Ambimama - India

As the game approaches the finish the fielding tends to get worse. One can understand the nervous batting but fielding lapse is clearly not understandable. Is it on purpose or just tension?

Gambhir being let down at least 5 times shows and the Chennai Super King is clearly making me think again of worst fielding lapse any side can make.

I wish and think they improve or else some fine by dropping man who does not field up to the standard must be dropped. Like Sreesanth bowling two no balls in the last over and giving away 23 runs in an over is just too much. This made Rajasthan take up the runs to the maximum to the 2009 Twenty20 to 212.

Well the match has rightly picked up to the Twenty20 standards, except for fielding.

It’s all in typical Chennai style. This is what makes a team win and enjoy the game.

There are many videos here. Just clcik and enjoy till Chennai Super Kings show next!

One could see very poor or jittery fielding by Chennai Super Kings. I was surprised and doubted that that an element of betting was involved, when three fielders failed twice to get a catch! And then a four times easy run-out chance!

Cricinfo says “Four run-out chances being fluffed off one ball. Smith hit it to deep point, Jakati couldn’t collect the return, Badrinath backing up, threw it back to Jakati who again didn’t collect the throw but broke the stumps with Smith and non-striker T Suman almost at the same end; Jakati then picked up the ball and tried to hand it to Badrinath, who had moved to the stumps but flicked it wide of him. “

Then the bowler Jakati had his revenge the same over, when he trapped Smith in front for 49. That effectively ended Deccan’s chase, the rest of the wickets a blur as the innings folded by the 15th over.

Chennai’s win was built on their batting. Dhoni, having said before this match that his form was “pathetic”, addressed the issue by promoting himself to No. 3 and the quality time spent in the middle helped recover his form. Though I did not like Dhoni coming at No.3 he proved he can bat.

Matthew Hayden and M Vijay gave Chennai the beautiful start.

After Suman helped Deccan hit back with the wicket of Vijay, his figures were torn apart by Raina, who clubbed him for three consecutive boundaries over midwicket.
Dhoni hammered Harris down the ground like a cannon and took on the same bowler for a reverse sweep that found the boundary. He reached his half-century with a savage pull off RP in the final over and led his team to a score that later exposed the shortcomings of the side heading the table when the match started.

Deccan’s win against their opponents in the previous encounter Durban was based on a powerful start from Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs but the change in venue brought about a shocking change in fortunes as both departed for ducks.
Chennai Super Kings soared to the top of the points table, recording their third consecutive win.

The Deccan reeling at 1 for 3, left-arm spin from Shadab Jakati taking second consecutive four-wicket gave us all in Twenty20.

This game had had everything in a Twenty20 match.

While observing Twenty20 matches I use the remote efficiently. I do not even see the Ads that are new. I have commented in my previous article that Vodafone Ads are a bore. I came to know that in these Ads all characrters are done by kids and ladies and is not an animation.

I was surprised to learn that. A lengthy article on that.
If you want you can see the mail forward to me:

Zoozoo: The new brand ‘endorser’ for Vodafone
No, they aren’t animated characters. They are human beings who were made to
wear body suits. “The design of the characters is such that one gets fooled
into thinking it is animation,” shrugs Rao, which was indeed the very
illusion that had to be created. “In a sense, it is ‘live’ animation!” he
quips, referring to the fact that it was all shot live.

Prakash Varma, ad filmmaker, Nirvana Films, has directed the commercials,
and reveals that the Zoozoos were a big challenge to create. The practical
aspects of how they will move, talk, gesticulate and emote were very
important. Essentially, costume design and artwork were crucial elements.
“It took me three weeks of pre-production to understand how it will work,”
says Varma. There were two fabrics that were considered for the body suits,
and one was rejected for it had too many wrinkles and was shiny. The
wrinkles would have shown when the characters moved, thereby shattering the
illusion of animation. “So we chose the more practical, thicker fabric,”
Varma explains.

The production team divided the outfit into two parts: the body and the
head. The body part of the outfit was stuffed with foam in some places,
while the head was attached separately. To make it look bigger than a human
head, a harder material called Perspex was used, which in turn was stuffed
with foam (with scope for ventilation).

If one wishes to understand the size of this head, here’s a fact: a human
head would typically reach up to the mouth level of this giant Zoozoo head.
“We kept the hands and legs thin, which is why we cast women – and
occasionally children – wearing the costumes,” says Varma. The thin limbs,
contrasted with big bellies and a bulbous head, all add to the illusion that
these creatures are ‘smaller’ than humans. Sets were created to suit the
size of the Zoozoos.

Cinematically, this ‘size’ was a trick: the creatures look smaller than they
actually are on screen, to portray a different world of sorts. For this, the
speed of shooting was altered: Nirvana shot it in a high-speed format to
make them look the size that they do.

Furthermore, simple sets/backdrops were created and spray painted with
neutral Greys – a colour of choice so that attention isn’t diverted from the
main characters. For a supposedly ‘outdoor’ shot, even the shadow of a
Zoozoo was kept ‘live’ and not done in post production: it was painted in a
darker shade of grey on the ground. An even lighting was maintained
throughout.

There was virtually no post production work done.
The films were shot by Nirvana in Cape Town, South Africa, with the help of
a local production house there, called Platypus. Incidentally, the same
combination of people also worked on the ‘Happy to Help’ series last year.
When asked whether Cape Town is fast becoming a tourist spot for Vodafone
and Nirvana, Varma laughs, saying, “Oh no! It’s just that we are very
comfortable with the team there and know what sort of work to expect from
them.”

Nagpal adds here that the production cost had to be minimal for unveiling
such a large number of commercials. “Otherwise, our production costs would
exceed media spends,” he quips.