A(t) Silly Point?

Can you feel it?

Can you hear it?

Can you see it?

It’s 2011! This is India. If you answered anything but a yes to those questions or don’t get what I’m talking about – forgive me, but where the hell are you!? Because you sure as hell aren’t here.

You don’t have to be a Cricket fan to have answered ‘yes’ or to understand what I meant. You just need to be Indian. And I am not referring to the two as mutually exclusive groups although it is possibly about ... 90% true. Rough guess yeah. But it’s not just a sport. It’s a religion. And possibly forms a majority, if Cricket fans constitute a religious group.

Being an Indian or living in India – it’s hard not to be affected by Cricket-a-holic-ness / Cricket-itis / Cricket-mania / Cricket-fever – whatever you may choose to call it. Whether you like it or not, it just does get to you. And you may thrive in it – enjoy the experience and get hooked. Or you may suffer through it, as painful as it may be.

It’s that time of the year, or rather – this time, it’s that year again. It’s the ICC World Cup. And this time the Indian Subcontinent [India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh - yeah, excluding Pakistan] is hosting it!

I’ve been a fan of this game as far back as I can remember. Courtesy: my parents and brother. However my passion began showing it’s true colours only during the ICC World Cup 2003. I was eleven years old and February-March ’03 were the highlight of my year. India’s final against Australia, Sehwag ki Ma, Praying for rain un-wrecking play, Pakistan losing wickets by me eating bananas [weird theory to be explored later], Kaifi notebook – some stuff which will stay as memories for life.

Can you feel it? You bet your ass you do! Why aren’t there any big movie releases? WORLD CUP! Random TV sale schemes – WORLD CUP! Random stupid schemes by mobile network people – WORLD CUP!

So, can you hear it? *TV blares with the cheering at a Stadium* - You just heard it! Go to anyone's house, during a match, specially a match with India playing - the TV is on. You may have the most interesting conversation but the TV will be on, my friend. It will be! Though this isn't too common anymore, but you can still see chotu transistor radios with the commentary of the match playing at the pan-wallah's chop or the chai-wallah's shop. Overhearing conversations now, are we? They're inevitably about how a certain team is performing, what all Dhoni is doing wrong, which guy should be dropped, who should make it to the Playing XI, God [read : Sachin], the epic England Vs. Ireland is still definitely on everyone's mind, more on Dhoni and his right and wrong. We don't think twice before criticizing the Captain. We're born experts, with years of observing the game by sitting in front of the Television and councils over coffee/chai. So what if some of us have never played in a match, we know our shit, dude. We offer free advice. That it may not make the most practical sense or that it may not reach the concerned individuals is not the silly point. Okay, this World Cup, we also get to hear Ganguly. Apna Saurav may not be in the Playing XI anymore, but he's in the Saying XI thousand. Okay, bad attempt at rhyming =/ He's now part of the TV shows with a panel of 'experts' - he's awesome, yeah. But he looks tired. Like smiling for the camera, discussing the same thing over and over and over again, analysing every freaking ball and every shot is more exhausting than playing a Test Match. Give the dude a break!

Can you see it? By this point, I expect you to give me a hell yeah! Considering, there's a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochromatic or multicoloured. Arey! Television re! Also, there're stadiums where - if you're lucky enough to get passes/tickets - you get to watch the match! I'v been to see very few matches myself but the atmosphere is like woah! That sort of energy, elation, disappointment, noise, passion, attention-seekers - all in a single venue. It's an experience worth the price of the ticket. This excitement and passion reaches a peak when two special teams play against each other. India Vs Pakistan. That's the mother of all matches! The nail-biting tension, the slogans, the controversy, the intensity, the passion - I haven't ever been to watch such a match yet, but I feel it even while sitting at home with my family! That's the magic of a cricket match where India and Pakistan play each other. So, my whole banana-eating theory I mentioned before? So get this, I would eat a banana and a Pakistani wicket would fall. True story. Oh wait, this was backed with Hanuman Chalisa! And no. I did not ever eat eleven bananas - yeah, my luck isn't that awesome! But true story. References, you ask? My family! They always made sure there were bananas around =)

So World Cup 2003 had a brilliant final, India Vs Australia. It was intense. What with rain playing spoil-sport, literally. Our entire family had gathered at Velachery in Chennai. We prayed. We recited the Vishnu Sahasranamam. Slightly deranged, you say? I'm sure you do stuff like that too! It took us twenty years to reach a World Cup final, after 1983 - the only World Cup we ever won. We lost.

World Cup 2007 however, was utter phail. India crashed out of the World Cup. Loads of ... stuff happened. But then, we won the first T20 World Cup! In your face! The final? India Vs Pakistan! =D One of the most intense T20 matches I'v ever ever seen.

So, right now, India is at the top of the table in Group B. So far, so good. The points table as of today is right below. *Shouts like a retard - In-di-yaa In-di-yaa * Let's see how 2011 goes down, shall we? =)

Group A

Teams	P	W	L	NR	T	Points	NRR
New Zealand	4	3	1	0	0	6	+1.85
Pakistan	4	3	1	0	0	6	+0.76
Sri Lanka	4	2	1	1	0	5	+2.66
Australia	3	2	0	1	0	5	+1.81
Zimbabwe	3	1	2	0	0	2	+0.08
Canada	4	1	3	0	0	2	-2.08
Kenya	4	0	4	0	0	0	-3.40

Group B

Teams	P	W	L	NR	T	Points	NRR
India	4	3	0	0	1	7	+0.99
England	4	2	1	0	1	5	+0.05
West Indies	3	2	1	0	0	4	+2.67
South Africa	3	2	1	0	0	4	+1.75
Ireland	3	1	2	0	0	2	-0.30
Bangladesh	3	1	2	0	0	2	-1.76
Netherlands	4	0	4	0	0	0	-2.73

Courtesy : http://cricketvillage.blogspot.com/2011/01/icc-world-cup-2011-points-table.html