THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 15, 2016- Topic 2
India’s emphatic innings-and-36-run
victory over England at Mumbai’s
Wankhede Stadium has effectively broken a jinx. Among all its Test cricket
rivals, discounting the hype around games against Australia or the history that
permeates jousts involving Pakistan, England had been a bugbear. Twice, India
lost Test series in England in 2011 and 2014; it also suffered the ignominy of
losing at home in 2012. Redemption finally came in Mumbai as Virat Kohli’s men
secured an unassailable 3-0 lead with just the fifth and final Test remaining
to be played in Chennai, starting Friday. The cobwebs of the past have been
shed and a new order is in place. In its last 17 Tests, India remained
undefeated, the highlight being 13 wins. This equals the purple patch from 1985
to 1987 that featured four victories, 12 draws and a tie across 17 games. India
can do one better if it wins or at least draws at Chennai. The current winning
streak includes five consecutive Test series triumphs: Sri Lanka, South Africa,
West Indies, New Zealand and England have been vanquished. From shedding the pangs
of transition to charting its own path, the present squad has shown that it
respects the aura of Tests and is fiercely motivated to win. It is a trait
Kohli shares with coach Anil Kumble.
The squad’s twin arms, Kohli and R.
Ashwin, have worked in pulsating tandem. As a batsman with a concurrent average
of 50-plus across all three formats, Kohli is poised to join the league of
legends. He has led from the front. England wilted under the weight of his bat
that yielded 640 runs at an average of 128. He even played peacemaker when
Ashwin and James Anderson had a spat in Mumbai. Ashwin, meanwhile, has powered
India’s remarkable growth, with both ball and bat. He has bagged 27 wickets in
this series, and the final contest at his home ground in Chennai may only
enthuse him more. The team’s glory is not just restricted to Kohli and Ashwin,
the rest have all put their hands up at various times. Be it Jayant Yadav, an
able understudy to Ashwin the off-spinner and an effective batsman; Parthiv
Patel, called in as a replacement wicketkeeper; seamer Mohammed Shami; or the
reliable Murali Vijay, opening with assurance. The squad’s inherent strength
hasn’t waned even when personnel are lost briefly due to injuries (Ajinkya
Rahane or Rohit Sharma) or when form deserts (Shikhar Dhawan). India still has
a long road to traverse and overseas wins in Australia and England need to be
secured. But for now Kohli and his men are enjoying a stupendous home run.
Vocabulary
Emphatic: showing or giving emphasis; expressing something forcibly
and clearly.
Example: The children were emphatic that they would like to repeat the experience
Synonyms: vehement, firm, wholehearted, forceful, forcible, energetic, vigorous
Joust: a medieval sports contest in which two opponents on
horseback fought with lances.
Example: It speaks of jousts , tournaments, wizards, falconry, enchantresses,
damsels in distress, wars, quests, and the code of chivalry.
Synonyms: tournament, tourney, combat, contest, fight, battle, clash, tilt
Bugbear: a cause of obsessive fear, irritation, or loathing.
Example: The major bugbear for anyone involved with Hearts is the continuing
problems with Tynecastle Stadium.
Synonyms: pet peeve, hate, bête noire, anathema, aversion, bugaboo, bane
Ignominy: public shame or disgrace.
Example: The ignominy of being imprisoned
Synonyms: shame, humiliation, embarrassment, mortification, disgrace
Redemption: the action of saving or being
saved from sin, error, or evil.
Example: God's plans for the redemption of his world
Synonyms: saving, freeing from sin, absolution
Cobweb: a spider's web, especially when old and covered with
dust.
Example: Sure enough, there it was, nestled in a corner along with a cluster of
dusty cobwebs and long deceased spiders.
Streak: a long, thin line or mark of a different substance or
color from its surroundings.
Example: A streak of oil
Synonyms: band, line, strip, stripe, vein, slash, ray; mark, smear, smudge
Vanquished: defeat thoroughly.
Example: Mexican forces vanquished the French army in a battle in Puebla
Synonyms: conquer, defeat, beat, trounce, rout, triumph
over, be victorious over
Transition: the process or a period of
changing from one state or condition to another.
Example: Students in transition from one program to another
Synonyms: change, passage, move, transformation, conversion, metamorphosis
Fierce: having or displaying an intense or ferocious aggressiveness.
Example: As women, we need to accept that we can be fierce, cunning, and predatory
Synonyms: ferocious, savage, vicious, aggressive
Tandem: a bicycle with seats and pedals for two riders, one
behind the other.
Example: However, I did make a road bike, mountain bike and a tandem for this
particular customer which did not shimmy.
Wilted: become limp through heat, loss of water, or disease; droop.
Example: At this time, chill treatment seedlings were severely wilted with extensive
leaf rolling characteristic of water-stressed maize.
Synonyms: droop, sag, become limp, flop, wither, shrivel
Enthuse: say something that expresses one's eager enjoyment,
interest, or approval.
Example: They both enthused over my new look
Synonyms: rave about, be enthusiastic about, gush over, wax
lyrical about
Inherent: existing in something as a permanent, essential, or
characteristic attribute.
Example: Any form of mountaineering has its inherent dangers
Synonyms: intrinsic, innate, immanent, built-in, indwelling, inborn, ingrained
Traverse: travel across or through.
Example: He traversed the forest
Synonyms: travel over/across, cross, journey over/across, pass
over
Stupendous: extremely impressive.
Example: A stupendous display of technique
Synonyms: amazing, astounding, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable
