India went into the World Cup with a lot of question marks hovering over the number 4 slot in its batting line up. And towards the business end of the tournament, the situation seems to have vastly improved with question marks now atop almost every batting position except Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's.
World Cup matches so far have been whether-plagued - we don't know whether we will have a full match or not on any given day. Suddenly, the ‘pool matches’ of the tournament have a literal ring around them.
Now that India is done with the needless distraction of elections, it should finally get down to focus energies on the important task that actually concerns almost every person in the country: The World Cup.
General cricket followers have termed RCB's show, so far this season, as "very pathetic." This seems uncharitable. For, cricketers, who understand that these things tend to happen to sports teams, are much more empathetic, and describe RCB as merely being "pathetic."
Seeing young actors and actresses toiling at the cricket stadium, you cannot but ask the important question: Why don’t the IPL administrators actually go the whole hog and offer slots in the playing XI of teams for heroes whose films have just released or about to hit the screens?
India is trying desperately to keep Pakistan away from the World Cup, and to this effect, it shot off a letter to the ICC conveying their deep-seated anger against Pakistan through the smart ploy of not mentioning Pakistan by its name even once.
Even after seeing the particular episode we couldn’t make up our mind over what was said that was so damaging for Pandya and Rahul to be suspended (which has been provisionally lifted).
But alas, for some strange reason, the ICC rules don't allow for such simplicity. And the Indian team had to win matches by the traditional method of playing. Were it not for the rain in SCG, the series could even have been 3-1. But make no mistake about it, this 2-1 triumph is epochal, which is amazing considering that we don't know what epochal really is.
Around 350 players went under the hammer, because of which probably 300 were severely injured, as only about 50 could be picked at the IPL auction held Tuesday last.
The events on the field seemed such a re-run from many previous series that the only thing possibly different was there was no Steve Bucknor to hand yet another dubious decision against India. But Nigel Llong is there. He is one bloke who will not let India miss Bucknor.
