Which former batsmen's replacement is the Indian cricket team missing even now?

 In Kohli we have a proxy for Sachin. In Ashwin you can find an intelligent Harbhajan. In Pujara and Rahane combined you will see shadows of Dravid but if we talk in particularly about a batsmen whose replacement has yet not been found, my answer would be Virender Sehwag.

Now, this is again debatable with the super form of Rohit Sharma in ODIs, T20s and now in tests but even Rohit Sharma is not the batsman who will hit you with ball 1. Indeed he is a batting giant and score daddy hundreds in ODIs but he take his time initially and that strategy backfires sometimes because the Power Play is wasted. On the brighter side this happens not so often :)

Having said this, Virender Sehwag scored 8124 runs at an average of 50.14 and a strike-rate of 83.06. That strike-rate meant that when he was at the wicket, the match moved forward.

It is incredible that Sehwag achieved so much in his career with minimum footwork but one thing that goes his way was top class hand-eye coordination. If he is in the zone the match may finish on Day 1. Even if he departs early he had capabilities to hijack bare minimum opening session by producing fiery 30s and 40s and in the process a stormy opening for Team India.

Shikhar Dhawan was a pretty aggressive batsman but his strike-rate is 66.94. Still pretty high by Test standards. But Sehwag’s strike-rate was 83.06. When the right-hander from Najafgarh got a start, India would take charge of the game.

Murali Vijay used to take plenty of time. A good opener but remotely closer to Sehwag.

KL Rahul is a player with great technique. He is aggressive too. KL’s inconsistent form has been his biggest enemy and led to his downfall.

Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal are just making baby steps as openers and comparison with Sehwag will be irrelevant

Now with Rohit Sharma 2.0 hopes are again phoenix-ed but it is still a long way to call him Sehwag’s replacement. Screenshots below will help us to understand why?

When Sehwag was in the crease,this type of scorecard wasn't shocking in ODI's.

VB Series. Venue: Australia. Result: first ball Six

The pitch is dangerous, the spinner is a mystery: NOT FOR ME

Team score 141–0, Meanwhile Sehwag

This is before T20 era

We need another 300. Sehwag: Noted

What are some amazing facts about the Indian Railways?

 

• When did the first train run in India? The customary answer to this question is 3:35pm on April 16th, 1853, when a train with 14 railway carriages and 400 guests left Bombay's Bori Bunder for Thane, But, In 1835, a short experimental line was laid near Chintadripet. This appears to have been a practice run of sorts for the Red Hill Railroad line. Construction on this line began in 1836. This line was intended for the carriage of granite stone. It was opened in 1837.

• Indian railways is fourth largest railways in world by size, with a route length of 67,368-kilometre (41,861 mi) as of March 2017 and 121,407 kilometres (75,439 mi) of total track which approx 4 times of the equatorial circumference of Earth .
• Due to COVID-19 Indian railways for the first time in 167 years in suspended its all passenger trains operation. Now the railway network has decided to convert as many as 20,000 old train carriages into isolation wards for patients as the virus spreads. The railway already operates 125 hospitals across the country.

• Kolkata metro is the only metro in the country to be controlled by Indian Railways, all the other rapid transit metro system in country are operated by separate local authorities.

• ICF Chennai a manufacturer of rail coaches owned and operated by indian railways set a new record producing 2,503 coaches in the fiscal year 2017–2018. It became the world's largest railway coach manufacturer, rolling out 3,262 coaches in the fiscal year 2018–2019,

• You will be surprised to know that ice was used to keep the AC trains cool. The first Indian air-conditioned train was Frontier Mail which was introduced in 1934. Earlier, the AC coaches of the train were kept cool by using ice blocks. These were replenished at several halts along the line. A battery operated blower constantly blew air into these receptacles, and the cold air entered the insulated cars through vents.

• Indian Railways consumes about 13.8 billion units of electricity annually, close to two per cent of the country’s total power production. The Railways’ locomotives also consume 2.6 billion litres of diesel annually. (figures are old)
• Kalka Mail is currently the oldest running train in the history of Indian Railways. It recently completed its 153 years of journey this year and continues to move forward. The train began its operation in 1866 as the “East Indian Railway Mail” with 01 Up and 02 Down number plates.

• Indian Railways is the biggest landowner in the country. The railway ministry reportedly has more land under it than Goa or Delhi. The Indian Railways owns approximately 4.77 lakh hectare of land as of March 3, 2018, the ministry of railways has revealed in reply to an RTI query filed by this correspondent.
• The Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Quazigund-Baramulla Railway line is the biggest project in the construction of a mountain railway since independence. From Jammu to Baramulla, length of the new rail line is 345 km. It passes through the young Himalayas, tectonic thrusts and faults.
  Udhampur-Katra section is 25 km long and involves about 11 km of tunneling, 9 important/ major bridges, 29 minor bridges and 10 ROB/RUBs in addition to about 38.86 lac cum of earthwork. . A mega bridge over river Chenab (1.315 km long) has been planned near Salal village for this project This bridge will have a steel main arch to cross the Chenab gorge and a viaduct with steel girders on concrete piers. The rail height from the river bed will be 359 mts. which will make it the tallest railway bridge in the world. The main arch will have a span of 465 mts. across river Chenab which gives another distinction to this bridge being the longest single span railway arch bridge in the world.

• Pamban bridge, connecting Rameswaram island to the mainland is an engineering marvel that evokes awe! WIth 143 piers, spanning 2 km between the mainland and the island, it is the second longest sea bridge in India after the 2.3-km Bandra-Worli sea link on Mumbai's western coast. The construction of the rail bridge commenced only by 1911 and it was commissioned on February 24, 1914. But ,In 1964, the bridge survived a major cyclone that flattened Dhanushkodi, a thriving port town. E Sreedharan, the man behind the construction of the Delhi Metro, played a major role in bolstering the bridge within 46 days.

• Konkan Railway runs along the Indian west coast parallel to Arabian Sea and Western Ghats.You can count more than 2000 bridges and 90 + tunnels on this route of 700km.

• Last and the most good thing according to me.Indian Railways has recorded zero passenger deaths in rail accidents in year 2019(first time in history of 166 yrs), making it the national transporter's safest year in history, according to official data.

What are the uniqueness of various Indian temples?

 I shall mention a few that I have personally been to and I have been told/witnessed these myself.

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Chidambaram Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu

The temple is run by the Pothu Deekshitars who are believed to have been brought down from Mount Kailas by Lord Nataraja Himself. They are the traditional owners and trustees of the temple. The temple and its premises were forcibly taken over by greedy politicians and bureaucrats to feed off their revenue. In a landmark judgment in 2014, the Supreme Court asked the state to return the temple back to the rightful owners (SC frees Nataraja temple from TN Govt's control)

Only married men are allowed to touch the idol and do the daily poojas.

Only men who have hair on their heads and are able to grow it into a length long enough to tie it into a kudumi (bun) are allowed to be priests. (Tamil Nadu's Dikshitars on the verge of extinction)

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Thirunelli Maha Vishnu Temple, Wayanad, Kerala

Before there were motors, people had to carry and bring up pots of water up to the top of the hill where this temple is situated for conducting the daily rituals. Once a local elite lady saw the suffering of the people and commissioned a granite/stone waterway to be built from a stream downhill from where the people used to collect water all the way up to the temple. The waterway still stands even to this day. Not an ounce of mortar or any binding agent has been used to bind the stones together. the rocks just fit together and water flows UPHILL. Even now, it is is this water that is used for daily poojas in the temple. I have actually gone and stood under the waterway to see if any leakage is there. Nope. Nothing.

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Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

In the entire city of Kashi, it is said that no flowers will emit any fragrance. Dogs will not bark. And lizards will not chitter. Kashi is said to be a cremation ground.

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Anegudde Sri Vinayaka Temple, Kumbhashi, Udupi, Karnataka

The idol in this temple grows in size. Lord Vinayaka of Anegudde wears a silver armor/ breastplate which has to be changed frequently because it would break at the sides after a while due to the idol growing in size.

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Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple, Tripunithura, Kerala

This is probably the only temple where the idol of Lord Ganesha faces the South direction. As per temple legends, the idol of Lord Poornathryeesha was brought down from Vaikuntham by the Pandava prince Arjuna and Lord Krishna to commemorate their visit to bring back the Brahmin’s children (a story in the Mahabharata). It was Arjuna who was carrying the idol and he requested Lord Ganesha to go ahead of him and find a good place to consecrate the idol. Lord Ganesha found a spot in Poornavedapuri on the banks of the Poorna river to be the most auspicious spot. Poornavedapuri got its name as it was one of the main centers of Vedic teaching in the region. Lord Ganesha found the spot to be so auspicious that He occupied the spot Himself. When Arjuna arrived at the scene carrying the idol in his hands, he saw Lord Ganesha seated comfortably at the ordained spot. Arjuna requested Lord Ganesha to move, but He would not budge. Arjuna could not keep the idol down anywhere else as it would be fixed to that spot thereafter. After repeated requests, Lord Ganesha refused to move an inch. The idol was growing heavier in his arms and Arjuna could bear it no longer. It is said that he gave a shove to Lord Ganesha with his foot to the left side and placed the idol of Lord Vishnu at the same spot.

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Chottanikkara Bhagavathi Temple, Chottanikkara, Kerala

This temple is the ultimate testimony of the importance of Shaktya tradition of worship and of the importance of Tantric practices being followed in Kerala. The deity here is that of the female goddess who is worshipped as Goddess Saraswati in the morning, as Goddess Lakshmi at noon and as Goddess Parvati/Shakti in the evening.

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Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple, Alappuzha, Kerala

The priest here is the oldest female member of the Namboothiri family which is the traditional owners of the temple as she is said to symbolize the mother of Lord Nagaraja, the main deity there. Only she is allowed to do the main pujas in the temple.

After her death, the next oldest female member assumes the position.

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Sree Pattabhirama Temple, Tripunithura, Kerala

The temple is owned and run by the Goud Saraswat Brahmin community. It is prohibited for anybody from any other caste to enter the main shrine of Lord Pattabhirama. A lot of people, however, visit the temple and stand outside the main shrine to pray. The small shrine of Lord Hanuman located to the left of the main entrance also draws a lot of devotees every day.

What are some things that happen only in India?

 1. Did you know it’s hot in India? Well, it’s THAT hot.▼

2. This is what they call a VIP rickshaw.

3. When it’s crowded and you want some space for “just you”.

4. Safety is a big issue in India. At least this guy isn’t going home barefoot.

5. Not just car-pooling, we are all for bus-pooling too!

6. The Indian saree with a Facebook twist!

7. The great Indian railway time!

8. This fabric softener advertisement.

9. Mannequins to make everyone feel better about themselves.

10. Skating like a pro!

11. If that’s not avant-garde fashion then we don’t know what is.

▼In India people really do think out of the box.▼

Image Source : Google,Pinterest

What are some of the strangest facts about famous Indian movies?

 PINK.

A film which can arguably be called as one of the very best films to have ever come out of our Indian film industry (My favorite if I may add), had elements which just shows how brilliant the makers were about their subject.

**Spoiler alert**

Fact 1:

Do you remember the dramatic climax of “Pink” where the judge ruled in favor of Meenal Arora (played by Taapsee Pannu) against Rajveer Singh (played by Angad Bedi)?

Well, when the original draft was written and probably shot, it wasn’t the case.

According to the initial climax, Rajveer Singh was going to WIN the case and judge would have ruled against Meenal Arora.

But the makers did not want to hurt the popular (national) sentiment by doing so and antagonize themselves and hence, they eventually planned to flip the climax in favor of Meenal Arora and the girls. (Which in my opinion was a very good decision).

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Fact 2:

Do you remember the scene where Meenal Arora starts coughing as soon as the prosecuting lawyer (played by a phenomenal Piyush Mishra) started to interrogate her?

In reality, Taapsee Pannu was actually suffering from a viral infection while shooting the scene and she wanted to do the dubbing later but Shoojit Sircar (the producer) decided to shoot the scenes as it is because it rendered even more authenticity to those scenes.

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Fact 3:

The title of the film “PINK”.

With all the hue and cry that surfaced as to the reason why the film was titled “PINK”, the popular consensus being the fact that since the film is about the suppression of Women and as there is a typical notion that Pink-the color is generally associated with girls and hence the title was chosen as “Pink”.

But this was so very wrong.

When you look at the poster above, you’ll notice that there are two hands that are holding on to the letters “I” and “K”. This was the main punch.

Director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury wanted to convey the fact that this particular notion about the color pink being associated with girls shouldn’t be. He wanted to empower women so that they can speak up.

Amitabh Bachchan went on to say that Pink means that women have the liberty and freedom to walk at night and it will be a wake-up call to bust such stereotypes.

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“PINK” was much more than a film to me. The film possibly happens to be one of the most important stories that needed to be told in our times and with all these deft facts taken into consideration, it just adds to the prowess exhibited by the film.

Image courtesy: Google Images, Screenshots from {{pageTitle}}

Source: Pink (2016 film) - Wikipedia, Why was movie ‘Pink’ called ‘Pink’? Amitabh Bachchan explains the relevance