My take on 20/20 World Cup

I had read somewhere that- "If there is something worse than eating insect pie, it should be eating humble pie". This is precisely what my condition now is ever since I tuned in on Saturday, September 22 to watch the 20/20 cricket match between India and Australia. As everyone might be aware by now, the 20/20 World Cup was launched with much fanfare- this being the first of its kind in the world. Most of the world was happy that they could watch another World Cup within an year of completion of the earlier one. But, the idealist in me was not. To start with, I have not been a great fan of cricket. But, I used to keep track of matches and used to tune into cricket World Cups regularly and some of the more interesting tournaments occasionally. The decision of the ICC to have a 20/20 World Cup came as quite a shocker to me. I was concerned with the change in the format of the game, the game reduced to a total of 40 overs as against the 100 over ODI's that we were used to. I was whining about the crass commercialization of the game reducing International Cricket to the status of what we call "gully cricket" in India. I was quite alarmed at the clout that the sponsors and advertisers had over the ICC. The short shelf life of the cricketers and the inability to assess them correctly owing to the short duration of the game upset me. Finally, I took that great decision- not to watch any of the 20/20 matches! I could not control myself for long. Teams after teams were blasting off on the ground and notching up unimaginable scores in their limited 20 overs. The stadiums at Durban, Cape Town and Johannesberg were overflowing with crowds- all enthusiastic and hung ho about the game. The icing on the cake definitely was Yuvraj Singh's blaster of a performance against England- hitting sixers throughout an over. I could not restrain myself any longer and finally on Saturday, September 22, I decided to watch the much touted semi final with India facing Australia. Needless to say, I was impressed beyond measure. The biggies in the Indian team stayed away- No Dada, No Sachin, No Dravid. But, that did not deter the spirit of the boys led by the formidable Mahendra Singh Dhoni one bit. It was the cracker of a match on Saturday with team India scoring 188 runs in 20 overs over 5 wickets. What added spice to the Indian innings was the fabulous performance of Yuvraj Singh (70 off 30 balls) ably supported by Gambhir, Uthappa and Dhoni. Australia, on the other hand, are also equally good with the willows. In spite of the splendid performance of the Indian team, I was not sure how the Indian bowlers were going to cope up with Australia. But, boy-o-boy, what a show it was! Kochi's own S Sreesanth sowed the seeds of destruction for Australia with a magnificent 4- 1- 12- 2 hunting down the opening duo of Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden. Irfaan Pathan, Joginder Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and R P Singh also put in their best efforts and the Australian team had to return to the pavilion with an unsuccessful 173/7 in 20 overs. Yuvraj Singh was rightly declared the Man of the Match but what impressed me was the total team spirit with which team India approached the game. The guys played for the country and the interest of the team was always ahead of individual interests. M S Dhoni looked completely at ease with himself and totally unapprehensive, thus exhibiting a maturity that belies his 26 years. The cool, calculated approach, the indomitable team spirit and the exhibit of talent has thus ushered in team India to the finals of the 20/20 World Cup. All eyes today are on Johannesberg where India will clash with arch rival Pakistan in the Finals. The match in total lasted for only 3.5 hours and the spirits of the audience were soaring high. Amidst the crowds and the cheers, it really was heartening to see the Indian team walking back to the pavilion after a clinching victory over Australia. One match and all my pre- conceptions about 20/20 have gone for a complete toss! I read Wasim Akram remarking a couple of days back that 20/20 is going to be the future of Cricket ODI's. All I have to say now is as long as the spirit of the game is intact, I really don't care whether it is 20/20 or 50/50! With prayers and best wishes for the Indian team, Spiritedly yours,