What a match that was!

The quarter final match played between India and Australia, gave jitters to everybody as we all sat glued to the television. It all started off as Australia won the chose to bat and as usual as soon as the match progressed we started our usual will India beat them? Will we make it to the next stage, the usual words that ring in all our minds throughout the time span of the match. It came across as a pleasant surprise to me, when the Aussies were actually struggling to score runs. This showed that Dhoni’s men had strengthened up their fielding. They were simply superb when it came to fielding that day and Oh the new man, Ravichandran Ashwin, our very own Chennaite took two wickets and crucial ones that too. Very well played Ashwin. He had performed well in his debut match as well and Dhoni made the right choice of keeping him in the playing eleven.

Another tough decision that Captain Dhoni took was to have Suresh Raina in the place of Yousuf Pathan, which should have been a hard decision for him considering the kind of drastic games that Pathan is capable of when he is at the crease. But I suppose consistency was what India was looking at and that where Pathan had a back seat.

On the other hand, as the match went on Australia was struggling to touch a run rate of 5 per over and their captain Ricky Ponting, as he entered in the 3^rd slot stayed on till the end as the biggest pillar of support for the series of batsmen who entered and exited. On a personal record, it was 100 after a long time in ODI cricket and he seemed quite happy about it except that the constant pressure and tension of having to be there for the team haunting him. Over all Australia scored 260 and it was pretty much what they were expecting to score anyways.

Then came the second innings of the match with little maestro Sachin and Sehwag opening to bat and though Sehwag did get out quickly Sachin did stay on for quite sometime and contributed.

After the exit of Sachin Tendulkar was when problem for India started along with the rising tensions amongst fans throughout the country. At one point when the score got too close, for a split second I even thought we wouldn’t make it, but then came in the heroes of the day Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh. They both played beautifully under pressure and with such calm and poise. So much pressure on them ,tensions mounting up, with the number of balls decreasing and the runs to be scored pretty high, it were the series of fours that were hit by the duo that got India into the quarters sending the Aussies back home.

As we were nearing the end of the match, it was getting more exciting and we could see the entire crowd go mad with joy once Yuvi finished off the match with a stylish four talking India into the Semi Final. Opting to have Raina in did yield fruits at the right moments and credit must be given to the captain for having that kind of confidence and courage to change the playing eleven for a crucial match as this.

Yuvi at the end of the day was awarded the Man of the Match Award for being the all rounder performer and the happiness of India had no limits. Next India will be meeting Pakistan in Mohali, and is always the most expected and anticipated match that everybody just loves watching. Every ODI, the whole country waits to see if Sachin would get his century of centuries record, but I suppose the best is saved up for the last!!

Will India make it to the final beating Pakistan is something that we need to wait and watch!!!

It is World Cup time

It is World Cup time and the country is raving in madness about it, but that is what is best about India and cricket. It is undoubtedly India’s second religion. With India giving us nail biting moments in easy matches also, there are certain little things about our men in blue that are definitely worth noticing. Whether they are able to perform on field or not, they are extremely multi talented and it clearly shows in all the recent Pepsi ads that have come out for the World Cup. Keeping aside everything else, the ads have been so well picturised and presented that I find them very funny and light hearted. The best in my opinion is the one where Sehwag tries to shake a leg with Ranbir Kapoor pathetically but still there is something very unique about this ad followed by the ad of Dhoni, trying to imitate the man in the village, rotating a wheel. What I notice apart from all the visual appeal is the idea that goes into making such an ad that immediately captures the viewer’s attention with catchy songs and funny only liners. I think Pepsi has done it once again .They always manage to hit the bulls eye and yes they do know how to lure the people as well. Bhaji’s doosra is another another one but I feel irrespective of how many such ads are made with our men in blue, we would still watch each one of them with all awe and admiration. The ads are very very innovative, I mean it is really interesting to see how ad makers come up with such ideas that they know are sure shot to captivate their viewers and they actually make so many ads just for the World Cup season which only boils down to show what kind of an audience we are who never tire to see our Indian Cricket team in any form.

Two sides to a coin

Everyday on my way to college in the mornings, I pass by a specific slum area when I get to see the bitter side of reality of how life is people who live out there and the kind of lives their children lead. But one thing strikes me hard every time I pass, the happiness with which the tiny tots of the slums happily run around screaming their throats out and playing with each other. All that those kids know are that and nothing more than that. No high-funda spendings, the ability to get themselves trained or nothing of that sort, but still they have their own physical activity to keep them engaged irrespective of the surroundings around them. To the little boys out there, their Sachin Tendulkar rocks the bat made out of some left over piece of wood, their stumps drawn with black charcoal on a pavement wall and their ball made of some worn out hard material. But what is heartening to see was the fact that they actually know every single detail of the game. The vigor and enthusiasm that is shown on their faces during their play is outstanding, shouting in joy when they dismiss a batsman or when a boy hits their makeshift ball high in the sky. As I go ahead a little further, I come across this well known school, where I see young boys coming out wearing track suits, with the cricket kits and talking in English about their practice session they had just been to. What a contrast I just saw within a matter of just ten minutes. Totally distinct from each other yet very similar on only one thread – the love for the game ‘Cricket’. It is then I realize that cricket in my country, has no boundaries and it truly is the unsaid religion of India. The kind of background that especially children come from, don’t matter at all. To them how they play, where they play, with whom they play, when they play is of least importance, it is the sheer love for the game and the joy of playing that matters at the end of the day for all of them. With the two mega cricketing festivals, the ICC World Cup and The IPL round the corner, everybody has a lot to look out for and enjoy!!!

And now cricket...

The first ODI between India and New Zealand resulted in a 40 run emphatic run for India.Considering that most top players like Sachin, Dhoni, Sehwag ,Harbhajan Singh were rested, the win is more noteworthy.From the stand point of New Zealand , where without their skipper Vittori due to back injury.Although it was an evenly contested match the result looked one sided.Virat Kohli scored a century which was commendable.The standing skipper Gautam Gambhir also contributed with his bat.From the point of view of bowling, Yuvraj Singh, Sreesanth and Aravind took three wickets each to wrap up the honors equally.As usual the Indian squad went through their jitters losing 4 wicktes for 24 runs towards the end.

The scores were

India scored 276 (49 ov)
Fall of wickets1-44 (Vijay, 7.1 ov), 2-92 (Gambhir, 15.2 ov), 3-180 (Yuvraj Singh, 34.2 ov), 4-220 (Raina, 40.4 ov), 5-250 (Kohli, 43.6 ov), 6-256 (Saha, 45.1 ov), 7-256 (Ashwin, 45.3 ov), 8-257 (Nehra, 46.4 ov), 9-275 (Pathan, 48.2 ov), 10-276 (Sreesanth, 48.6 ov)

New Zealand scored 236 (45.2 ov)
Fall of wickets1-32 (How, 6.4 ov), 2-46 (Guptill, 9.6 ov), 3-113 (Williamson, 25.1 ov), 4-131 (Styris, 29.3 ov), 5-136 (Elliott, 30.3 ov), 6-144 (Tuffey, 31.4 ov), 7-157 (Taylor, 33.3 ov), 8-169 (Hopkins, 35.3 ov), 9-236 (McCullum, 45.1 ov), 10-236 (Mills, 45.2 ov)

In the religion called cricket where the most awaited festival called world cup is fast approaching in February, it is definitely on every cricket buff's mind as to how India would fare in the world cup.We definitely have to wait and watch....

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