Best Movies of 2008

Obviously I can only list the best movies from what I have seen and as I am not a movie critic i don't get to see all the movies that release (wouldn't it be great to get paid to watch movies).

My top 5 Hollywood flicks of 2008:

1. WALL·E
2. Iron Man
3. The Dark Knight
4. Kung Fu Panda
5. Mamma Mia!

My top 5 Tamil films of 2008:

1. Subramaniapuram
2. Anjaathey
3. Bheema
4. Yaaradi Nee Mohini
5. Santhosh Subramaniam

Guardian's Test XI of 2008

Former England spinner Vic Marks prepared the list of his best test team of 2008.

"This is brilliant; we do not really know which is the best team in the world. For a decade, it has been Australia and there has been nothing to argue about. Now there are three contenders as India and South Africa challenge Australia's supremacy," said Marks.

"Pick the best XI from these four sides (apologies to Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand for being so exclusive) and it is possible, without too much mischief, not to select a single Australian. This may be an indication of the way things are going," he added.

Here is the team:

1. Grame Smith (c)
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Kevin Pietersen
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. A B De Villiers
6. Andrew Flintoff
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
8. Harbhajan Singh
9. Zaheer Khan
10. Ishant Sharma
11. Dale Steyn

India's ICC Rankings

Contrary to popular belief India has been performing better in Tests than in ODIs. By far 2008 has been India's best year in both forms, as India has finished with its best rank of 4 in ODI and joint top of rank of 2 in Tests.

ICC Test Rankings for India

2001: 7
2002: 8
2003: 6
2004: 5
2005: 3
2006: 2
2007: 5
2008: 2

ICC ODI Rankings for India

2002: 5
2003: 5
2004: 5
2005: 8
2006: 5
2007: 6
2008: 4

Best Indian Test Team based on ICC rankings:

10 G. Gambhir
13 V. Sehwag
18 S.R. Tendulkar
18 V.V.S. Laxman
28 R. Dravid
34 M.S. Dhoni
46 Yuvraj Singh
08 Harbhajan Singh
12 Zaheer Khan
25 Ishant Sharma
28 Irfan Pathan

6 Top Batsmen, 1 Wicket-Keeper and 4 Top Bowlers and their batting & bowling rankings

Best Indian ODI Team based on ICC rankings:

1 M.S. Dhoni
6 Yuvraj Singh
12 S.R. Tendulkar
21 V. Sehwag
23 G. Gambhir
39 S. Raina
11 Zaheer Khan
20 Harbhajan Singh
29 Munaf Patel
45 Praveen Kumar
50 Ishant Sharma

5 Top Batsmen, 1 Wicket-Keeper and 5 Top Bowlers and their batting & bowling rankings

Sydney Morning Herald's Test team 2008

Sydney Morning Herald's Test team 2008

1. Graeme Smith (South Africa)
2. Gautam Gambhir (India)
3. Hashim Amla (South Africa)
4. Kevin Pietersen (England)
5. AB de Villiers (South Africa)
6. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)
7. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain and Wicket-Keeper)
8. Dale Steyn (South Africa)
9. Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
10. Ryan Sidebottom (England)
11. Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka)