Ameya Paleja

Growing up in the 1990s in India did not give you a lot of options when it came to watching television. Doordarshan or commonly known as DD was your sole source of entertainment, news and learning. Cable TV ushered in a large variety of channels to watch from, while recent advances in Satellite television, give you the option to actually pick the channels you would want to see.  Although, I have stopped watching direct television for over a couple of years now, television content (without the irritating adverts) continues to garner my attention.  It is needless to say that I am no fan of the Ekta Kapoor drama series, the laughter bouquet of SAB TV is something I keep going to. Whether the light hearted comedy of Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chasma or the politico-social satire of Lapatagunj, the channel offers laughter to all and also at all times.  The comedy is natural, simple and unlike the comedy challenge shows, unforceful. SAB started another series in Novembe...

After a superb start from Sachin and Sehwag, India had scored 230 runs in their 38 overs, when they decided to take their powerplay. Once again, the batting powerplay proved to be the Indian team's nemesis and batsmen could not even cross 300 in their allotted 50 overs. What is worse, that the team failed to play their quota of 50 overs and Dhoni, the captain, stood there watching his team mates get out in a rush. Teams are scoring 300 odd runs on a regular basis in one day cricket. You can give T20 the credit for this, but what is also important is the kind of tracks being provided for these matches. Most teams have come with 1-2 spinners in their squad to exploit the spin tracks in the Indian sub continent. But the tracks being provided are absolute flat. They might be on the slower side, but most tracks favour batting. So, if you dig your heels in, play some sensible cricket, you might even see someone score 400 in the days to come. To better that, some one might might chase it...

The stage is set and from the beginning of this weekend, we will all be waiting for the BIGGEST match of the tournament, THE FINALS between MI and CSK. Because anyone hardly reads what I write, I chose the IPL since it is the perfect attention grabber for all of us. But before I go on rambling about what I don’t like about it, let me tell you what IPL 3.0 has given us. First and foremost, it has given us an excellent opportunity to see Sachin in his prime form after his 200 at Gwalior. Undoubtedly, like single malt whiskey, Sachin is at his best after 20 years. For me, he has redefined batting in T20 cricket. Every time MI has played this season, I have watched the match at least till ‘The Master’ has been at the crease. He, with a little help of Jacques Kallis, has proven that timing the ball is sweeter than any slog that travels the distance. Besides, it does get you the runs. Secondly, the so-called batsman’s game, has manifold increased the intelligence of the bowlers. The differen...