Final Settlement #GQ2021

 

Facebook post link is here.

14 years ago, it started as a timepass; a simple low-stake-winner-takes-all cricket pool. But what was heartening was that every winner decided to contribute their winnings to a charity & the tradition continued over many a world cup and a couple of IPLs too.

Now, this year's #T20WorldCup was the true blockbuster in terms of charity contribution - amounting to INR 100,000 (SGD 1800 approx) through the winnings and top-ups. Special thanks to Maloo Natarajan for suggesting some of the organizations!

No, I didn't like it to be just the matter of money; so the quizzes were introduced; so were the book prizes for the winners.

Thanks dear friends for being part of #GQ2021 and make it fun and worthwhile.

PS: Photos show the charity organizations to which #GQ2021 contributed and the book prizes for the quiz winners.

Final: Yellow Submarine Victory

 

(c) Cleanne Marie Nanola

The Beatles In The Yellow Submarine

"We win it with stealth!"

In probably the most toss-dependent, dew-affected, least-attended and most one-sided World Cup of any sorts, Australia won it in style. 

The closest was the 2007 West Indies 50-50 World Cup in my memory.

Well, before the tournament, they would have said 'Pchaaah!' if one had suggested that Australia would win the tournament! But with ZampA (#reverseAmazon) and Warner (#GutKickSRH) hitting form at the right moment, they moved really stealthily just like the submarines that they plan to get as part of their AUKUS pact. Well, as for the Kiwis, everyone wanted them to win. But still that eternal bridesmaid tag is stuck firmly - especially when they see yellow jerseys on the other side!

Hope 2022 brings the right mix.

Guess Section

The section saw the maximum inputs - 41, thanks to the deca-guess by Rambo. The final standings are as follows:

Will send the settlement details separtely via PM/Chat.

That was a fabulous participation. Thanks for the enthu!

Quiz Section

The last question for this edition of GQ was answered by Raghav, Sivamani and Rambo.

The five rivers in question are:

Pearl River Delta System in China (specifically in and around HK)

Amstel River in Amsterdam

Yamuna in India (specifically through Delhi)

Tiber in Rome

Moskva in Moscow

I was watching an advertisement for PAYTM during one of the matches and I was reading about how rivers are being polluted at the same time. So... #DevilsWorkshop

Excellent job again by a number of people on this front.

The final standing is:

Congrats Sivamani, Raghav, Shankar Srinivasan, Adarsh and Rambo for making it to the Top-5!

Will reach out to you on the next steps here.

I had fun, folks! And I was heartened to see the participation despite India leaving the stage quite early - techincally on Day 2! ;-)

Final: Ever Peaceful vs Surprisingly Quiet

 

(c) Red Kangaroo - Moving Forward

Maori Haka - by Miki De Goodaboom

"Kamate Kamate Kangaroo!"

After all the toss-induced victories, two teams have reached the finals that none fancied. 

Form book suggested ENG vs PAK (With people like Buttler and Afridi, what else could it have been?). 

ICC hoped IND vs PAK ideally or IND vs Anyone as a second option (need to buffer the coffers, you see!)

But the Supreme had something else in mind and decided to have a 2015 ODI WC Final Redux. Perhaps, It is aligning a Kiwi victory after all! 

#GoldenBlack

Guess Section

A decent turnout. Here is the status.

Now for tomorrow's game.

Final: AUS vs NZL @ Dubai

Keep them guesses coming!

Quiz Section

For the last question of this edition of GQ, here it goes.

1. Identify the five rivers. One of them is easy since I left the names of the places. But don't be fooled by the 'starting point/ending point' stuff. [5 points]

2. Using the names of the rivers, identify the Indian payments connection. [3 points]

Just as a #NoPressure thingy... here is the latest quiz position list.

Have fun! Enjoy the weekend!

SF1: Flying Kiwis Blind Lions!

 

"No more flightless, we are!"

(c) The Case of the Flying Kiwi

Yesterday karma showed what a great leveller it can be. Same foes from that balmy day in July 2019. Tight game. Neesham does more than baking! Bairstow does a Boult in touching the rope while catching the ball. Mitchell rubs it in by refusing to take a single when he deemed himself to be obstructing the bowler (remember 'that' Stokes' boundary!)... The more I watch this Kiwi team, the more I am convinced that it is all due to the therapeutic effect all those sheep in their country have on people. Truly deserved. Only thing that you can hate them is for being so good! அவ்வளவு நல்லவனாடா நீய்யு!! #ZenKiwi

Guess Section

It was a big pool. Sivamani cleaned it up and Biju with the extra advantage of watching the match from the ground, cleaned up the 7-15 over score spread. 

Today's semi-final:

Pakistan vs Australia @ Dubai

Promises to be a cracker with a couple of flu-struck Pakistanis against a moody bunch of Ozzies!

Guess them on!

Quiz Section

The answer to the sporty question from yesterday is:

All are logos of sports goods manufacturing companies.

Kookaburra, Hawk, New Balance, Mongoose, White Willow, Woodworm, Xx

More precisely, all except Kookaburra and New Balance are makers of cricket bats, while the two exceptions make field hockey sticks as well.

Sivamani got it all right except for the connection of cricket bats - but he did get that KB and NB are across many sports while the others are only cricket. I will give 10 points to him.

SivaG got 6 right. Hardy got 2 right.

Before you come back to me with sticks and bats, #QMDF (Quiz Master's Decision is Final) 👶

Well done folks.

Will come up with the last question on Saturday, before the guesses for the finals!

Have fun!

Semis Are Full!

"And then there are four!"
(c) We Are All One #12 The Beaver Painting

England: They are continuing from where they left in 2019. Very bold cricket. Moeen Ali is providing #ValimaiUpdate in every game. Whenever I see England, I am reminded of the unrelenting waves on a beach. They keep coming at you. Hard nut to crack. It is their cup to lose irrespective of Jason Roy's absence. #EnggerlundEnggerlund

New Zealand: We have written about the sheep or the abundance; about the population or lack of; about the abudance of innovation; about KaneW. A desperate combo of MSD, Kohli, Dada and an awful beard makes Kane the king, yes, not Kohli. :-) With Southee and Boult searing at the top and Ish + Santner bottling the middle, it is going to be a bold one to bet against the Kiwis! #LOTRMagic

Australia: If there is one team that does not deserve to be in the semis, it is them. Travelling completely under the radar, they have managed to reach yet another semis. Beware! If Cummins and Hazlewood crank it along with Starc, then life can be interesting. Maxie & Warner will be the x-factors in a team that is probably the weakest of the lot in semis. #UndetectedOnRadar

Pakistan: Right from 'that' fateful Sunday against its neighbours, they have performed so well that Pakistan is the only team that has won it all. An enviable record in UAE is just something for the teams to note; if history doesn't stop you, the nephew Afridi will stop. If the nephew does not stop you then Asif will make you run to pick up the balls. #GreenEnvy

May the best team win!

Guess Section

Today, we have a bumper set of details.

Matches from 7th and 8th + Semi-finals guesses are covered below. Funnily, AFG vs NZL was an interesting game where the winners were 50% more than the losers!

<Semis Guesses>

Today's game:

Semi-final #1 ENG vs NZL @ Abu Dhabi

Keep the guesses coming. I hope more people come in!

Quiz Section

Answer to the multiple-objects-in-a-square question is:

Thanks Rajaraman for the nice sketch. I would have rationalised the fraction and ended with 

(2-sqrt(2))/3. But it is okay. Sivamani, Siva G, Rambo, Rajaraman got the right answer and four points each! Good show.

Now for today's quiz question.

Name each of the logos. 1 point each. Also, there are a couple of logos that are odd here. Which are they? Explanation please. 4 points. [Only if the explanation is good and tight will I give these marks!]

Have fun!

S12D15: Sayanora Carribboys!

"Thanks for all the entertainment, guys!"

(c) Ritesh Verma - DJ Bravo & Dattatreya Chiluveru - Chris Gayle

As their campaign petered out to another whimper, one could not but yearn for those great Windies teams that set the grounds ablaze with their fearless brand of cricket. Two of the great stalwarts of white-ball cricket (despite Gayle's Test triple centuries) retired from T20Is last night. They entertained us with the bat, ball, their jigs, their antics, their immense self-confidence. Thanks guys! Wish to see you around in those garish colours in the leagues around the world! #BravoGayle

South Africa left its so-near-yet-so-far stamp on this World Cup too. Looking back, their close loss to Australia and the sleep-walking chase against Bangladesh were the two main reasons for them to meet expectations ("Thou shall choke at appropriate moments!") in this edition as well. #YouMakeYourLuck

Guess Section

There was a good turnout. Here is the latest status.

Today's games:

AFG vs NZL @ Abu Dhabi (Power of #billionprayers will be seen today!)

SCO vs PAK @ Dubai

Keep them guesses coming.

Quiz Section

The answer to the last question is quite topical though the audio is 12 years old.

It is President Nasheed of Maldives pleading the world community in Sep 2009 at the Summit on Climate Change convened by United Nations. Later, he held a cabinet meeting underwater, to convey the seriousness of the nation facing the threat of extincition by a rising Indian ocean.' The next line in his speech was, 'Our country will not exist!'

Sivamani and Rambo garner 3 points for this important climate change question. #COP26

The next question is also contributed by Raghav. For some more geometry and trigonometry, here it goes.

What is a? The centres of all four objects are points along the diagonal of the blue square. [4 points]

Have fun and a great Sunday!

 

S12D13&14: NRR Jamboree!

 "Mummy! They are too bright! I am blind!" 

(c) Charlie Goodwin "Bunny In The Headlights"

Windies, Bangladesh, Namibia, Scotland - all of them behaved exactly like the rabbit facing the headlights. Freeze! Of varying degrees, of course.

 

WI are the worst of the lot. Still stuck in their six-or-sick mode. It takes an MSD to marshall a dad's army. Mind it!

Bangladesh has been the perennial underachivers - more bluster than luster. 

Watt notwithstanding, Scotland did the biggest service by downing Bangladesh on day 1. Then, end.

Namibia is the best of the lot. Right set of imports from SA. Loads of left-arm bowlers. Impressive.

And Sri Lanka is shaping up well. They will be a force to reckon with in white ball cricket soon. Watch out for Asalanka (bold), Theekshana (mystery), Hasaranga (good despite playing for RCB), Nissanka (composed), Chameera (fast)... Good core.

As far India? Elephant has woken up. But it is too late. The Kiwis are in no mood to give this up despite the twitter chatter!😆

Guess Section

A healthy run on both days.

We even tried to guess the number of balls that India would take to win against Scotland. (Well, SRT tweeted about it after we started it! #uselessboast

Details of 4/11/2021 games

Details of 5/11/2021 games

Summary after 5/11/21 games

Today's games are quite interesting. AUS and SA would live to take that available slot. Will WI fire at least now? Will ENG decide to take the foot of the pedal?

AUS vs WI @ Abu Dhabi

ENG vs SA @ Sharjah

Promise to be good ones! 

Quiz Section

Today's question is contributed by Raghav.

Listen to the video. What? Where? When? Who? It is not the obvious one.

3 points.

Hope you all had a great Deepavali/Diwali. I had a good one. Except for the Annathe effect of course, documented in the Tamil review.

Be good. Enjoy.