Number Idioms and its analogy with Cricket

As a young boy growing up, the sport of cricket used to fascinate and always keep me hooked. I was never great shakes when playing the game myself but used to always observe the commentary rather keenly and any reference to numbers always had me up and about excited. 'Numbers' or rather the extension of it which is the 'Statistics' angle associated with it always made me adore the sport a wee bit extra and I loved to prize out all the records broken and milestones conquered.

For this particular post, I would like to highlight a few number idioms/phrases and connote it from a cricketing analogy. The objective is not to use it only under the context of cricket but even in day to day interactions. Numbers are immensely fun and you can play around with it in so many different ways. Listing below are few non exhaustible phrases involving numbers forming a numerical sequence.

Zero:

- Zero in on - Focusing one's attention
The team needs to zero in on their bowling strategy if they need to progress to the next stage

- Zero Hour - Time at which at which an activity is scheduled to begin
Too much of chopping and changing towards the Zero Hour doesn't bode well for the team

One:

- One Too Many - Going overboard with respect to something
One Too Many attempts at trying to be cheeky has eventually put paid to his dismissal

- All in One Piece - Safety, unscathed, unharmed
This absolute scorcher of an innings from out of nowhere has helped save the blushes and ensured that the team is back in the hunt 'all in one piece'

- Back to Square One - Going back to the beginning
The team just refuses to learn. Time and again the same mistakes are being replicated and they keep going back to square one. 

- Have One over the Eight - Too much of something
The way he has been wildly swinging his bat in all directions from the time that he has walked in certainly indicates that he's had one over the eight last evening.

Two:

- Give Two Hoots about - To not care about something or showing lack of concern
He doesn't give two hoots about the reputation of the bowler that he is facing. If he sees it, he's just going to go hit it.

- It takes two to Tango - Both parties equally responsible
The new ball pair have complemented each other beautifully well. They say it takes two to tango and in this case it's been aptly visible and on full display.

- Kill Two Birds with One Stone - Achieving two goals with one action
This ploy has worked wonderfully well. They have suckered in the opposition to fall in to the trap thus killing two birds with one stone 

Three:

- Get the Third Degree - To be questioned in great detail
The bowling has been so probing with no room for error whatsoever that it feels like the batsman will get the third degree if he gets anywhere near to the delivery.

Four:

- On All Fours - Down on your hands and knees
He is literally on all fours after having attempted that immensely tough shot

Five:

- High Five - A gesture of celebration by slapping each others palms with arms raised
The performance has been all High Five with the execution being spot on and going perfectly according to plan.

Six:

- At Sixes and Sevens - A state of confusion and disorder
The team have been at sixes and sevens in trying to deal with the seaming new ball. They have been all at sea with no application whatsoever.

- Six of one, half a dozen of the other - Two situations with same or equal outcome
The two shots were utter replica of one other with the same result obtained. One was a six of one, and half a dozen of the other

Seven:

- Seventh Heaven - State of extreme happiness or joy
The team are literally on seventh heaven having won 7 matches on the bounce away from home

Eight:

- Behind the Eight Ball - Difficult or disadvantageous position
The team have been way behind the eight ball and look completely lost in handling alien conditions

Nine:

- On Cloud Nine - Extremely happy or over the moon
The team have been on cloud nine after winning 3 trophies on the trot

- Falling like Nine Pins - Collapsing
Its been a collapse of epic proportions, they have been literally getting rolled over falling like nine pins

Ten:

- Ten on Ten - Something that is very good, Excellent
It's been a perfect ten on ten with respect to the captaincy especially on the field placement and strategy

Eleven:

- At the eleventh hour - Last possible moment or just before its too late
Making fresh new plans at the eleventh hour doesn't bode well for the team

Twelve:

- Bakers Dozen - Thirteen, Adding an extra
This impact sub player has been so effective in performing the role far more than expected of him thus making the team feel like having an extra cushion or a Bakers Dozen.

Nineteen:

- Nineteen to the Dozen - Talk incessantly without pausing
The Captain should be left alone to make the decision. Constant nineteen to the dozen advice from virtually everyone at the back end will bear no fruit.

Twenty Two:

- Catch 22 - Paradoxical situation where one condition prevents or overrules another condition
The team are in quite a Catch 22 situation at the moment. At one end, they need to keep the runs ticking on the board to get the score running but at the same time it's essential that they preserve their wickets and keep them handy at the back end of the innings.

Eighty Six:

- 86'd - Throw out, Removed or Dismissed
It's unfortunate that the player has been 86'd despite putting up a reasonably decent performance in the previous match

Using some of the number idioms above to spin a yarn with a cricketing equivalence:

England have been 'at sixes and sevens' trying to deal with spin and been getting rolled over like nine-pins. The batting has been absolutely deplorable with one too many needless hoicks putting paid to unnecessary dismissals. By not giving two hoots about the conditions have exposed them pretty badly. They have been way 'behind the eight ball' and look completely lost playing in the sub continent. Being completely under prepared and making changes at the eleventh hour isn't going to yield them any fruit. They are almost in a Catch 22 situation with any chance of a comeback virtually ruled out. It's just a matter of time before they are 86'd in this match and sent packing from the tournament. There also seems to be too much of interference playing along with the captain seeming to get nineteen to the dozen advice from everyone right from the players to the backroom staff. The Sockdolager has been landing stingily on their face too often now and they really need to do something to save face in order to avoid going back to Square One.

India on the other hand have been on Cloud 9 with plans executed perfectly and its been a High Five performance on all fronts. They have been a 10 on 10 with the new ball pair bowling a probing line and seizing the initiative upfront. The way the batsman have been clueless in picking length makes the bowlers feel like they are on seventh heaven. The spinners have wreaked havoc in equal measure with a Six of one and half a dozen of the other performance. England's ineptitude to handle the Indian bowling makes India look like a side blessed with a Baker's dozen. It takes two to tango and it can be said that both the pace bowlers and spinners have equally in tandem been the star performers in executing this demolition job perfectly. The only area which they need to zero in on is the lower order batting and if that also gets sorted out they will have an all encompassing team to compete at any level. 

Poongatru Pudhidhaanadhu - Entranced Trance!

There are some compositions which are very hard to decipher and "Poongatru Pudhidhaanadhu" from Moonram Pirai (1982) falls in that esteemed category. The song has always haunted me with the way it's been structured. It probably could be classified under the genre of 'Trance' but irrespective it's a number that has always entranced beyond imagination.

It gives the impression initially of being a hard hitting number with the fast paced beats opening up the prelude and then the actual Pallavi kind of takes a pause and goes in a slightly slower trajectory but the eeriness continues unabated. The second stanza slows down majorly and has a beautiful melody interlaced crooned by the incomparable KJ Yesudas. If you split the song in parts, you wouldn't think the pallavi and anupallavi are from the same number based on the construction. It becomes even more hard to fathom when the opening prelude bit is played.

In effect, the song follows a pattern and yet portions of it go on in it's own individual patterns but the unison generated is perfectly synchronised and falls in place nonchalantly. The composition appears to be largely set in the Sindhu Bhairavi ragam and can be described as a mystical composition transcending the magic across waves of intricate layers.

I just gave a stab at this masterful composition as I've always been fond of wanting to try that opening bit which tends to reach a crescendo with the beats gushing in full furore. Tried a portion of the opening portion and also the middle part which lowers the tempo of the melody and gets backed by the beats of the Tabla. It's just a basic try but more of an exploration unravelling the beauty of this musical wonder. The composition is over 40 years old but continues to enthral.

CSK's IPL 2025 - A disaster that was waiting to unfold

Chennai Super Kings prior two seasons before 2025 fetched reasonably positive results and coming into IPL 2025, there was plenty expected of the men representative of a lion sized past and seeped in yellow to add another coveted title #6 to their lustrous trophy laden cabinet. 2023 witnessed CSK conquer title No.5 in a thrilling final for the ages with a sixer and a boundary scored off the last 2 deliveries to edge out defending champions GT and seal CSK an improbable win and cement their legacy as one of the greatest teams of the IPL which set foot since the summer of 2008. 2024 however didn't go all to plan but again it wasn't a horror show by any stretch of the imagination. They just lost out by a whisker in making it to the playoffs. With 11 needed off 5 deliveries to qualify against RCB, some caution exercised could have actually seen CSK crossing the line and you never know what could have happened in the playoffs. 

2025 was the IPL season consisting of the mega auctions. CSK have always been a tried and tested formula based team pursuing on with the seasonal veterans and not to take credit away, this approach has actually worked well over a period of time. Irrespective of the outcome of this season, they have been the most consistent IPL side in reaching the playoffs and have played for the big final prize on 9 occasions out of 16 events participated. (They didn't compete for 2 seasons between 2016-17 on account of being banned).

The T20 format however has evolved and it's seen as a young man's game with huge big hitting potential igniting euphoria and getting the crowd on to it's feet. The IPL as a brand has been all rizz and razzmatazz growing multi-fold in becoming a supreme cash cow generating gargantuan wealth and seen as one of the perennial events of the sporting calendar worldwide. The 2025 auction set the tone for an overhaul and it was the perfect opportunity for a team like CSK to seek some fresh blood and set the foundation towards planning for the future especially with their talisman MS Dhoni on the verge of retirement. This also proved a ripe opportunity to develop a solid grounding for building a renewed young side who would be ready to take on the mantle when the time eventually comes about. 

Coming into the auction of 2025, CSK was handed a purse of 120 crores and ended up retaining Jadeja (18 crores), Gaikwad (18 crores), Pathirana (13 crores), Dube (12 crores) and Dhoni (4 crores as part of uncapped player) with all of them accounting for a combined sum total of 55 crores. This still left them remaining with 65 crores to pick a cream of players from a multitude pool of both local and overseas talents.

CSK botched it up on 3 key parameters - Strategy, Combination and Performance. First up was the questionable decision to retain the 2 senior pro's Dhoni and Jadeja. The former was acceptable though debatable because he was the fulcrum who constructed the base of CSK and also considering the fan following the man commands, it would have been an outcry to see him represent any other side than his beloved CSK. Also at a prize of 4 crores, it's not like a huge step off the peddle anyways. However coming to Jadeja, surely there should have been more reasoning and thought process. Jadeja is an excellent utility cricketer but well past his prime and also a retired International T20 cricketer at the time of reckoning of the auctions. To give a slice of 15% of the purse to a retired cricketer absolutely made no sense. Even if they were hell bent on retaining him, they could have easily got him in the auction for around half the prize. This was an erroneous error on all counts. Retention of Ruturaj was a given considering he was the sole contender to fill in MS shoes and already made captain at the helm. Pathirana was a far cry of the performer that he was in 2023 with a rather hapless 2024 IPL season and with all due respect to Dube, though he can tonk the ball a country mile, he always has been someone who takes time to settle in and isn't the one who can just go all guns blazing. The other retention's can be contentious but Jadeja's especially at that prize was no doubt a blunder of epic proportions.

Coming to the actual auctions, CSK was caught napping with respect to the combinations. With them already retaining Jadeja, there was a heavy bid to bring on Ashwin to partner in crime and reunite the spin twins. The prize which they went for almost breaking the 10 crore barrier was again dubious but can still said to be justifiable. If they were anyways zeroing in on Ashwin, there was absolutely no need to also go in for Noor Ahmed. The latter agreed has been the better of most of CSK's performers this season but to spend almost 40 crores which is a third of the purse value of 120 crores on just 3 players with the same speciality of spin bowling made absolutely no sense whatsoever. It was a given that they were all expected to be part of the playing team considering the prize commanded but the decision holistically just felt ludicrous and out of sync. Since Jadeja was anyways there, it should have been clearly either a homecoming for Ash or Noor and certainly and undoubtedly not both. This was as illogical as it could get.

On the fast bowling side, the management hardly went anywhere close to bagging any marquee name. Someone like a Hazlewood or Starc could have bought in a marked difference. Even a localite like Siraj/Avesh/Akashdeep could have helped in a major way. The worst was however reserved on the batting front which is the genre that arguably defines a T20 game to it's zenith. CSK went in for old foes well past their 30s by picking the likes of Tripathi, Hooda and Vijay Shankar. This was as outlandish as it could get. The combination of the side appeared forlorn and all at sea. Power hitting which is a forte of IPL cricket somehow seemed to have been blanked out and blindfolded the management. Even on the All rounders set, they went in for a Sam Curran, someone not renowned to be a power striker and another well past 30 candidate in the form of Jamie Overton. One should seriously wonder what CSK were cooking at the auction as it was literally a nightmare unravelling of all sorts. It must be said, they just went absolute bonkers with their picks at the auction.

And now coming to the performance on the field, there was nothing much to write home about. Though they began well winning their first game at home against MI, it all went downhill from there on. The fortress of CSK which teams had been battling for years to breach managed to chop it down without even blinking an eyelid. All those proud home records were eviscerated and obliterated much to the chagrin of hardcore CSK fans. Ruturaj's captaincy in the initial games felt a lot left to be desired with tactics simply not in place and his usage of bowlers was bewildering to say the least. As CSK's outright best batsman, his ruling out of the tournament led the batting performance to crumble even further. It was a sad sight to witness a once champion side struggling to chase anything around 180 with absolute zilch batting firepower. For most other teams, it felt like a victory against CSK was a foregone conclusion and just a means of boosting up the net run rate a further notch. The performance on the field was just a reflection of the poor strategy set and the lacklustre combination laid out which just didn't inspire indication of any confidence. 

Even in the match to determine the wooden spoon, CSK were undone with some bizarre ideas at play by perking Ashwin & Jadeja up the order and preserving the so called big hitters at the posterior. Also, lesser said the better on the inability to pick up runs at the fag end of the innings. However, CSK put up their most commanding performance in the last match of the season by registering a comprehensive victory over one of the table toppers GT. This meant that they ended up winning both their first and last matches of the season but it was all mostly downhill in between. This also in eventuality, meant that a much fancied and ever loved cherished team like CSK finish a shocking bottom most in the standings. The 2025 IPL in effect was a damp squib and a season which every loyal CSK supporter would want to forget very soon. It was in essence a dream that dissipated even before inception.

On the youngsters side, CSK unleashed an imperious up and coming talent on the horizon in the form of Ayush Mhatre who was brought in to the fray when CSK were almost done and dusted in the season. On the international front, a major discovery was the dashing South African youngster Dewald Brevis. But even he was being made to cool his heels and brought in only when CSK were virtually eliminated from the tournament. Even someone like an Urvil Patel came in at the very last moment and played a rapturous innings from out of nowhere. There were a few others who didn't even manage to bag a game. It begs the question as to why some of these youngsters were kept in oblivion until the very end till it became too late to make any sort of comeback.

The underlying problem can accentuate and compound further as well. CSK had a great chance to make amends by playing well at the auctions but everything lies at the core and if that's brittle, things are bound to eventually fall apart. By laying down a cistern of players well past their prime and hardly exposing the young crop of players by giving them the requisite opportunities, CSK will have to play their cards very closely and cannot afford to have a single negative streak while planning for the 2026 season. CSK did bounce back remarkably well after a rather poor 2022 season to win the title the following year. In 2018, after being away from the wilderness for 2 years they came stomping back to win the trophy. CSK is known for making strong comebacks and the past is a firm indicator of that. Thus hope is still there but tough decisions have to be taken and the fans must stop hero worshipping individual players and back the team as a wholesome unit to the hilt. It may take even a year or two to rebuild but the faith and unity must remain in order to see the CSK franchise restore and re-conquer hallowed glory in the IPL seasons that follow.