A cricket newbie’s guide to understanding why a cricket match at Mohali is making major news waves today
Picture this, 45000 people including heads of two nations and dignitaries galore, painted either in all green or saffron white and green screaming their guts out at Mohali even as over 1 billion more tune in using their smartphone video apps or a radio broadcast at a local paan and tea shop. Overnight, Google starts suggesting ‘rain’ as a topic to search when users type in Mohali. What is it about two players wielding bats in a field with 11 players that makes movie stars, politicians and commoners alike jump up & down like kids ? What it is it about that leather ball hitting the three stumps that make non-believers believe and look up in faith ? What is happening in Mohali that makes crowded streets of Kolkata sport a deserted look even as schools and office across India close early ?
If all of that sounds alien, I empathise with you. I was born Indian but somewhere I missed that ubiquitous gene found in abundance in people from Indian subcontinent and that is love & passion..no wait..fanaticism for cricket. Back in India, religion, politics, IT, personal issues and everything else takes a backseat when a cricket match is on. I got used to it as I grew up in India but when I came to US for studies in 2008, I thought in vain that I would be able to live a life free of cricket. For three years, I lived in this illusion but come 2011 and the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) shattered it completely. In the game of cricket, the buck stops here. Held every four years between all Test playing nations, there is no event bigger than a Cricket World Cup and even amongst its matches, there is no bigger rivalry than the one between Pakistan & India. Make no mistake, the match has nothing to do with religion or with political differences between these countries. It might as well be a friendly match played for charity but an India vs Pakistan clash would draw maximum efforts out of both teams. Now imagine the same rivalry playing out at the semi finals of CWC 2011 and you have got a potent combination.
As I type, the results are out and India would be advancing to the finals against Sri Lanka at Mumbai and Pakistan would be watching it from home. India is the favourite to win the Cup in a final that looks all set to be an exciting match, but for most Indian cricket lovers, India has already won the match that mattered the most.
