July 14th comes back to haunt and the eerie similarity between 2021 & 2024

There were 3 highly anticipated sporting finales which got played out on the 14th of July 2024 viz

Wimbledon Final - Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz

Euro Final - England vs Spain

Copa America Final - Argentina vs Columbia 

The day was all set and it was imminently clear that it was going to be a sporting extravaganza of epic proportion and a blockbuster of sorts for the sport loving aficionado.

Sporting clashes have happened across different formats and dates earlier on as well. But what really caught the eye and makes this one Sunday special is because it associates itself to a few incidents of the past which ironically played out in the same intervening period but across different years.

Let's traverse back to the exact day of 14th July, 5 years ago in 2019. That very same day witnessed a Wimbledon final and the ODI World Cup cricket final. On 14th July 2024 also we had the Wimbledon Final but instead of the cricket we had the Euro Football final. The common player/team running across both these days were Novak Djokovic and England. In 2019, Novak Djokovic claimed the Wimbledon title in a match for the ages against Roger Federer and the England cricket team claimed the cricket World Cup final in a super over through boundary count in the final against New Zealand which was heralded as one of the greatest ever ODI matches played. 

Both Novak Djokovic and England appeared again on court in the final in 2024 and a victory for both would have made it extra special and a day to savour for eternity for both Novak Djokovic and England as a sports team but alas it was not to be as Djokovic was swept aside by the marauding young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and later on in the evening the England football team were humbled by a mercurial Spanish side. The 14th of July 2019 which bought joy to Novak and the England cricket team bought despair to the same Novak Djokovic and England football team on the 14th of July 2024. It was perceived that Novak almost did the impossible by saving 2 match points on his opponents serve to register a famous victory much to the chagrin of the partisan British crowd who were cheering and egging on Federer to create history in 2019. In a similar vein, it was also felt that the Kiwis were robbed off a World cup title in dubious fashion since the win was awarded to England in controversial circumstances. Both Federer and New Zealand felt dismayed on the 14th of July 2019 but things came back to haunt Novak and England in albeit a different manner by taking defeat off them coincidentally and ironically on the very same date 5 years later. Hence, there were a lot of coincidences and patterns emerging across these 2 dates 5 years apart but the result ended up being completely opposite from one another.

Talking of coincidences, there was one more eerie similarity taking place in 2024 but this time the year in question is related with 2021. The very same 3 sporting events that happened in 2024 also took place in 2021 just 3 days apart on 11th July 2021 and once again there was the common theme of one player/team being weirdly the common link across the 3 major sporting finales. 

Let's take a look at the commonality.

2021 & 2024 Wimbledon Final - Novak Djokovic appeared in both finals

2021 & 2024 Euro Final - England played in both finals 

2021 & 2024 Copa America Final - Argentina took part in both finals

The results however were a mix & match across these 3 years. Novak Djokovic emerged victorious in 2019 but came a cropper in 2024. England football team ensued heartbreak both in 2021 at home and 2024 in Berlin. The Argentinian team emerged triumphant on both occasions beating the home side Brazil in 2021 and winning the finale again in 2024.

Documenting the tale of sporting finales loaded with numerous twists & turns arising across different years resulting in so many weird and varied patterns indeed makes sport so very special and thrilling.

The Fallen has Risen - India's comeback turnaround orchestrated by 3 Crusaders!

India's conquest over South Africa in the T20 World Cup final 2024 has given it's players and fans much to cherish and rejoice with the manner of victory making it all the more extra special. India clawed it's way from a seemingly improbable situation to register a triumph for the ages and one which would be firmly and proudly etched in it's folklore.

Thus ended India's ignominious draught of not winning a global ICC title for over 11 years and not securing a World Cup for 13 years and not claiming a T20 World Cup for 17 years. The margin was as wafer thin as it could get and the way the team fought like terriers to ensure that the team will not be undone yet again on the big stage in a mega tournament final clash marks signs of a truly Champion side and deservedly so.

The team has gone through a lot across the last decade with consistent performances across the board but all to no avail. The slip ups always tended to happen at the most pivotal stage causing heartbreak time and again. It almost seemed as if a curse was cast upon the Indian cricket team as something or other was always preventing them from crossing the finish line. All the talk of 'Its just a matter of time' appeared to be slashed across the backside since the victory was eluding them for far too long to even contemplate a justification of any repute.

The seed of this particular success was however not sown just now. In fact, there is a long inglorious history associated with it which goes back plenty of years where different outcomes of trauma germinated in indirectly influencing this win and making it a dream come true with redemption being obtained in it's truest essence. Though this victory is attributable to the entire squad including the support staff as each and every member contributed in some way or other to make this feat attainable but for 3 of the members viz Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, this achievement means just a tad extra special considering the pain they've gone through to make this happen. These 3 architects projected the path ahead, transpired to make it happen and inspired India's journey to glory. 

First let's transport back to 2022. Rohit Sharma was appointed captain and was the man in charge of leading his side in the T20 World Cup held in Australia along with Rahul Dravid at the helm of things as coach. India won arguably the match of the tournament against Pakistan with a spectacular showing thanks courtesy to a masterclass from Virat Kohli. All these celebrations turned bitter as just a few days later, India came a cropper being pummelled by the eventual champions England on a day in which they were served a royal drubbing. Things got worse for this duo as they again lost the World Test Championship final in 2023 continuing on from their defeat at the same stage in 2021. When it looked like sanity will finally prevail with India claiming a home ODI WC in 2023 especially after being the most dominant team throughout the tournament came yet again a day of utter disdain with a nightmare being unveiled on the most important day as all the efforts put in throughout the tournament yielded no fruit with a really savage blow being dealt in the final against Australia in front of a billion fans.

Let's now map back to 2014 and the T20 World Cup edition in Bangladesh when this unfortunate draught got implanted. India came in as heavy favourites having just won the Champions Trophy few months back in 2013 and were looking to win their 2nd T20 World Cup. They breezed their way to the final only to be undone by an unfancied Sri Lankan side who came remarkably well prepared in the all important final thus putting a dent in India capturing a major title. This horror run endured from then on for the next decade till 2024. One cricketer induced with misery aplenty happens to be Virat Kohli. He was unfortunate not to be part of the winning side in the 2007 T20 World Cup but he has always been the key performer especially when it comes to this format and more so on the biggest stage which is the World Cup. Both in the 2014 & 2016 T20 World Cup editions, he was the stand out player by a country mile but India as a team again diffused at the big stage losing in the finals and semifinals respectively. If the T20 format was his undoing in capturing a victory for his beloved nation, the despair only extended further with Kohli registering the highest ever total runs amassed in any ODI World Cup only to again be on the losing side in the final of the ODI WC 2023.

We will now go a step further way back specifically to 2007. The current coach of Indian team Rahul Dravid was granted the leadership role and expected to take India all the way after the shattering defeat encountered in the 2003 ODI WC final. When India was hoping to go one better, what ensured was the lowest ebb in India's cricketing history as they bowed out in the very first round causing utter humiliation and disgrace. The whole episode was taken so badly that effigies were burnt of the players by the general public. This turmoil and outcry led to Dravid being stripped of the captaincy in what could said to be the lowest point of his career. As a player, Dravid was a class apart and considered one of India's greatest servants but it was indeed sad that he could never be part of a world cup winning side. He did make amends by coaching the U-19 side to a world cup triumph after failing in his first assignment but striking gold on the second occasion. However one always felt that the man deserved a hurrah with the senior Indian cricketing side as well and when the chance came to take the perfect revenge by avenging the loss as a player in the WC final of 2003, the same story unfolded yet again 20 years later in 2023 as a heavily favoured Indian side had it's worst day coming to a halt on that ill fateful day in Ahmedabad. Dravid also decided to quit as coach after this debacle but was coaxed by the camp to stay on for another 6 months till the T20 World Cup 2024 which he reluctantly agreed.

For Rahul Dravid, to end his career as coach by leading India to a World Cup trophy is a perfect testament dedicated to his greatness and mental toughness. This was at the very same Caribbean 17 years prior in 2007 where he went through horror of the highest magnitude as captain of the Indian team in the ODI World Cup. Also in this particular ground Bridgetown, Barbados that hosted the finale, India encountered an abject shameful defeat in 1997 in a test match against the West Indies where they were shot out for a paltry 81 chasing just 120 with Dravid being part of the team and seeing the collapse unfold. Having been witness to so many regrets running across multiple years, this particular victory to give Dravid the perfect send off makes it so extremely emotional. He may brush this off as just another day as part of his duty but this redemption story certainly couldn't have been scripted any better. Witnessing him hold the trophy aloft beaming with pride unleashing emotions of every kind was truly a sight to behold. Similar is the case with captain Rohit Sharma. Anyone in his place could have just capitulated after what happened in the 2023 ODI WC final. But this man made Australia pay by playing a career defining innings against this very same team in this T20 World Cup by knocking them out and eventually leading his beloved side to a glorious triumph. He wanted this championship so badly and one could see how much this meant to him. Lastly for Virat Kohli to cap off his T20 career with a World cup title to go along with being part of the victorious ODI WC 2011 and Champions Trophy 2013 side places him on a special pedestal. He didn't really have the best of World Cups this time around but cometh the moment and cometh the hour, he showed his class by playing a responsible and crucial knock after the initial setback to eventually win the player of the match trophy in his last ever T20 World Cup match for the country.

The events that transpired on that eventful Saturday of 29th June 2024 at Barbados makes one believe that God truly exists as justice couldn't have been served in a more sweeter manner. The 3 visionaries deserved this redemption more than anything else and rightfully so. This also would rank tribute to being one of India's greatest moments in it's rich cricketing legacy and etched in memory as a day to remember for eternity in India's cricketing fortunes.

Cricketing Nostalgia Edition - Test Cricket of 2002, ODI WC 1999 & beyond

We were in the process of disposing off old items in the house when an old notebook running more than a quarter century caught my attention. I was quite fascinated to see that I had documented handwritten scorecard of all ODI matches played during the 1999 World Cup along with plenty of other notes pertaining mainly towards cricket, a bit of movies and some random scripts.

This was much before the advent of blogging came into existence. I recall around the late 1990s and early 2000s, most homes didn't even have a personal computer and it was only around the early 2000s that internet came into existence with the good old net cracker dial up edition which used to take quite a while to connect.

I had also incidentally penned a summarised version of the year 2002 that played out in test cricket chronicling on the major events that took place during the year. I couldn't beleive it myself that I took the pains to write about test cricket decades back when I was a wily teenager hooked on to the sport in a major way. Also looking at penning scorecards from cricket matches noted down from newspapers brings back a lot of vintage memories.

I am producing verbatim my write up of the year 2002 that was for Test cricket and sharing my hand written documentation of the 1999 ODI World Cup match played between India and Pakistan on the 8th of June 1999. A quarter century has passed since these events have occurred and looking back evokes memorable memories growing up in Chennai and falling in love with this wonderful sport of cricket.

2002 - The Year that Was 

2002 will go down in history as one of those years in which bat completely dominated the ball. It was also a year full of world records. Adam Gilchrist obliterated Botham's record to score the fastest double century. In a matter of few days, he found that his own record was broken by Nathan Astle. Incidentally Astle broke Gilchrist's record by 59 balls getting to his double ton of a mere 153 deliveries. Michael Vaughan scored the second highest runs in a calendar year ever with 1481 runs. The record still belongs to Viv Richards who amassed 1710 runs in 1976. If you thought test cricket was boring think again. Sri Lanka's 509 runs scored in a day against Bangladesh is the highest score scored by a team in a day in test history. Also other notable achievements include Inzamam Ul Haq's 329 vs New Zealand which was the highest test score ever by a Pakistani. The score also stood 10th on the all time list. Rahul Dravid became the fourth batsman in test history to score 4 consecutive hundreds in as many innings. Bowlers couldn't make much of an impact but still there were a few important milestones set. Muralitharan and McGrath became the 7th and 8th bowlers respectively to join the 400 wicket club. Muralitharan also equalled Hadlee's world record of 36 five wicket hauls. Shane Warne went second on the all time list for most wickets taken. Sachin Tendulkar joined the illustrious club of all those who have scored over 8000 test runs. He also went past Donald Bradman's record of 29 test centuries. Now he is in second position in the list of most number of centuries scored behind Sunil Gavaskar. For the first time in test history two teams India and New Zealand got bowled out for less than 100 in their respective first innings. In spite of this feat 2002 will be remembered as a year for the batsmen.

1999 ODI World Cup Scorecard - India vs Pakistan (8th June 1999)

The cruelty of Sport - So near yet so far!

India's performance in the recently concluded ICC cricket ODI World Cup was nothing short of outstanding but did it mean anything? The answer is a resounding 'No' as they lost the only and most crucial game of their lives and broke a billion hearts despite playing admirably well right through the tournament beating every team by their wayside.

It was one day horribly gone wrong and unfortunately this had to happen at the most pinnacle point. Sport is cruel because ultimately when years pass by, only the victor would be remembered and whether one likes it or not, the victory team will be etched to Australia.

Australia on the other hand who started the tournament poorly raised their A game come the clutch moments most notably the semifinals and finals. They have done this time and again with their mental fortitude able to turn around any level of extreme pressure when it comes to the knock out phase. Australia haven't necessarily been the best team but they just always rise up when most needed and are undeniably unbelievably good at raising the bar in those clutch moments. 

They are now single handedly the undisputed most successful side in the history of world cup cricket especially with regard to big titles won and no other country lands a distant second. If one includes both the men's + women's combined records in World Cups, it's simply unenviable and doesn't look like being broken for the next century even if they don't happen to win anything from here on in. Such has been their dominance in the sport of cricket.

Coming to India they have been abysmally unlucky when it comes to the crunch moments. This particular defeat exacerbated the misery as it came in front of a jam packed rampaging home audience who were cheering on to end their tournament hoodoo but in eventuality it only compounded the sadness. Since their last major ICC tournament win, there have been 10 world cricketing events with India making the semifinals or finals in 9 of them but they couldn't convert the final outcome even in one of these. Consistency wise they have been the standout team but time and again failed during the inevitable horizon. It's almost become a mental or psychological issue as the team is faltering repeatedly only at the end.

The performance and skill set is definitely there as it could be argued that without it they cannot even be coming thus far every other time. But somehow the disintegration and melt down happens every time when they are just a game or two away from winning the tournament. Cricketing wise India are not the only side who have choked on important occasions but in recent times they lead the pack comprehensively. 

South Africa also have a pretty poor record when it comes to knockouts in ODI World cups. Since their re advent into cricket from the 1992 WC onwards they have lost in semifinals every alternate event ranging from 1992, 1999, 2007, 2015 and now 2023 with a majority of these being agonizingly close. They also bowed out of the 1996 and 2011 World cups in the quarter final stage thus not being able to win a single knock out game so far in ODI World Cups. The five times they made the semifinals, there were no quarter finals in those world cups meaning 7 times on 7 they have lost in the knock out games. Only 2 times in 2003 & 2019 they failed to make it to the knock out stage.

New Zealand on the other hand have also been a perennial short hand in knockout phases. They had reached the semifinals for the 5th straight time in 2023 but not able to even convert one of those into titles. Overall they have been at least into the semifinals on 8 occasions and finals twice in 13 World Cups but still don't have an ODI world cup to boast of.

Another team England who have a pretty poor record in finals turned it around by winning their first final on their 4th occasion albeit in a tied game decided by a super over on boundary count.

Looking at another team sport like Rugby, England have a similar poor record in the finals having won only once despite making the finals on 4 occasions. Ireland which is currently ranked as the best in the world currently have had perpetual heartbreak in the quarterfinals having not surpassed that stage 8 times. It almost seems as if they are cursed from not making it beyond the quarters. France has been another unlucky side losing all 3 finals they have played. The most impressive record however in Rugby happens to be the South African Springboks who unlike their cricketing counterparts the Proteas enjoy an enviable 4 out of 4 wins in the finals making them the most successful side in Rugby history. The All Blacks who are the next most successful with 3 titles have unfortunately lost both their finals to the same South African side.

Coming to football, Brazil has been the most successful in World Cups winning an unprecedented 5 titles. The next on the list is just 3 by Germany, Italy and Argentina. France who have won 2 titles in the last 25 years have also faced heartbreak losing 2 very close finals.

Thus, when it comes to team sports it's not necessarily been the most consistent and best side that has always won it but in fact the team which raises their ultimate game in the do or die crucial knock out stages. Most World Cups come down to winning just 2 matches viz the semifinal and the final and that is where some teams have faltered big time whereas certain sides soak the pressure and have that stone grind attitude to find a way how to win. South Africa in the Rugby World Cup 2023 in fact won their quarter final, semifinal and final each by just one point. Australia's record of 6 ODI titles in a total of 13 played is gut wrenching sensational considering that wins have come across different continents. It would perhaps rank as the greatest ever achievement by a sporting nation though it has to be factored in that only a few countries play cricket and even a lesser few have a stake at the trophy. Brazil's football tally of 5 is impressive though they haven't really come close to winning one in the last two decades.

Harping back to the post, it's ultimately just those tiny little moments that decide the outcome of not just a match but also a world championship. India's remarkable run in this World Cup in addition to their breathtaking form in world events over the course of the last decade hasn't yielded them any eventual final outcome. The luck factor and destiny also plays a huge role as it can be seen that India with a much weaker side of the past were able to spin off 3 major titles between 2007-2013 despite the performances in the other interim events not really being satisfactory.

On the whole it's just the fine margins. To break this long standing curse, it looks likely that luck and destiny also needs to go hand in hand along with the performances to bail the team out on those crunch tense finishes.

Sharing below a list of all ICC World cricketing events held in the men's game from the inception in 1975 with the winners and runner up in each edition. These are considered as the Big 4 tournaments with the ODI World Cup having a history of nearly half a century, Champions Trophy which began towards the end of the nineteenth century looks likely to be discontinued in the near  future, the current most popular T20 World Cup which also gets held every biennial year and the most recent World Test Championship which commenced recently after years of planning.

ODI World Cups
1) 1975 ODI WC - WI def Aus

2) 1979 ODI WC - WI def Eng

3) 1983 ODI WC - Ind def WI

4) 1987 ODI WC - Aus def Eng

5) 1992 ODI WC - Pak def Eng

6) 1996 ODI WC - SL def Aus

7) 1999 ODI WC - Aus def Pak

8) 2003 ODI WC - Aus def Ind

9) 2007 ODI WC - Aus def SL

10) 2011 ODI WC - Ind def SL

11) 2015 ODI WC - Aus def NZ

12) 2019 ODI WC - Eng def NZ

13) 2023 ODI WC - Aus def Ind

Total: Aus won 6, WI & Ind - 2, Pak, SL and Eng - 1

Champions Trophy
1) 1998 CT - SA def WI

2) 2000 CT - NZ def Ind

3) 2002 CT - SL & Ind joint winners

4) 2004 CT - WI def Eng

5) 2006 CT - Aus def WI

6) 2009 CT - Aus def NZ

7) 2013 CT - Ind def Eng

8) 2017 CT - Pak def Ind

Total: Aus & Ind - 2, SA, NZ, SL, WI, Pak - 1

T20 World Cup
1) 2007 T20 WC - Ind def Pak

2) 2009 T20 WC - Pak def SL

3) 2010 T20 WC - Eng def Aus

4) 2012 T20 WC - WI def SL

5) 2014 T20 WC - SL def Ind

6) 2016 T20 WC - WI def Eng 

7) 2021 T20 WC - Aus def NZ

8) 2022 T20 WC - Eng def Pak

Total: Eng & WI - 2, Ind, Pak, SL, Aus - 1

World Test Championship
1) 2021 WTC - NZ def Ind

2) 2023 WTC - Aus def Ind

Total: NZ & Aus - 1

Overall Total Count of Big 4 ICC Trophies
Aus - 10

Ind - 5

WI - 5

Pak - 3

SL - 3

Eng - 3

NZ - 2

SA - 1

It is pretty evident that Australia stands on top of the pile with 10 ICC World tournament victories. They are also the only side to have claimed all the Big 4 titles and have an extremely superior record hold especially in the ODI World Cups.

Australia have actually leap frogged in a big way over the last decade with double ODI trophies, a T20 WC win and also a Test Championship. Australia was 6 and India 5 before the ODI World Cup 2015 and since then Australia have scalped 4 more and raced away to double digit men's world titles. Purely taking finals, Australia have won 10 out of 13 finals played compared to India who have won only 5 out of 12 finals participated.

India on the other hand have been gravely unlucky. Nine times in the last 10 events they have reached the semifinals or finals. If they had at least converted the finals into victories, they would now be having about 9 titles in the kitty but the sad truth is they have not added to the 5 which they did over 10 years ago in the Champions Trophy of 2013. It clearly articulates Australia's big match temperament as they have been absolutely masterclass in finals not having lost a single final in their last 4 shots at the trophy. In today's era chances of winning world titles is much more than the bygone times purely because one has more opportunities. A 3 format player has a chance of a T20 WC and a WTC coming every alternate year. India's golden era of players have records absolutely to be proud of but when it comes down to team sport, they seem to be constantly falling at the final hurdle. There are 3 more chances coming up within the next one and half years viz the T20 WC 2024, CT 2025 and WTC 2025. It's a good chance to add extra titles but its essential that teams like India don't choke in the knock out games and end this unsavory precedent of not winning a singular world title despite being such a formidable and highly competitive side. 

India's 10 year draught in ICC World Cricket Tournaments

India's failure yet again to cross the finish line having bowed out to Australia in front of a jam packed voracious home crowd raises lot of questions and speculations with regard to India's ability to claim victory in major world cricketing tournaments. This unfortunate pattern has been repeating for far too long exposing the frailties and one doubts if it's a psychological issue as a team laden with such strength and skill sets who performs admirably well right through a competition manages to capitulate when it comes to the high pressure knock out games.

It is now a span of 10 completed years since India has won anything of repute with their last major victory coming in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. There are 3 more marquee world events expected to play out within the next one and half years comprising of the T20 World Cup in mid 2024 played in the US & Caribbean followed by the ODI Champions Trophy taking place in Pakistan in early 2025 followed by the 3rd cycle of the World Test Championship in England during the first half of 2025. In this interim period between 2013 to 2023, almost all the Test playing nations have captured a title barring South Africa and Bangladesh. This certainly isn't something to be proud of for a country rich in cricketing culture and heritage.

Let's briefly summarize the big ticket world cricketing events that have taken place since the ICC Champions Trophy in England, 2013.

1) 2014 T20 World Cup - Host Bangladesh - Winner Sri Lanka

2) 2015 ODI World Cup - Host Australia - Winner Australia

3) 2016 T20 World Cup - Host India - Winner West Indies

4) 2017 Champions Trophy - Host England - Winner Pakistan

5) 2019 ODI World Cup - Host England - Winner England

6) 2021 World Test Championship - Host England (Final) - Winner New Zealand

7) 2021 T20 World Cup - Host UAE (India holding Rights) - Winner Australia

8) 2022 T20 World Cup - Host Australia - Winner England

9) 2023 World Test Championship - Host England (Final) - Winner Australia 

10) 2023 ODI World Cup - Host India - Winner Australia

Thus one can see there have been regular major events held almost every year with India having plenty of opportunities but not being able to triumph in any of the 10 events since the last ascendancy coming way back in 2013. Former players, analysts, pandits and fans have been quite raucous with some even calling out for a major reshuffle in the side especially in the T20 format advocating for bringing in more fresh legs and eliminating some of the older folks. 

All this might seem to be a bit too harsh considering the team overall did play some spectacular cricket in the recently concluded ODI world cup with just one off day plunging their fortunes. The criticism may seem to be a bit too far fetched but one thing is pretty clear that people have short memories and it's only the victories that count at the end of the day. Actually speaking it might seem to be a bit of a misnomer but factually speaking India have actually been the stand out team in ICC events over the past decade. They have virtually done exceptionally well in almost all the big events but alas without any silverware to showcase. In majority of the cases, India have just been short of a match or two from winning the whole tournament. The biggest flaw has been that the team has not been able to seize the initiative and have lacked the killer instinct in the must win do or die knock out games. Sadly, India will have to abide with the title of perennial chokers till they get this monkey off the back by actually winning something of repute.

Sharing a brief synopsis of India's performances down the years in the ICC World Events.
2014 T20 World Cup:
India entered the finals and were considered firm favorites to romp home after their stellar victory over South Africa in the semi finals. The final opponents were Sri Lanka, the side India defeated in the 2011 ODI World Cup. The Lankans were firm underdogs but pulled off a spectacular showing in the finals to topple India. India's batting which was clicking match after match grossly underperformed in the final having scored just 130 in the allotted 20 overs having lost just 4 wickets. This was too meagre a total for the Lankans who managed to get there without much of a hassle.

2015 ODI World Cup:
India managed to reach the semi finals without battling a sweat. In fact they were the only unbeaten side along with New Zealand till that stage winning all 6 of their group games along with sweeping aside the Bangladeshis in the quarter final encounter. But when it came to the big match semifinal against the hosts, India came a cropper caving in rather tamely. Australia put up a 300 plus score on the board with India never in the hunt losing by almost a three figure mark.

2016 T20 World Cup:
This was a home World Cup for India and the performance in the beginning was kind of muted. They however stepped up with a closely fought must win encounter against Bangladesh followed by a sizzling closely fought quarter final win over the Aussies setting up a semi final showdown against the Windies at the Wankhede. India put up a score of almost 200 and looked to drive home the advantage but this time the bowling didn't step up when needed allowing the Windies to go surging past the total. This was a great opportunity lost to win a world cup title at home.

2017 Champions Trophy:
Another tournament dominated by India till they came undone pretty badly in the finals against arch rivals Pakistan. India had in fact comfortably hammered the same opposition in the group stage match but when it came to the final, India were totally outclassed losing by a mammoth 180 run margin. India had again come in as the favorites for the final but the manner of defeat was pretty searing to say the least.

2019 ODI World Cup:
This was a 10 team edition with each team getting to play each other and the top 4 teams making it to the semi finals. India finished right on top of the 10 teams and got to play the Kiwis who had finished 4th. India again went into the semi finals as firm favorites but again swallowed the opportunity by failing to chase a reasonable score put up by New Zealand in a rain marred game. The batting totally let them down with the team losing wickets in a heap at the beginning. Jadeja and Dhoni did offer a great fightback but it was too much to claw at and in the end it was a bitter pill to swallow for India. This was perhaps one of the best chances missed by India to claim a World Cup in England since their maiden memorable victory way back in 1983. 

2021 T20 World Cup:
This was perhaps the only time India never really showed up in a world event over the last many years. India succumbed to Pakistan finally in a World Cup match losing their golden run that too in an abject embarrassing manner going down by 10 wickets. In the other must win game against their nemesis Kiwis, India's batting faltered again allowing New Zealand to win easily. Thus, India was knocked out of the tournament before the semifinals and it was quite a major disappointment. The event was supposed to be staged in India but got moved over to the Emirates due to the Covid factor with India still retaining the hosting rights for the event.

2021 World Test Championship: (2019-2021 Window)
This was the first ever Test Championship to have been staged after years of contemplation. The top two sides were to meet in the final and India were placed right at the top with an impressive array of victories in the test format during the window of 2019-2021 including a famous back to back series win down under against the Aussies. India again were tipped as favorites going into the final but again came undone against a methodological and resolute New Zealand side. This was the first world test championship to be conducted and it can be said that India certainly missed a golden chance to go atop the honors board.

2022 T20 World Cup:
Another World Cup and another disappointment. India won the game of the tournament against their arch rivals Pakistan and easily made it to the semifinals again topping their group. But it was an absolute day to forget for the Indians in the semi finals as a marauding England side made mincemeat of India's target barraging past the total without battling an eyelid not even losing a solitary wicket in the process. Australian conditions were suiting the Indian batsman and it looked like something huge was finally coming India's way but alas it was again not to be. 

2023 World Test Championship: (2021-2023 Window)
This was the second time the World Test Championship was being staged and India again found themselves among the top two teams and this time it was a new opponent in the form of Australia who were appearing in their first WTC final. India had just recently defeated the same side in a home test series and would have gone in with some confidence. But some poor reading of the conditions along with blatant selection mistakes cost India the match right on the first day after initiating the opposition into bat. It was again a wonderful opportunity missed through the door as India again earned the tag of being runners up for a second straight showing.

2023 ODI World Cup:
This would arguably rank as the biggest colossal monumental disappointment especially considering the way India had gone right through the tournament literally dispatching, demolishing and decimating all the opponents who had come by their wayside. This time they managed to overcome the Kiwis in the semifinal and taken their win count to 10 wins on the trot. But come the all important final when India went in as clear favorites, the ship sank once again in what was the biggest game of their lives in front of a massive home crowd. The pitch was perhaps the biggest deterrent but once again cometh the moment, India just caved into the pressure and succumbed meekly against an Aussie side who further cemented their legacy as the greatest white ball champions in the history of cricket. This was a complete all encompassing performance with almost not an iota to criticize but it all unfortunately fell apart in the marquee final once again putting an abrupt halt to what had been an absolutely impressive show until then.

India's 3 major world titles in 2007, 2011 and 2013:
India did win 3 major titles viz the T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy all within the span of 2007-13. This might sound like a golden period but not many can recall that India faltered big time in all the other world tourneys around that ball park. After winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, India failed to even reach the semi finals in the next 3 editions that took place in 2009, 2010 and 2012. India also failed to muster up at the 2009 Champions Trophy by not being able to reach the knock out phase in continuation to what happened at home three years prior in CT 2006. But what matters is when it really came down to being noticed, India under the astute tutelage of Mahendra Singh Dhoni were able to claim 3 major world events within a short span by establishing to go all the way. A young India did the unthinkable by claiming the inaugural T20 World Cup. India were able to soak all the pressure and raised their game in the crucial stages to win the home ODI World Cup in 2011. India also managed to rake up a Champions Trophy victory by defeating the hosts England in the final in a rain curtailed 20 over game. 

Conclusion:
Thus stats and performance points out that India have not at all been a bad side when it comes to the major cricketing events conducted over the last decade. There have been some exceptional efforts coupled with plenty of individual brilliance but however when it really came to the crunch India as a team have not been able to deliver. It feels like a "Catch 22" situation but India have virtually been just a game or two away from winning almost all the major ICC events. It is definitely an irony that India has not been able to convert even one of those into a celebration. It has to be said that India has been poor when it comes to the clutch and this has happened a little way too often than expected. Nowadays, chances of winning big tournaments are higher for the players as many world cups keep happening routinely unlike the good old days when there was only one ODI world cup scheduled every 4 years. India have had too many one off bad days and every time that has come to haunt at the back end of the tournament unfortunately stalling their progress further. It may be argued that it's just a matter of time but India do have to measure and step up big time in the crucial stages. This current defeat in the home ODI World Cup of 2023 will rankle them no end as just one bad game curtailed their entire array of sterling performance right through the tournament. The pressure is only going to be all the more immense going forward with plenty of things to ponder like handling of senior players and getting the right mix in place for all 3 formats - Tests, ODIs and T20s. Hoping India is somehow able to get the mickey off the back and claim an illustrious multi nation cup victory very soon. It may be an irony but the fact is that consistent showings count for nothing because ultimately what sticks in memory is who wins at the end of the day.

Designated Padas - Special spots to be aware of in a Horoscope

A broad spectrum of a horoscope consists of 12 houses represented by 12 different zodiac signs. However when it comes to dividing a zodiac signs into parts, the Navamsa or the D9 variation adds an extra colour when looked at from the purview of vedic astrology. Each of the Zodiac signs thus are bifurcated into 9 equal parts measuring a zone of 3 degrees 20 minutes making up 108 parts (12*9) in totality.

When it comes to analyzing these Padas, there are certain of them which tend to be auspicious and a few inauspicious. There are different characterizations under which these padas can be slotted into which are pretty important to look at in a horoscope. Some of them also overlap with each other but it's good to note and understand these specific padas as they can be quite useful in the analysis of a horoscope. Many a time we don't tend to reflect on these as they are much in number and quite difficult to keep a tab at. But certainly they can give a divergent flavour when looked at from the lens of a horoscope.

The different padas to be aware of in a horoscope which ultimately yields it's result in the D9 or Navamsa chart are as below:

- Vargottama Amsa Pada

- Pushkara Amsa Pada

- Gandanta Amsa Pada

- Tyajya Amsa Pada

- Duritha Amsa Pada 

- Mrityu Amsa Pada

Let's briefly look at all of the above and understand the specific spots in a horoscope where they occur:

Vargottama Amsa Pada:
Vargottama is used to describe a position where a planet attains the same placement in the main D1 Rasi chart as well as the subsequently derived D9 Navamsa chart. Vargottama is applicable in all the Divisional charts but is particularly looked at with importance in the Navamsa division. As they are placed in the same sign in both D1 and D9, it is said to indicate a harmonious alignment and is a position of strength known to amplify the results. It is said to have a major influence in an individual's horoscope. Though it tends to seemingly connote a position of strength, it needs to be looked at from a broader perspective and with a touch of caution. For instance the Ascendant Lord in Vargottama can indicate vigour and energy for the individual but however the 6th Lord say placed in Vargottama can influence 6th house negative matters which may not always be a good thing. Brihar Parashara Shastra mentions Vargottama as a significant tool in computing strength of a planet.

Vargottama happens in each zodiac sign in a particular part out of the 9 parts. In a movable zodiac sign the 1st part becomes a Vargottama whereas in a Fixed zodiac sign every 5th part becomes a Vargottama and in a Dual zodiac sign, the 9th part ends up being in Vargottama. Hence there are a total of 12 Vargottama Pada's out of a total possible 108 Padas making up the Rasi chart.

Pushkara Amsa Pada:
Pushkara are supposed to be those areas within a zodiac which are said to enhance the qualities of a planet. It denotes nourishment and when any entity is placed in a Pushkara pada, it is said to indicate a sweet spot. Pushkara in Sanksrit means blue lotus and these Pushkara Amsa's fall in special designated degrees that tend to bring growth, luck and auspiciousness. Though some of the major classics have no reference of Pushkara Amsa, Vidhya Madhaveeyam and Jathaka Parijatha do have a passing mention of these.

Pushkara Pada takes place in 2 specific parts in each zodiac sign leading to a total of 24 Pushkara Pada's in total. In a fire sign viz Aries, Leo and Sagittarius it happens to be the 7th and 9th part. For Earth signs viz Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn it is the 3rd and 5th part. For Air signs it is the 6th and 8th part whereas for Water signs it is the 1st and 3rd part. In essence 24 out of 108 total padas happen to be Pushkara Amsa Padas.

Note: Since the topic of Pushkara Amsa was mentioned, it would also make sense to note about the topic of Pushkara Bhaga which are said to be one specific degree in each zodiac sign that are said to be extremely auspicious. Jathaka Parijatha denotes the following degrees to be Pushkara Bhaga for the zodiac signs from Aries to Pisces viz 21°, 14°, 18°, 8°, 19°, 9°, 24°, 11°, 23°, 14°, 19°, 9°. In the book Navamsa Astrology however Pushkara Bhaga degrees are a little different and is believed to be obtained from Poorva Kalamrita and as per this 21° of a fire sign, 14° in an Earth sign, 24° in a Air sign and 7° in a Water sign are said to be Pushkara Bhaga 

Gandanta Amsa Pada:
Gandanta are the junction points which take place in the transition between water to fire signs. Gandanta can be said to be a point of danger and if a planet is placed in the Gandanta zone, it is said to be inauspicious causing negative things to befall upon the path of an individual. Gand means 'knot' and Anta means 'end' which can loosely be translated to as knot being tied that is difficult to unshackle. This is said to be connected at a soul level and hence very deep. It is ideal if no planet is placed in the Gandanta zone and especially that of the Moon as it signifies the mind which makes it difficult to overcome.

Gandanta Pada takes place only in the fire and water signs with the first of the fire signs and the last of the water signs initiating the Gandanta zone. Hence there are only 6 parts out of a total 108 parts which fall in Gandanta. Also in general it is said that only the last two ghatis and the first two ghatis of the Nakshatra falling in water and fire signs respectively to be extremely intricate and sensitive points which when converted in degree terms denote the following span viz:
29° 23' 20'' of Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio to 0° 26' 40'' of Aries, Leo, Sagittarius  

Tyajya Amsa Pada:
There are selective Nakshatra Padas in each of the 12 zodiac signs where planets are said to lose their potency and become ineffective when seated within that designated spot of 3°20'. These are also termed as Poojya Pada that translates to zero point and said to denote a cursed or poisoned space. Hence if any of the planets falls in this area, it can attract negative vibrations and misfortune.

Tyajya or Poojya Pada takes place in one particular pada in each of the 12 zodiac signs. Hence there are a total of 12 Tyajya Padas out of 108. In 4 of the zodiacs viz Aries, Taurus, Virgo and Sagittarius. Tyajya Pada falls in the very 1st pada whereas in 4 of the zodiacs viz Gemini, Leo, Libra and Aquarius, Tyajya Pada falls in the middle 5th pada and in the remaining zodiacs viz Cancer, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces, Tyajya Pada falls in the last 9th pada.

Duritha Amsa Pada:
The Nakshatras are said to be divided into 3 groups - Creation, Maintenance and Destruction. The First Nakshatra beginning from Ashwini is Srishti (Creation), 2nd Bharani is Sthiti (Maintenance) and 3rd Krithika is Samhar (Destruction). The sequence is said to repeat from the 4th Nakshatra onwards until the last 27th Nakshatra. The Samhara Nakshatras which are those that occur in multiples of 3 are said to initiate Durithamsa. Any planet placed in Durithamsa is known to be inauspicious and capable of causing trouble, and despair.

Duritha Pada takes place only in the Nakshatras whose star lord happens to be Sun, Rahu and Mercury. These fall in the Earth, Air and Water signs only and Durithamsa is devoid of Fire signs. Though there are 4 padas in each of these Nakshatras, it is only the 3rd and 4th pada that attract the sensitivity of Durithamsa Pada and they happen to all fall specifically only in the zodiac sign of Aquarius and Pisces in the D9 Navamsa chart. Hence there are a total of 18 Duritha Amsa Padas out of 108 Padas (2 in each of the 3 earth, air and water signs).

Mrityu Amsa Pada:
There is also a mention of Mrityu point where it's said that when planets are placed in these spots they can suck the signification and cause a killing effect. There is no much information available of this in any specific text. However these are also being documented for reference purpose.

Summary of Designated Padas:
Listed below is a tabular representation of the specified zones in which Vargottama Amsa, Pushkara Amsa, Gandanta Amsa, Tyajya Amsa, Duritha Amsa and Mrityu Amsa takes place.

Overall Analysis:
From a broad overview we can state Vargottama and Pushkara to be more favorable as compared to Gandanta, Tyajya, Duritha and Mrityu which all indicates malicious effects. There are only 3 particular padas out of 108 which happen to be both Vargottama & Pushkara that happen to be Rohini 2nd Pada in Taurus sign, Punarvasu 4th pada in Cancer sign and Uttara Ashada 1st pada in Sagittarius sign. Likewise there are only 3 particular parts out of 108 which fall in the ambit of being Gandanta, Tyajya and Durithamsa all at the same time and these are Ashlesha 4th pada in Cancer sign, Jyeshta 4th pada in Scorpio sign and Revathi 4th pada in Pisces sign. Out of this Revathi 4th pada alone happens to be a Vargottama pada also and ascertains strength. Ashwini 1st pada which happens to be the next pada after Revathi 4th pada also happens to be Vargottama pada and also a Gandanta and Tyajya Pada but however does not fall into the category of Durithamsa pada. None of the Pushkara Pada happen to be Gandanta or Tyajya Padas however 6 of these 24 Pushkara padas unfortunately end up becoming Durithamsa Padas viz the 4th padas of the Samhara Nakshatras of  Krithika, Aarudra, Uttara Phalguni, Swathi, Uttara Ashada and Satabisha. 2 of the Pushkara Pada also fall into the category of Mrityu Pada namely Krithika 4th pada and Uttara Bhadrapada 2nd pada. Poorva Phalguni 1st pada gathers strength on being Vargottama but however loses its sheen because it's a Tyajya pada and same is the case for Satabisha 3rd pada which gains strength due to Vargottama but is exposed to the cursed Tyajya Pada as well as the harmful Duritamsa Pada.

Market Capitalisation - Large, Larger and Largest

There are many determinants when it comes to valuing the size of a company which could be in terms of revenues, profits, cash, foothold or a host of factors but the single biggest contributor happens to be Market Capitalisation or what is loosely termed as M-Cap. Presently, the most valued company in the world happens to be Apple and it's because of the market value that it has ascertained while being traded in the bourses. However it should be noted that there are closely held companies which are not listed in the stock exchanges and for these market capitalisation will not be available or be applicable.

Market Capitalisation in simple terms is the value that is derived at by multiplying the total number of shares of a company by it's present share price value. This is also one of the easiest ways to value the worth of a company in the open market.

In the stock market, weights are assigned to companies based on it's value of Market Capitalisation. Companies are assigned as Large Cap, Mid Cap, Small Cap based on the Market Capitalisation. There are even made up classifications such as Mega Cap, Micro Cap, Nano Cap based on the market size.

Market Size Definition:
The common definition of Market Size is as follows:
Mega Cap: Companies with Market Capitalisation of greater than 200 Billion Dollars (>200Billion$)
Large Cap: Companies with Market Capitalisation of greater than 10 Billion Dollars (>10Billion$ <200Billion$)
Mid Cap: Market Capitalisation of above 2 Billion and lower than 10 Billion Dollars (>2Billion$ < 10Billion$)
Small Cap: Market Capitalisation of up to 2 Billion (>300Million$ <2Billion$)
Micro Cap: Market Capitalisation between 50 Million to 300 Million Dollars (>50Million$ < 300Million$)
Nano Cap: Market Capitalisation below 50 Million Dollars (<50Million$)

From an Indian perspective, stocks are defined in Lakhs and Crores and is as follows:
Mega Cap: Companies with Market Capitalisation greater than 1 Lakh Crores (>1Lakh Crores)
Large Cap: Companies with Market Capitalisation of greater than 20,000 Crores (>20000 Crores <1 Lakh Crores)
Mid Cap: Market Capitalisation of above 5000 Crores and lower than 20,000 Crores (>5000 Crores <20000 Crores)
Small Cap: Market Capitalisation of up to 5000 Crores (>500 Crores <5000 Crores)
Micro Cap: Market Capitalisation between 100 to 500 Crores (>100 Crores <500 Crores)
Nano Cap: Market Capitalisation of less than 100 Crores (<100 Crores)

The above classifications are broadly approximations and may tend to change over a period of time. In India, the broad usage is only with respect to Large, Medium and Small. Very Large can also be equated as Mega and can include companies belonging to the Nifty 50 index such as Reliance, TCS, HDFC Bank, ITC etc. Micro Cap are also termed as Penny stocks.

Stock Type Classification:
Stocks by themselves are also classified into different types based on it's history and the opportunities it derives and provides in the market. Let's look in brief at some of the popular types which gives an idea to the shareholder as to what they are venturing into:

- Blue Chip Stocks: These are usually large cap stocks that are leaders in their particular sector and have a solid history of long term growth performance
- Dividend or Income Stocks: These are stocks with a track record of regularly paying dividends to the shareholders
- Defensive Stocks: These are stocks that tend to be less sensitive to varied market conditions. They are those that do not get swayed much by the volatility prevailing and are the safer bets in times of crisis.
- Growth Stocks: These are stocks that are expected to grow rapidly in the future horizon with respect to earnings and revenue. They are expected to grow at a faster rate compared to the broader market
- Value Stocks: These are stocks that trade at a discount to what a company's performance actually indicates. Hence these are seen as potential value un lockers as they are attractively priced 
- Cyclical Stocks: These are stocks that tend to get affected by the changes in the overall market. They can be seasonal in nature and tend to perform better when market conditions are favorable to it's sector
- Penny Stocks: These are stocks with price trading at a single digit and known to be volatile
- IPO Stocks: These are stocks which get issued through an initial public offering.  They can get listed either at a premium or discount and it's performance is tracked significantly once they are listed
- ESG Stocks: It is expanded as environmental, social and governance stocks and these emphasize mainly on environmental protection, social justice and ethical management practices. These are the stocks that focus on carbon emission and renewable energy measures
- Common or Ordinary Stocks: These stocks entitle shareholders to generated profits and voting rights but have rights to a company's assets in liquidation only after preferred stock shareholders
- Preferred Stocks: These stocks entitle shareholders to generated profits but do not provide voting rights, however they get first preference to a company's assets when a company is dissolved or bankrupt

Market Capitalisation by Country:
In terms of countries with highest Market Capitalisation, the United States rules the roost accounting for more than half of the global market capitalisation of all the countries put together. Let's look below at the top 10 countries ranked by Market Capitalisation.

1) United States of America - 45 Trillion $
2) China - 6.5 Trillion $
3) Japan - 4.4 Trillion $
4) India - 3.1 Trillion $
5) United Kingdom - 3 Trillion $ 
6) France - 2.8 Trillion $
7) Saudi Arabia - 2.6 Trillion $
8) Canada - 2.4 Trillion $
9) Germany - 2.3 Trillion $
10) Switzerland - 2.1 Trillion $

This is the approximate market size of different countries as of June 2023 and may be subject to change. US however does not look to be displaced accounting for a majority of the global M-Cap. India recently pipped the UK to 4th position due to a surge in it's markets. Saudi Arabia is there on the list purely due to just one company - the oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco which rakes in more than 90% of the country's market capitalisation. In Europe, the 3 popular indices tracked include the DAX (Germany), FTSE (UK) and France (CAC).

Market Capitalisation - Largest Company By Country:
It would also be prudent to look at the top company contributing to Market Capitalisation in each of these countries:

1) United States of America - Apple - 2.8 Trillion $
2) China - Tencent - 408 Billion $
3) Japan - Toyota - 202 Billion $
4) India - Reliance - 203 Billion $
5) United Kingdom - Astra Zeneca - 230 Billion $ 
6) France - Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy - 441 Billion $
7) Saudi Arabia - Saudi Aramco - 2.1 Trillion $
8) Canada - Royal Bank of Canada - 129 Billion $
9) Germany - SAP - 155 Billion $
10) Switzerland - Nestle - 321 Billion $

Thus, if you see Apple alone based on it's Market Capitalisation is far greater than numerous countries combined Market Capitalisation. In US, there are catchy terminologies used to describe a set of tech heavy stocks such as FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google), MAAMA (Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet). In France, the top 4 companies all happen to be luxury brands viz LVMH, L'oreal, Hermes and Dior whereas in UK companies from different sectors make up the list such as Astra Zeneca, Shell, HSBC, Unilever, Diageo etc. Japan has auto companies like Toyota, Mitsubishi on its coveted list so does Germany with the likes of Porsche, Mercedes, BWM in it's list of most valued companies.  

Market Capitalisation by Sector:
A sector is that section of the stock market which represents a particular industry. Through this it would be possible to know the outcome as to which company stocks happen to be market leaders within a specified environment. There are broadly 11 sectors that make up the slice of the overall stock market as per the Global Industry Classification Standard. These sectors can include many sub industries within its ambit. Lets look at the 11 different sectors and the company fighting for bragging rights as per value of Market Capitalisation within these sectors on a global scale.

1) Communication Services –  Alphabet (Google) - 1.6 Trillion $
2) Consumer Discretionary – Amazon - 1.2 Trillion $
3) Consumer Staples – Walmart - 412 Billion $
4) Energy – Saudi Aramco - 2.1 Trillion $
5) Financials – Berkshire Hathaway - 733 Billion $
6) Healthcare – United Health - 459 Billion $
7) Industrials – United Parcel Services - 143 Billion $
8) Information Technology – Apple - 2.8 Trillion $
9) Materials – BHP Group - 151 Billion $
10) Real Estate – Prologis - 112 Billion $
11) Utilities – Nextera Energy - 149 Billion $

The sectors mentioned above are at the highest parent level and underneath this there are plenty of sub classifications such as for instance Industrials Sector containing Airlines, Airports, Courier Services, Construction and a host of other sub industries. Similarly Financials will include Banks, Insurances, Brokerages etc. One problem with the metric of Market Capitalisation is the fact that it fails to consider diversified businesses. For instance a company like ITC is not only in to Tobacco but also in the hotel business as well as consumer goods segment. Since M-Cap is just derived at by using the number of shares and price of share, there is no way to look at the contribution of market value of each of the sub-sectors. The only way to understand in such cases is by digging deep into the annual report to consider the businesses performed by different segments of a company.

Companies with Highest Market Capitalisation:
Listed below are the companies that possess highest value of Market Capitalisation globally

1) Apple - 2.8 Trillion $
2) Microsoft - 2.4 Trillion $
3) Saudi Aramco - 2.1 Trillion $
4) Alphabet (Google) - 1.6 Trillion $
5) Amazon - 1.2 Trillion $
6) Nvidia - 0.95 Trillion $
7) Tesla - 0.77 Trillion $
8) Berkshire Hathway - 0.73 Trillion $
9) Meta (Facebook) - 0.69 Trillion $
10) TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) - 0.53 Trillion $

Out of this above list, 8 of the 10 belong to USA with Saudi Aramco and TSMC owned by Saudi Arabia and Taiwan respectively making up the remaining. This list however keeps undergoing a change and can alter often based on the Market Capitalisation value going upwards or dropping. Companies like Visa, United Health, J&J which were earlier part of the top 10 most valued have slipped. Facebook has made a re-entry and at one time slipped even below 20 in the rankings.

There have however been only 8 companies ever to reach the monumental mark of 1 Trillion Dollar Market Capitalisation at anytime during their journey and it includes Apple, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, Nvidia. Nvidia was the latest entrant to this landmark before falling off a bit. Facebook and Tesla are still a far cry from their highest point reached. Apple is the only company to have touched a value of 3 Trillion Dollars although it has receded from it's peak but however it holds bragging rights in being the first corporation ever to summit the scale of 1Trillion$, 2Trillion$ and 3Trillion$ Market Capitalisation respectively.

The Motions of the Planets and the Retrograde Effect

When seen from the perspective of an astrological horoscope, the Geo Centric theme acts as the key reference point. It is based on the assumption of keeping the apparent reference of Earth as the center point with all the planets revolving around it. Thus it is important to know the effect of how different planets affect while transitioning around the zodiac signs based upon keeping Earth as the base. However in reality as per the onus of the solar system it's always the planets circulating around the sun in the order of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. 

As Earth is taken as the base, we generally consider Mercury and Venus as inner planets whereas Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are considered as outer planets to the Earth's orbit. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto which are much further away are not considered within the parlance of Vedic Astrology but in essence they also need to be seen as outer planets. The Sun and the Moon which is revolving around the Earth are considered as the luminaries emitting source of light and have a significant role to play in the charter of a horoscope. They signify the soul and the mind respectively and play a crucial role in the decoding of a horoscope. In fact the Ascendant sign (the sign rising in the Eastern Horizon when an individual takes birth / event takes place), the Sun sign and the Moon sign are considered as the Big 3 in a horoscope and are extremely essential in deriving a number of areas to study within a horoscope. Their use both as individual points as well as a reference point based on which other planetary configurations are studied can exhibit wide avenues of analysis within the purview of a horoscope.

Daily Motion of Planets
Let's go about ascertaining the average motion of planets viewed in from the Earth's geo centric perspective. Though they all revolve around the Sun, we consider the center of the Earth as the base point and determine the movement travelled by the various planets when circulating around the Sun in the solar system. Please do note this is more or less the average daily speed whereas actual speeds can vary on a given day, depending on when a planet turns stationary and moves between direct and retrograde motion. Also listing down the highest and lowest daily speeds for those available cases. 

Sun
Average Speed : 00°59'08"
Highest Speed :  01°03'00"
Lowest Speed :  00°57'10"

Moon
Average Speed : 13°10'35"
Highest Speed : 16°30'00"
Lowest Speed :  11°45'36"

Mars
Average Speed :  00°31'27"
Highest Speed :   00°52'00"
Lowest Speed : −00°26'12"

Mercury
Average Speed :  01°23'00"
Highest Speed :   02°25'00"
Lowest Speed : −01°30'00"

Jupiter
Average Speed :  00°04'59"
Highest Speed :  00°15'40"
Lowest Speed : −00°08'50"

Venus
Average Speed :  01°12'00"
Highest Speed :  01°22'00"
Lowest Speed : −00°41'12"

Saturn
Average Speed :  00°02'01"
Highest Speed :  08°48'00"
Lowest Speed : −00°05'30"

Though planets further than Saturn are considered within the purview of Vedic Astrology, documenting below the speeds of the planets much further from the Earth such as Uranus, Neptune and Pluto for the purpose of reference

Uranus
Average Speed :  00°00'42"
Highest Speed :  00°04'00"
Lowest Speed : −00°02'40"

Neptune
Average Speed :  00°00'24"
Highest Speed :  00°02'25"
Lowest Speed : −00°01'45"

Pluto
Average Speed :  00°00'15"
Highest Speed :  00°02'30"
Lowest Speed : −00°01'48"

When it comes to the nodes Rahu and Ketu, they normally transit in a reverse direction as seen from the Earth's parlance and their average daily motion is documented below:

Rahu
Average Speed :  −00°03'00"

Ketu
Average Speed :  −00°03'00"

For the purpose of a horoscope, the Ascendant plays a massively important role and this is deduced based on Earth's own rotation around it's axis which approximately takes about 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.09 seconds to cover the full span of 360°. Hence on an average day of 24 hours we can say that the Earth rotates 360° plus about an additional degree for the remaining about 4 minutes after completing one full rotation

Earth (For Ascendant)
Average Speed : 361°00'00"

Speed Order of Planets
Thus, when looked at the speed order, we can easily decipher that the Ascendant is the fastest being able to cover the entire paradigm of 360° covering all the zodiac signs in a day. This is followed by the Moon which covers on an average an entire Nakshatra span of 13°20'00". It covers the entire 27 Nakshatras spread across the 12 zodiac signs in just a little over 27 days. These are followed by the monthly planets viz Mercury, Venus and Sun all of which transit a zodiac sign in about a month's time. Then it is followed by the bi-monthly planet Mars which roughly transits a sign around once every two odd months. After this comes Jupiter which approximately transits in a zodiac sign for a period of a year. Then comes the nodes Rahu & Ketu which stay in a sign for roughly a year and a half and finally rounding up is Saturn which transits in a zodiac sign for a period of 2 and half years. One of the pertinent reasons why the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are eliminated from the ambit of Vedic Astrology could be the fact that they take a very long time to complete a full round of the zodiac with these planets approximately taking about 84 years, 148 years and 236 years to complete one full cycle. That could be a potential reason as to why the impact may not be of much significance when seen from an individual horoscope as their transit time is exceedingly large.

Retrograde Motion
While studying the motion of planets, it is extremely prudent to also take into account the phenomena of the retrograde effect. Retrograde may mean moving backwards but in essence the planets don't really head backwards while revolving around the Sun in the solar system. But since we are looking at the movement of planets from the Earth's perspective, certain planets appear to be going backwards causing this phenomena. It in fact needs to be titled to as apparent retrograde motion since it's factored from the Earth's angle. The most widely used example of understanding this phenomena is by considering 2 parallel trains. For those placed in the faster train, it gives an illusory appearance of the slower train moving backwards and going in the opposite direction but in essence that's not the case and it is only moving slowly. This happens when the planets revolve around the Sun and undergo velocity changes at different paths in it's movement.

When considering Vedic Astrology, the Sun and Moon only move in the forward direction and do ever come into the picture of getting retrograde. The Rahu and Ketu almost always go in the reverse direction and hence they more or less always tend to be retrograde. Rahu and Ketu are mathematical pointers that arise when the orbit of the Moon cuts the ecliptic. True nodes tend to wobble around a bit causing some tilt in the opposite direction whereas Mean nodes always only tend to be retrograde as it's averaged out and calculated at a constant speed. For all practical purposes, we can safely consider Rahu & Ketu to be in retrograde motion most of the time. When it comes to the other 5 planets mainly in Vedic Astrology, we can split them as inner planets to Earth comprising of Mercury & Venus and the outer planets to the earth consisting of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These planets tend to go retrograde at different times based on their varying velocity while orbiting in the solar system. This is the reason you would associate a negative sign when marking the slowest speed of these planets.

Types of Motions
As per the Geo - centric model, these 5 planets undergo 8 types of movement which are as below:

Direct Motion:

1) Manda - Direct and quickening or constant daily motion but somewhat slow moving

2) Mandatara - Direct and slowing or constant daily motion but very slow moving

3) Shiigra or Chara - Direct and slowing or constant daily motion but fast moving

4) Shiigratara or Atichara - Direct and quickening or constant daily motion but very fast moving

5) Kutila or Vikala - Planet is in a stationary motion which equates to defective/deficient motion

6) Sama - Direct and even comprising of smooth constant motion

Retrograde Motion:

7) Vakra - Moving backward quickly relative to its attainable daily daily speed

8) Anuvakra - Moving backward slowly relative to its attainable daily daily speed

The sequence of planets getting retrograde happen based on the following order:

- Kutila or Vikala - Planets are stationery

- Manda - Planets slow down but are in direct and quickening motion

- Sama - Planets are direct and in even motion

- Shiigratara or Atichara - Planets are in direct and quickening motion, or constant but fast

- Sama - Planets are in direct and even motion

- Shiigra or Chara - Planets are in direct and slowing motion, or constant but fast

- Mandatara - Plantets are direct and slowing, or constant but slow

- Kutila or Vikala - Planets are stationery

- Anu Vakra - Planets are retrograde but slow

- Vakra - Planets are retrograde but fast

- Anu Vakra - Planets are retrograde but slow

- Kutila - Planets become stationery again

Retrograde in Horoscope 

Planets as we have seen become retrograde due to the relative speed undergoing a change during their motion in orbiting the Sun as seen from the lens of the Earth. Thus, planets in retrograde are generally said to be closer to the Earth and further off from the Sun. This holds especially true for the outer planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn and we tend to manually ascertain if a planet is retrograde just by seeing how many houses it's moved away from the Sun. When it comes to Venus & Mercury, they always tail gate with the Sun and this doesn't really hold true of it being farther off from the Sun and closer to Earth. Mercury and Venus becomes retrograde when it appears to move backward as seen from the planet Earth. Generally when Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are placed in the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th houses from the Sun they tend to get retrograde with Mars being retrograde when placed approximately 140° from the Sun, Jupiter about 115° from the Sun and Saturn about 110° from the Sun.

Listed below are the approximate days in which the planets become retrograde:

Mercury - It takes approximately 88 days to orbit around the Sun. Goes into retrograde motion about 3 to 4 times in a year and lasts roughly for around 24 days (3-4 weeks)

Venus - It takes approximately 225 days to orbit around the Sun. Goes into retrograde motion once in about 18 months and lasts roughly for around 50 days (7 weeks)

Mars - It takes approximately 687 days to orbit around the Sun. Goes into retrograde motion once in about 26 months and lasts roughly for around 74 days (2.5 months)

Jupiter - It takes approximately 4333 days to orbit around the Sun. Goes into retrograde motion once in about 9 months and lasts roughly for around 122 days (4 months)

Saturn - It takes approximately 10756 days to orbit around the Sun. Goes into retrograde motion once in about a year and lasts roughly for around 140 days (4.5 to 5 months)

Vedic Astrology Perspective of Retrograde Planets

As per Vedic Astrology, planets in Retrograde mention are said to get Chesta Bala as per the six fold Shad Bala calculation in ascertaining strength of planets. Thus if the planets are in retrograde motion, they are said to be strong and powerful. When it comes to results, Retrograde can be loosely translated as crooked (Vakri) and these planets can tend to give results much against their usual nature. It can work two ways and thus expected beneficial attainment can turn into negative attainment and vice versa. Working with Retrograde planets can be a little bit tricky as it's not really easy to judge their results but however it needs to be remembered always that planets in retrograde motion are much stronger than when they are in direct motion.

The Earth Centric Model and the Latitude Longitude Coordinates

A point of reference plays a very vital role within the ambit of a horoscope. When measuring distances or ascertaining directions, we always assimilate the same based on a central point and do the evaluation. Likewise when viewing the position of planets in the sky, it is imperative to know where they are located and their co-ordinates from a particular reference point. Without a reference object, it wouldn't really matter how further they are positioned in the sky or make any sense as to the impact effected by them. 

In the parlance of a horoscope, it is always the Earth which acts as the central pivot based on which planetary longitudes and latitudes are computed and the impact caused by them based on their placement in different signs and houses. This is in effect the main reason we do not see the 'Earth' being marked in any horoscope is because it's always from the Earth that the effect of other planets are deduced. If of course one wants to know the position of Earth, it would be located exactly 180 degrees from the Sun's position in a particular horoscope.

Reference Centric Models 

There are different theories and models circulated for estimating the position of planets from a particular reference point. Lets briefly look at the different reference centric models

- Geocentric Model
This is an Earth centric model. As per this model, it is assumed that earth is at the center of the universe and all the planets including the Sun revolve around it. In this model, geo centric positions are calculated with respect to the center of the earth. Geo is alternatively used as a term to describe Earth.

- Topocentric Model

This is an Earth centric model. In this model also, it is assumed that earth is at the center of the universe and all the planets including the Sun revolves around it. However in this model, the positions of planets including Sun are calculated with respect to the observers location which can be the actual place of birth of an individual or at the epicentre of where an event has taken place.

- Heliocentric Model

This is a Sun centric model. In this model, it is assumed that the Sun is at the center of the universe and all the other planets including the Earth revolves around it. Helios is another name for Sun and hence appropriately named so.

- Planetocentric Model

This is a planet centric model. In this model, a particular planet is assumed as the reference point with other planets including the Earth and Sun revolving around it. This is mostly adopted with the planet Mars being the source of reference and deducing the position of all other planets including Sun and Earth.

- Barycentric Model

This is a solar system centric model. Barycenter is defined as the center of a mass. In this model, a point in the solar system is considered as the reference and establishes the coordinates of all the other planets including Sun and Earth. 

There has been a perennial debate whether its the Earth that revolves around the Sun or whether it's the Sun that revolves around the Earth. Astronomers after numerous research and evidence have finally concluded that it's the latter which holds true. Hence the real picture that takes place in the skies is the Heliocentric model where all planets including the Earth revolves around the Sun.

However we cannot overlook the fact that human beings are born on earth and major events take place on Earth. So it is prudent and makes extra sense to view it with reference to the point of view of Earth. Planetocentric and Barycentric models are basically documented for academic purposes and Heliocentric though it accounts for the real perspective of keeping Sun at the center, it doesn't hold ground at least from an horoscopic angle as all things concerned are looked at with respect to the Earth as the base point.  

Thus, while looking at it from a horoscope standpoint, it is the Geocentric or Topocentric model which is used when computing planetary coordinates. In all the astrology software's and even almanacs, it is the Geocentric position that is used at vogue which is the methodology of accounting for planetary coordinates keeping the center of the Earth as the base point. The center of the Earth falls at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, United Kingdom which falls at a longitude of 0 degrees. Greenwich was universally chosen to be the Prime Meridien of the World in 1884. The Royal Observatory is the source of the Prime Meridian of the world with Longitude of 0° 0' 0''. The prime meridian marks the divide between the eastern and western hemispheres.

Thus irrespective of where one takes birth whether it happens to be east of Greenwich say India or the western side of Greenwich say United States, planetary coordinates will not differ as they are all determined using Greenwich as the central reference point. However there is one important position in a horoscope which is used as the starting reference point known as the Ascendant and this is obtained as the point that is rising on the eastern horizon based on the observers location. Hence lets say person A was born in India at 3PM and person B is born in the United States also at 3PM. Though the planetary positions will remain more or less the same as in both cases as they are determined using Greenwich as the central location, however the Ascendant will undergo a change as the point rising in the Eastern horizon in India will be different from that of the United States. The House counting system is usually done by taking the Ascendant as the base and this will have a major say in the referencing of a Horoscope.

Also one of the major basis for the Geocentric system is that all planetary positions need to be calculated based on a fixed reference point on Earth and it's center position happens to be the only fixed point on the Earth's surface. If we take any other point based on observer's location, it cannot hold to be a fixed common point as the Earth's surface is always moving due to it's rotational movement around it's axis. Planetary coordinates don't really change taking either of Geocentric or Topocentric positions sans the Moon alone. In the case of the Moon, there tends to be a difference by about a degree and this can change the outcome of a horoscope in a major way. The deviation tends to be maximum when Moon is placed near to the Ascendant or in the opposite 7th house and is minimum when positioned near to the 4th or 10th house. Moon's position is especially used while computing Dasa Balance at birth and this could alter proceedings in a major way. However the general norm is that Moon's position is also calculated based on Geocentric position since Moon revolves around the center of the Earth and not just any point on the Earth's surface. However this point should be kept in mind in determining the analysis of a horoscope since it can end up having quite a major impact.

When it comes to determining the Ascendant, it is important to reference the latitude and longitude of the place on earth where an individual is born or an event has taken place. The Latitude and Longitudes combine to form grids which are key for locating places on the earth and arriving at the coordinate position. These are certain imaginary lines drawn on the earth that enables to precisely decode selective places located on planet Earth. The Earth as such is defined as a 'Geoid' meaning that it is slightly flattened at the North & South pole and bulged in the middle. This makes the earth's equatorial diameter as 12756 kms (West to East) whereas it's polar diameter is 12714 kms (North to South). Let's look at a few important snippets with respect to the imaginary lines that are drawn on the earth namely the Latitude and Longitude.

Latitudes:

- Latitudes also called 'Parallels' are horizontal lines that run from the West to the East across the Earth

- The most important Latitude line is the Equator which divides the Earth equally into two halves viz the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere

- The Northern most point of the Earth is termed as the North Pole and the Southern most point of the Earth is called as the South Pole. The lines drawn above the equator are called North Latitudes and lines below the equator are called South Latitudes. It should however be noted that the Latitude lines are not of equal length.

- Latitudes measure the distances in degrees starting with the equator at 0 degrees. They go up the equator marked from 1 to 90 degrees all the way to the North Pole and likewise go down the equator marked from -1 to -90 degrees all the way to the South Pole. The numbers in positive indicate that they are part of the Northern Hemisphere and the numbers in negative indicate they belong to the Southern Hemisphere. Alternatively they can also be coded with the acronym as North and South. Eg +30 degrees in North can be written as 30°N and -30 degrees in South can be denoted as 30°S.

- The other important Latitude lines are the Tropic of Cancer & Arctic Circle located in the Northern Hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn & Antarctic Circle located in the Southern Hemisphere. These help to define climatic zones based on the different quotients of sunlight received throughout the year. The Tropic of Cancer is at 23° 26' N and the Arctic Circle is at 66° 34' N whereas the Tropic of Capricorn is at 23° 26' S and the Arctic Circle is at 66° 34' S. Generally they are stated as being 23 and a half and 66 and a half degrees North and South respectively.

- The portion from Equator to Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere and Equator to Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere are called 'Torrid Zones'. This is the place where maximum sunlight gets received. The portion from the Tropic of Cancer to Arctic Circle in Northern Hemisphere and from Tropic of Capricorn to Antarctic Circle in Southern Hemisphere are termed 'Temperate Zones'.They are of moderate climate and experience 4 different seasons. The portion from Arctic Circle to the North Pole in Northern Hemisphere and between the Antarctic Circle to the South Pole in Southern Hemisphere is known as the 'Frigid Zone'. These usually experience cold climate as they are placed in an angle that receives very less sunlight.

Longitudes:

- Longitudes also called 'Meridians' are vertical lines that run from the North to the South across the Earth

- The most important Longitude line is the Prime Meridian which divides the Earth equally into two halves viz the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere

- Longitudes measure the distances in degrees starting with the Prime Meridien at 0 degrees. The lines to the right of the Prime Meridian are marked from 1 to 180 degrees all the way to the East and the lines to the left of the Prime Meridian are marked from -1 to -180 degrees all the way to the West. The numbers in positive indicate that they are part of the Eastern Hemisphere and the numbers in negative indicate they belong to the Western Hemisphere. Alternatively they can also be coded with the acronym as East and West. Eg +120 degrees in East can be written as 120°E and -120 degrees in West can be denoted as 120°W.

- The lines of the Longitude help in determining time zones across the globe because when it's day in one of the hemispheres, it's night in the other hemisphere and vice versa. It should however be noted that unlike Latitude lines, Longitude lines happen to be of equal length.

- The 0° longitude which passes through Greenwich is considered as the historic Prime Meridian of the World and all the time zones across the globe are calculated with reference to this. The 180° longitude line to the West and East of the Prime Meridien is termed as the Anti Meridian or the International Date Line.

- The Earth rotates 360° in about 24 hours which equates to 15° for every hour and 1° for every 4 minutes. Hence if time at Greenwich is 12 noon, a place that is 15° to the East would be one hour ahead which would equate to 1PM and a place that is 15° to the West would be one hour behind which would be 11AM. This is also the basis for AM and PM which translates as Ante Meridiem and Post Meridiem where AM refers to before midday and PM identifies with after midday. Thus the A.M (or morning time) is the time before the sun passed meridian and P.M (or afternoon time) is the time after the sun has passed meridian at noon

- Based on the lines of longitude , 24 of them have been marked as standard meridians. Taking Prime Meridian as 0° longitude, the longitudes at 15° intervals are known as Standard Meridians. Hence on the East of the Prime Meridian there are 12 time zones and on the West of the Prime Meridian there are another 12 time zones (180° divided by 15° standard)

Time is decided according to movement of the Earth. Based on this different places have day and night occurring at varying time periods. If there were no time zones prevalent and if every place adopted the same universal time, it would be 6AM in one part of the world and fully Sunny and yet be 6AM in another part of the world and be completely dark. It is usually perceived that the dawn of Sun to be a signifier of morning activities and accordingly Sunrise time is adopted as the morning time in different places and the setting of Sun is considered as evening time in different places. As the Earth rotates from West to East, the places East of the Prime Meridien are those that receive the light of the Sun first and those places to the West of the Prime Meridien receive the light much later on. That is the reason you would see places like Australia, New Zealand, Japan etc gaining time compared to places in the United States, Canada etc which are losing time.

Though there are countries with places which are spread across different standard meridians, it's not always the case that different places within a country adopt different time zones. One example being India which universally adopts a Standard Meridian of  82°30' East based on the Meridian line which passes through Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh giving rise to Indian Standard Time being 5 and half hours or 330 minutes ahead of Greenwich (82 degrees*4 minutes per degree + 0.5 degrees*4 minutes per degree =328 + 2 = 330 minutes). Thus time in every place in India will be the same irrespective of whether it's in the West or East of India. India also doesn't adopt the concept of Day Light Savings Time which is the practise of advancing clock time during the warmer months so that darkness falls at a later clock time. There are however countries like USA, Russia etc who make use of different time zones and also rake in the concept of day light savings time.

However from an Ascendant calculation point of view, it is important to know the Longitude and Latitude of a place as it is determined based on the degree which is rising in the eastern horizon. Taking India as an illustration, every place in India will have a latitude in the North since it is located above the equator in the Northern Hemisphere and likewise every place will have a longitude in the East as it is located towards the right side of the Prime Meridien. For instance, the recorded time maybe the same in both Mumbai & Chennai at any point of time but the Sun rises much earlier in Chennai being in the South of India which is located at about 80° East of the Prime Meridian as compared to a Mumbai which is placed in the West of India at about 72° East of the Prime Meridian. Hence this needs to be factored in the determination of Ascendant. Also when it comes to accuracy and precision, knowing the exact longitude and latitude of the place of birth of an individual  or occurrence of an event also could have a bearing. For instance every nook and corner within a locality may not be of the same latitude and longitude but in many cases we tend to denote an entire city as having the same coordinates. This could lead to some minor discrepancy when determining the exact degree of the Ascendant. For instance an area like Mylapore in Chennai may have coordinated at a slight alteration to the general coordinate which is adopted for Chennai. It would be ideal and more precise if these little matters also be taken care of in order to attain more pin point precision.