Cricket commentary: radio almost a dodo
By Poonam Batth
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 20 — Television, which has for long been the dominant media at homes, now seems to have replaced radio at most pan and barber shops, usually centres of attraction for cricket buffs during international matches. The trend of shopkeepers and posh restaurants installing televisions at their work-places to watch the ongoing World Cup ‘99 matches has really caught on.

Passers-by who would earlier stop at these shops to hear commentary and know the latest score now remain glued to the televsion for hours. Many shopkeepers have either gone in for portable television sets or moved their old TV sets to their respective work-places.

The World Cup euphoria and the attractive schemes being offered by various audio-visual companies during it have led to a significant increase in the sale of television sets this month. “The sales are perhaps going to be the highest-ever recorded, higher than even the festival season,” claims Mr Sanjay, a dealer in Sector 35. According to him, the brands which have done well are generally those which have either reduced prices or have offered attractive gifts in case Indian wins a match

The offers vary from a price reduction of up to Rs 4000 in different companies’ television sets. Some are valid only if India reaches a particular stage — Super six, semi-final or finals. While a company is offering a lucky draw in which one out of 100 TVs will be offered free, another offers an equally attractie scheme.

The sales of second-hand coloured televisions, which can be bought for anything between Rs 3,000-Rs 5,000, has also gone up. The lower-class segment, which would earlier tune in to radio, now prefers to watch the action live on television, says Mr Sanjay. He said some “well-to-do” hostelers have also gone in for these sets to enjoy matches in their respective rooms.

Another TV dealer in Sector 22 said the sales had nearly doubled in the past few days, particularly of the portable TV sets. The first question of the prospective buyers is what scheme is being offered by a company. The sale figures, according to him, indicate that cricket is to India, what football is to France.

Ashutosh, a young executive, pointed out that there was no comparison between watching a match on the television and hearing the commentary on radio. The telecast of these matches on the Star Sports and the ESPN is fabulous.It makes you feel part of the game in stadium. In case of radio commentary, one is just listening and has to leave a lot to imagination, he added. His friend, Raman, pointed out that the replays of good shots, bowling and fielding give you an idea of what exactly is happening on the pitch.

Rajnish, a sales officer, maintains that people do listen to radio commentary while travelling.

With improvement in the TV commentary, the old combination of watching TV and listening to radio commentary has also become outdated, he added.

Pager and mobile companies have also come to the rescue of busy executives who are on the move, by informing them about the latest score.

The sight of someone listening to radio or transistor for commentary is rare. Many people are not even aware of whether commentary is being broadcast or not.

Indians played much below par
By Sushil Kapoor

On May 19, 1999, when the Indian team handed over on a plater the match to the underdogs Zimbabwe, one's thoughts went back to the 1983 Prudential Cup when from a hopeless position of 17 for five against the same Zimbabwe team, Kapil Dev , the then Indian skipper, led a revival with a punishing knock of 175 and won the match when certain defeat was staring in the face. And spurred by that success the Indians went on to demolish every opposition and to win the World Cup against all odds and by their application and heroics not only won accolodes for themselves but brought glory to the country. Today with the jingles "jeet ke lana hai" catching the imagination of the whole nation and raising the expectancy level so high that the dismal Indian performance can only be summed up as treason and fraud on millions of paying fans.

When one looks at the performance of the team against Zimbabwe, one wonders whether this team has any motivation and will to perform and win. The listless performance has made a sedate person like BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur also to express his anguish. It was not only pathetic but smacked of criminal conspiracy to let down a great nation which was on that day sharing the grief of Sachin Tendulkar on the sad dense of his father. Instead of carving out a win in his absence and giving him some solace in his hour of grief, the Indian players have further compounded it with an unworthy performance. The present lot of players is a bunch of individual performers without any cohesion and teamwork and this has been proved beyond doubt in the encounter against Zimbabwe. The present lot of players has been pampered and the media blitz has given them a larger than life image. The cricket board on its part sent the team about 22 days in advance to acclamatise and get familiarised with the English weather and playing conditions whereas this luxury was, however, never provided to the victorious 1983 squad.

While critically analysing the disastrous outing against Zimbabwe one is left wondering as to the level of physical and mental preparedness of the team. Bowling 21 wides and 16 no balls in a span of 50 overs speaks volumes for the inaccuracy of our bowlers. Not only did it add to the opponent's tally but it also allowed them the luxury of playing six overs extra. It did not end here. The team was further inflicted a penalty of four overs for not bowling the required quota of 50 overs in the stipulated time which gave the opposition an extra edge of 10 extra overs. This is where a coach line Bob Woolmer of South Africa would have mattered as he monitors every movement of his players whereas our coach sits rooted to his seat with his glum face beamed on the television now and the n reflecting the state of mind of his players.

The captain, Mohd.Azharuddin, on his part played a decisive role in ensuring the capitulation of the team by playing a insipid push into the waiting hands of the slips. The shot showed Azhar in very poor light. It seemed as if he was guiding the ball for slip catching during a practice session. He never was able to inspire confidence in his wayward bowlers like Ajit Agarkar who had again strayed in line and length, hardly learning anything from the drubbing he received at the hands of the South Africans. Here was a young fast bowler who needed his captain and coach's guidance to get his bearings right. As far as the batting was concerned, the mindset of most of them was to finish the match in a cavalier fashion, which is not possible in tight situations. A more organised and sedate approach would have seen the team through. it is high time that our leading batsmen played up to their potential and kept the team's performance above the personal milestones. If the team wins. personal glories will automatically get recorded. The Indian think tank must put its head down and evolve a winning strategy for the remaining three matches so that we can make it to the super six. An early exit would be an insult to the millions of Indian fans around the world. The defeat against Zimbabwe should be taken as a wake- up call. The whole nation is waiting with bated breath and praying for the revival of the team's fortunes. Come on India, do not let your diehard fans down.

Straying into their hearts
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, May 20 — Driven by a sense of compassion, a number of kind hearted individuals, mostly aged women, have adopted orphan and stray dogs and other suffering animals, usually found abandoned along the roadside.

So strong is their attachment with the poor animals, that most of them spend a large amount of money, often a major share of their income, on the upkeep of their 'companions', whom they treat as nothing less than members of their families.They prefer stray dogs to pedigreed ones. Some of the women even had to face the wrath of their neighbours or landlords, who objected to their passion for keeping stray dogs with them.

"I had to shift from our rented accommodation in Sector 27 to the factory premises of my husband in the Panchkula Industrial Area due to my love for stray dogs as our landlord objected and ordered that we could not keep them," said Ms Devi Gupta. She fell in love with orphaned and stray dogs, whom she calls beta, after her son brought home one of them.

"There is a misconception that the pedigreed dogs are more sensitive than the non-pedigreed ones," said Ms Gupta, who along with her husband have as many as 10 dogs. they were mostly found abandoned in a diseased state outside her house by people who could not keep them and who knew about her compassion for these creatures. "Every other day, I found one injured or diseased dog abandoned outside my house and I keep it after getting it treated by a veterinary surgeon," added Ms Gupta, who has even installed coolers for her army of canines, which, according to her wait for their 'papa' (her husband) at the gate of their house in the evening.

Ms Gupta said she felt hurt as most of her relatives had stopped visiting their place due to the presence of these dogs."Actually, they object that I was keeping stray dogs, and not pedigreed ones," she said.

The same is the case with Mohali based Ms Krishna, who despite age catching on her, is keeping as many as five such dogs, and is actively involved in persuading her near and dear ones to adopt the hapless creatures, found in an injured state or the ones which had been thrown out by the owners. Her family of dogs includes the pedigreed ones, to whom a hawk, which had landed in her house in an injured state, provides company.

Giving the reason for the unusual hobby she had developed over years, after her grown up children settled in other parts of the country, Ms Krishna Singh, said whatever she was doing, was for attaining satisfaction for her inner self. Besides, providing them home, she gets them medically examined on a regular basis.

Ms Deepali Puri and Ms Sharda, two city-based women, also have a passion for the creatures which are considered useless by many. While Deepali Puri, an advocate by profession, has two stray dogs at her Sector 4 residence, the Sector 21 house of Ms Sharda is shared by as many as four such creatures, besides a number of regular visitors, who visit her twice a day for food.

Ms Sharda says,"Earlier, I used to do it for my satisfaction, but now this has been overpowered by a sense of pity as I cannot leave them in the lurch." She has been in the company of the canines since 1986, and has given them liberty to roam in every part of her house, right from kitchen to bedroom.

Her house is considered an 'orphanage' by some people, as they leave their dogs outside it, hoping that she would take care of them.

Deepali's interest in retaining stray dogs in her house arose in 1994, after her sister Anjali found a lonely one-month old female pup walking on the road and brought it home. "I found the other one underneath my car, parked in a market in Panchkula," she said, adding that though she was chided by her neighbours and acquaintances for her unusual interest, she has resolved to keep it up in the times to come as, "all keep the pedigreed ones, but only a few have the heart to support a stray dog."