take something really special for them to bounce back in this one.
3) Craydit's Crayditors v/s Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas
The Crayditors have shown remarkable consistency in this contest - if they are playing, their opponents will win. That's not likely to end here, so I'm going to call the Anda-Bondas to win. The only way they could lose is by being overly complacent - or by letting Betaal bowl.
I advise the Crayditors to wrap up the game quickly - let's not waste people's time over a foregone result.
This week sees some pretty tight matches. Here are the predictions -
1) Psychat's Merchants v/s Big Vindaloos Vindaloos
Some people are calling this a preview of the finals. While I don't think the Merchants deserve to get that far, this should still be interesting. Lalit Modi has already started the dirty mind-games (is anyone really surprised?), with a plug for the Merchants in his public broadcast. He has also been actively promoting the team at team meetings, lunch breaks, smoke breaks, and any other chance he gets. Seriously, am I the only one who sees a conflict of interest here?
As one of only two Vindaloos at the Village, Kaddoo has been trying to garner local support for his team, without much luck. Apparently, he's even gone so far as to threaten the two home umpires, who, let's just say, have been "lucky" for the home team. Clearly the Vindaloos are feeling some pressure.
With both teams assured of a spot in the semis, some people think there's not much to play for. I disagree. The winner of this one is likely to finish top of the table. That will give them an easy semi-final - either Blackbucks or Taliban. So the winner of this one is, in fact, pretty much through to the finals.
I call the Merchants to win, thanks to their numerous home advantages. The Vindaloos should be okay with that - better to lose now than in the knock-out stages. The biggest downside - yet another irritating email from Radio Bharati, with the dreaded overused phrase "yet another crushing defeat"!
2) Everyish's Blackbucks v/s Osama's Taliban
Both teams remain one win away from a semi-final spot. And that would be a major over-achievement for whichever team makes it. The one that loses can take heart - they wouldn't have been competitive in the semis anyway.
I call the Taliban to win, simply on account of their momentum. In their last match, they looked like they were finally understanding what T-10 cricket is all about, and will fancy their chances this week. The Blackbucks' body-language shows that they are still reeling from last week's massive defeat, and it will take something really special for them to bounce back in this one.
3) Craydit's Crayditors v/s Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas
The Crayditors have shown remarkable consistency in this contest - if they are playing, their opponents will win. That's not likely to end here, so I'm going to call the Anda-Bondas to win. The only way they could lose is by being overly complacent - or by letting Betaal bowl.
I advise the Crayditors to wrap up the game quickly - let's not waste people's time over a foregone result.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
News From The Teams
We are fast approaching the business end of the ACL, so it's a good time to see what's going on in the individual camps -
The Anda-Bondas are in high spirits. As long as they have Super Supari on their side, no opposition is unbeatable. Not that their next 2 opponents - BlackBucks & Crayditors - are likely to cause much trouble anyway. Betaal is excited that his bowling is now considered legal (News flash for Betaal: It isn't). KaaliZabaan has learnt a valuable lesson - matches *can* be won by playing cricket too. Humpty Dumpty has demonstrated fantastic leadership (Psychat: Pay attention) - he over-positioned his team after the first round, but has learnt his lesson. After the Taliban game, I expected another broadcast from him, praising his decision to buy Supari at an extraordinary price. However, he was exceptionally muted - he showed off to only 20-25 people at the ground.
The Black-Bucks remain quiet as ever. They're one team that looks completely terrified of being featured in this blog. Everyish's body language shows that he is quite worried about life in general, and his team's performance hasn't helped. Something special is going to be required to bounce back after their almost-100 run loss last week. RRC has been following his owner's lead, and has also been pretty quiet. I guess he wants to let his bat do the talking. B-Shoe is the only one who continues to wear the look of a fighter - let's hope the other Blackbucks get there soon.
The Crayditors have pretty much given up on this edition of the ACL, and are already looking forward to season 2. Craydit desperately wants at least 1 win, but that's not likely to happen any time soon. Dushman has vowed not to turn up for any other matches, and is scheduling "leadership" meetings strategically. Peda wants to start his own football league, so that he too can enjoy the power to make random decisions, just like the ACL's Lalit Modi. What surprises me is that Craydit is surprised with his team's performance. I've been saying from day 1 that this is a top-heavy team. News from the Crayditors camp is that heads will start rolling shortly - the big question is who? With so much leadership in a team, who will "demonstrate accountability"?
The Merchants have been without Psychat for a few days now. Impact? Zero. Nil. Null. Zilch. Not one bit. Not surprising, given that his only contribution to the team has been making arbitrary statements on this blog. He will be back soon, and that will not have much impact either. Kudos to him on his strategy though - buy overpriced players (including 2 organisers), get Lalit Modi to make rules in your favor, add home umpires and poor sportsmanship, and voila!, a winning team! So they're through to the semis, to no one's surprise. No one's scared of them in the semis though - take the lion out of his den, and you'll find he's just an overgrown cat. KaaliZabaan needs to share his learnings (see above) with the Merchants. On a side note, Radio Bharati continues to inflict her painful broadcasts on people after every Merchant win. Quite a few people have said that they wouldn't mind seeing her "crushed" (please see her emails for context).
The Taliban surprised everyone with their performance in the last game, even themselves. The batting finally clicked (okay, I'm exaggerating - 1 batsman finally clicked), although the bowling and fielding remained pretty much non-existent. If it weren't for the Crayditors, this would be the team that everyone would want to play against. Morale in the camp is strangely okayish - everyone is seeing the 30-run loss to the Anda-Bondas as a positive. When a team starts being okay about losing, that says something. Fortunately, their next game is against the BlackBucks, who are equally poor. This should be a good one - maybe even another tie, like the Taliban-Crayditors match. Like Everyish, Osama has also been pretty muted off late. Surprising for a team that is, incredibly, still on the verge of making the semis.
The Vindaloos are desperately trying to avoid the "favorites" tag. Big Vindaloo has been telling anyone who will listen to him (mostly his own team - no one else pays much attention to him) that "the best team never wins". Pretty much everyone thinks that's a load of $%&@. No one has told him that though - after all, he *is* bigger than most people. Frustoo Madrasi continues to claim that he is the real brain behind the team. Not sure how true that is, but running this team is hardly difficult - just let AnotherBun and Daffy bat, bowl and set the field, and they'll win the game for you. I wonder what Big V's contribution has been so far, besides setting up weekly team meetings?
The Anda-Bondas are in high spirits. As long as they have Super Supari on their side, no opposition is unbeatable. Not that their next 2 opponents - BlackBucks & Crayditors - are likely to cause much trouble anyway. Betaal is excited that his bowling is now considered legal (News flash for Betaal: It isn't). KaaliZabaan has learnt a valuable lesson - matches *can* be won by playing cricket too. Humpty Dumpty has demonstrated fantastic leadership (Psychat: Pay attention) - he over-positioned his team after the first round, but has learnt his lesson. After the Taliban game, I expected another broadcast from him, praising his decision to buy Supari at an extraordinary price. However, he was exceptionally muted - he showed off to only 20-25 people at the ground.
The Black-Bucks remain quiet as ever. They're one team that looks completely terrified of being featured in this blog. Everyish's body language shows that he is quite worried about life in general, and his team's performance hasn't helped. Something special is going to be required to bounce back after their almost-100 run loss last week. RRC has been following his owner's lead, and has also been pretty quiet. I guess he wants to let his bat do the talking. B-Shoe is the only one who continues to wear the look of a fighter - let's hope the other Blackbucks get there soon.
The Crayditors have pretty much given up on this edition of the ACL, and are already looking forward to season 2. Craydit desperately wants at least 1 win, but that's not likely to happen any time soon. Dushman has vowed not to turn up for any other matches, and is scheduling "leadership" meetings strategically. Peda wants to start his own football league, so that he too can enjoy the power to make random decisions, just like the ACL's Lalit Modi. What surprises me is that Craydit is surprised with his team's performance. I've been saying from day 1 that this is a top-heavy team. News from the Crayditors camp is that heads will start rolling shortly - the big question is who? With so much leadership in a team, who will "demonstrate accountability"?
The Merchants have been without Psychat for a few days now. Impact? Zero. Nil. Null. Zilch. Not one bit. Not surprising, given that his only contribution to the team has been making arbitrary statements on this blog. He will be back soon, and that will not have much impact either. Kudos to him on his strategy though - buy overpriced players (including 2 organisers), get Lalit Modi to make rules in your favor, add home umpires and poor sportsmanship, and voila!, a winning team! So they're through to the semis, to no one's surprise. No one's scared of them in the semis though - take the lion out of his den, and you'll find he's just an overgrown cat. KaaliZabaan needs to share his learnings (see above) with the Merchants. On a side note, Radio Bharati continues to inflict her painful broadcasts on people after every Merchant win. Quite a few people have said that they wouldn't mind seeing her "crushed" (please see her emails for context).
The Taliban surprised everyone with their performance in the last game, even themselves. The batting finally clicked (okay, I'm exaggerating - 1 batsman finally clicked), although the bowling and fielding remained pretty much non-existent. If it weren't for the Crayditors, this would be the team that everyone would want to play against. Morale in the camp is strangely okayish - everyone is seeing the 30-run loss to the Anda-Bondas as a positive. When a team starts being okay about losing, that says something. Fortunately, their next game is against the BlackBucks, who are equally poor. This should be a good one - maybe even another tie, like the Taliban-Crayditors match. Like Everyish, Osama has also been pretty muted off late. Surprising for a team that is, incredibly, still on the verge of making the semis.
The Vindaloos are desperately trying to avoid the "favorites" tag. Big Vindaloo has been telling anyone who will listen to him (mostly his own team - no one else pays much attention to him) that "the best team never wins". Pretty much everyone thinks that's a load of $%&@. No one has told him that though - after all, he *is* bigger than most people. Frustoo Madrasi continues to claim that he is the real brain behind the team. Not sure how true that is, but running this team is hardly difficult - just let AnotherBun and Daffy bat, bowl and set the field, and they'll win the game for you. I wonder what Big V's contribution has been so far, besides setting up weekly team meetings?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Merchants Create Accuracy Issues Again
2 out of 3 correct predictions again. That brings me to 7 our of 9 for the tournament so far. Interestingly, both my incorrect predictions have involved the Merchants. Hmmm ... I smell a conspiracy.
Anyway, to the debrief now -
Merchants defeated Blackbucks
The Merchants are truly maximizing their home-ground advantage. Once again, they turned up with their own umpires and sledging band. Once again, it wasn't required. The Blackbucks suffered (and I truly mean that word) the worst defeat of the entire ACL, eclipsing even the thumping that the Taliban got last week. HeyRam was unavailable for this one, but HeyRam2 made sure that the Blackbucks never really got into this contest.
So the Merchants are now through to the semis. It'll be interesting to watch what happens when they have to play away from their ground. I expect Lalit Modi will justify his over-rated purchase price by introducing a few "special" rules as required ...
Anda-Bondas defeated Taliban
The most exciting game of the day, and the highest-scoring game of the entire tournament. This one was eventually decided by the sheer brilliance of one man - Super Supari. To their credit, the Taliban put up a good fight and were significantly more competitive than they were against the Merchants.
This win takes the Anda-Bondas through to the semis. Interestingly, the Taliban are starting to turn around as well. Watch out for them!
Vindaloos defeated Crayditors
No surprises - the Crayditors remain winless, and now need to win both their remaining games to reach the semis. Given that they will be facing the Anda-Bondas and the Merchants, that's looking as likely as Force India winning a Formula 1 race.
The Vindaloos remain top of the table, and are already looking good to reach the finals.
Anyway, to the debrief now -
Merchants defeated Blackbucks
The Merchants are truly maximizing their home-ground advantage. Once again, they turned up with their own umpires and sledging band. Once again, it wasn't required. The Blackbucks suffered (and I truly mean that word) the worst defeat of the entire ACL, eclipsing even the thumping that the Taliban got last week. HeyRam was unavailable for this one, but HeyRam2 made sure that the Blackbucks never really got into this contest.
So the Merchants are now through to the semis. It'll be interesting to watch what happens when they have to play away from their ground. I expect Lalit Modi will justify his over-rated purchase price by introducing a few "special" rules as required ...
Anda-Bondas defeated Taliban
The most exciting game of the day, and the highest-scoring game of the entire tournament. This one was eventually decided by the sheer brilliance of one man - Super Supari. To their credit, the Taliban put up a good fight and were significantly more competitive than they were against the Merchants.
This win takes the Anda-Bondas through to the semis. Interestingly, the Taliban are starting to turn around as well. Watch out for them!
Vindaloos defeated Crayditors
No surprises - the Crayditors remain winless, and now need to win both their remaining games to reach the semis. Given that they will be facing the Anda-Bondas and the Merchants, that's looking as likely as Force India winning a Formula 1 race.
The Vindaloos remain top of the table, and are already looking good to reach the finals.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Round 3 Predictions
Predictions for round 3 of the ACL are -
1) Everyish's Blackbucks v/s Psychat's Merchants
On their day, the Merchants are unstoppable - even when their batting and bowling falters, their home umpires can be counted on to step in and do the "right" thing. Add that to the fact that the Blackbucks are one of the few teams that play in the true spirit of the game, and this game should be easy going for the Merchants.
I, however, am predicting a close contest, with the Blackbucks winning this one, led from the front by B-Shoe and RRC. Whoever wins is pretty much assured of a semi-final spot.
2) Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Osama's Taliban
Both teams will be smarting from their contrasting losses last week, and will want to get back to winning ways. Like the first game, the winners of this one are also pretty much through to the semis.
I pick the Anda-Bondas to win, with Supari Gupta turning in another decent performance. The Taliban will do a better job than last week (can they even get any worse?), but will be out-classed.
3) Craydit's Crayditors v/s Big Vindaloo's Vindaloos
Easiest call of the day. When the top-ranked team meets the bottom-ranked team, the result only ever goes one way. The Crayditors might as well be playing Australia.
For the Vindaloos, AnotherBun and Daffy will turn in solid performances once again, with Big V continuing to lead from the back. For the Crayditors, Zen will turn in another good performance, but will struggle to find support.
1) Everyish's Blackbucks v/s Psychat's Merchants
On their day, the Merchants are unstoppable - even when their batting and bowling falters, their home umpires can be counted on to step in and do the "right" thing. Add that to the fact that the Blackbucks are one of the few teams that play in the true spirit of the game, and this game should be easy going for the Merchants.
I, however, am predicting a close contest, with the Blackbucks winning this one, led from the front by B-Shoe and RRC. Whoever wins is pretty much assured of a semi-final spot.
2) Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Osama's Taliban
Both teams will be smarting from their contrasting losses last week, and will want to get back to winning ways. Like the first game, the winners of this one are also pretty much through to the semis.
I pick the Anda-Bondas to win, with Supari Gupta turning in another decent performance. The Taliban will do a better job than last week (can they even get any worse?), but will be out-classed.
3) Craydit's Crayditors v/s Big Vindaloo's Vindaloos
Easiest call of the day. When the top-ranked team meets the bottom-ranked team, the result only ever goes one way. The Crayditors might as well be playing Australia.
For the Vindaloos, AnotherBun and Daffy will turn in solid performances once again, with Big V continuing to lead from the back. For the Crayditors, Zen will turn in another good performance, but will struggle to find support.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Mid-Week News
Last week's results have had quite an impact on the teams.
The Anda-Bondas defeat has led to a lot of in-fighting. Fingers are being pointed at Humpty Dumpty for taking away the team's element of surprise. On the pitch, KaaliZabaan got his "face-kaala". Daffy Dutta took a special liking to him, and sent the Anda-Bondas on a ball-chase. Humpty has now asked KZ to keep his trap shut and perform, or stay in the office on match-days.
In other Anda-Bonda news, Betaal is still fuming that Big Vindaloo got him banned for chucking. It seems that Betaal is so bad at masking his chucking that even people like Big Vindaloo, who know pretty much nothing about cricket, can blow the whistle.
In the Village, Psychat was seen to be all quiet till the last ball was bowled in the Merchants-Taliban (no-)contest. Me thinks he didn't realize what was going on till Lalit Modi shouted out, "Hey, we've won!". Hearing this, Psychat started to behave like Sreesanth after he gets a wicket.
Craydit, meanwhile, is living in denial about his team's performance. The Crayditors are the only team without a win, and now need to win 2 of 3, the odds of which are similar to Sania Mirza winning a grand slam. Zen wants a transfer to the Vindaloos next season. Peda and Dushman are very demoralized, and are not happy with Kisna's leadership. Looks like a regime-change may be on the cards.
Lastly, a non-descript Vindaloos player, Frustoo Madrasi, has been opening his mouth a lot to offer his special tips and tricks to other players. He claims that he is the real factor behind the Vindaloos success. Lalit Modi is considering handing Frustoo Madrasi a 10-year ban.
The Anda-Bondas defeat has led to a lot of in-fighting. Fingers are being pointed at Humpty Dumpty for taking away the team's element of surprise. On the pitch, KaaliZabaan got his "face-kaala". Daffy Dutta took a special liking to him, and sent the Anda-Bondas on a ball-chase. Humpty has now asked KZ to keep his trap shut and perform, or stay in the office on match-days.
In other Anda-Bonda news, Betaal is still fuming that Big Vindaloo got him banned for chucking. It seems that Betaal is so bad at masking his chucking that even people like Big Vindaloo, who know pretty much nothing about cricket, can blow the whistle.
In the Village, Psychat was seen to be all quiet till the last ball was bowled in the Merchants-Taliban (no-)contest. Me thinks he didn't realize what was going on till Lalit Modi shouted out, "Hey, we've won!". Hearing this, Psychat started to behave like Sreesanth after he gets a wicket.
Craydit, meanwhile, is living in denial about his team's performance. The Crayditors are the only team without a win, and now need to win 2 of 3, the odds of which are similar to Sania Mirza winning a grand slam. Zen wants a transfer to the Vindaloos next season. Peda and Dushman are very demoralized, and are not happy with Kisna's leadership. Looks like a regime-change may be on the cards.
Lastly, a non-descript Vindaloos player, Frustoo Madrasi, has been opening his mouth a lot to offer his special tips and tricks to other players. He claims that he is the real factor behind the Vindaloos success. Lalit Modi is considering handing Frustoo Madrasi a 10-year ban.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Who's In Control Here?
Let me start this week's debrief with a slight digression. In the 1999 movie, "The Matrix", Neo (Keanu Reeves) meets a woman called "The Oracle", who can see the future. Their opening dialogue goes something like this-
Oracle: Don't worry about the vase
Neo: What vase?
(Neo turns around and knocks over a vase. It falls to the ground and breaks)
Oracle: That vase
Neo: How did you know?
Oracle: What's really going to get you thinking later is - would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything?
Back to the ACL - If you've been following my blog, you know that I have a perfect 3/3 for last Friday's matches. And not just the simple who-won-who-didn't, but things like margin of victory and key match-ups. Kind of gets you thinking ... am I really predicting, are matches being fixed, or am I, in fact, controlling the universe? Without sounding too egoistic, I'll let you in on a little secret - it's the 3rd option.
Now to the post-match debrief -
Merchants defeated Taliban
"Defeated" is a huge under-statement. Only one team really showed up for this match. After last week's stinging loss, the Merchants came to the ground with their own sledging party and their own umpires as well. Turns out they didn't really need all that. The Taliban actually managed to play worse than last week, and word from the ground is that they were already out of the game mid-way through the first innings. HeyRam turned in a much-improved all-round performance (as predicted), but the surprise of the match was HammerDeep - his 2 huge sixes and decent bowling spell surprised everyone, including HammerDeep himself.
Sadly, the Merchants haven't learnt from the Anda-Bondas - they're the latest team to issue a public challenge. Me thinks this will end badly for them. A lot of the Merchants are Kolkata Knight Riders fans - one can see them ending up like KKR too.
Vindaloos defeated Anda-Bondas
A high-scoring game saw the Vindaloos edge out the Anda-Bondas in a close contest (both cricket and sledging, exactly as predicted). In the eyes of many, the Anda-Bondas "bit off more than they could chew" and have gotten their "just desserts" (if you don't get the puns, see Humpty Dumpty's public challenge email).
Key match-ups were well predicted. Supari Gupta's wonderful big-hitting saw the Anda-Bondas to what should have been a winning total. AnotherBun Nandi surprised everyone by bowling spin - didn't help; he got hit around extensively. The Vindaloos shuffled their opening combination but started poorly (again). Down the order, though, AnotherBun Nandi held up one end and Daffy Dutta came in late to win off the second-last ball.
The ACL chucking controversy also came to the fore in this match - while it's been a big part of all the matches so far, Big V took this opportunity to raise the stakes. Intimidating umpires seems to be a key part of the Vindaloos strategy.
Blackbucks defeated Crayditors
Again, went exactly as predicted, although this was a fairly low-scoring game. B-Shoe and RRC did well to chase a low total. Zen was outstanding for the top-heavy Crayditors, but couldn't find much support. This was a very poorly attended match, with even both owners showing low interest in the proceedings.
Rumour is that after 2 straight losses, Craydit is now looking to sell the Crayditors, and reinvest proceeds in the stock market, given his expertise. With the current economic scenario however, he may have to take a significant hit on his investment in the Crayditors. The Sensex has responded positively to this development, and is up 1.6% for the day, hovering around the psychologically significant 15K mark.
Oracle: Don't worry about the vase
Neo: What vase?
(Neo turns around and knocks over a vase. It falls to the ground and breaks)
Oracle: That vase
Neo: How did you know?
Oracle: What's really going to get you thinking later is - would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything?
Back to the ACL - If you've been following my blog, you know that I have a perfect 3/3 for last Friday's matches. And not just the simple who-won-who-didn't, but things like margin of victory and key match-ups. Kind of gets you thinking ... am I really predicting, are matches being fixed, or am I, in fact, controlling the universe? Without sounding too egoistic, I'll let you in on a little secret - it's the 3rd option.
Now to the post-match debrief -
Merchants defeated Taliban
"Defeated" is a huge under-statement. Only one team really showed up for this match. After last week's stinging loss, the Merchants came to the ground with their own sledging party and their own umpires as well. Turns out they didn't really need all that. The Taliban actually managed to play worse than last week, and word from the ground is that they were already out of the game mid-way through the first innings. HeyRam turned in a much-improved all-round performance (as predicted), but the surprise of the match was HammerDeep - his 2 huge sixes and decent bowling spell surprised everyone, including HammerDeep himself.
Sadly, the Merchants haven't learnt from the Anda-Bondas - they're the latest team to issue a public challenge. Me thinks this will end badly for them. A lot of the Merchants are Kolkata Knight Riders fans - one can see them ending up like KKR too.
Vindaloos defeated Anda-Bondas
A high-scoring game saw the Vindaloos edge out the Anda-Bondas in a close contest (both cricket and sledging, exactly as predicted). In the eyes of many, the Anda-Bondas "bit off more than they could chew" and have gotten their "just desserts" (if you don't get the puns, see Humpty Dumpty's public challenge email).
Key match-ups were well predicted. Supari Gupta's wonderful big-hitting saw the Anda-Bondas to what should have been a winning total. AnotherBun Nandi surprised everyone by bowling spin - didn't help; he got hit around extensively. The Vindaloos shuffled their opening combination but started poorly (again). Down the order, though, AnotherBun Nandi held up one end and Daffy Dutta came in late to win off the second-last ball.
The ACL chucking controversy also came to the fore in this match - while it's been a big part of all the matches so far, Big V took this opportunity to raise the stakes. Intimidating umpires seems to be a key part of the Vindaloos strategy.
Blackbucks defeated Crayditors
Again, went exactly as predicted, although this was a fairly low-scoring game. B-Shoe and RRC did well to chase a low total. Zen was outstanding for the top-heavy Crayditors, but couldn't find much support. This was a very poorly attended match, with even both owners showing low interest in the proceedings.
Rumour is that after 2 straight losses, Craydit is now looking to sell the Crayditors, and reinvest proceeds in the stock market, given his expertise. With the current economic scenario however, he may have to take a significant hit on his investment in the Crayditors. The Sensex has responded positively to this development, and is up 1.6% for the day, hovering around the psychologically significant 15K mark.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Round 2 Predictions
The second round of ACL league matches takes place tomorrow (if you didn't already know that, which planet are you on?), and predictions for tomorrow are -
1) Psychat's Merchants v/s Osama's Taliban
Even though the Merchants wrecked my prediction last week, I'm going to "demonstrate courage" and go with them for the win again. HeyRam will desperately want to win, in order to silence his critics and justify his high base price. Psychat will also desperately want to win, so that he can resume his verbal assault on people's sanity (sadly, via this blog). This desperation should see them through. The Taliban will need to "raise the bar" significantly from last week's performance (shouldn't be difficult, since it was quite poor) to make this competitive.
2) Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Big Vindaloo's Vindaloos
Closest call of the day. Both teams are on a high after their wins last week, and the winner of this one is pretty much through to the semis. Both teams are fairly evenly matched, both on the field as well as with their sledging. Supari Gupta v/s Not-Just-AnotherBun Nandi will be an engaging contest. I predict the Vindaloos to win in a close match, since Humpty Dumpty may have put some pressure on his team with his open challenge last week. Watch out for off-the-field action too – good sledging will be key to winning this one.
3) Craydit's Crayditors v/s Everyish/Salman Khan's Blackbucks
The Blackbucks should pull this off fairly comfortably. RoyalRoyalChallenger and B-Shoe will need to be at their best, though. B-Shoe will especially want to put his first-ball duck from last week behind him. For the Crayditors, Zen has the potential to be a match-winner (as always), and may be able to swing an upset if the rest of the Crayditors play to their potential.
In other breaking news, the ACL Commissioner has taken to snooping around people's computers to see if they are working on this blog. I also overheard some people on his team mentioning that this has come up in his weekly/monthly/quarterly statuses with them. Mr.Modi - please don't worry about who I am. I will reveal myself at the right time. Until then, you’ll just have to live with me exposing inside information from the ACL to the general public.
1) Psychat's Merchants v/s Osama's Taliban
Even though the Merchants wrecked my prediction last week, I'm going to "demonstrate courage" and go with them for the win again. HeyRam will desperately want to win, in order to silence his critics and justify his high base price. Psychat will also desperately want to win, so that he can resume his verbal assault on people's sanity (sadly, via this blog). This desperation should see them through. The Taliban will need to "raise the bar" significantly from last week's performance (shouldn't be difficult, since it was quite poor) to make this competitive.
2) Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas v/s Big Vindaloo's Vindaloos
Closest call of the day. Both teams are on a high after their wins last week, and the winner of this one is pretty much through to the semis. Both teams are fairly evenly matched, both on the field as well as with their sledging. Supari Gupta v/s Not-Just-AnotherBun Nandi will be an engaging contest. I predict the Vindaloos to win in a close match, since Humpty Dumpty may have put some pressure on his team with his open challenge last week. Watch out for off-the-field action too – good sledging will be key to winning this one.
3) Craydit's Crayditors v/s Everyish/Salman Khan's Blackbucks
The Blackbucks should pull this off fairly comfortably. RoyalRoyalChallenger and B-Shoe will need to be at their best, though. B-Shoe will especially want to put his first-ball duck from last week behind him. For the Crayditors, Zen has the potential to be a match-winner (as always), and may be able to swing an upset if the rest of the Crayditors play to their potential.
In other breaking news, the ACL Commissioner has taken to snooping around people's computers to see if they are working on this blog. I also overheard some people on his team mentioning that this has come up in his weekly/monthly/quarterly statuses with them. Mr.Modi - please don't worry about who I am. I will reveal myself at the right time. Until then, you’ll just have to live with me exposing inside information from the ACL to the general public.
Monday, July 13, 2009
2 Out Of 3 - Not Bad!
2 out of 3 correct predictions isn't bad. What disappoints me is the one I got wrong. Here's the post-match debrief I promised –
Anda-Bondas defeated Merchants
Supari Gupta was a one man demolition army as the Merchants were blown away. Both sides seem surprised by the results, as does everyone else associated with the ACL. Humpty Dumpty may have had a few drinks to celebrate, which could explain his public challenge – Sir, even KKR won one game last year, and we all know where they ended.
Humpty needs to learn from Psychat's experience - all the poem writing and MBSC (Management By Silly Comments) couldn't help his team from sinking without a trace. They had everything in their favor - home ground, star players, and the ACL Commissioner himself. Where do they go from here? One more loss, and suddenly the semis will seem a long way away.
Vindaloos defeated Blackbucks
AnotherBun Nandi's strong batting and good all-round sledging from the Vindaloos saw them edge the close contest (exactly as predicted, I might add). RoyalRoyalChallenger's excellent innings almost took the game away from the Vindaloos, but he ran out of partners at the other end. Both teams, however, gave an excellent account of themselves, and must be seen as early contenders for the semis.
The contrasting styles of both owners made for interesting viewing – Big Vindaloo's in-your-face aggro contrasted sharply with Everyish's calm and controlled approach. Big V may have won the match, but Everyish won more fans.
Taliban defeated Crayditors (via bowl-out)
A very close contest, but one that ends with a big "Needs Improvement" for both teams. Dropped catches, poor running, and weak all-round performance were the standard for the day. The Taliban will feel good that their batting held up, after losing 2 wickets in the first 3 balls, but both sides will rue the number of chances they had to shut their opponents out. Funny and Zen were outstanding for the Taliban and the Crayditors respectively, their performances looking even better when compared to everyone else.
Both teams need to pull up their socks, otherwise they'll miss out on the semis
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Let The Action Begin!
So the 2nd round of bidding for the ACL is now over, and teams have been finalised. With that, it's time for all the drama, intrigue, fun and games come to an end. Now comes the serious stuff. Predictions for tomorrow -
1) Psychat's Merchants v/s Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas: No contest - With HeyRam's ability and Psychat's not playing, the Merchants are all but assured of the win. And if all else fails, Lalit Modi can always be expected to step in and "level" the playing field
2) Everyish/Salman Khan's Blackbucks & Big Vindaloo's Vindaloos: Closest call of the day - Everyish has a pretty decent team, but the Vindaloos with AnotherBun Nandi and Daffy Dutta will probably edge it
3) Osama's Taliban v/s Craydit's Crayditors: The Taliban should manage the win - the Crayditors are fairly "top-heavy", and T-10 is a young man's game.
Stay tuned for a detailed post-match debrief ...
My posts may be a little delayed though. The owners and Lalit Modi are not happy about my blog, and have started a witch-hunt. I saw an email where my writing was referred to as filth! Mr. Modi - you want to see filthy writing? Please see my manager's comments in my last annual review!
P.S.: Rumour from the bidding room is that Osama and Lalit Modi got into a slanging match. Message to Osama - I know you're upset about my last post, but turning into a suicide bomber is not a good idea!
1) Psychat's Merchants v/s Humpty Dumpty's Anda-Bondas: No contest - With HeyRam's ability and Psychat's not playing, the Merchants are all but assured of the win. And if all else fails, Lalit Modi can always be expected to step in and "level" the playing field
2) Everyish/Salman Khan's Blackbucks & Big Vindaloo's Vindaloos: Closest call of the day - Everyish has a pretty decent team, but the Vindaloos with AnotherBun Nandi and Daffy Dutta will probably edge it
3) Osama's Taliban v/s Craydit's Crayditors: The Taliban should manage the win - the Crayditors are fairly "top-heavy", and T-10 is a young man's game.
Stay tuned for a detailed post-match debrief ...
My posts may be a little delayed though. The owners and Lalit Modi are not happy about my blog, and have started a witch-hunt. I saw an email where my writing was referred to as filth! Mr. Modi - you want to see filthy writing? Please see my manager's comments in my last annual review!
P.S.: Rumour from the bidding room is that Osama and Lalit Modi got into a slanging match. Message to Osama - I know you're upset about my last post, but turning into a suicide bomber is not a good idea!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Someone Is Taking Things Very Seriously
Looks like my blog is now famous! Of course, you know you're doing something right when people start making angry comments, like the first one to my previous post. Wow, this Saikat guy is really annoyed. I wonder why ... Saikat - I'd love to respond. Only one problem - I don't understand what you're saying!
Anyway, back to why I'm here - more news of course. Osama and the Taliban apparently had a secret team meeting to strategize something. Guys - you're taking this a little too seriously. Apparently Osama also turned up at Round 1 bidding with a laptop - Dude, it didn't work out for John Buchanan, and going by your picks, looks like it didn't work too well for you either. Better luck tomorrow.
Finally, back to me - lots of speculation around who I am. Don't worry, all will be revealed in time. For now, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Anyway, back to why I'm here - more news of course. Osama and the Taliban apparently had a secret team meeting to strategize something. Guys - you're taking this a little too seriously. Apparently Osama also turned up at Round 1 bidding with a laptop - Dude, it didn't work out for John Buchanan, and going by your picks, looks like it didn't work too well for you either. Better luck tomorrow.
Finally, back to me - lots of speculation around who I am. Don't worry, all will be revealed in time. For now, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Modi Facing A Mutiny?
Breaking news - ACL schedules have been published to all the owners. That bit you probably already know (if not, "networking" and "collaboration" will be your next developmental feedback).
But as can be expected from ACL management by now, schedules were leaked to a few "strategic" owners in advance. The schedule itself reveals a few statistical improbabilities. The Merchants, for one, are playing all their matches at home, in the Village. They'll be well-rested and will have full local support. I guess it helps to have Lalit Modi in your team. No wonder Psychat bought him for over 3x his base price. Rumor is that the other owners are pretty upset about losing out on building a fan following at the Village – Modi will face a mutiny very soon at this rate. Everyish and Craydit were also heard cribbing. Big Vindaloo seemed strangely quiet though - and interestingly, he has ALL his matches in the second slot for the day. What's the probability of that happening by chance?!? Almost nil, says me.
Stay tuned for further developments …
But as can be expected from ACL management by now, schedules were leaked to a few "strategic" owners in advance. The schedule itself reveals a few statistical improbabilities. The Merchants, for one, are playing all their matches at home, in the Village. They'll be well-rested and will have full local support. I guess it helps to have Lalit Modi in your team. No wonder Psychat bought him for over 3x his base price. Rumor is that the other owners are pretty upset about losing out on building a fan following at the Village – Modi will face a mutiny very soon at this rate. Everyish and Craydit were also heard cribbing. Big Vindaloo seemed strangely quiet though - and interestingly, he has ALL his matches in the second slot for the day. What's the probability of that happening by chance?!? Almost nil, says me.
Stay tuned for further developments …
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Who Am I? Who Cares!
I’m sure you are wondering who I am. Another "fake" player, who knows nothing but pretends to know the inside story? A publicity-hungry team member who's got too much feedback about getting "visibility"? A team lead with too much time on my hands? Or maybe a senior leader?
Let’s park that existential question for a minute – this is not about me, but about what I have to tell you. Interested? Read on …
Let’s park that existential question for a minute – this is not about me, but about what I have to tell you. Interested? Read on …
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