THE 14-RUN OVER

The 2013 edition of the Indian Premiere League was a whole lot different from all of its previous editions. Controversy was a tag the cash-rich league had been carrying with it, ever since its inception, and the sixth edition, in a way, managed to get rid of just that. We were well into the business end of the tournament and in a welcoming change, the tournament had been clean upto that point. No sexual abuse, no drunken violence, and the matches got more of the focus than the parties. For the first time, people were talking about cricket whenever the league was mentioned.  The focus was on the performances, and rightly so. The sixth edition of the IPL is considered to be one of the toughest, simply due to the number of teams vying for a final four berth. The previous editions had atleast 2-3 of the final four decided well before the closing matches of the league stage. This time around, however, the top four had to wait until the final game of the round-robin stage, to be decided. And so, all was well. Or so were we led to believe.

Enter a certain trio from Rajasthan. While one among them, believed to be the main culprit in the whole scam, had a reputation not many would approve of, the other two seemed to be the future, showing a ton of promise, especially the lanky off-spinner. And what do you know? For all the praise that was heaped on them, they repaid with a slap in the face, insulting the intelligence and emotion of every single person who had been sincerely following the action for the past 6 weeks, under the assumption that they were watching a bunch of players, sincerely committed to bringing out their best and giving their blood, sweat and tears, in order to be the best that ever competed. Definitely, they were oblivious to the fact that what they were watching on screen was merely a form of flattery, carried out masterfully by men, who had no sense of remorse or guilt for their deceitful actions. The three represented everything that is against humanity and sportsmanship.

The one question amidst all of this that has been bothering me for quite some time now however, is what the three of them did to make those easy bucks. If media reports are to be believed, signals were sent out to the bookies, who were present at the venue, through such acts as tucking a towel outside, as in one case, when a certain bowler is believed to have given 14 runs in an over, as per the deal. Now this is where I have to stop you to say that this matter is worth much deeper analysis. Yes, such incidents have occurred in the past. Cricket is no stranger to the shameful act of spot-fixing, or for that matter, even match-fixing. But, 14 runs in an over, atleast to me, seems to be something that is extremely difficult to pull off.

Now before I proceed any further on this matter, let me make it very clear that I am, by no means, defending the tainted trio. I’m merely looking at the feasibility and the chances of such an act to be pulled off successfully. A few years back, another tainted trio from Pakistan, was caught in a similar act, and were duly dealt with. But, that was a different matter. They bowled no-balls in order to make money. Deliberately stepping over the line is undoubtedly very possible. But, to make a promise of giving a certain number of runs in an over and pulling it off doesn’t seem so possible. Don’t believe me? Alright, try it out for yourselves. Take a friend along, and ask him to deliberately bowl a bad ball, so you can hit a six off it. Just see if you’re able to pull it off, and if you do, repeat the same act. I’d be surprised if you manage to find 30, or at the most, 50% success. I’m sure its not going to work out 10 out of 10 times. No matter how deliberately and how badly he bowls, it is not going to be possible to fetch the desired result at every attempt. So, if you’re not going to find success, doing it repeatedly with a friend, with both parties aware of what’s going on, how on earth are you going to find success in an international match where its just one ball that you’re supposed to bowl badly and the opponent is not even aware that the ball is supposed to clear the boundary? You may bowl as badly as you want, but for all you know, the opposition batsman might be in the worst form of his life and may not even make connection with the ball. Now you may argue that a bowler can easily bowl down the leg side and bowl it so wide, that it goes for a boundary as well. But, mind you, the trio’s case was altogether different. The rest of the team was kept in bliss of the whole thing. Only the three of them knew what they were up to, which means no matter how wide they delivered the ball, the keeper was always going to give it his best shot and try and prevent the ball from going down to the boundary. Agreed, there’s a good chance he might fail in his attempt, but again, there’s no guarantee its going to happen. So, then, where is the question of agreeing to leak a certain number of runs as part of the deal?

Cricket, mind you, is not a contact sport. Its tough to fix matches, or rather spots, and pull them off successfully. Pre-determined results can happen in contact sports, such as wrestling, or boxing. If I were to agree to lose in a wrestling match to someone, in a bid to make extra bucks, I could easily do so, without creating a shadow of a doubt in anybody’s mind. I could deliberately allow my opponent to attack me and get the upper hand, while coming up with an occasional counter or two, and make it all seem real. Its because I can choose what to do with my hands. I can throw them at my opponent, or keep them to myself, and the target is standing right in front of me. Cricket is a different game, however. The opponent is not standing right in front of you. There’s a distance of 22 unpredictable yards that separate you from your opponent and anything can happen within that space. The only real possible way of fixing a spot, is to bowl a no-ball. That is perhaps, the safest, and the single most effective way to guarantee that a particular event will happen beforehand. Yes, the trio from Rajasthan might be guilty. And if proven, they must be banned for life from representing any team, at all levels of the game, for the disrepute they have brought to the “Gentleman’s Game” this great sport has carried over the years. But, to say that they gave 14 runs in an over, requires a question or two to be asked, and is certainly worthy of far deeper analysis.

RANDY ORTON: MONEY IN THE BANK VICTORY MEANS HEEL TURN ON THE HORIZON

World Wrestling Entertainment’s annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view for 2013 has now gone down in history books.  And, it is a night that is going to be remembered for quite some time, thanks to two spectacular ladder matches.

But, allow me to pause here for a moment because before I proceed any further with this story, which you must have figured out from the title, I would like to make a bold statement that the Smackdown ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship contract was the better of the two. And I say this for various reasons. For starters, and let’s be honest here, the Raw match for the WWE Championship match did not live up to its hype. By no means am I saying that it was bad. It most certainly wasn’t. But, it sure as hell fell way short of many people’s expectations. For a match that was billed as “All Stars”, it wasn’t all that great. The only spot that saved the match perhaps, was Paul Heyman’s betrayal of long-time “best friend” CM Punk which was, though extremely predictable and expected, nevertheless, a well-executed segment. The rest of the match, though not boring, did not have any spectacular moment that would leave bloodthirsty and extreme match fanatics wide-eyed, or jaws dropped in wondrous admiration. Hell, not even Rob Van Dam’s return could do that. Though I’m not a big fan of RVD as a wrestler, I’d probably be stupid to deny that he’s a great showman. No denying that he is a supreme athlete, blessed with loads of stamina, who can still go longer than most of the young blood in the roster, despite the fact that he’s well into his 40s. But, his performance at Money in the Bank was mediocre at best, especially given the man’s golden past in ladder matches.

The Smackdown match, however, exceeded expectations. It was a bunch of rather inexperienced wrestlers who were handed the responsibility of carrying one of two main events. And, boy did they deliver! It was most certainly a match worthy of a world championship contract. And inspite of all the praise that has been thrown in the way of Cody Rhodes, which he most certainly deserves, if you ask me, Dean Ambrose was the one who stood out the most. And, he’s the one who stole the show with the spot of the pay-per-view. (Watch the video below and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. You don’t have to watch the whole thing. Just start around the 2: 05 mark and watch until Ambrose gets thrown off the ladder eventually). With Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro holding the ladder, Ambrose tried to climb the ladder, which he eventually did and attempted to grab the briefcase, with the two men carrying his and the ladder’s dead weight. Impressive feat of strength by Swagger and Cesaro, and phenomenal flexibility, core strength, and presence of mind by Ambrose. This is why ladder matches are so loved by the fans.  Not only did that spot remain in fans’ minds, it will certainly go down as one of the greatest moments in the ladder match’s history. Money in the Bank is famous for giving us atleast one memorable moment to take home, and this was that moment. Ambrose might be barely a year old, since making his debut on the main roster, but this young man is certainly impressing one and all, and giving us glimpses of the great future that awaits him.

And now, to the main point of this article. WWE threw all of us a curveball that no one saw coming, when they awarded Damien Sandow the World Championship contract. And though it wasn’t as major an upset as that, the WWE championship contract going to Randy Orton wasn’t altogether predictable or expected. I mean, Daniel Bryan was on such a mean streak and was so hot going into this contest, nobody thought he was going to lose. Instead, what does the WWE do? They do something totally unexpected and allow Randy Orton, a man who has not even been considered for main events since late-2011, to pick up the victory. And this is one of the reasons the WWE is the global leader in the sports entertainment industry. They lay so much importance on social media and keep such a close eye on what the fans want to see, especially the Internet Wrestling Community, that they almost always do the exact opposite and surprise one and all. They do eventually give what the fans demand for, but in ways they never expect it. This way, both parties gain. The fans get what they want, while also ensuring the company’s product doesn’t grow stale and predictable.

Anyway, Randy Orton’s victory can only be a win-win situation for the WWE. Several reasons can be attributed to this. First and foremost, is Daniel Bryan’s momentum. He’s literally unstoppable at the moment. He’s so popular with the fans that its deafening every time his music hits the air and he makes his way down to the ring. The fans want to see Bryan win the championship from Cena, and Money in the Bank would have been a wonderful way to do so. But, Money in the Bank would mean, Bryan would have probably cashed in when Cena was vulnerable, and that would have made him look weak. He certainly deserves better. So, WWE chose the wise way of capitalizing on his momentum and allowed him to chase the championship the hard way. Agreed, he was eventually granted an opportunity at the title when Cena handpicked him as his opponent, but atleast we now get to see a proper wrestling match, in which Bryan is made to sweat and bleed to gain the top prize. This will only increase his face value as fans would respect and admire him more, for having earned the title, and not capitalizing on a a vulnerable foe. And, whether or not Vince McMahon trusts him, the man and his beard, certainly seem to be the future of the company. So, how can there be any bad in Bryan not winning Money in the Bank?

And now for Orton, the eventual winner of the case. Talks of his impending heel turn have been doing the rounds for quite a while now, and what better way to get it on track, than by winning the Money in the Bank? Because, let’s face it. Money in the Bank is a briefcase, that is specially built for heels, due to the rules that define the cash-in. And let’s be honest here. As popular and over as he may be with the fans at the moment, Orton has grown ridiculously stale. His viper gimmick is not doing him any good and he desperately needs a character makeover. Orton must, and will turn heel soon. Just take a look back at 2009, when he was the leader of “Legacy”, or for that matter, a year before, during the “Age of Orton”. He produced some of the best work of his career during the time. Orton as a heel WWE champion was far better than Orton as the face World Heavyweight Champion. The man is a born villain. Everything about him screams villain. As the great Jerry Lawler once famously said, “whoever said that there is some good in everyone, has obviously never met Randy Orton”. Randy Orton is tailor made for a heel role, and for that reason alone, this Money in the Bank victory is the right step forward.

And, what has winning the briefcase got to do with a heel turn? Come on.. Don’t kid yourselves.. We all know Randy Orton is no saint. He’s not going to put the champion on a month’s notice, like RVD did. He’s not going to walk down to the ring and cash it in when the champ is fully fit and healthy, like the start of a regular match. John Cena’s ridiculously good nature provides us with enough and more of that. Orton is an opportunist. They call him ‘the viper’ for a reason. At the first sight of his prey, he pounces upon it. He does it quietly. He slithers his way to success, and he strikes out of nowhere, when it is least expected. By the man’s own admission, he believes opportunities are meant to be taken and not flushed down the loo. He has been gifted an opportunity for a shot at the WWE Championship. And he’s certainly going to make the most out of it.

The worst fear among all of this, however, is that the cash in might happen at Summerslam. And, the even greater fear is the person on whom Orton will cash in. Many believe Bryan will wriggle the WWE Championship out of Cena’s waist at Summerslam, and the Orton cash-in might happen immediately afterwards. And I for one certainly want to see Bryan enjoy a good, long run with the title. He deserves it. But, who knows? Like I said earlier, WWE keeps a close track of what fans are expecting to see. So, they might once again throw a curveball at us and the cash-in might not even happen. This is the WWE and anything can happen here. But then again, even if Orton does cash in on Bryan, it’ll make the title chase even more interesting. It’ll perhaps make Bryan an even greater hero, which will do more wonders for his career. WWE has put itself in the best possible scenario, in which any result will work in their favour. Kudos to the creative team for setting up such an intriguing angle. The WWE Championship picture is highly unclear. Nobody knows what’s going to happen. It is unpredictable and exciting. But, after all is said and done, the wait for the heel turn is going to end soon, and the red briefcase is going to be the perfect way to trigger it off.

CM PUNK – THE GREATEST WWE CHAMPION EVER

Not until long ago, WWE wrestler CM Punk was still its reigning champion. And though its been roughly around six months since he lost that title to, in my opinion, a rather undeserving candidate in The Rock, its still hard to imagine him walking down that aisle without that glorious championship around his waist. And, well!!.. Was it just another championship reign?!.. Hell, no!!.. It was so much more than that.. Much, much more..

Punk rose to prominence around July 2011 when he threatened to quit the company, citing improper utilization of his talent as the reason. It all started off with one promo.. ONE EPIC PROMO.. that is now considered to be the greatest piece of oration the sport has ever seen.. It was the first time ever that a wrestler spoke of the behind-the-curtain issues of the company and the industry. The industry secrets had long been out, thanks to the internet, and the informed and educated fans of today. But, never before on television.. Nobody was allowed to break the fourth wall and nobody had the guts to talk of industry secrets.. But, within a matter of five minutes, with a microphone in hand, he did all that and more.. It was, simply put, pure magic on the mic. That promo was what sent his career into an upward spiral because following that night, he became the central element of the show and started off an incredible next few weeks, in what is now known as the ‘Summer of Punk’, that ultimately culminated in the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on July 17, 2011 at Chicago, Illinois, in front of one of the most ‘rowdy’ crowds ever, that saw the greatest match of the P.G. era between him and John Cena that ended with Punk leaving the company with its top prize.. Who could have ever thought of such a thing happening?? Vince McMahon, Chairman of the Board, of course, did everything in his power to stop Punk, and even tried pulling off another screw job, somewhat similar to Montreal, 1997. But, it just was Punk’s day. No force could stop him and one of the greatest stories ever told in professional wrestling had just concluded. Or, so we thought.

Two weeks later, with a new theme song, Punk made his return to the company, much to the delight of a large contingent of fans. But, it was not until November, 2011, when he beat Alberto Del Rio in one of the two scheduled main events of Survivor Series at the world famous Madison Square Garden, that he became a megastar. What an apt place to start off such a historic title reign? What followed was a year of some of the finest promos and the greatest displays of technical wrestling ever. He defended his title against the likes of Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Big Show, and John Cena, all some of the biggest names the industry has ever produced. And, he delivered every time. Not only did he deliver five-star matches on a regular basis, he elevated his opponents to levels that they were never looked at before. Throughout the fourteen-and-a-half months that he held the title, there was not one night when he was boring. Night after night followed one classic after the other. No superstar in history has consistently delivered the kind of quality matches that CM Punk has, with the lone exception of Shawn Michaels. But, what made his title reign so special was something else.

July 23, 2012… Scottrade Center… St.Loius Missouri.. The world was watching.. It was a historic night.. It was, the 1000^th episode of Monday Night Raw. And Punk chose the biggest night of them all. He chose the most spectacular stage.. And, he waited.. Until the final few moments.. And he pulled the trigger. He shocked the world as he attacked the Rock, laid him out with a GTS, and turned heel. How often has one seen that? A WWE champion turning heel during the course of the same reign. It was the rarest of the rare sights. And yet, Punk only got better. His status was further elevated. On the September 3, 2012 episode of Raw, Punk aligned himself with Paul Heyman. The two men were so legendary in their own rights and didn’t need each other. But, they just wanted to work with each other. The greatest champion of the current era and the greatest manager in wrestling history walking side by side. What a sight it was? Heyman and Punk’s alliance was one of the finest things to have happened to wrestling in a long time. Heyman made Punk look meaner, stronger, better, greater. It was a wrestling purist’s dream. The two of them carried out their roles to perfection.

Punk looked and acted like a champion. He defined what a true champion should be made of and showed us what a champion is like. And how fitting it was when he broke John Cena’s record and went on to become the longest reigning champion of the modern era and the sixth longest reigning champion of all time. His eventual reign of 434 days was behind only Pedro Morales and was the longest reign in 29 years. But, Pedro belonged to a different era. An era when wrestlers held the title for years, even decades. That was not possible in today’s product. So, in effect, CM Punk is the Bruno Sammartino of today’s WWE. It was really unfortunate to see him drop the title to a part-time superstar in The Rock, a man not even half as good as he is in the ring. But, that does not stop CM Punk from cementing his name as the greatest WWE champion ever..