Sep 28, 2007

Cricket - A Uniting Force

April 2007 - A first round exit from the World Cup 2007 for India and Pakistan, a further step of humiliation for Pakistan for their loss at the hands of the minnows of their group, Ireland.

September 24th, 2007 - A day when the world stopped and only thing running everywhere was the Twenty20 World Cup final between the two most talented, spirited, underdogs and arch-rival teams, India and Pakistan. The en-route to this stage for both the teams has been very difficult, with the major changes affecting the teams and player as an individual. Right from tearing apart the teams, the coaches resignation and death in the other case, captain's stepping down, angered fans, put forth some big challenges for the BCCI and PCB. But on 24th all of this was forgotten and the crowd all over the world were engrossed with the perfect final for any tournament, probably an expected one when both the teams were qualified for the semi-final berth.

India with a huge set-back at the start of the tournament with the 3 major's pulling out and an entire new team, with the least of the exprience in this format, under a new captain, displayed nothing more than spirited and fearless play of cricket, which put them in the final. Every step conquered was a major leap for the team as there were very less expectations, which was also another reason for joy among the fans. They were the underdogs right from the start of tournament, but were a bunch of talented and fighting youngsters, which also took the world champions by surprise. And this was proved when India grabbed the World Cup right out of the Pakistan's reach. An entertaining final won by India, the consequence of better handling of pressure, which was a habit of this team throughout the tournament. And why not, the world cup grab right out of the arch-rival's reach saw the entire country unite under the once force - CRICKET. Everyone right from kid to age old women, under the midnight showers, right from Srinagar to Rameswaram, from Gujarat to West Bengal, everyone was dancing, shouting slogans in praise of their new idols, the new world Twenty20 champions, the young India XI, the future India XI, sans the big names, the big 3s.This was a team which fulfilled its dreams, showing immense belief in their play and writing a new script in the way cricket will be played, henceforth. However, all this should be done keeping in mind that these players need the same support when they fall short of expectations.

Guys this is my first blog, please drop in your comments. I wanted to start with something easy and nothing came to my mind other than this major event in India's Calendar. This blog henceforth is going to be my personal view on all the events right from political to sport to entertainment and it will be helpful to hear the comments.

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