Anirudh Lohia|Me and My Theories

5th January 2008 was just like any other Saturday morning but afternoon and evening was special Next Generation (NXG) cricket team was playing its first cricket tournament, MINI MAX CRICKET TOURANAMENT 2008 organized by SLWA (Salt Lake Welfare Association).

Now you may ask what is this Mini Max Cricket…It has this name because it was a under-arm tournament , playing area was small and had different run zones like straight drives will fetch you 12 runs mid-on, mid-off, fine leg or backward point will fetch you 8 runs similarly covers and mid wicket will fetch you 6 runs. Another rule that added a lil excitement was hitting the ball directly out of the playing area will result in batsman getting out.

Now, coming back to our matches. Here is our team list (in batting order)

1. Anirudh Lohia
2. Pankaj Periwal
3. Shantanu Tody
4. Sourabh Baheti (c)
5. Sudershan Daga
6. Chetan Mundhra

We were one the best teams playing the tournament. Our first match was with Vasco, and we batted first. First over fetched us 28 runs and we ended up making 171 runs in 5 overs (I know its bit difficult believe but that’s the fact) and defeated the opponents by 98 runs, ideal start to the tournament.

Match 2 (best of all)

Next match was with one of the home teams. We won toss and again elected to bat, but this time round we were all out for 105 runs. One will have to say in this format this was a low score. But we made a point we will not go down without fighting and then it took a spirited effort from everyone to win that game. This meant we were in the second round.

Round 2

This was an easy round as one of the teams who qualified for this round was bellow and par and we stormed into finals beating them with a match to spare.

Finals

The much awaited Big Match. NXG vs. Bengal Tigers. Luck did not favour us this time round with the toss, we were to field first.

It was a dream start for us we had taken 2 wickets in first 2 balls of the match. But the rest as they is history. Bengal Tigers made 134 runs in five overs and we could manage only 86 runs. We had lost the finals by 48 runs.

But at the end of the day for us what mattered to us was we did not go down without fighting. And enjoyed each and every minute we spent in the ground.

India wins first ICC 20twenty world cup.

Everybody placed there bets n England, South Africa and Australia, nobody in there weirdest dreams also think about India

India had the worst possible start to the tournament, with experience only one game before this tournament the first game between India and minnows Scotland was washed out. This meant that India went into there must win match against Pakistan with literally no exposure to the shortest version of cricket.

And that match did not turn out anything less than a nail bitter, it went all the way down to bowl outs in which India won.

India has qualified for the second round but there was nothing exceptional about there performance and they lost there first match of second round to New Zealand by 10 runs.

Loosing the match meant India were back to must win position, and this time they had a stiffer opponents to beat (South Africa and England).

India versus England match was again a treat to watch going right down to the wire. But this match will be remembered for Yuvraj Signs heroics (six sixes in six balls). By winning this match India inched closer to semi finals but they had to beat the strong South Africans to cement there place.

But against all the expectation it was after this match Indians were looking a serious contenders for the title. They not only came better than South Africans but beaten them out of the tournament.

India meets the mighty Australians in the semi finals. Australians had there own share of disappoints in the tournament, they were convincingly beaten by Zimbabwe. Aussies are known for there aggressive nature of play, but it seemed like this young Indian brigade was ready to fight fire with fire. India won that match convincingly to march into the finals.

ICC first 20twenty world cup final was no less then a dream INDIA vs PAKISTAN

Like 1983 world cup in this final also all the batsman including the new prince of Indian cricket Yuvraj and the Macho man Dhoni flopped, It was the gutsy knock of 75 by Gambhir and 30 by Rohit Sharma that took India to a respectable but not a match winning total of 153

And to add to that India had a terrible start with the ball, Shree Shanth gave 21 runs in an over. But India’s most consistent bowler of the tournament RP Singh gave us the most needed break through in the third over. Suddenly Pakistanis were choked for runs; forget about boundaries even singles were hard to come to by.

But still they managed to keep some kind of momentum to there inning through out. It again came down to the wire the last over of the match. Pakistan needed 12 of the last over and Dhoni threw the ball to Joginder Shrarma. This was one of the biggest gamble in Indian Cricket History.

Misbahul Haq the new back bone of Pakistan was to face. Sharma bowled the first ball wide but followed it with a very good dot ball, 11 of 5 balls. Third ball went for huge six over long off. Six meant Pakistan only needed 5 of 4 balls to win. It seemed all over for India. But as they there is a very thin line between confidence and over confidence. Misbah wanted to finish it with a photogenic shot, tried to paddle sweep the ball over short fine leg but could only manage to scoop a easy catch Shree Shant.

Indian team were jumping in a huddle, this team which had been written off by all the experts had won the word cup.

But there in one thing that I believe In and that is miracle.

Because I saw one on 24th September 2007

Yes thats exactly what happened. You dont believe me, check this out yourself

ICC 20 20 World Cup is going great, it’s full of excitement and spectators all around are loving even if there team are not playing.

But have you noticed few men and women dressed fluorescent green T-shirts and black trousers. They are the one who attend the guests in hospitality boxes, help the media, protect cheer leaders, escort disabled to the toilets and even call a taxi for an excessively drunk spectator.

Whether there is a match at that venue or not…they are there for almost 12 hours a day. You Bet? This is hard work. And would you believe it, they do it absolutely free. And hey, it is not something they complain.

Caroline Murray a nurse says “Oh it’s tough juggling volunteering at cricket and nursing. I do early morning shifts at the hospital, where I look after the ICCU, and then I’m here at the ground by 10 if it’s a 2 pm match. I normally finish my work around 11 in the night, and then it’s another hour or so before I get home. Yes, I don’t get paid for this but let me tell you, I love every moment of it.”

So now you may feel are these people are crazy, slogging away for free? “No” says Diane, one of them. “For us, it’s like community service. All of us have a great time helping and reaching out to people from different backgrounds. Apart from our common love for the sport, this is something a lot of us do for our soul.”

These guys have to go through rigorous training schedules with activities like working in a team, basic communication that will help them reach out to the people.

They make sure each and every spectator leaving the ground leaves with a smile on his face.

“You know what my biggest reward is? When I am strolling in a mall with my friends months after the event, and someone who I don’t know, comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, you did a great job at the cricket’. Man, my day is made. ” Says Mathew White, another one of them.

We salute you all Men and Women in green

Thats the phrase that was said by Julius Caesar in 47 BC, but thats the phrase Yuvraj Singh must have used in the dressing room after his exception 12 balls 50, which included 7 sixes out of which 6 came in one over.

I can just go and watch it over and over again……