Would like a peaceful calm ordinary life or a flamboyant uprising challenging rewarding life ? - No answer is right or wrong !! Flight is today’s subject matter.
In 1980s this Sardar was thought to be the future Star of Indian Cricket, everyone was talking about his composure, class, guile and flight in his bowling but sadly, he faded sooner !!
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, in a few cases, direct downward thrust from its engines. The concept of human flight through the air—as by a hot air balloon, for instance—takes flight in the 18th century—though people were figuratively experiencing "flights" of imagination and fancy since the latter half of the 17th and were considered "flighty" slightly before modern aviation.
The hottest news was IPL Auctions and the way some hit the roof. Chennai Super Kings secured Afghanistan's teenage spin sensation Noor Ahmad for a record-breaking Rs 10 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction. Gujarat Titans attempted to match the initial bid of Rs 5 crore, but CSK ultimately outbid them. CSK also acquired key players like Ravichandran Ashwin and Devon Conway, leaving them with seven roster spots to fill. CSK strategy most likely would be ‘spin-diet’ – flight and lure with Ashwin, Jadeja and Noor – with support of Rachin !!
Have heard the words ‘spin, flight, loop’ and the like when referring to spin bowlers. Bishan Bedi had a classy action – his loop and flight was great. Every spinner needs to have control over the flight, the parabola. Flight does not mean just throwing the ball in the air. Flight means how the bowlers impart spin in a manner that gives revolutions to the ball with the idea of breaking the ball to exhibit the parabola or dip.
Flight is daily routine of birds and - one without which they cannot survive. Birds come in all shapes and sizes and occupy almost all of the earth's habitats. Some birds are lucky enough to hold the upper levels of the food chain, but most species have at least one major predator to worry about. These predators include mammals, reptiles, fish, and even other birds. Most birds have little in the way of protection in a head-to-head fight, so how do they keep safe?
Birds rely on avoidance as their primary means of defense. Flight is a highly efficient way of escaping chasing predators. Escaping danger in time is only possible if the bird is able to notice and identify the threat, however, and this is where the birds' keen senses of sight and hearing come into play. Birds have a wide variety of strategies for avoiding predators, ranging from outright speed to displays of intimidation and even trickery. Birds also protect each other by using alarm calls which alert the other birds in the area to the presence of danger.
In most birds, flight is the most important means of escape from predators. Impaired flight abilities due to increased wing loading may increase vulnerability to predation. To compensate for an increase in wing loading, birds are able to independently decrease body mass (BM) or increase pectoral muscle mass (PMM).
The man at the start - Maninder Singh was a prodigy. He was 15 when his hero Bishan Singh Bedi handed him his first-class debut in a Ranji Trophy knockout match. In 1982, against Pakistan, he became India's youngest ever Test player at the time, at 17 years and 193 days. There we some ODIs when one felt that Maninder was bowling so well and another over or two would bundle the opposition. There was a period in the mid-1980s when it indeed looked like he might emulate Bedi at the highest level of the game, but then Maninder lost his bowling action and the wickets dried up.
If success was difficult to handle at a tender age, failure proved to be devastating. Maninder trained hard but his troubles were more mental. He became a recluse, and developed some bad habits. At 30, when spinners usually reach their peak, his cricket career came to an end. Life brought further challenges after retirement, including an arrest for allegedly possessing cocaine.
Flight, is an escape mechanism !
Regards – S Sampathkumar
25.11.2024
