Murgi par hamla top (Canon) se

Yes, ladies and gentlemen our dearest MIB (Men In Blue) crushed Hong Kong with a 256 run victory. I remember the days when 256 was a competitive target, but in modern day cricket with the likes of Tendulkar, Dhoni, Yuvraj any target below 300 doesn't seem un-achievable. I'm happier because India has defeated Hong Kong by a much bigger margin than Pakistan did just the other day. Cricket isn't my favourite sport, but just like all my fellow Indians its pretty much a religion for me. I believe in "A picture is worth 1000 words" and thus, I suppose the pictures above speak for themselves.

Yet again, Hong Kong lost its match and this time the demons it faced was India - being an Indian, I shouldn't be calling my own team demons, but while writing I like to be objective just like the forefathers of modern Indian journalism. Anyways, not digressing, today one of the weakest teams of the sub-continent (Hong Kong) lost to the current strongest team in the subcontinent (India). Though, I was impressed as they were able to hold fort till 118. India won by 256 runs, it used be a good total a little while back and then Tendulkar, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Jayasurya and Kaluwitharana happened and the game changed forever.

Just before the explosive Sri Lankan invasion into modern cricket 256 was considered a good total. And, then the explosive invasion of playing big shots before the 15 overs finish happened and the game was never the same. Started by Jayasurya and Kaluwitharana, the trend reached Indian shores through Sachin and later the mantle passed onto to Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Dhoni. And I must these gentlemen have made the forefathers of this discovery very proud. The tradition was also passed onto our sub-continent sibling Pakistan and we had the emergence of Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi as dangerous Pakistani batsmen who should be dismissed early in the game, if the opposition wants to be in the vicinity of victory. And since we can all rememember, the cricketing world has always compared us siblings with each other. The audience is also part of this world.

Thus, as a member of the audience group I can't abstain from indulging into comparison. This time I'm happy and I hope it also serves as a morale booster for our players. We have defeated Hong Kong, the same team Pakistan defeated a few days back by a far greater margin than Pakistan. I don't know about team, but it surely peps up my morale and confidence in the strength of our team. They are good players individually, but even better as a team. India is, in my opinion, the strongest contender for the Asia Cup. I'm not saying this because I'm an Indian, but basing my opinion on the current trends and statistics of the current team compositions for the Asia Cup. India has the most successful track record right now. The only thing they need to be careful about is complacency. Our dearest MIB have a tendency to get complacent when on a song. I hope they have learned to hold their rhythm and continue to be in sync. You must think cricket is my favourite sport, after all I write so passionately about it. Well, my friends, you are mistaken.

Cricket isn't my favourite sport - its my religion, just like all my fellow Indians. My favourite sports are Tennis and Football (or US calls it "Soccer") - with more love towards Tennis. I love tennis the most, so much that I would fore go a cricket match for a tennis match. Don't be mistaken, I'm a passionate about cricket just as I am to follow Hinduism. I don't know worship the cricketers, though I always wish them the best and hope that my favourites Mohd Kaif and Irfan Pathan become the permanent members of the team. And yes, Sachin is a demigod for me when it comes to cricket - always always always a pleasure and treat to watch him.