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How the 2024 T20 World Cup is a Boon for Bowling and Cricket as a whole

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T he just-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) was a batsman's paradise. Flat pitches and the 'Impact Player Rule’ led to a run-fest. But fast forward a month, and the narrative has flipped dramatically in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup. Here in the Caribbean islands and USA, slower pitches and a focus on bowling are offering a refreshing and, I believe, ultimately positive, change for the sport.  Look at the numbers: Afghanistan's young pace phenom Fazal Farooqi leads the wicket-taking charts with a staggering 12 scalps in just 3 matches. The wily Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, already the record holder for most wickets in a single T20 World Cup edition (2021 & 2022), is weaving his magic again, controlling the middle overs with his bag of tricks. I still am in awe of New  Zealand's Lockie Ferguson gave a spectacular performance against Papua New Guinea in their final match of the T20 World Cup campaign on Monday. During his spell, Ferguson conceded zero

A Solution to solve Mumbai's Vaccination Problem - an open letter to CM of Maharashtra

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Hope you are doing well..... The whole country is in deep COVID crisis. In Maharashtra too, the cases are rising. If we don't prevent this sooner, we will be in deep shortage of medical supplies and this can give rise to a big health emergency.  The only way in which we can prevent this is by Mass Vaccination of everyone in Mumbai and Maharashtra. Vaccination prevents infection of COVID and hospitalization in all age categories to a great extent. Countries like Israel and UK are a great example. As centre has not allowed Maharashtra to allow door to door vaccination, I have another idea of undertaking mass vaccination in Mumbai (can be expanded to all of Maharashtra too). After 1st May when vaccination will be opened for all adults, this will help reduce the burden on the current vaccination centres The idea- There are a lot of grounds and parks in every locality of Mumbai. They are now idle because of the current mini lockdown. There are many nurses and attendants too

Arvind Gupta - An Unsung Hero of India

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Heroes are an inspiration for everyone. Here, I will introduce you to unsung hero of India. An IIT Kanpur Engineer who quit his job at Telco and began teaching science to the children of India. When Arvind Gupta quit his job, his mother came to his defence stating ‘good, now he will do something noble with his life’. He has been inspiring generations of students to learn science with their own hands on ‘Tarang’, the DD show, since the 1980s. Gupta, who started toy-making a decade before he appeared on the science show, has made 6,200 short films on toy-making in 18 languages in the last 35 years that are available on his website and YouTube, all to prove a point that science cannot be learnt by rote, mugging up definitions and formulae. He is still working to make education more accessible. He has so far uploaded around 4,000 books and articles on his website. Even with his failing health, at present he is busy translating books in Hindi. He has already translated over 175 b

The Leicester City of India

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Everyone loves a good underdog story. Last year in May 2016, Leicester City scripted history by becoming the EPL champions and it was talked about for months. We can now say that history has been made in India too. Aizwal FC have become the first team from the North-East to win the I-League and they've really made India proud. Aizawl FC won their maiden I-League title following a dramatic season finale, which saw them going toe-to-toe with Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan. On the final day of the season, Aizawl, who had 36 points from 17 matches, needed only a draw to be crowned champions ahead of Bagan, who trailed them by three points. Their 1-1 draw against another club from the Northeast, Shillong Lajong, confirmed the stunning achievement for Aizawl FC, who, in the process, became the first team from the Northeast to win the national championship. What was the journey of Aizawl FC like? It’s an incredible tale at many levels, not because Aizawl were relegated to the

What if Indian states were kids at school?

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Andhra Pradesh  : The hardworking boy who does all the work assigned to him sincerely.  He is taking engineering after school. Arunachal Pradesh :  The girl who sits quietly, lost in her own world, in a corner of the class. Assam :  The jovial guy who is always cheerful. And yes, he prefers tea to coffee. Bihar  : The boy who always makes the loudest noise in the absence of the teacher, but has a kind heart. Chhattisgarh :  The introverted guy who always listens to the crowd and seldom speaks. Goa :  One of the most popular guys. He parties all day and night. Gujarat :  The guy who lends his pen to others, and never forgets to take it back. He has visited the bank more than the school canteen. Haryana :  The guy who has the ability to scare juniors by his accent. People try to imitate him to get some quick popularity points. Himachal Pradesh :  That fair girl in the class who is approached by everyone - be it for homework, or for club events. Jammu And Kashmir :  The gir

BHIM APP - Can it suppress PayTM and Freecharge?

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About BHIM App The neat, clean and simple interface of the app is a welcome departure from other apps from the government. This is in tune with its stated purpose of simplified payments. How to Use the BHIM app To make use of BHIM app you will need to have an account with any of the 32 banks that have joined UPi (list of banks at the end of the post). The app is currently available only in English and Hindi. Given the wide diversity of languages in India, more languages are expected to be added soon. Also the phone number you use for the app needs to be associated with your bank account. At the moment it allows only one phone number and bank account to be linked with the app at a time. However, there exists an option to change accounts. Unlike many other apps BHIM doesn't need a plethora of permissions from the user. It asks for access to SMS (to verify mobile number) and to make and manage phone calls (they say they need it to verify your phone with UPI). And in case you want t

What happened to Ash Ketchum's original Pokemon in Indigo League?

I am a huge fan of Pokemon (mainly the Kanto Chapter- the Indigo League) . It was an integral part of my children just like many of my friends.  Ash Ketchum’s original 6 Pokemon team consisted of Pikachu, Charizard, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, and an honorable mention, Muk. He caught them and their fates are as follows: Pikachu  - Given to him by Professor Oak, the bond between the two grew and grew, and Pikachu remains with Ash over 700 episodes later. Charizard  - Charmander was found abandoned by its trainer, but Ash rescued it and nursed it back to health. It would eventually evolve into Charmeleon and Charizard very quickly, but as a result lost its respect for Ash. After being frozen in an ice beam attack on the Orange Islands, Charizard would regain its obedience to Ash’s orders. Eventually it would be left at a special camp for Charizards in order to strengthen its skills. Squirtle  - Originally a member of the Squirtle Squad, a bespectacled quartet of de