Self Confidence?

Dictionary describes “Self Confidence” as “a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgment”. 

NBA (National Basketball Association) of USA holds all-star game every year. 12 players from Eastern Conference teams and 12 players from Western Conference teams play an exhibition game. 

One of the side attractions is an individual 3-point shootout contest. 

Larry Bird was one of the great professional basketball players for the team Boston Celtics. In one year, before the 3-point shootout contest, he was curiously looking at all the other contestants. A reporter asked him what he is looking for. 

Larry replied: I am wondering who is going to come in second. 

Some people may think it was a trash talk. I feel it was an extreme self confidence 

Larry Bird came in first and won the 3-point shootout contest that year.

What is your opinion.  Is it self confidence or arrogance?

Babar Conquers India (again)

(The title for this blog post was suggested to me by my friend, Madhu Ramachandran.) 

India vs Pakistan = Pakistan won. Resounding loss for India. 

Run wise = It was kind of tight. India made 151 in 20 overs. Pakistan made 152 in 17.5 overs.

Wicket wise = It was one sided. India lost 7 wickets in 20 overs. Pakistan did not lose any wicket. In other words, India was unable to get even a single wicket. 

In fairness, India was kind of unlucky. To start with, they lost the coin toss and Pakistan chose to field first. Even though past performance is not a prediction for future, in Dubai, the team that opt to bowl first wins most of the time. Kohli was the only solid performer with 57 runs in 49 balls. 

India did not execute properly. They lost the first 3 wickets for only 31 runs. 

Pakistani bowlers were excellent. Pakistan went into the match as heavy underdogs. But they managed to beat India for the first time in a world cup match. Pakistani opening batsmen never allowed India to come back. They were more confident. Pakistanis will celebrate. And, remember this day for a very very long time. 

It is not the end of the world for India. This is just one game they lost. You lose a battle but you hope to win the war. But for tonight - All I had to say – to quote “Dandy” Don Meredith – Turn out the lights, the party is over.

PS: I was surprised Indian team took the knee in support of BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement!  The game was not played in USA,  The game was not against USA,  I would have appreciated if they took the knee in support of Dalits in India.

David Jude Johnson

David Jude Johnson was India’s fastest bowler. Perhaps the fastest bowler in the world. Have you heard of his name? I am afraid not. He clicked 150 plus on several occasions. He holds the record of 156.9 km/hour. He played for India only in 2 tests. Then he was dropped for no fault of him. 

Johnson played his first test for India against Australia in 1996. His second and last test for India against South Africa, also in 1996. 

At domestic level, Johnson played 28 matches at first class level and took 95 wickets. He even scored a century with his bat once. 

He was born in Karnataka. When he took 8 wickets in a game in Bangalore, he was inducted into the Swastic Union Cricket Club. He became a Karnataka Ranji Trophy player. Johnson bowled against such stalwarts like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Saurav Ganguly.

Johnson was called to play for India. But the selectors preferred Venkatesh Prasad and Javagal Srinath. At one time there were 7 Karnataka players in the Indian team. He became the unlucky person. 

There is always a rumor that Indian cricket always favor players from a certain community. Johnson being an Anglo Indian was not looked upon favorably. This is purely my personal opinion. 

He is now the under-16 coach for the South Zone. 

India did not use this fast bowler to its advantage. 

Source: Sportskeeda – Rahul Kargal – David Johnson: A tale of possibilities and harsh realities.