I love the game which involves 22 people and a (smaller) ball.

   The FFIA world cup is underway. The teams are ready for the title clash. Euro champions Spain against a very impressive Dutch. This promises to be one of the most memorable finals, but what am I doing??? I’m following a little known T20 series against Pakistan and Australia in which Australia got royally humiliated 2-0. [No… It’s not 2 goals against none.. Pakistan won 2 matches and Aussies none.]. This is how much I love the stupid cricket game.

   I’m proud to be a cricket fan, an Indian and a cricket fan. Many people may deny but the truth is, ‘Cricket is in our blood’. It is game each and every one of us can connect with. Im sure cricket would be the first game anyone would ve stated following. No one would ve even remotely heard about ‘La Liga’, when they started cheering for every run Sachin scored. ‘World cup’ always means the ‘ICC world cup’ to us. Though the tag ‘premier league’ belongs to football, for most of us the first ‘league’ that comes into our mind is the 3 year old Indian Premier League (IPL).

   The reason for all this is, this is the only sport our countrymen play with consistent respectability. I don’t mean they play well but only with consistent respectability. It is always intuitive to support ‘Dhoni’s and ‘Sehwag’s rather than the irrelevant ‘Messi’s and ‘Rooney’s. It makes more sense to support RCB or CSK rather the alien MU or Chelsea.

  

   The sport itself is no shy of entertainment and excitement, the T20 just made it better. I enjoy every aspect of it. The way Dravid leans into his late-cut, the authority Pieterson shows during his ‘switch-hit’, the way Akthar made the whole stadium look at the bowler rather the batsman are few of the game’s x-factor. Add Sachin’s genius, Kallis’s all-round ability, Dhoni’s tactical nous, you get a game which serves the masala-film loving Indian public very well.

   Still there are few people who live in denial. They say cricket sucks as it is slow and boring. They are just people who don’t see the amount of work put into the game. Just watch the 2007 T20 World cup final between India and Pakistan, you will understand. 

 Be a cricket fan, and be proud of it. If you like foot ball better, no problem just don's say cricket is a boring game.