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World Cup fever in the air
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From this Saturday onwards for more than a month cricket fans are bound to be glued to TV screens and all talk is sure to veer towards the fortunes of the teams in the World Cup. Cricket is a unifying force, feels VIJAY GEORGE, which binds a nation together, irrespective of class, creed, caste
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IN THE recently released `Kaante,' the indomitable hunk of Bollywood, Sunil Shetty makes it clear that there are two things Indians won't digest: "Cricket mein haar aur Hindustan pe war." (Loss in cricket and war on Hindustan).
Needless to add, along with politics and films, cricket still remains the national obsession that virtually every Indian can talk at length about without any prior preparation, at any given moment. And once in every four years, they pin their hopes on eleven gentlemen who, from experience, seem to know the formula of winning a match, usually only when no one gives them a chance to do so.
The Indian cricket team has the habit of beating any team on their day and at the same time they can bow to a bunch of school kids on a bad day, especially while touring abroad. Of course, on the designer pitches in India, Kumble & Co. show their expertise with the exact knowledge of bouncy patches here and in the process, add some valuable records to their own career profiles.
As it is quite a routine now, these days, a few millions of patriotic Indians pray and hope that their eleven most eligible men emerge successful in whatever they do in the World Cup to be held in South Africa from this Saturday onwards.
The 44 days to come will see almost every Indian dreaming rather identically about the willow doing the magic against a cherry red ball that comes to them at lightning speed, no less.
For quite a few like Anoop Warrier, a 12th standard student at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Tripunithura, for instance, "the next one-and-a- half months is going to be really tough with the final exams scheduled so near and the entrance tests not too far either and of course the World Cup coming up." He has now decided to watch all the matches which India plays and the rest, well, in parts.
The Indian team, which is pitted against some of the top teams, in Pool A, make their entry in this World Cup opposite the rather `soft' Netherlands team on February 12 at Paarl. The match against the reigning champions and the favourites for the title, Australia comes next on 15. On 19, India takes on Zimbabwe, on 23 it is the surprise entrant Namibia and Nasser Hussain's England will be ready for the battle on 26. The India-Pakistan match will be played on March 1.
Though he never really played the game during his childhood, ace comedian Salim Kumar makes it a point to be in front of the TV set whenever India plays, even while on shooting locations. "The boys have let down the aspirations of the entire nation with their performance against Stephen Fleming's army recently, but they are quite good a team and can come up with real surprises," he says.
Ask Salim on the team he would support in the event of getting into a bet, he laughs, with that trademark roar of his and states, "Want me to get in to trouble too? I don't indulge in betting."
"I don't follow the intricacies of this sport," confesses noted painter C. N. Karunakaran.
Except perhaps for the rather exciting range of colours that the cricketers wear in the backdrop of the lush green field that looks like a canvas, he finds nothing absorbing in the gameThe Indian team's exciting win at the Natwest series final beating the English at Lord's on July 13 last year makes them capable of doing the `magic act' when the situation gets really tough, some of the exuberant fans feel.
Who are the men to watch in the Indian bowling line up? Try prodding T. C. Yohannan, a hugely talented sports person himself and father of cricketer Tinu Yohannan. "Srinath is bowling really well. Zaheer Khan has been impressive too. They could decide Indian chances in the bowling department," he says.
"The playing conditions and the pitches in South Africa are very different from New Zealand, where they fumbled. India has a definite chance to bring the World Cup back this time," grins Mr. Yohannan.
Though every Indian would be waiting for the World Cup to be handed over to Saurav Ganguly's hands on March 23, the day when the finals will be played at Johannesburg, the general presumption is that most of those who follow the game expect Australia or South Africa to win it this time. Pakistan and New Zealand are also regarded as really good teams.
One of Kerala's best-known cricketers ever, Ravi Achan agrees that India's chances are rather bleak. No one in the team seems to be really bent upon giving their best even at this stage. "They should resort to a psychiatrist to have the `right feel'. And more importantly that should be someone who can understand the Indian psyche well too. Their morale has gone really down after the drubbing they got in New Zealand. Individually they may be among the best, but they often fail to live it up to the expectation as a team."
The euphoria that cricket creates; even on days when India plays is far below than it was, some years ago. "Blame it on the number of matches that they play now. Still, the World Cup is something different and we have every reason to be excited," says Brinesh N, a former chairman of Mahatma Gandhi University students' union.
The hotels in Kochi have joined the bandwagon with their share of events. In most of the cases, it would involve recreating the bar ambience giving it a World Cup theme with posters of cricket stars and cards detailing the fixture.
The live action can be seen on the TV sets or on big screens, depending on the place you prefer, with innovative cocktails having names that match with the spirit of the game offered for the cricket buffs.
The TV dealers too are having a real boost in their business. The cable operators who are still continuing with their boycott of ESPN-Star Sports channels are heaving a sigh of relief with virtually everyone tuning in to the Sony-Set Max channel that has the exclusive rights for the World Cup telecast.
From now onwards the obvious sight that you come across anywhere will be that of groups lining up before every TV set that beams cricketing action. No wonder cricket remains the greatest uniting force in our country still.
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