It’s been ten days in to the biggest tournament of cricket and it still feels as there is some distance to go as far as the excitement and thrill we usually associate with the game and more so with the World Cup. Talking about my love for the game, which blossomed when the event took stage in India in 1996, I remember those days when everything smelled cricket. Children would run from their tuitions to catch the final 10 overs and; office goers bunked work places to glue to the idiot box or even better get to the stadiums! The iconic win of India against Pakistan in the quarter finals meant neighbours coming to your doorstep with sweet boxes and relatives calling over to congratulate. The sound of crackers and firefly’s would turn the whole environment as if Diwali has arrived a bit too early. Not just the celebrations, but the run up to such do or die matches would involve endless prayer to God. I actually drew the possible fielding combinations during the various stages of the game which to be honest, helped me sit through the mathematics class when some body passed a comment “Kal to Pakistan hi jeetega!”, I gave him an angry look and replied “kal 9th March hai, mere birthday ke exact one month after wali date, dekh liyo India hi jeetega” My chilidish challenge was almost in danger when Ajay Jadeja played a crucial knock to bail India out and secure the position in the Semis.
Fifteen years later, the tournament is back in the sub continent with another neighbour joining as hosts. Cut to 2011, probably due to the long gasping schedule of the tournament or may be I am no longer a school student, or the sheer dominance of T20, the excitement and enthusiasm seem to bit short of the standards that I have witnessed or been a part of, However things look promising as the news flash on TV that thousands of fans got ‘lathi charged’ in Bangaluru to get the tickets for the India-England encounter which is the first quality match India will play in the tournament after beating Bangladesh. Now that sounds better as in India, we never feel the excitement until it begins to show in the streets!
Every four years, our patriotic heart overtakes the logical mind and India become favourites to win the cup. The images of Kapil Dev lifting the trophy in the Lord’s balcony with thousands of fan cheering in the ground are played endlessly and the final XI who brought the trophy become regular faces conducting debates about how good or bad are India’s chances. For past three editions, India never really looked like getting to repeat the feat even when the Ganguly led team reached the finals in 2003 only to realise that Australia’s dominance had just begin. Last four years have been perhaps the most encouraging for an Indian cricket fan and looking at the teams that have lined up for the tournament, the logical mind is finally seem to be agreeing with the heart. It is easy to ask the question about who is the most favourite to win the world cup however interesting bit in this edition is to ask the other way around i.e. If not India, who else seems to be the strongest contender and answer is much easier than we think!. Australia is no more the team it was during the last three editions and with the fresh defeat in the Ashes, the confidence of the team with out the services of the likes of warne, Mcgrath and gilly is definitely down. Outside the sub continent, one team which can pose a serious threat is South Africa. The proteas have played some outstanding cricket off late and have beaten India in the ODI series just before the World Cup However their in ability to play spin too well can might just be enough for them to not to reach to the final two. Without an iota of doubt that teams from sub continent have great chances of doing well and one team that can truly turn the tables is Sri Lanka which like India has grown from strength to strength and has produced some fine spinners and all rounders. The ‘Smiling Assassin’ a.k.a Muttiah Murlidharan in particular would be keen to be part of the winning team during his last world cup.
A challenge this edition of the World Cup will face is of survival of ODI’s amidst huge popularity of T20’s. The success of the shorter version has in a way dented a bit of reputation of the ODI’s and right from a cricket fan to a marketer seem to be glued more towards the three hour encounter. The recent case is of Volkswagen India announcing that they are going to put all their sponsorship money in IPL in stead of the World Cup indicating the popularity this format has achieved. If ODI’s have to survive, then World Cup should ideally set example with some thrilling and good quality encounters
How it charts out will finally be seen on the field during the next few weeks and as I mentioned earlier, this time the mind and heart both feel that the trophy should be in Dhoni’s hands on April 2 ‘ 2011 and Sachin would then be able to retire in peace whenever his heart and body allows him to.
Matches involving serious contenders have kicked off since yesterday with Australia beating New Zealand and Pakistan getting better of Sri Lanka however as far as India is concerned with the match against England coming up in few hours, the game begins…..Now!!
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2 comments:
good to see u back dude! lotsa aggression still needed to realise the pic perfect of 1983. not for india this time i want the world cup for sachin:-).
well dude, to be honest, I also want India should lift the world cup but after the yesterday's match drawn against England even after making 338, I seriously doubt that India is numero uno contendor. I am only looking for some good clean fun where India turns the whole match from loosing to wining it. That makes the cup memorable. Lets see when does it happens.
Well to see the married man blogging about cricket and watching it like before after a long period of what we say "Just Married" is more fun to watch. I hope your better half also enjoys the same. Now I say that "The Game begins......Now".. What say?
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