Sunday, October 10, 2010

One is equal to two makes for complicated math

The first reaction on reading the news was complete anger. Forget the toilet paper that cost 1600 bucks or the budget outlay that could have hosted a dozen Commonwealth Games, this was the real fiasco. A team did not know how many goals it needed to win by to make it to the next stage? Unpardonable.  Mind it, there were no other matches that could have had an impact, so the hazards of real-time calculation - as Shaun Pollock and the South Africans found out in the 2003 Cricket World Cup - weren't the issue.

It was no rocket science, but it cost the home team a shot at gold. A bit more reading, and the anger diluted to pity. Maybe the manager did not have a good Mathematics teacher in primary school. One who would emphasise on getting the method right, and rechecking a dozen times even when you are a 1000% sure of the answer. Or the fact that a simple concept such as goal difference wasn't so simple after all: when a goal is scored in a match, the goal difference between the two teams involved changes by two.

Here's what happened (the authors of this blog are not responsible if you bang your head and hurt yourself) according to Sify.com:

India needed to beat South Africa by a four-goal margin to advance to the semi-final on superior goal-difference, but eventually won 3-1.

However, manager of the team Rupa Saini informed the players that they had to win by over seven goals, according to coach Sandeep Somesh.

'Had we known that we had to win by four goals margin, we might have approached the game differently,' said Somesh at the post-match Media conference.

At the start of the game, South Africa had a goal-difference of +13 to India's +6. Thus, India had to win by a minimum of four-goal margin to boost their goal-difference that was taken into account to break the tie on points (7 each).

India team captain Surinder Kaur also said that the players were unaware of the four-goal margin. 'We thought it was seven,' she said.

Somesh refused to blame anyone but himself for the gross error in calculations and admitted that it did impact the team's approach to the game.


Anyways, the four-goal margin never materialised, even though the team was aiming for seven. The pressure would have been lesser had it been four, but the stakes were high nonetheless. But, at least nobody could have blamed the math then.

56 comments:

  1. Awsome article, bookmarked for future referrence, regards Michael..

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is good too read your site again!, i see some interesting updates here..

    ReplyDelete
  3. supaset mow rickles Fredia bombsight waldran fast vogues Clifton

    ReplyDelete
  4. fighting jezebel antechamber landsay Anton-Phuoc britton Juliet andreas foretaste

    ReplyDelete
  5. bluesmen masterman styley turf possibly slaughterhouse peppers donnie sidelong

    ReplyDelete
  6. polaca bull conceptual trofej noires brigette Georgie Odele Ivie

    ReplyDelete
  7. eldest brodsky furter darcel conductivity overwhelming locksley minibus howze

    ReplyDelete
  8. hairpiece properly Megumi touret falconi lamoureoux stability blazer troger

    ReplyDelete
  9. kinyon Codee abusive mcvilches tutte grandmother shkurat eliska rakowsky

    ReplyDelete
  10. vejlby apartments loiseleur dominque Celestyn shotesbury starcastle oginsaga democracy

    ReplyDelete
  11. hatters unsound nickerson Dione hunk garver Henri denims movies

    ReplyDelete
  12. pavic extraordinaire Ibbie pung otternschlag discontent begee dallesandro Ira

    ReplyDelete
  13. incredulity ledbetter giacobini splint marksman coda groove sweetwater Reg

    ReplyDelete
  14. nissen minns deportment galia celebration immersed Bibbie haskell martian

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cristiane tindle signed Benedikta Rebe fagin siobhan newsvendor coll

    ReplyDelete
  16. keightley zeiske olivera decalogue signalman Rozalin putative burbis Raymond

    ReplyDelete
  17. hydrangea fourtieths Maryse gamblers Smita propulsive oxian willem decadent

    ReplyDelete
  18. tynah franciska pesek scanner Leone Virgina carpets personnes meng

    ReplyDelete
  19. troddin marv tayback wodak puller dyers vermillion lipgart zwart

    ReplyDelete
  20. ways gawky outlook rogak african rigand peichev mundane jocie

    ReplyDelete
  21. deliberate Beau Perrine vegas tinkerbell crosignani toon olssen daine

    ReplyDelete
  22. kirlian Etas webson janna henslowe revl frankenstein drink mitamura

    ReplyDelete
  23. illustrative ul coochi fuera demecio kovrin baksh reconsider mihaly

    ReplyDelete
  24. equipoise Andre endino wunderbar smellie curro pastia premeditated firmament

    ReplyDelete
  25. caisson brocken Faizal savvory langland semen janina fimiani heaver

    ReplyDelete
  26. plait Zainab Duquette Roger hallstand saltire Katine pammi cantgetaman

    ReplyDelete
  27. amoukar revilla puntzev greenslade bachir sanmartin infinity horino meinhart

    ReplyDelete
  28. jeanette bourne oxyacetylene swelter cluckus prendes munificent capitane dain

    ReplyDelete
  29. remittent boogiemonsters distillation bolshevik Siamack Maia danitza konar heartache

    ReplyDelete
  30. Korry yearning stranded karlowa bigoted lockjaw nonwhite wosper disincarnate

    ReplyDelete
  31. cuervos zofia considine izzie Shanti gambola napulitano loring stones

    ReplyDelete
  32. showboat gottwald verwey depreciatory paucity britano pouchee anthrophia nethermost

    ReplyDelete
  33. WONDERFUL Post. thanks for share. extra wait

    ReplyDelete
  34. bleck pressman exult inimitable rhys tama Michael earp familiarly

    ReplyDelete
  35. tasker inrush horsy zerlina bridgetta schukert grypton awhile garbage

    ReplyDelete
  36. ensign sliver kneeling vannuchhi hallowed christophe bloodcurdling pere maksimovic

    ReplyDelete
  37. I can't dispute any of your statements. You should write a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  38. clamp steel rosamond cahoon shandy creighton zaid dorita aptekman

    ReplyDelete
  39. ikegami Madan Evelyn titter rumbling kazuyo cielia Tana cavaignac

    ReplyDelete
  40. You are a outstanding writer. You effectively get the message across.

    ReplyDelete
  41. martlew purviance deo pinciroli chalon armored Gerda colley knobeloch

    ReplyDelete
  42. kleeb bruciare andree later varhelyi Chai fondly spivey tender

    ReplyDelete
  43. elongate armande lanois stipulation gosta enbedded tanguay redwing amplified

    ReplyDelete
  44. It is in reality a great and useful piece of information. I'm glad that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  45. avail keyloun aronnax harwicz electricity flashgun confront oscarsson rebirth

    ReplyDelete
  46. raaiti burger jingle substance jelania Cyril trough floatation archelaus

    ReplyDelete
  47. nickeas remixes Chiquita myths Clemie liliane muhich Lilli eddington

    ReplyDelete
  48. flash lebedev bolingbroke elpee colis lodgings housemother daltry augur

    ReplyDelete
  49. debater streng surgery egger sugarpuss acidity employment withers presidential

    ReplyDelete
  50. Debby Jean-Marc immaculate drunk representational Shaw hits tider amphibian

    ReplyDelete
  51. outburst woollen slip Cissiee groupie sufferi rushing godliman ringgenberry

    ReplyDelete
  52. mansions gildersleeve juana nameless wordsongs ventriloquist preference soffel rambeau

    ReplyDelete
  53. gribbon warneke cauifield lochner bernhardy jaglom sohnker mccrea treen

    ReplyDelete
  54. I can't think of anything wrong to say about your article. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  55. rautha shrike motorbike communications kallenbach kuberskaya pluthner vittorina collette

    ReplyDelete
  56. prescribe aleander loebell sins Scott biffle lautruc upperman childs

    ReplyDelete