ducks of Pulicat !!

A raft of ducks – [large group of geese in flight is called a skein, team, or wedge] colony of small duck   -like birds flying ! - at a distance and gone in a trice !

 

Picture taken at Pulicat in Feb 2022.

windscreen glass on a two-wheeler !!

 

Windscreen glasses are  a crucial safety component -  primarily made from laminated safety glass designed to protect occupants and provide clear visibility. 

Mostly made of laminated two curved sheets of glass with a layer of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) plastic laminated between them, in case of   breakage, the glass fragments stick to the PVB interlayer instead of shattering into sharp pieces, reducing the risk of injury. Additionally they offer   sound insulation and block harmful UV rays.

 

In between, will  someone let them know that it is not required in a two-wheeler!

what a catch ! what a match !! - Zimbabwe fell Australia

Just as INDIA would ever remember 25^th June 1983 when Kapil Devils conquered the World and won the Prudential World Cup, there is another Nation which would look back with satisfaction  !! 

On  9th  June 1983,  in their very first one-day international, Zimbabwe announced their arrival with one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history, beating Australia by 13 runs at Trent Bridge. Brief scorecard read :   Zimbabwe 239 for 6 (Fletcher 69*, Butchart 34*) beat Australia 226 for 7 (Wessels 76, Marsh 50*; Fletcher 4-42) by 13 runs.. Zimbabweans had played with ease the renowned Australian pace attack of Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson,  Geoff Lawson and Rod Hogg. 

In the early hours of a Tuesday morning in 1983, Australia's prime minister Bob Hawke famously told the country that "any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum". Australia  had just won the America's Cup. It was one of the nation's most defining moments of the 1980s, the end of New York Yacht Club's 132-year hold on the trophy ~ and then the mighty Australians lost to minnows in 1983 World Cup.

 

Have not heard or seen him much !  but the catch Munyonga took today, would make him remembered by thousands who saw the match and the highlights !!   Tony Tanaka Munyonga, born in 1999 bats right handed and bowls off-breaks with right arm. Today he did not bat, did not bowl ! but still would be talked about !!    

It's all happening here today at Srilanka.  Kuhnemann missed his flick and the ball ballooned up to Brad Evans, who collected the ball and then under-armed a throw at the striker's end with the batter out of his crease.   ZImbabwe have beaten Australia! They didn't make the World Cup in 2024, and now, back in the big leagues, they have not just made it two wins in two, but they have registered a win over Australia! What a day for this Zimbabwe team! What a day for Sikandar Raza and Brian Bennett and Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans! For Graeme Cremer, making a comeback after ages. 

17.4   Length ball outside off by Brad Evans,  Dwarshuis tried to pull, hitting it  straight to  deep midwicket.  Munyonga running and covering many yards jumped, dived and plucked the ball from the air.     

9th Match, Group B, Colombo (RPS), February 13, 2026, ICC Men's T20 World Cup.  Match no. T20I no. 3704 – Aussies have been beaten by Zimbabwe.  Put into bat, Zimbabwe batted calmly – the opening partnership was 61; 70 for the 2nd wicket and unbroken 38 then.  Brain Bennett carried bat through with 64; WK Tadiwanashe Marumani made 35; Ryan Buri 35 and Sikandar Raza remained unbeaten on 25.  Blessing Muzarabani continued his stellar form with the ball with 4 for 17 and was rightly handed the player of the match award as Brad Evans (3 for 23) also picked up crucial wickets to ensure that Australia’s top order crumbled. Matt Renshaw (65 from 44) played a lone hand.  When Glenn Maxwell (31) departed with 64 runs still to get the comeback looked unlikely 

When Muzarabani bowled full and knocked the leg stump of Adam Zampa, it was  his fourth, and his 100th T20I wicket!.  Afghanistan's Rashid Khan is the fastest to 100 T20I wickets, achieving the milestone in only 53 matches. Other top, rapid achievers include Sandeep Lamichhane (54 matches), Wanindu Hasaranga (63 matches), and India's Arshdeep Singh (64 matches), who is the fastest pacer to reach the landmark.  

 

After that very famous win over Australia in 1983 it took 11,406 days for Zimbabwe to beat Australia in an ODI again.  In between in Newlands T20WC in 2007 they did beat Australia.  In that ODI in 1983 debuted alongside 10 others was the Off spinner - John Traicos – he was 37 then and had made his Test debut - for South Africa - in 1969-70 in their final series before they were cast into sporting isolation.  When he played his final match in India in March 1993, he was 45.  Egyptian born, he grew up in South Africa, touring England in 1967 with the South African Universities, and thereafter played for Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.  When Zimbabwe were finally admitted to the fold in 1992, Traicos, despite his age, was still far and away the best offspinner in the country – played – took 5 for 86 including Sachin Tendulkar out for a duck.  His international career ended when business commitments meant he was not available to tour Pakistan in 1993-94. Traicos fled Zimbabwe with his family in 1997 for political reasons and is became  company secretary in Australia. 

Interesting ! – now Australia faces the possibility of exiting out of the T20 WC without going to the next stage.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
13.2.2026 

SYMA Childfest 2026 - bakthi song

 

Prefer singing a Bakthi song than a cine song !! 

 

"ஆத்மா ராமா ஆனந்த ரமணா அச்சுத கேசவ ஹரி நாராயண" என்பது  ஸ்ரீராமன், கிருஷ்ணன் என எம்பெருமான் ஸ்ரீமந்நாராயணனின்  புகழைப் பாடும் ஒரு பிரபலமான பக்திப் பாடல் (பஜன்).

 

எம்பெருமான் நாரணன் எல்லா இடங்களிலும், நம் உள்ளத்திலும் உறைகிறான் என்பதை உணர்த்தும் அமைதியான பாடல். இது 'பவ பய ஹரண' (வாழ்க்கை பயத்தை நீக்குபவர்), 'வந்தித்த சரண' (வணங்கத்தக்க பாதங்கள்) என இறைவனைப் போற்றுகிறது.

 

SYMA Childfest 2026 – Group singing competition – Don Bosco, MKB Nagar school – do listen on why they choose this song !!

 

:  https://youtu.be/k9PvYnMzLDE

the priced furniture of yore - Pirambu Moda !!

It was early 1990s and our group of Officers of PSU Insurers had just boarded – Tamil Nadu Express bound for Madras Central  at New Delhi Railway station,   – we had around half an hour and found that at least 4 members were missing .. .. those were no mobile days ! – as we waited anxiously, those persons who had gone to nearby Panchkuian Road came with handful of ____________!!! 

What is your priced possession of furniture at home ? – cosy sofa, easy-chairs, bubble baskets, teakwood / rosewood chairs or simple plastic chairs !  - not many would like to sit on stools (without back support) and younger generation may not know that ‘cane modas’ were part of middle income households ! – cousins would fight for right to sit on chair, stating that they could study well only when sitting on it and et al. 

முன்ன ஒரு காலத்துல வீடுகளில 'பிரம்பு மோடா' எனும் ஒரு பொருள் வாழ்ந்து வந்தது.  மணல் சார்ந்த நீர்நிலைகளின் அருகே வளரும் பிரம்புச்செடி, மிகப் பழமையான ஒரு தாவரமாகும். lபிரம்பு உலகெங்கும் வளரும் போவேசியே குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்த நெகிழ்ச்சித்தன்மையான வன்தண்டைக் கொண்ட பல்லாண்டுத் தாவரமாகும். 

இன்றைய மில்லினியம் கிட்ஸ் அறியாதது ... .. அன்றைய பள்ளி நாட்களில், ஆசிரியர்களின் கையில் ஒரு ஆயுதம் - பிரம்பு .. ..  ஆசிரியர்களும், பெற்றோரும்  சில சமயங்களில் பின்னி பெடல் எடுப்பார்கள்.  சமயத்தில் பிரம்பு பிய்ய பிய்ய நண்பர்கள் (நாம் !!) அடி  வாங்கிய நினைவுகளும் உண்டு !!!   

பிரம்பு மூங்கில் பொருட்கள் சொகுசு பங்களாக்களையும், வி.ஐ.பி., வீடுகளின் வரவேற்பு அறைகளை மட்டும் அழகுப் படுத்தி வந்ததோடல்லாமல் -   அன்றைய நாட்களில்,   நடுத்தர, சாதாரண வகுப்பு மக்களின் இல்லங்களில்  அமர அரியாசனம் 'பிரம்பு மோடா' தான்.  

Partially reposted from my earlier article

S Sampathkumar

when Erasmus delivered a dead-ball !!

 

The 18^th match of ICC T20 WC was a damp-squid – why the minnows put India in after the winning the toss is inexplicable, so also the decision of not giving another over to Varun Chakravarthi !!  

A massive 93-run win despite India not being great in patches. The chase looked to threaten when Sttenkamp and Frylinck started well but then came Varun, wrecking the attacking attempts of Namibia. Once Erasmus fell to Axar, the game was effectively done. Bumrah bowled all four, after being brought on after the powerplay. Every bowler got a wicket at least. 

After Pak match, Tariq has been in the headlines because of his unconventional action. The off-spinner, who has a hypermobile (double-jointed) elbow that prevents him from fully straightening his arm, a trait once associated with Muttiah Muralitharan, has been taking wickets consistently in T20 cricket.  What makes him particularly dangerous is his diagonal run-up and exaggerated two-to-three-second pause at the crease, which completely disrupt a batter’s timing and rhythm.  It appeared as though, he runs in, stops – waits to decide on whether to bowl or not !!  

India posted 209 for 9— a powerful batting effort against Namibia in their T20 World Cup clash in Delhi, driven largely by  Ishan Kishan at the top  and a late push by Hardik Pandyua.  India stormed to 86 in the powerplay, racing away in the first six overs. Then came a lull. Between overs eight and 12, India managed just 20 runs from 30 deliveries. That was when Namibia’s spinners — captain Gerhard Erasmus and Bernard Scholtz — tightened the screws and dragged the contest back.

 

            India were cruising at 104 for 1 at the end of the seventh over. Ishan Kishan was in destructive mood, sending the Namibian seamers on a leather hunt and peppering the stands with clean strikes. Erasmus changed the tone immediately. With the first ball of his spell — a half-tracker delivered from around the wicket — he tempted Ishan into a miscued pull that was safely pouched at deep mid-wicket. 

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus caught the eye with a stunning performance in the game against India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. On a high scoring pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Erasmus picked up figures of 4/20 in his four overs. The all-rounder however came under the scanner for his bowling tricks along with his round arm action, reminding us of Kedar Jadhav.    

Somehow his action made many say him - 'Usman Tariq of Namibia'  - his ' action has been a major talking point throughout the ICC t20 World Cup 2026. He bowls with a round arm angle, crouching and then bringing the ball in from a wide angle.  It was going lower and lower and .. .. and he was delivering at will from every possible place ! – couple of times not even reaching the non-striker stumps !!  

He came to bowl the 8^th over and with a length first ball delivered in a obtuse angle, made Ishan crouch and hit to Shikongo at deep mid-wicket.  He was bowling slingers which perhaps Indian batters were finding difficult to read, locate and hit !!

Funnily enough the last ball of the 8^th over – wide down the leg was called a Dead ball, not a wide !!  It appeared as though the delivery took place immediately after crossing the Umpire but much before the stumps .. Umpire Rod Tucker was not happy.  He had a tiny conversation with the bowler.  Many slingers were to follow and on another instance, of a very similar delivery, the same Umpire did not take any action.  He was bending lower and lower but keeping his arms up, sending them to a nagging length just outside off inviting drives through the cover.  He then with a super slower ball that kept very low, beat Axar Patel into submission. 

 

Bowling from behind the stumps is not illegal in t20Is and Erasmus did that to good effect later to dismiss Tilak Varma. He also dismissed Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel in a fine spell of spin bowling.  Figures of 4-0-20-4 would make any bowler happy especially against Team India. 

Cricket law 20 deals with ‘Dead ball’ – it is more of situations after delivery – settling in the hands of keeper, when boundary or sixer is scored; when batter is dismissed; when trapped between bat and person or clothing or equipment – whether  the ball is finally settled or not is a matter for the umpire alone to decide.  

It is the Umpire at the Bowler end who may call and signal Dead ball if it is necessary to inform the players. Further either Umpire may call and signal a dead ball – when there is unfair play, possibly serious to a player occurs, one or both bails falling before Striker plays the ball; striker not ready; striker distracted and the like and when the  bowler drops the ball accidentally before delivery.  

While there is more sub-sections to the Law, there does not appear any condition on from where the ball is to be delivered when the line is not crossed. 

May we would get to read more on this dead-ball incident.

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar
12.2.2026

 

India play Namibia today ....... some interesting Tidbits !!

 

How good is your memory ?  - do you remember that 25^th  Match of ICC ODI World Cup played at  Pietermaritzburg, on  Feb 23, 2003- India won by 181 runs ! 

The match will start in few hours now !  -  the Q is Who replaces Abhishek Sharma in India's XI, if he hasn't regained full fitness after being hospitalised for a stomach bug and then discharged on Wednesday? Sanju Samson is likely to be the first choice as the reserve specialist opener, but a left-field option could be the allrounder Washington Sundar, who resumed training with the Indian squad on Tuesday after recovering from a rib injury. 

India play Namibia at Kotla this night !!  Namibia,  is a stable parliamentary democracy in Southern Africa. Known as the "Land of the Brave," it is the second least densely populated country in the world. It is home to the world's oldest desert, the Namib, and the second-largest canyon, the Fish River Canyon. Namibia  borders the Atlantic Ocean, Angola, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. Zimbabwe lies less than 200 metres (660 feet) away along the Zambezi river near Kazungula, Zambia. Namibia's capital and largest city is Windhoek. 

The Namib   is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and northwest South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa.  Annual precipitation ranges from 2 millimetres (0.079 in) in the aridest regions to 200 millimetres (7.9 in) at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. 

Namibia became a German colony in 1884 under Otto von Bismarck to forestall perceived British encroachment and was known as German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika). The Palgrave Commission by the British governor in Cape Town determined that only the natural deep-water harbour of Walvis Bay was worth occupying and thus annexed it to the Cape province of British South Africa.  From 1904 to 1907, the Herero and the Nama took up arms against ruthless German settlers. In a calculated punitive action by the German settlers, government officials ordered the extinction of the natives in the OvaHerero and Nama genocide. In what has been called the "first genocide of the 20th century", the Germans systematically killed 10,000 Nama (half the population) and approximately 65,000 Herero (about 80% of the population). The survivors, when finally released from detention, were subjected to a policy of dispossession, deportation, forced labour, racial segregation, and discrimination in a system that in many ways foreshadowed the apartheid established by South Africa in 1948.  The German minister for development aid apologised for the Namibian genocide in 2004. However, the German government distanced itself from this apology.  Only in 2021 did the German government acknowledge the genocide and agree to pay €1.1 billion over 30 years in community aid.

 

Etosha National Park is a famous  park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. "The Ghosts of Etosha" are elephants at the Etosha National Park in Namibia. They were given the name because they are often covered in the white dust found in the reserve. [pic from X] 

Back on that day in 2003 at South Africa, India first piled up a mammoth score - 311/2 - and then used spin to tighten the screws on an inexperienced Namibian side, skittling them for 130 and winning easily by 181 runs. 

Namibia was introduced to cricket through its southern neighbour, South Africa, before and during World War I. And the game grew in the country during its time as a South African protectorate for over 70 years when the team (as South West Africa) played in South Africa's domestic system from the 1960s to the 1980s, and then again in the 2000s. More recently, Namibia gained some players from South Africa, including allrounder David Wiese, whose father was born in Namibia, and leading ODI wicket-taker Ruben Trumpelmann. Namibia gained global recognition after playing in the 2003 World Cup, but had to wait 16 years to regain ODI status.   

Namibia's challenge always lay in resources with a population of a little over 2.5 million and limited facilities. There are only five premier league clubs in Namibia, nine cricket fields and the national team play their fixtures at a club ground, Wanderers. At the 2021 T20 World Cup, they made it to the Super 12s, securing an automatic spot for the 2022 tournament in Australia, although they were unable to repeat that feat there. In February 2024, No. 5 batter Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton hit then-then fastest T20I century, off 33 balls, against Nepal. A year later,   Namibia beat South Africa in the first international between the neighbours. Fast bowler Ruben Trumplemann took 3 for 28 and left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz conceded only 16 runs in his four-over spell to clinch a low-scoring T20I thriller. A reliable middle-order batter and a handy offspinner, Gerhard Erasmus has been a key figure in Namibia's rise in the 2020s and now captains the team. 

The India Namibia match in WC 2003 was played at – Pietermaritzburg, the capital and second-largest city of the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. Known as the "City of Choice" or the "City of Flowers," it is a major administrative, industrial, and educational hub situated about 80 kilometres inland from Durban.   Pietermaritzburg Railway Station is the main railway station was constructed in the 19th century, lying  between Durban (KwaZulu-Natal), Cape Town (Western Cape) and Johannesburg (Gauteng). 

 

Gandhi statue here – by  Vanbasten 23 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72400042. Historically, the station is famous as being the place where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off a train for riding first class in 1893.

 

Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
12.2.2026

Mattress !! ~ மெத்தை வாங்கினேன் தூக்கத்தை வாங்கலை !?!?

 

When do you hit bed daily ~ how long and how well do you sleep !!    For sure a cosy bed gives a comfortable sleep,  while there are gifted some who can literally sleep on any floor !! 

Sleep is a vital biological process that plays a crucial role in maintaining physical and mental health. It allows the body to rest, repair, and restore itself, impacting various functions including memory, mood, and immune response.  

 

பூங்காற்று திரும்புமா;  என்பாட்டை விரும்புமா ?

பாராட்ட மடியில் வச்சு தாலாட்ட,  எனக்கொரு தாய் மடி கிடைக்குமா

 

முதல் மரியாதை 1985 ஆண்டு  வெளிவந்தது -  பாரதிராஜா இயக்கத்தில்  சிவாஜி கணேசன், ராதா, வடிவுக்கரசி, இரஞ்சனி மற்றும் பலர் நடித்து இருந்தனர். இசைஞானி இளையராஜா இசையில் பாடல் விரும்பி கேட்கப்பட்டன.  Not exactly a Movie review but a Photo post on mattresses and sleep !!

 

Malaichami is unhappily married to his cousin Ponnatha, a shrew who always shows him contempt. Though they live together, they do not share a husband-wife relationship. Years roll by. Malaichami, the village chief, is respected by one and all. Kuyil, a young woman, comes to the village with her father looking for work. They build a hut on the river bank and Kuyil works as a boatwoman with a coracle. Malaichami and Kuyil become good friends despite the wide gap in their age and socioeconomic status. Since Malaichami receives no emotional support or love at home, he enjoys Kuyil's company. 

Circle of Two is a 1981 Canadian drama film starring Richard Burton and Tatum O'Neal.  Its theme – of a 60-year-old artist, who has lost his inspiration when his muse left him 10 years previously, regains it when he falls in love with a sixteen-year-old reportedly was the knot for Muthal Mariyathai. 

 

என்ன சொல்லுவேன் என்னுள்ளம் தாங்கலை

மெத்தை வாங்கினேன் தூக்கத்தை வாங்கலை

இந்த வேதனை யாருக்குதான் இல்லை

உன்னை மீறவே ஊருக்குள் ஆளில்லை

எதோ என்பாட்டுக்கு நான் பாட்டு பாடி

சொல்லாத சோகத்தை சொன்னேனடி

 

One can buy a good mattress but cannot guarantee getting good sleep !!!  

சின்ன வயதில் வெறும் தரையில் படுத்தல் தவறு என  பாயில் படுக்க சொல்லுவார்கள்.   உங்களுக்கு பாய் விரித்து தரையில் படுத்து தூங்கிய அனுபவம் உண்டா !  அந்த காலங்களில், தனி பாயும், ஒரு தலைகாணியும், தலைக்கு மேலே ஓடும் மின்விசிறியும் கிடைக்கப்பெற்றவர்கள் பெரும் செல்வந்தர்கள்.  இயற்கை முறைகளில் தயாரிக்கப்படும் பாய்களில் படுத்து தூங்குவதால் நமக்கு ஏராளமான நன்மைகள்  உண்டு.  தென்னங்கீற்று, பனை ஓலை, தாழை மடல், நாணல் மற்றும் கோரைப்புற்களைக் கொண்டு பாய்கள் தயாரிக்கப்படுகின்றன. கம்பளி, பிரம்பு, ஈச்சம், பேரீச்சம், மூங்கில், இலவம் போன்றவற்றில் இருந்தும் பாய்கள் தயாரிக்கப்படுகின்றன.  

கோரைப்பாய் என்பது கோரைப் புற்களால் செய்யப்படும் ஒரு பாரம்பரியப் பாய், இது உடல் நலத்திற்கு நல்லது மற்றும் இயற்கையான குளுமையைத் தரும்.  கோரைப்புல்  கரும்பு போலத் தோற்றமளிக்கும், நீர்ப்பிடிப்புள்ள பகுதிகளில் வளரும், அறுவடை செய்து, இரண்டாகப் பிளந்து, உலர்த்தி, நெய்யப்பட்டு, உடல் சூட்டைக் குறைத்து குளிர்ச்சியாக இருக்கும்.   

It is claimed that the  different layers in a high-quality mattress all have their unique functions and have configurations accordingly. For the most part, the higher the foam density, the better your mattress is, in addition to other factors. Not every layer (like the comfort layer needs to be breathable and not dense) needs to be high-density, but most layers of your mattress do. They need to be soft, help you sleep (the most crucial part) and last longer with minimum care as per the mattress type. 

For those working, in Office and reading this now – it may not be right time but Sleeping instantaneously as one hits the bed is a gift !! (irrespective of the time). Every day sleep in time, sleep well, sleep for long hours !!

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
12.2.2026
 

high-arm bowling action !!

 

Watching ICC T20 WC 2026 – feel that there are only  few bowlers with High arm bowling action  -  where the bowler's arm remains nearly vertical—close to 12 o'clock position—at release, maximizing pace, bounce, and control. 

This action involves a straight arm path from shoulder to wrist, generating higher ball speed through physics like increased release radius (similar to a windmill effect). It promotes raw bounce and swing, as seen in bowlers like Mitchell Starc and Jofra Archer. The head stays aligned toward the target, with hips and shoulders rotating fully for power. 

While higher  arm position offers greater accuracy margin over slingy or round-arm styles, reducing error from shoulder misalignment, it demands strong shoulder drive and can risk injury if arm speed drills aren't balanced.  

 

Here is a Rose-ringed Parakeet in flight 

Regards – S Sampathkumar
12.2.2026

what a pulsating match ... SA Vs Afg - double Super Over

 

How exciting a game of Cricket can be !!- do you experience extreme stress thinking of the game result !!

 

Myth 1: On an Afternoon, I watch match relaxed and without any exuberance when two other teams are playing ! – I don’t think or predict results – why worry, whichever team wins !! 

Myth 2 :  T2oI – last over of the match – can go upto the last ball too – how many times your predictions at this stage can go wrong ! – max 6 times, NO, you are absolutely wrong !! 

What match it turned out to be !   T20I 3697  - 13^th  Match, Group D, Ahmedabad, February 11, 2026,  - ICC Men's T20 World Cup 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz hits a breezy 84 off 42 and when he comes to bat again !! (why !!) – 24 required of 4 – he hits – 6,6,6 and what happened next ! – a heartstopper !!  - a match with double Super Over. 

Batting first – South Africa made 187/6 aided by – Quinton de Kock 59; Ryan Rickleton 61   - chasing this, Rahmanullah Gurbah, the wicket keeper bat hit 84 off 42. 

In a match full of twist/ turns / swings and more – commentators shouted that SA has won as the catch was taken cleanly and last man - Noor Ahmad Lakanwal was out !!   Noor is no stranger – bought by CSK for whopping 10 cr in  2025 .. .. a known rabbit, has not scored a 50 in any form of Cricket – he and Fazalhaq Farooqi, the last man were at the crease.  Noor did a Dhoni in not running a single, determined to finish the match all by himself. Kagiso Rabada was the bowler, who had to defend 12 off the last pair. 

Around 15^th / 16^th over, the match appeared to be slipping out of Afghan though win was probable.  Kagiso Rabada bowled a good 17^th over – 30 were needed of last three – Afg 158/6. Ngidi bowled near perfect one, giving away 6 runs and taking a wicket, making it 24 off 12 balls.  Marco Jansen gave 13 and took 2 wickets and it boiled down to 13 from 6 balls. 

The first ball of the last over, it seemed all over – Noor Ahamed hit straight to extra cover and everyone was celebrating but the alarm sounded indicating it a no ball, giving a free hit – 12 off 6; then came a wide – the first legal deliver Noor hit to long but decided against running.  Then came a mix-up – Farooqi running mad and reaching almost the striker end, sent back … somehow not run out.  19.2 – a big swing, Noor clears deep backward square and it is a Six. 19.4 – another no ball, Noor runs 2 and now it is a much comfortable 2 off 3 and a free hit too.  Noor hits to wide long off – perhaps Farooqi was caught napping, Jansen’s throw caught him an inch or two outside – a run out – making it a Super Over.    

Super over:  Afghans bat and SA bowl !!  it was Lungi Ngidi -  Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Gurbaz   opening.  First ball,   Azmatullah Omarzai squeezed for four through point. Next he was able to clear the tallest man Jansen by inches and hit a 6.  3^rd ball a single; so also 4^th is.  5^th carved away over point – Rabada dived to his left, acrobatic effort, got his hand yet ball dropped and touched the ground before crossing the ropes. With a single off the last ball, it was 18 for SA to win !! 

SA opened with David Miller and Dewald Brevis. Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled.  1^st – 1; 2 Brevis hits a monstrous six; 3 – topedged to keeper; 4  Stubbs gets a luck four off the edge; 5^th a dot and .. .. with Six required  Stubbs put it over the jumping long off   

So it was Second super over  :  the playing conditions state :  Dismissed batters can't bat again. New bowlers too. Change of ends as well.  

Azmatullah Omarzai bowled - Tristan Stubbs and David Miller continued. Stubbs slogged it over midwicket for a 6; 2- single; 3 -2; 4 – Miller clears midwicket for a6; 5^th a high full toss, moved over square leg for another six and last ball 2 – now with 24 required, again match looked SA way !!   

Azmatullah Omarzai it was with Mohammad Nabi and surprisingly  Keshav Maharaj with the ball.  Nabi swung and missed the first ball, which somehow missed the stumps.  Second Nabi sliced and Miller took a brilliant catch at point. Now no further drama, as 24 required but !!  Gurbaz hit a straight six; then cleaned it almost out of the ground and 5^th ball another 6 …. .. 3 sixers of 3 balls – yet another one required which will decide the fate !!!  Ball 6  Keshav Maharaj bowled a wide .. .. opening the match, but still a 4 would not tie .. .. then a full and wide ball was hit to the hands of Miller.

 

After so many twists and turns - a pulsating finish  ……… South Africa gets full points beating Afghanistan.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
11.2.2026
 

SYMA Childfest 2026 - Kids carnival

 

The just concluded SYMA Childfest 2026 was Kids Carnival !

Glossy Ibises !!

 

Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus) ~ one short of a dozen !!.

 

The long, slender, down-curved bill; dark brown body with a subtle green–purple iridescent sheen -  Flying in a tight flock, which ibises love to do 

Pictured by me at Pulicat in 2022.
S Sampathkumar

 

Chepauk road-side scenes after NZ / UAE WC match - Unforfeiture !!!

Lot happening on the field and some off it too -  it is match no. 12 in ICC T20 WC – will there be an upset ?  - will USA pull off one !! 

There was so much talk about Paki refusing to play against India .. ..  Forfeiting a game typically means a team or player concedes a match, resulting in an automatic loss under sports rules. 

Yesterday, there was an interesting quip on X by Iceland Cricket reading :  We have heard the rumours that Pakistan v India could be back on again. Is unforfeiture an actual word in the English language? Maybe everyone should just use the Icelandic word of óuppgerð.  

There were times when it appeared as though the match was running out of the inexperienced hands, but  USA pulled things back in the last couple of overs.  Still they have a huge target to chase – 191 is big !  Shadley van Schalkwyk again  was the pick of the bowlers  - among a  mixed bag of players, taking four wickets in his spell and conceding 25 runs.   He broke Pakistan's early momentum with the wickets of Saim Ayub and Salman Agha in the sixth over, and removed Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf in the penultimate. Today, fast bowler Ehsan Adil made  his international debut for USA against the team he used to represent in Colombo. Adil, 32, played three Tests and five ODIs for Pakistan between 2013 and 2015. He has since  relocated to the United States    

At Chepauk – Kiwis showed how minnows are to be handled – a methodical, clinical, yet brutal display of their supremacy .. .. UAE made a good effort in making 173/6 -  Glenn Phillips bowling the 18th over  was laundered for 27 runs. New Zealand wrapped up the win  with all ten wickets and 27 balls to spare.  Finn Allen and Tim Seifert knocked off the entire target of 174 by themselves. In the course of doing that, they recorded the highest partnership for any wicket, by any side, in the T20 World Cup.  

Off the field, the standoff over Pakistan's refusal to play India in their scheduled 2026 T20 World Cup group fixture ended in an evening of frenzied press statements and near simultaneous announcements from the Pakistan government and the ICC that the match,  will go ahead on February 15 in Colombo. The statement from the Pakistan government stated  that a number of ICC members, including Sri Lanka and the UAE, had urged the PCB not to boycott their fixture, citing financial impact on other nations !!  and request came from Bangladesh board too !!!!!  

So they are not forfeiting !!! in another twist !!  - the  opposite of "forfeiture," which refers to the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty, is generally retention or restoration.  As Iceland Cricket asked, there appears to be a word in English - Unforfeiture" referring  to a provision in life insurance policies, often called a non-forfeiture clause, that protects policyholders from losing all benefits if premiums lapse.  

A non-forfeiture clause ensures the policy does not become entirely void upon missed payments after a certain period, typically three years of premiums paid. It allows access to accumulated value like cash surrender or reduced paid-up insurance. This applies mainly to whole life or endowment policies, safeguarding prior contributions. Indian policies under the Insurance Act, 1938 (Section 45) mandate such clauses after three years, preventing total forfeiture and allowing revival options. They balance insurer protection from fraud via forfeiture clauses with policyholder rights.

 

Interesting !  - here is a video clip of part of crowd moving out of Chepauk ground to MRTS after NZ/UAE match and … NZ players returning to their hotel, taken near Kannagi statue.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
10.2.2026

 

Celebrating 150 Years of Vande Mataram @ SYMA Childfest 2026

 

Celebrating 150 Years of Vande Mataram @ SYMA Childfest 2026 

150 Years of Vande Mataram is a national commemorative initiative to celebrate the spirit of Vande Mataram and its unique role in the history of India. Vande Mataram is not just a song; it is the collective consciousness of India and was the rallying cry of freedom fighters during the struggle for independence. On 1st October the Cabinet approved country-wide celebrations for the 150th anniversary of 'Vande Mataram' to foster an impactful movement to connect citizens, especially our youth and students, with the song's original, revolutionary spirit. The celebrations will honour this timeless message and ensure its legacy is fully celebrated and embedded in the hearts of the next generation.  

"Vande Mātaram  is a  great poem that was adopted as the national song of the Republic of India in 1950. It was written in Sanskritised Bengali  by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the 1870s,  and was first published in 1882 in  Chatterjee's Bengali novel Anandmath.  

The poem is an ode to the motherland, it was officially adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1905 to serve as a pan-Indian, nationalist salutation to Mother India during the Indian independence movement, culminating in its 1950 designation as the National Song of the Republic of India, sharing equal honour with India's National Anthem. The first two verses of the song make abstract reference to the "mother" and "motherland", without any religious connotation. The  later verses mention Hindu goddesses such as Durga.  The references to Hindu gods became a point of contention in 1937, after which the Indian National Congress, on suggestion of Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, adopted the two stanzas of the song.   

வந்தே மாதரம் (தேவநாகரி: वंदे मातरम / வங்காள மொழி: বন্দে মাতরম্, Bônde Mātôrôm),  என்ற சுதந்திர உணர்வை தூண்டிய  இப்பாடல் வங்காள மொழியில் பங்கிம் சந்திர சட்டர்ஜி என்பவரால் எழுதப்பட்டது.  அந்நியர் நம்மை அடிமைப்படுத்தி இருந்த காலத்தில், நாட்டளவில், வந்தே மாதரம் (தாய் (மண்ணே) உன்னை வணங்குகிறேன்) என்பதே ஆங்கிலேய அடக்குமுறைக்கு எதிரான விடுதலை முழக்கமாக இருந்தது. இந்திய மக்களிடையே விடுதலை தாகத்தை இப்பாடல் தூண்டி விடக்கூடிய ஆபத்தை உணர்ந்த ஆங்கிலேய ஆட்சியர்கள் இப்பாடலை பொது இடங்களில் பாடுவதை தடை செய்தனர்; தடையை மீறிய விடுதலைப் போராட்ட வீரர்களை சிறையில் இட்டனர். ரபீந்திரனாத் தாகூர் முதலிய பலரும் இப்பாடலை பல்வேறு காலகட்டங்களில் பொது மன்றங்களில் பாடினர். லாலா லஜபதி ராய் லாகூரில் இருந்து வந்தே மாதரம் என்ற பெயரில் இதழ் ஒன்றை தொடங்கினார். 

‘வந்தே மாதரம்’ பாடல் மீது மிகுந்த பற்றுக் கொண்ட தமிழகத்தின் தவப்புதல்வர் மகாகவி பாரதி, அதனை இரு வடிவங்களில் தமிழாக்கம் செய்து அளித்திருக்கிறார்.   

(பங்கிம் சந்திர சட்டோபாத்தியாயா எழுதிய

வந்தே மாதரம்  கீதத்தின் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு)

 

இனிய நீர்ப் பெருக்கினை! இன்கனி வளத்தினை!

தனிநறு மலயத் தண்காற் சிறப்பினை!

பைந்நிறப் பழனம் பரவிய வடிவினை! (வந்தே)

 

வெண்ணிலாக் கதிர்மகிழ் விரித்திடும் இரவினை!

மலர் மணிப் பூத்திகழ் மரன்பல செறிந்தனை!

குறுநகை யின்சொலார் குலவிய மாண்பினை!

நல்குவை இன்பம், வரம்பல நல்குவை!

…………………………………..

 

 

நளிர்மணி நீரும் நயம்படு கனிகளும்

குளிர்பூந் தென்றலும் கொழும்பொழிற் பசுமையும்

வாய்ந்துநன் கிலகுவை வாழிய அன்னை! (வந்தே)

 

தெண்ணில வதனிற் சிலிர்த்திடும் இரவும்

தண்ணியல் விரிமலர் தாங்கிய தருக்களும்

புன்னகை ஒளியும் தேமொழிப் பொலிவும்

வாய்ந்தனை இன்பமும் வரங்களும் நல்குவை. (வந்தே)

 

கோடி கோடி குரல்கள் ஒலிக்கவும்

கோடி கோடி புயத்துணை கொற்றமார்

நீடு பல்படை தாங்கிமுன் னிற்கவும்,

கூடு திண்மை குறைந்தனைஎ என்பதென்?

ஆற்றலின் மிகுந்தனை, அரும்பதங் கூட்டுவை,

மாற்றலர் கொணர்ந்த வன்படை யோட்டுவை. (வந்தே)

 

[the full version is not posted here!]:   https://youtu.be/ALTS6x9jkPg

Clip from the dance performance at SYMA Childfest 2026 by Kalpavriksha Art Academy, Mylapore, Chennai, disciples of Thirumylai Ramya Prakash. 

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
Vice-President, SYMA
10.2.2026