Hey,whos that girl? The one who has promised to appear at a cricket stadium in the altogether if India wins the World Cup? In case you didnt understand her,News 24 very helpfully telecast footage of a lady-streaker at a sports event abroad,with a flimsy film of mosaic which is supposed to conceal her but instead makes her all the more visible by singling her out. The girl in question is an Indian model and she was the subject of much heated discussion,Tuesday,on the advisability of respectable Indian girls exposing themselves to the elements,the audience,to say nothing about the players. What did this have to do cricket other than her wanting us to win at any cost,even that of her clothes? Not much,although we cannot say for sure since the participants were so outraged as to be babbling. Thats what the cricket World Cup has done to us Indian supporters like the emperor without his clothes,were reduced to the naked truth about Indias chances.
And who will win the Cup? Well,if you listened to the ESPN-Cricinfo expert on BBC World,Tuesday,it would be the winner of the South Africa-Sri Lanka semifinal clash if South Africa beat New Zealand and Sri Lanka beat England in the quarterfinals,which he is putting his money on. He added that India would beat Australia,today (yippee!) but then,everyone had said we would win the World Cup before it was even there to be won,and most are now strangely silent on the subject (theyve done enough damage already,havent they with their predictions?). Except Sunil Gavaskar who at the end of Indias victory over West Indies in Sundays final league match,said R. Ashwin would help us lift the trophy. Now,if that doesnt make Indian captain Dhoni drop him,nothing will.
And so it went along. Every news channel had its fortune-telling,its forebodings for todays encounter,touted as a mini-final. Obviously,they are rooting for India,although the plethora of former cricketers from different cricketing countries keep them honest. India must win,what will the news channels discuss if India fails to make it to the semifinals? Not the semifinals but why India did not make it to the semifinals (because of Sehwags knee,Sachins bad luck,Gambhirs samasya,Kohlis poor cut,Dhonis stumping,Pathans six of nothing and half a dozen other poor shots,etc.). But why waste time on such pessimistic speculation? Go India,go.
What may bring a rueful smile to your face is this: if you matched what the experts say now with what they declared before the tournament began,you will notice a significant slip between the Cup and the lip. Who gave Pakistan a cats chance in hell,let alone on the cricket pitch? Not Navjot Singh Sidhu,nor many others. Yet,they are the single most improved side of the event so far.
Moral of the story? Now that India is no longer the experts favourite,we might actually play well today.
shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com
