About the Author

I promise somewhat irregular posts on (in no particular order) Indian politics, cinema, and anything else that catches my fancy... Why "Qalandar"? So-called "liminal" religious traditions are a particular interest of mine, and "qalandar" is the sort of untranslatable, ambiguous, yet enormously evocative word that for me touches upon and articulates the experience of the sub-continent's "little" traditions in a particularly memorable way...not to mention the fact that in popular lingo the word has more than a merely religious/spiritual connotation, and can mean a bunch of other things, including a smart alec, wannabe, what-have-you...

See All Posts by This Author

Shah Rukh Khan & the Kolkata Factor

April 30th, 2008Related|Filed Under

LINK

The Kolkata factor

If the city-based loyalties that the IPL is banking on ever do take hold, it will happen in one city first

Sambit Bal

April 30, 2008

It is impossible to watch a match, any match, at Eden Gardens and not get in touch with Kolkata’s soul. It is a soul in which throbs a fervent and positively partisan passion for cricket.

Kolkatans have never bothered disguising their loyalty, and it just took two balls during the Kolkata Knight Riders match against Mumbai to encapsulate how this city responds to the game. Inevitably, both involved Sourav Ganguly.

The first ball Ganguly faced - it was only the second ball of the match - was, not surprisingly, a bouncer. But Shaun Pollock is not the quickest, and Ganguly, who had perhaps seen it coming, helped it safely, if not authoritatively, to the midwicket boundary. If you didn’t know the context, the crowd reaction would have made you believe that the tournament had been won with that single stroke. About 80,000 fans sprang to their feet. Their collective rapture would have reverberated through the city. It was an awesome sight - thousands of hands waving in the air, bodies swaying to music, and a sense of glorious bonding electrifying the surroundings. It was hopelessly over the top, but it was impossible to escape the charge, not to feel one with the moment.

And yet, within a minute, the place resembled a morgue. Pollock pitched the ball up, and shaped it away from Ganguly, who couldn’t resist wafting at it. Sanath Jayasuriya caught the ball above his head and Ganguly was gone, having provided merely a glimpse of what could have been possible.

The centrepiece of the evening’s show was already over, but never mind. Ricky Ponting strode in purposefully, and a banner went up in the stands for the man at the other end: “McCullum, don’t go home”.

The Knight Riders have now lost two matches in a row, and both Ponting and McCullum are going home, but make no mistake, Shah Rukh Khan is on to a good thing. Kolkata represents the best hope for the Indian Premier League. Or let’s put it another way, if the IPL doesn’t succeed here, it has no hope elsewhere.

The Knight Riders have a lot going for them. Sport runs in Kolkata’s veins; it is ingrained in the socio-cultural fabric of the city, and though fans here can often be irrational, there is also a discernible intellectual rigour to the public discourse on cricket. The Knight Riders have an icon player who represents a state’s aspirations (for an idea of what Ganguly means to Bengal, take Sachin Tendulkar’s pan-Indian appeal and multiply by two); and a superstar owner whose magnetism and charisma transcend regional chauvinism. Kolkatans are an emotional lot who love their heroes, and they have taken to Shah Rukh with an urgent fervour.
In fact, Shah Rukh fills the city. He features on most of hoardings that the franchise has plastered over all parts of the city, imploring fans to join the Knight Riders fan clubs, hailing “All the King’s men”, and warning opponents not to mess with his team.

When I land at Sonar Bangla, the hotel the Knight Riders have turned into their camp, I find the place overrun with television crews. They are all waiting for Shah Rukh, who is flying down from Paris on a chartered fight. My taxi driver is yet to see Shah Rukh in person, but excitedly points at the Knight Riders team bus which is parked outside the hotel. “Every time I pass the hotel, I see the bus,” he says with an air of fulfilment.

At the ground, the chemistry between Shah Rukh and the fans is palpable. And Shah Rukh knows how to play to gallery. The stadium goes berserk when he makes his first appearance and bows to the stands, and for the best part of the evening they sway to him. Between balls and between overs all eyes gravitate towards Shah Rukh, who employs a familiar gyration to rouse the crowd into supporting his team. The dancing girls don’t stand a chance before him.

By all accounts Shah Rukh is an involved yet detached owner. He stays out of the cricket decisions but has developed strong personal relationships with the players. “The best thing about him is that he puts no pressure on us,” said one, “He respects the players and makes them feel special. The general refrain is that we are all in this together, and even if we lose, we will go down together.” Shah Rukh sits through the team meetings quietly, but each time, at the end he teaches the players a new dance step.

After Kolkata’s first loss, to the Chennai Super Kings, every member of the team received a consolation SMS from Shah Rukh, which ended with the promise that he would be there with them soon, and that there would be another dance step to learn.

Kolkata seems the only city of the IPL’s eight where the idea of a fan club has taken root. The stands are awash with black-and-gold jerseys. Most bear No. 12, the number that belongs to Shah Rukh, who is the team’s unofficial 12th man.

The team’s anthem “Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo”, is a raging hit. It fulfils the most important criteria for a team song: it is inclusive, rousing and eminently chantable. A roar goes up in the stands every time it is played. In comparison, the Mumbai Indians’ anthem sounds like a discordant interruption.

As fans filed out of the ground after their team had lost to Mumbai, some were heard singing the anthem with a note of sarcasm. But that’s what Kolkata fans are like: they bare their soul in support of their team but take defeats as a personal affront. Make no mistake, though, they will be back at the next match and Eden Gardens will be a spectacle again. Very soon.

Sambit Bal is the editor of Cricinfo

There Are 41 Responses So Far. »

Comment by jeegs on 30 April 2008:

but the problem will come when team donot perform to expectations ( like in last 2 games )they can be quite unofrgiving . they cannot tolerate loss if one goes by some of Indias Previous matches or their reception to some players.
Comment by beld o beld on 30 April 2008:

jeegs - true to an extent. history of sport shows that bad memories are shortlived. i think once a franchise builds its loyalties - losing and winning becomes part of the game.
best eg of this is the Chicago Cubs - they lose almost every year but wrigley field is always packed and the fan loyalty is amazing from what i hear.
next step in india will be radio sports shows in each of these markets. i am sure lalit modi already has plans afoot for this.
i think he is a master strategist - right to the cheer leaders. i am sure he knew our good ole poiliticians will cause a ruckus - thereby giving IPL some more publicity.
actually i believe 2-3 franchises will break even in the first year including kolkatta and chennai and i think bangalore.
Comment by jayshah on 1 May 2008:

‘but the problem will come when team donot perform to expectations ( like in last 2 games )they can be quite unofrgiving ‘

correct, the good is good, but that bad can be disastorous. The best teams/squads look like Delhi, Chennai and if Hyderabad can get their act together they look like a good team.
Comment by jeegs on 1 May 2008:

Chennai will loose the edge as oram , hussey , hayden goes away . IMO Delhi looks best at the moment . Deccan needs to change their captain and they will start winning everything .

Beld - Banglore and Mumbai has been bought for too high price i dont think they can break even . if one sees reports kolkattas match r garnering huge rating so that will help it to break even . rajasthan has a chance too as they have hardly spend much on players and have got teams at low price .
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

Jeegs, break even on operating margin not asset value.
On the teams, I still think chennai has an edge with fleming, morkel and ntini stepping in. They have the best indian talent and dhoni. Rajasthan looks super too. Problem with delhi is their batting is suspect other than sehwag and gambhir. I agree on hyd, that giant could still rear its head.
I actually think calcutta looks pretty weak now along with mumbai and bangalore. All the big markets eh.
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

Looking at the popularity of IPL in india, i think teams should be looking at long term gain.I am sure if IPL continues to excite people the way it has done so far, there wont be any problem for the teams to recover investement and make some profits too.

On the teams as Beld said the three big teams Mumbai,Bangalore and Kolkata look weak now, the last one still i guess in a better postion than the first two.

The real dark horse has been Rajasthan which has surprised everyone with their performances.
Comment by jeegs on 1 May 2008:

“Looking at the popularity of IPL in india, i think teams should be looking at long term gain.I am sure if IPL continues to excite people the way it has done so far, there wont be any problem for the teams to recover investement and make some profits too.”

if one goes by Audience reaction Loyalty is already developed and if thats the case bond with teams will only increase as time goes .. in yesterdays kolkatta match everything went silent when ganguly hit fours that proves how much people r supporting their state .

BTW 4 teasm struggling at the moment have four of our best batsmans as captain
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

Jeegs: that is true that people have developed some kinda bond with the team they are supporting and it is quite natural i must say.but as long as people are paying money to watch these matches in the stadiums and TV viwership is good, one should not worry about whether he/she can make money from the IPL or not.I am sure the teams will..

“BTW 4 teasm struggling at the moment have four of our best batsmans as captain”

ya, looks like Hyderabad and Bangalore are in complete mess, nothing working for them.Kolkata started off well, but now has faced 3 defeats in a row.It will be interesting to see how these teams perform with out the star international players in the upcoming matches which will be crucial in deciding the 4 teams that will play in the semi-finals.
Comment by Tango on 1 May 2008:

Jeegs morning. I was looking for you or Hardik. what is the school vacation time in Gujarat?

I presume it ends on 30th May but when does it commence exactly?
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

Jeegs, kya yaar, ganguly was never our best batsman. He needs to be disciplined. I am totally with warne. Let’s see if srk and ipl have the guts to do it.
Btw today will be a humdinger, chennai and delhi. My bets on chennai. Tango, sharth lagayen kya? Loser has to read ibos every day for next 1 month
Comment by Aarohi on 1 May 2008:

I feel Bangalore has performed better than Kolkata and Hyderabad given the team they have. btw, I don’t understand what’s Misbah Ul Haq doing on the bench. He totally deserves a place as Bangalore is sorely missing a finisher.

Rajasthan Royals have been ona dream run, Kings XI have also bounced back nicely.
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

I think Ganguly was right by asking the on field umpire to check whether the catch by smith was taken cleanly or not.match was at an important juncture at that point of time and one bad or wrong decision for any of the two teams would have definitely affected the final outcome of the match.

we have seen instances when players like Ponting and Clark had gone against the spirit of the game and have lied about catches which were not taken cleanly.
Comment by Tango on 1 May 2008:

Agree Som “I think Ganguly was right by asking the on field umpire to check whether the catch by smith was taken cleanly or not.match was at an important juncture at that point of time and one bad or wrong decision for any of the two teams would have definitely affected the final outcome of the match.”

Too much issue is being made of it.

It is not that Ganguly doubted Smith’s claim, at times even fielders do not realise certain things. AND THEN WHAT ARE THE THIRD UMPIRES FOR?
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

Cmon som, just bcoz someone makes mistakes, it doesn’t give ganguly to make it himself. Btw the issue was not just the appealing, he made the royals wait 7 mins extra on the field when it was 40 degrees outside. I am guessing that’s the reason warne was so mad
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

“It is not that Ganguly doubted Smith’s claim, at times even fielders do not realise certain things. AND THEN WHAT ARE THE THIRD UMPIRES FOR?”

The ball was dropping on Smith and it was perfectly fine on the part of Ganguly to think that the catch might not have taken properly.

again it was refered to Third Umpire who with all helps from technology and different camera angles could not decide if that catch was taken cleanly and so made his decision in favour of the batsman,then how could Ganguly with his naked eyes be sure of that?
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

“he made the royals wait 7 mins extra on the field when it was 40 degrees outside. I am guessing that’s the reason warne was so mad”

Howz Ganguly responsible for that? the decision was refered to the third umpire and he took some time to pass his final judgement which made the players to wait for 7 minutes or so.
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

no Som. that was not it. this was when calcutta was supposed to start batting. ganguly was late coming onto the field. he made everyone wait bcoz he was late
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

“this was when calcutta was supposed to start batting. ganguly was late coming onto the field.”

I did not know this and if that is the case then Ganguly is at fault.But i am in agreement that Ganguly did the right thing by asking the on field umpire to check the catch with the third umpire.
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

BTW are you planning to watch any ILP match, Beld?You were saying some days back that you would be catching the Chennai-Kolkata match which Kolkata lost.did you see it?
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

no dude - couldnt watch that as my flight got delayed and i missed the game
am planning to watch a game later this month - as i will be travelling till then. did you get tickets for the may 16th game. btw i just realized that they are playing games in navi mumbai this time around it seems
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

“did you get tickets for the may 16th game. btw i just realized that they are playing games in navi mumbai this time around it seems”

I shall try to watch a match in Mumbai depending on my GD and PI schedule which will be in between 12-27th May.I am going to Kolkata on 12th,am interested to see the match between Kolkata and Delhi on 13th,but the problem is on the same night I might be leaving for Mumbai.so nothing is certain as of now.
Comment by jeegs on 1 May 2008:

Tango - school vacation is usually from april 3 week to june 2 week .

Beld - Ganguly is one of our best of modern times . if i count VVS laxman Ganguly ka to hak banta hi hai na .

to me mumbai , banglore , deccan looks out . at this point Chennai , Delhi , Rajasthan looks certain for semis ( from the way they r playing ) mohali and kolkatta will fight for the 4 spot . Uske baad kuch bhi ho sakta hai .
Comment by jeegs on 1 May 2008:

BTW Ganguly was given not out by Third umpire so does it not mean Smith was lying and not playing in spirit of game
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

i will go with your 3 plus mohali. i think cal is out too

btw - i think the owners have to get a little smarter. nobody is using home field advantage. bangalore should prepare a pitch for bowlers where getting 100+ is a premium. they have the bowling attack - with zaheer, steyn, pravin, kumble etc
and they have the batting to tackle a bowling pitch with dravid, jaffer, kallis, chanderpaul, etc.
same with calcutta.
bombay has no chance - they should probably play in the ocean
hyd - well there is always one team that looks great on paper but cant execute - thats hyd for you
Comment by Qalandar on 1 May 2008:

Jeegs: Chennai could face trouble now that Hayden and Hussey are gone, with mediocre bowling. But yes if they lose 5 of the next 10 games they should still make the semis with a 9-5 record.
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

i disagree jeegs. smith claimed a catch and left it at that. players are not supposed to ask for third umpire referrals unless its a run out. so to me the only guy who came out like a fool was ganguly. besides he is just too arrogant - he needs to be reined in

cmon dude - you are comparing laxman with ganguly? laxman is light years ahead of ganguly as a batsman. ganguly’s claim to fame is his aggressive captaincy and not his batting
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

q - chennai’s bowling got stronger with morkel and ntini. and their batting has enough reserve strength i think. lets see
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

btw - just check the sify poll on IPL as to who is the best ambassador for IPL. the choice were Preity, SRK and Vijay.

I wont disclose the result here but the results are quite eye-opening
Comment by Qalandar on 1 May 2008:

Ganguly has been the better ODI batsman than VVS over their careers (specially if the match is being played in the sub-continent), but as a test batsman I would pick VVS over Ganguly. Ganguly is the better player of off-spin, but VVS is pretty superb against leg-spin, and given his track record against Australia, and his ability to perform in big situations in test matches, he would get my vote over Ganguly.

Agree with Beld on Ganguly’s attitude in the match against Rajasthan; never seen any player do this (maybe he still feels there’s a Sydney hangover :-))…not that Warne is a doodh mein dhula, but making people wait and all this other stuff doesn’t go down well. I’ll always respect Ganguly as the captain who instilled some spine into our team, but his successful captaincy simply illustrates the old maxim: the best leaders can be the biggest pricks.

Beld: didn’t know about morkel. Ntini I am skeptical about — his career can be very easily divided into “home” and “away” — if his entire career were like his home record, he would be an all time great; but his away-from-SA record is so mediocre that I just don’t know if I can expect much from him in the 20/20 format. But you might be right: he can generate bounce, and wild heaving might lead to a lot of catches off his bowling.

I wouldn’t count Calcutta out just yet: in fact a replacement like Salman Butt for a Ponting might actually be better for them (Butt is far more familiar with these pitches, and has played a LOT more 20/20 in his life than Ponting, given that Pakistan was the first country to start a 20/20 league in domestic cricket). But yes, the ease with which they have been whipped in 3 straight games has to be a bit dispiriting. Also the batting failures: barring McCullum in game 1, no one had even gotten a 50 until Ganguly’s 51 today (and that innings never seemed like it would take control of the match)…
Comment by Qalandar on 1 May 2008:

I haven’t seen the poll, but I’d say SRK (apparent from this piece too; beld did you get a chance to read this?)…
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

Q - if it was SRK - i wouldnt have put that comment

did read the article - why?

u are right on Ntini - but chennai has lot of bounce and sehwag vs Ntini today is going to be a treat to watch
Comment by beld o beld on 1 May 2008:

good article by this author on the icons

The icon’s burden

The money, the freedom to build their own teams, and the challenge of testing themselves in Twenty20 have brought several problems for the big stars

Sambit Bal

May 1, 2008

It hasn’t been an easy ride for the IPL’s biggest names © AFP

VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly produced their most substantial performances of the tournament today, but, ironically, neither was substantial enough to secure victory for their teams. Was it a coincidence, or does there lie a bigger tale?

Ganguly’s was a battling performance. His highest score of the tournament had been 14; his team had had two successive batting failures; and two of his major batsmen had gone home, leaving him to carry the innings. With his team chasing a tough target, he came out to open, and from the way he went about the job it seemed he had set his mind on batting through.

But as the overs ticked by, the asking rate, which started at an intimidating 10, kept creeping up and, at the halfway stage, it was clear that desperate measures were needed. Ganguly was still there, on 30 at more than run a ball. But that he had only faced 26 balls told a story: batsmen who take control usually manage to corner the strike. And it wasn’t as if runs were raining at the other end.

Ganguly nearly holed out trying to up the pace, but Yusuf Pathan tripped over the ropes to give him a six, and an over later he earned himself a reprieve by coaxing the umpire to refer a catch that Graeme Smith claimed at deep midwicket for a replay, which, as it mostly does in such circumstances, was inconclusive. But he went cursing himself in the next over when Mohammad Kaif kept his balance to complete a catch on the boundary. There was an air of inevitability about that dismissal.

Laxman, by all accounts, played a delightful innings. It was very Laxman-like, crisp and wristy, and by his standards in the shorter versions, it was also furious. But he fell before the job was done, ironically, for the second time in three innings, to a legspinner. And his dismissal led to a slump from which the Deccan Chargers never fully recovered despite an innings of pure and precise hitting from Rohit Sharma. It was always evident that they finished with at least 20 short.

Elsewhere, Rahul Dravid is grappling with his own nightmares. He has twice been dismissed first ball, and has been out slogging, flicking, pulling and hoicking in the most un-Dravid manner. His team languishes at the bottom having been outplayed thrice and once muffing up a match they seemed to have in their grasp.

Each of these batsmen seem to getting better as the tournament progresses, but the problem is that run-a-ball thirties are simply not good enough. Not even 40-ball 50s. The impact innings of the tournament has been blazing hundreds. It is increasingly apparent that the innings that really matter are the either the big ones or blinding cameos. Curiously, Ganguly’s most meaningful innings so far has been the -ball 14 in the low-scoring thriller against the Deccan chargers. It prevented a free-fall on a vicious pitch and helped his team to scrape through.

And Sachin Tendulkar, the biggest icon of them all, already has a mountain to climb even before he has played his first match. Even though the Mumbai Indians won their first match the other night, they are clearly behind the front-runners and their batting needs a saviour. Tendulkar has had to deal with massive expectations all his life, but he is a newcomer to this form of the game, which is not always known to reward genius.

Call it the icons’ burden.

Should a group of players who have established their worth in the highest and, to many, the most demanding, form of the game, allow themselves to be belittled by a form that has little regard for their magnificent skills?

It is ironic that four players who were not part of India’s epochal victory at the World Twenty20 have been charged with the gravest of responsibilities for a Twenty20 tournament that promises to revolutionalise cricket. Three of them - Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman - are no longer considered good enough by the national selectors for the 50-over game, and Tendulkar had himself withdrawn from the World Twenty20. Yet, without them the concept of city-based franchises was a non-starter. They were needed not only as anchors and leaders, and for star value, but to give the concept elementary legitimacy.

Nor can they be blamed for accepting the job. The money was always hard to resist, and there need be no moralising about it: cricketers don’t inhabit a different planet. But there was also the challenge of being part of a new idea, the chance of shaping a team with a freedom not usually granted due to national boundaries, and also a curiosity to test oneself in a different form.

But each of these factors have brought their own burdens. Having chosen to expose themselves to a form of the game that doesn’t do justice to their great skills, it is their obligation to adapt. And having been anointed icons (all barring Laxman), and thus being the highest paid player in the team, it is inevitable that their performances will be measured against their value.

Twenty20 lacks many finer aspects of Test cricket. It lacks scope and scale; context and vision; intellect and subtlety. But it is not merely a hit-and-giggle. Slowly a pattern is emerging in batting. Of course, power is a big factor, but it is becoming increasingly evident that batsmen who rely more on hand-eye coordination are likely to have a greater chance of success. They are not necessarily lesser batsmen, but they are certainly different.

Should a group of players who have established their worth in the highest and, to many, the most demanding, form of the game, allow themselves to be belittled by a form that has little regard for their magnificent skills? It is a question they might confront soon if they haven’t asked it to themselves already.
Comment by Simply Som on 1 May 2008:

It is still too early to say, lots of games have to be played in the coming weeks. anything can happen, of course Chennai is the one which will be making it to the semi-final easily.
Comment by jeegs on 1 May 2008:

Kolkatta is facing some internal trouble from what looks like guls comments . on such catches if batsman is not sure of them taken clearly( no fielding team will tell its not taken cleanly) they can ask umpire and then Umpire can decide to go to third umpire or else . i agree with u on Gangulys behaviour that was the reasons of Greg chappel, Rahul and Ganguly dispute .

On Icons they bring the crowd and thus get the money . its same as movies where stars bring the crowd and thus get more money than irrfans , KKs .

Q - Chennai will win this i am quit sure of Dhonis luck .

on kolkatta imo hodge is a better batsman at this stage than ponting but they need gayle like striker at top but i dont think they r out they need to play more smartly . send laxmi up at 3 he looks to be in form , gayle if fit should play . hodge and hussey r good finishers so should be send at 4-5.
Comment by jeegs on 1 May 2008:

Beld - Did malya win that Poll ?
Comment by Tango on 2 May 2008:

Jeegs - “Tango - school vacation is usually from april 3 week to june 2 week .”

Thanks. So there is no major change as such. Actually Himachal Tourism guys wanted to know if it has changed because somehow the Gujju crowd that normally pours into Manali by this time is not really there.
Comment by jeegs on 2 May 2008:

Tango - in this days bangkok , singapore has become so cheap many people instead of touring north go there for holidays .
Comment by jayshah on 2 May 2008:

Like any new concept, it may take some of the icons sometime to adapt. 20-20 certainly doesn’t come naturally to guys like Laxman/Dravid. Ganguly/Tendulkar should be more suited. Sometimes it is difficult when a role in the side is not identified. I find in Dravid’s case, he sometimes just doesn’t know what to do out there! And the game goes fast that that if your on 3 runs off 10 balls, your already under pressure.

On rules, the rules have generally been you trust the opposition’s claims on fields. IMO the rule is disputable or rather ’should’ be. In general cricketers are fairly honest compared to other sports, but there should be an option to dispute in these cases. At the end of the day it is about getting the right decision, how ever long it may take!

In tennis they give players 3 chances during cause of game to dispute line calls. There is no harm in stalling a game for 2mins to get the right decision. Better than being given out for something that wasn’t which is unfair.

But I guess the rule is the rule and we all know how much beld likes rules!
Comment by jeegs on 2 May 2008:

“In tennis they give players 3 chances during cause of game to dispute line calls. There is no harm in stalling a game for 2mins to get the right decision. Better than being given out for something that wasn’t which is unfair.”

ICL tried this Challenging in their world series and i quite liked it . no problem in trying new rules in IPL if its successful one can use it in International games .
Comment by beld o beld on 2 May 2008:

this is so funny. they fined ganguly and warne 10% and suspended the umpire for 1 game….lol

rks - you are wasting your talents in moderating NG dude. you need to go as a match referee for IPL
Comment by beld o beld on 2 May 2008:

>>But I guess the rule is the rule and we all know how much beld likes rules!
just as much as you like to add on a few crores to the Guru total Jay, just as much

btw - tango - thanks for not taking the bet yday :-). sehwag ne chennai ke saath gilli dhanda kela