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.