The U.S.-China Rivalry

The US and China are the 2 greatest rivals in the 21st century. It’s American democracy vs Chinese socialism at the level of Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon Men’s Final. Who’s the better player? American democracy or Chinese socialism?

If you are a 90s kid, you’ve seen everything in Indian cricket. Start & End of SRT, Match-fixing, some embarrassing displays in England & Australia, some individual heroics & some deserving team wins. You’ve seen Dravid grind it out, you’ve also seen 81 all out (1/n)

If you are a 90s kid, you are mentally tough. You expect your team to put up a fight, more often than not, you ended up in disappointment. You’ve digested everything. You’ve laughed & cried. Sometimes both at same time (remember Perth ‘08). Too much depends on Tendulkar you’d say

Now you are in your late 20s early 30s. You see your team travelling to Australia. Kohli is leaving early after embarrassing Adelaide loss. Injuries are in bucketful. Covid restrictions mean they have to struggle for an XI. You write off your team mentally before Boxing Day Test

Rahane is captain now. He’s known for his silent aggression & counterattacking play. Pujara, Ashwin, Bumrah stand up with him, they create magic. India win Boxing Day test convincingly to shun off 4-0 critics (you loved this as a 90s kid, dont you). Yes, Gill is born!

1-1 & its Sydney. Media tries to play games. You’ve seen this before. But this is new India! They are determined. Bowlers get us back in the game & well, India tries to win, later save the match. Enough has been documented on Vihari & Ashwin. Stuff of legends! Momentum: India

Open Letter: “Is this Nate?”

It’s sizzling in my chest, so here it is. I don’t want to hurt the poor guy who called me—probably forced to call me—but it needs to be said. Yesterday, at about 11:00 at night, I got a call from a representative of the Governor’s office.

A nice guy. But last night, this guy wasn't so nice. He told me, with profanity and threatening piñache, that he’s, “not f##cking happy” about a tweet that I sent out. I didn't even know what Tweet he was talking about. But it turns out, he was mad that I criticized the . . .

Governor’s plan to go to the Bills game because only 6.500 people were allowed to go and I felt it reinforced the belief—incorrectly or correctly—that the #COVID restrictions do not apply to elites. Pretty mild, but I’m a team player. If this man had just called me . . .

and told me that I misunderstood the facts, got it wrong, I would have taken the Tweet down. But again, he called me at 11:00 at night. Swearing. Keep in mind, at this point, I’m just a taxpayer. I’m not running for office. I have no more connection to the Governor than you ...

Please put yourself in my shoes. An emissary for one of the most powerful politicians in America called me, late on a holiday evening, looking to take my head off. Disturbing. This isn’t the first time some elite Democrat called me—either directly or indirectly—over the past...

The Review: GW 18 - A thread

Hi everyone, welcome to the latest edition of “The Review” where I look at Bench Boost, Triple Captaincy and the upcoming double GW 19 in detail:

#FPL #FPLCommunity @OfficialFPL

(Data taken from @FFScout and @FFH_HQ with consent)

Before I start, I'd like to introduce you to this game called Fantasy5. It’s free to enter, with a £10k weekly prize. All you have to do is to pick 5 players that you think will beat their Fantasy points target. Link

At this point, I’d also like to mention that I post about FPL on my Instagram too, so if you have an Instagram account, follow up here!

Q: Who is the best captaincy option this week and why?

I jump straight away to what is the toughest question of the week. I first try and work out which one of the Liverpool midfielders to own:

(read below)

Salah (20/21) vs Mane (20/21)

Mins per shot inside the box: 33.73 vs 34.15
Mins per big chance: 96.4 vs 111
Mins per big chance created: 224.8 vs 333
Mins per chance created: 49.9 vs 57.9

Even though Mane’s numbers in comparison to his numbers in the yesteryears have...

Thread:

Highlighting a couple of improvements from United's Europa league R32 win over La Real. #MUFC

La Real 0 v 4 Man Utd — Buildup & Pressing. #RSOMUN

Pressing & traps:

Often #mufc are hasty & over-commit in their pressing, especially from players like Rashford and Bruno. Thus leading their press to be dis-jointed and by-passed easily. On Thursday, they nailed it. They formed a pressing cage around #RSO entire midfield.

Aim was to minimize #RSO creative players' involvement on the ball. In fact, Merino & Silva had the fewest touches of their teammates. Bruno & MG11 focused on cutting passing lanes to midfield instead of rushing the press. MG11 pressed nearside CB when ball went out-wide.

The trigger for United's press was when the ball is played to the FBs. This is where a ball nearside Winger pressed the FB, while the CF closes the ball nearside CB & the CM (Scott) & FB (AWB) pressed the dropping CM (Merino) & LW (Oyarzabal).+CB pressed dropping CF (Izak). #mufc

Buildup:

#MUFC built-up in a 2422 where the CF & CAM dropped to help the buildup. #RSO pressed in 4132 with Silva pushing up. Th improvement was how Fred and Scott communicated & opened up angles for their CBs to cut through the press.+ Bruno dragging Illarramendi OOP.

Highlights of what happened after 36/9 - a thread.

#AUSvIND

Boxing Day Test - we lose Virat, Ajinkya takes over captaincy, with a forgettable loss still lurking. We carry a record of not winning at the 'G while chasing. Aussie win the toss & elect to bat, meaning we'd have to bat fourth.

#AUSvIND

With Shami gone due to injury, Bumrah leads from the front making sure the Aussies bundle out within 200 with the other bowlers chipping in at regular intervals. Ashwin picking Smith for a blob is the most special part of it all.

#AUSvIND

At 64/3 & in the danger of conceding a lead yet again and under immense pressure, captain Rahane chips in with a 💯 which is at par with his Lord's knock & with Jaddu's contribution lower down, India manage a lead of 131.

#AUSvIND

Siraj, the son of an auto rickshawman, having lost his father before the series & not being able to attend the funeral, plays his debut Test, tears up during the national anthem. He was the highest wicket taker for India in the 2nd innings wrapping up Aussies for 200.

#AUSvIND