People in India are crazy about cricket. They root for their team like zealots but their love for the game transcends beyond that. I've known people following cricket matches played between countries other than India , religiously refreshing the browser windows of their famous cricket site or by catching live coverage. An average Indian kid when asked to name his cricketing icons would go well back into the late 80s to name the greats and would be having an update on at least the top four test playing nations. Therefore it is not much of a surprise that the 2011 world cup in the subcontinent has been billed as the cup that counts. It has been a long wait for the tourney to start but what a start it has been.
India Vs Bangladesh , on an ordinary day could have been counted as a warm up match but today there was a lot of hype surrounding both the teams. It was the Bangla tigers who had sounded the death knell to India's world cup campaign in 2007 and a lot of Indians were a bit worried and unsettled due to the fact that our opening match was against them. Though they had been the traditional whipping boys , they had began winning matches consistently as seen in the recent series against the Kiwis. The fact that they had a couple of young talented cricketers added to the worry.
Therefore it was with a bit of anxiety that I had switched on my television to see India start their campaign , by losing the Toss and being put in to bat. The match started very well with Sehwag and Sachin looking in Good form and I was assured that we could see some fireworks going off today until the unfortunate amateurish mishap happened and Sachin walked off the dressing room having scored a paltry 28 due to Sehwag's wool gathering. I was angry with Sehwag ( like most Indians would have been ) but he made up for it in the most spectacular manner. I can wax eloquently on his footwork and shot selection for 2000 words and more but still end up not doing full justice in describing his innings. What an innings it was. Having decided to stick on to the crease , he played his shots judiciously and at one stage it looked like he would score well past his mentor's highest of 200. Yet he fell at 175 equaling Kapil's knock against the WI and made us realize that he too was human and it is in his nature to get fatigued.
Now that I have described my Hero it is time to go ahead and talk about the sidekicks. Virat Kohli played a beautiful innings and would have been praised to the rafters had it not been Viru's day. He played so fluently , so effortlessly that I had to remind myself at times that this was his first world cup campaign. A century on World cup debut is a very impressive achievement even if it has been against the supposed Minnows . I guess I wouldn't be in the wrong to assume that this lad from Delhi is going to be a key part in our world cup campaign.
Harbhajan Singh. What can I say about this man. He wears his power and talent so lightly on his shoulders. It may have been Munaf Patel who was among wickets in today's game but we have to thank this man for today's victory. He came in when the tigers were cruising and almost singlehandedly brought the Bangla Juggernaut to halt along with Zaheer and Munaf.
Zaheer once again proved that he wasn't called the spearhead of Indian Bowling for nothing. He bowled really well and his economy rate which is the lowest among all Indian Bowlers testify how much of a miser this man is. when we talk of being miserly Munaf cannot be far behind. when Sreesanth looked , bowled and behaved like an overgrown orangutan , Munaf was a revelation . He adapted well to the condition and brought about a breakthrough every single time his captain brought him on.
At the moment India's cup overfloweth with joy and contentment but a win against England would further cement our position as the tournament favorites.
Well what can we say about Sreesanth. All that I can say is I had great fun at his expense in social platforms - especially in twitter. It certainly looked like he turned up on the field wearing the wrong uniform. A word of caution / advice to you dude : It is not enough if you have the attitude of a pace bowler. You should have talent and dedication to go along with it. If you want people to start respecting you as a bowler , you better roll your sleeves up and start contributing to the actual cricket.
Before I sign off for the day , I can't help but mention this
Shakib , Rubel , Imrul and Tamim Take a Bow. You were really good just not good enough to win the match for your country.
Well I'll be back tomorrow to talk about Newzealand , Srilanka , Kenya and Canada...
See ya later guys!!!!!!!
India Vs Bangladesh , on an ordinary day could have been counted as a warm up match but today there was a lot of hype surrounding both the teams. It was the Bangla tigers who had sounded the death knell to India's world cup campaign in 2007 and a lot of Indians were a bit worried and unsettled due to the fact that our opening match was against them. Though they had been the traditional whipping boys , they had began winning matches consistently as seen in the recent series against the Kiwis. The fact that they had a couple of young talented cricketers added to the worry.
Therefore it was with a bit of anxiety that I had switched on my television to see India start their campaign , by losing the Toss and being put in to bat. The match started very well with Sehwag and Sachin looking in Good form and I was assured that we could see some fireworks going off today until the unfortunate amateurish mishap happened and Sachin walked off the dressing room having scored a paltry 28 due to Sehwag's wool gathering. I was angry with Sehwag ( like most Indians would have been ) but he made up for it in the most spectacular manner. I can wax eloquently on his footwork and shot selection for 2000 words and more but still end up not doing full justice in describing his innings. What an innings it was. Having decided to stick on to the crease , he played his shots judiciously and at one stage it looked like he would score well past his mentor's highest of 200. Yet he fell at 175 equaling Kapil's knock against the WI and made us realize that he too was human and it is in his nature to get fatigued.
Now that I have described my Hero it is time to go ahead and talk about the sidekicks. Virat Kohli played a beautiful innings and would have been praised to the rafters had it not been Viru's day. He played so fluently , so effortlessly that I had to remind myself at times that this was his first world cup campaign. A century on World cup debut is a very impressive achievement even if it has been against the supposed Minnows . I guess I wouldn't be in the wrong to assume that this lad from Delhi is going to be a key part in our world cup campaign.
Harbhajan Singh. What can I say about this man. He wears his power and talent so lightly on his shoulders. It may have been Munaf Patel who was among wickets in today's game but we have to thank this man for today's victory. He came in when the tigers were cruising and almost singlehandedly brought the Bangla Juggernaut to halt along with Zaheer and Munaf.
Zaheer once again proved that he wasn't called the spearhead of Indian Bowling for nothing. He bowled really well and his economy rate which is the lowest among all Indian Bowlers testify how much of a miser this man is. when we talk of being miserly Munaf cannot be far behind. when Sreesanth looked , bowled and behaved like an overgrown orangutan , Munaf was a revelation . He adapted well to the condition and brought about a breakthrough every single time his captain brought him on.
At the moment India's cup overfloweth with joy and contentment but a win against England would further cement our position as the tournament favorites.
Well what can we say about Sreesanth. All that I can say is I had great fun at his expense in social platforms - especially in twitter. It certainly looked like he turned up on the field wearing the wrong uniform. A word of caution / advice to you dude : It is not enough if you have the attitude of a pace bowler. You should have talent and dedication to go along with it. If you want people to start respecting you as a bowler , you better roll your sleeves up and start contributing to the actual cricket.
Before I sign off for the day , I can't help but mention this
Shakib , Rubel , Imrul and Tamim Take a Bow. You were really good just not good enough to win the match for your country.
Well I'll be back tomorrow to talk about Newzealand , Srilanka , Kenya and Canada...
See ya later guys!!!!!!!
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