Monday, November 21, 2011

BOXING: A CHINK IN MANNY’S ARMOR


The fight between Manny Pacquio and Juan Manuel Marquez was a thriller. It was the third bout between them the first one was a draw, Manny won the second one( the decision was controversial according to some experts) and guess what happened in the third one, Manny won it again in a more controversial manner. Controversy once again loomed in Vegas, people had hardly forgotten the controversial punch of Floyd Mayweateher Jr which knocked Victor Ortiz out in the 8th round and here comes another one.
Manny Pacquiao the WBO Welterweight champion, the world’s best pound for pound boxer entered the MGM Grand Garden Arena with high hopes of beating his opponent as the experts and everyone else thought the same too but his opponent Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez really worked hard and really exploited Manny’s weaknesses. As there was a lot of talking about Pacquiao vs Mayweather, so their different styles were also discussed many times. Pacquiao likes to attack whereas Floyd likes counter punching. So a lot of people where rating Floyd Mayweather favorite over Manny Pacquiao. And we all know that Freddie Roach the trainer of Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan also admitted that counter punching is their weakness and they will have to work on it. So happened in this match. Marquez also likes counter punching and forced Manny to come in the play and was very successful with his strategy.
It was an amazing fight, an incredible contest between the two contestants, until the final round. When the round ended Marquez raised his hands and believed that he had won it so did many others, on the other side Manny was quite and went to his corner praying for the victory. Surprisingly the decision from the judges came 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112 in favor of Manny. This really was a surprise for everyone. A lot of people criticized the decision. The Ring a prestigious magazine in boxing world rated the fight 115-113 in favor of Marquez. Another and the most notable criticism came from Manny’s own Sparring partner and the WBF and IBF Light Welter Weight Champion Amir Khan who said that he felt that Marquez won it by one or two rounds so did his trainer Freddie Roach. Amir Khan later said that its time that Manny should consider retirement and leave the sport on a high note. Some Filipino channels showed footage that Marquez stepped at Manny's feet 6 times which they referred as cheating but in my opinion I don’t think it matters too much.
So all the credit goes to the 38 year old Mexican he fought really well but this time again luck was not on his side. I will agree with the statement issued by Amir Khan that Manny should think seriously about his career, should really think that whether or not will he be able to fight Floyd or not. Marquez officially lost the match but won the hearts of many fans.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

F1: VETTEL TRIUMPHS IN THE INAUGRAL INDIAN GP



Sebastian Vettel, the 2011 World Champion won the inaugural Indian GP in a comfortable fashion.
As the race started, the German started to move away from its rivals. The track conditions were a little tricky for the drivers to maintain their tyres as the surface was new and there was not that much rubber on it but gradually the conditions improved as it got rubbered in that is why we observed so many fastest laps in the race. Jenson Button made a flying start and overtook Alonso and Webber in the start and maintained his second position right till the end. Alonso came third; he overtook Webber in the second round of pit stops in the lap 39. Webber finished 4th and was on the tail of Alonso when he crossed the chequred line. Then were the two Mercedes’ in fifth and sixth place and guess who was in front!!!! Not a surprise Of course we are talking about Sunday so it should be Michael Schumacher. Michael drove a brilliant race, he started from the back of the grid (12 position, row 6) and overtook 3 cars in the opening lap and maintained his status of being the aggressive starter. Later on he managed his tyres way better than Nico and managed to run 5 laps more than his teammate Nico Rosberg to overtake him. Schumacher credited his strategy after the race and said the he deliberately didn’t used the KERS in the first two corners of the first lap so that he can use that in straight and it worked out (oh boy! do he think differently)
Further down was the problem guy, yes I’m talking about the sports most overrated drive Lewis Hamilton he came home seventh despite colliding with None Other Than Felipe Massa. It was the sixth time they’ve touched their cars. Tough on the previous five occasions I held Lewis fully responsible for the mistakes and there was nothing Massa could have done about it but this time it was because of the mistakes of both the drivers. Massa was on the cleaner side (the racing line) and Hamilton tried to get his car in at turn, as Massa turned his car the Mclaren’s front wheel touched Massa’s rear wheel due to which both the drivers had to make an early pit stop . Later, Massa was handed a drive through penalty which was very harsh. For me it was a racing incident and Massa alone was not responsible for it Lewis was also at fault but how often do we see stewards favoring Lewis. Later Massa hitted the kerb hard once again in the same fashion he did on Saturday and damaged his front suspension and retired from the race. Later on Massa along with Stefano Domenacalli expressed that he was surprised because of the steward’s decision. Mark Webber also said that he thought that it was a 50-50 incident in his opinion and the steward’s should be a little lenient.
Jaime Alguersuari came eight, Adrian Sutil came ninth and Sergio Perez tenth and all helped their teams earn important 4, 2, 1 points respectively. All the three top finishers paid respect to Dan Wheldone and Marco Simoncelli for whom one minute silence was also observed.
Next Formula 1 will move to Abu Dhabi for the day night race experience the championship is over but let’s see who will finish second in the standings after the last two rounds, till then drive safely and bye. . . . . .

Thursday, November 10, 2011

CRICKET: PAKISTAN WINS TEST SERIES IN UAE



Pakistan extended their impressive run in test matches as they won the series against Sri Lanka. The home side playing in the United Arab Emirates looked in total control over the tourists from the very first match. In the first match Pakistan out played the Lankans but due to their bad fielding habits in the second innings lost the control of it and the match ended in a draw. The highlight of this match was the double centuries by Taufiq Umer and Kumar Sangakkara, both made 236 &211 respectively, while Junaid Khan and Umer Gul picked 6 wickets a piece.
In the second test match Pakistan once again looked in control when they bowled the tourists out for 239 and piled up huge total of 403, Azhar Ali made a century while the middle order also played its part in piling up the runs. Pakistan once again was able to trap the tourist’s cheaply in the second innings for 257. Pakistan was giving a target of 96 runs which was achieved easily with the loss of a single wicket. Mohammad Hafeez made an unbeaten 59 runs while Saeed Ajmal picked up 8 wickets in the match and was awarded an of the match.
In the third match Sri Lankans looked to be in quiet control, they made 413 runs in the first innings curtsey of Sangakkara and Dilshan’s strong innings. Both made 144 and 92 respectively. Pakistan in reply fell 73 runs short of the target and made 340. Younis made 122 while the skipper Misbah ul Haq play a very important and sensible innings of 89. Welegedara picked 5 wickets. On the final day of the test match we observed an unusual rain in the Middle East and the Sri Lankan’s declared their second innings for a total of 181. Pakistan was given a target of 254 runs in 57 overs. Pakistan just made 81 and lost 4 wickets in reply and the match ended in a draw and Pakistan ended in a draw.
Credit goes to the Pakistani team and especially to Misbah ul Haq, the skipper lead the team in a fantastic way and played important innings in the matches too. Saeed Ajmal and Kumara Sangakkara were both awarded Player’s of the series for their terrific performances throughout the tournament.
The One day series will start from 11th November, let’s see what happens in the one day series. Pakistan will have the services of former captain Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzak, the two experienced players, we will have to wait and see what will happen till then bye bye. . . . . . . . . . .