Cricket fever catches up fans during world cup 2015

Cricket isn't a sport anymore! It’s more than that!

Cricket is no more a sport. It’s more than a sport. It has got action, it’s got drama, it’s got fashion, it’s got thrill, It’s more like a Hollywood movie!

Cricket is gentleman’s sport and the gentleman is one of the rare species today. As the world changed in last few decades, cricket also has seen its unthinkable heights and transformations. You call it evolution or adaption, Cricket has seen it all and has emerged as the winner, at least in one day format and with the introduction of T20’s, the pleasure of watching cricket in the fast world still makes lot of impact on our mood and daily routine.

Who would have thought that cricket will undergo such radical changes. It’s an evolution that none of the experts and the players of the game would have dreamt in their wildest dreams that the teams will score 400’s and players 200’s. In today’s cricket, 300 is norm more than exception, thanks for T20 and India Premier League.

First three world cups, 1975, 1979 and 1983 had 60 overs each innings, which is a little lengthy compared today’s one day matches with 50 overs, (50 over per innings in one days started from 1987 world cup). And despite the reduction in the number of overs, the runs have been fluent because of various reasons. The attitude towards batting in power plays, smaller boundaries and many other factors.

As the World cup is the biggest stage to showcase the talent and the skill, everyone every team, sweats out more than 100% to emerge on the top.  But history shows an awkward and skewed statistics says, batting 1^st increases your chances of winning the final. What an eccentric statistic about the world cup winners. In all the matches played outside the Indian subcontinent, teams playing 1^st have won the world cup in the ten finals played so far. Its’ really very surprising to see this statistic and teams while chasing have won twice in the subcontinent of the three finals hosted in the Indian subcontinent!

Nevertheless, there is always more story in actual reality than the numbers that convey only the partial truth. Just for an example, India vs Pakistan match is not like any other match. It’s more like an action packed thriller movie with lots of twists and turns, with tempers rising high with each encounter. One incidence of Venkatesh Prasad taking the wicket of Aamir Sohail in 1996 world cup, who has shown him bat -signalling that he will hit the boundary again towards the same side and the next ball, Venkatesh Prasad clean bowls him- who will forget such a high tensed thriller moment. The numbers don’t convey this drama!




Incident between Aamir Sohail (Pakistan) and Venkatesh Prasad in wills cricket world cup 1996 

You have to be there in the moment visualizing, feeling, experiencing, and tension with which every cricket lover watching this match and then, a magical strike back from the bowler. This incidence will ever remain in the memoirs of the cricket! There are many more in the world cricket with such incidences and thriller moments which keeps every cricket fan glued to world cup matches.

Fielding has become a major aspect in todays’ cricketing teams. The horizontal dives with beautiful glides like an eagle, have become very common among the major teams. Be it Jhonty Rhodes who had a knack of pulling the catches from thin air or Ricky Ponting who with his great athleticism and accuracy, hit the wickets more than anyone else in cricket history often resulting in unimaginable run outs.

 

     Jonty Rhodes pulling off a stunner

There are many fielders in today’s teams who can save more than 15/20 runs per match. Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina from India, Ab De Velliers from South Africa, Chris Gayle from West Indies, Joe Root from England, Daniel Vettori from NewZealand, Craig Ervine from Zimbabwe to name a few.

The concept of gliding at the boundary to save a single run has done wonders for teams in close encounters these days. We have seen such superb coordination among two fielders chasing a ball to the boundary out of which one slides and passes on the ball to next fielder to save that milli second! Excellent Coordination. We have seen some great single handed catches in the boundary with fielder losing his balance, throwing the ball into the air, then going into the boundary and returning back only to finish the catch! Who would have though such great presence of mind and that kind of catches are possible? In today’s cricket, any great fielding team can easily save minimum 15 runs in a match on an average which is a substantial saving in close encounters.

Fielder catching and throwing the ball in the air just before falling into the boundary, the second fielder who is already anticipating, finishes the catch!

The emergence of the teams before the world cups, as formidable teams have clearly indicated the favourites and underdogs before the start of the tournament. Srilanka was a formidable team and peaked in 1996 and won world cup beating every other team. Similarly Australia emerged as  invincible team after that and emerged as world cup winners in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Although, India also has emerged as a formidable team under Ganguly’s captaincy in 2003 but it’s Australia who held their nerve in the 2003 final. It was Ponting with a swashbuckling innings of 140 odd helped Australia win the world cup in 2003.

The resurgent Indian team under Dhoni’s captaincy were invincible in 2011. The team looked chase any target set under the sun with Sehwag, Gambhir , Yuvraj, Dhoni and the Master himself Sachin Tendulkar as the line-up of main batsmen.

Indian team is not considered to be favourites to defend their championship in this world cup 2015 before the starting of the tournament. They were considered under dogs but it seems under-estimating Indian team will be a wrong approach for any opponent team. It’s more of a mental approach towards the game during the start of every match and it holds true in every case every time in the world of cricket.

Technology has improved a lot over the years but definitely it cannot replace humans. Two main umpires standing in the middle of the ground is much more joyous to watch with subjective decisions based on naked eye umpiring. Yes there will be wrong decisions at sometimes, but definitely there can’t be a replacement of a robot for the same. Introduction of third umpire is a good move late back in early nineties. Today with the technologies like Hawk eye, Hot Spot, Snikometer and few others, they can interact with the on field umpires to make decisions more factual and objective.

Yesteryears’ gentlemen in cricket played in whites with clean respectable outlook and today’s gentlemen of cricket play with such an assertive display of their passion apart from Cricket either its hair styling or tattooing or gym toned muscles. They carry with such elegance now a days, that Hollywood and Bollywood heroes will start developing a complex and feel threatened while these guys give a run for their money.

Handsome Virat Kohli – May act as hero in one of the Yash Raj’s film as a lover boy!

James Anderson – Next probable for Wolverine- X-Men!

Michael Clarke- Acts in Harry Potter once in Retires