The run of the dark-horse

I am growing tired of this "How's col?" stuff.So,i request all those out there to give it a break.If you really need the answer...i tell this for one last time.."Its great...its fun..its hectic!".

Nobody seems to care that there's a cricket world cup going on and India has reached the semi-final stage in it.Where is the Pepsi ad showing the entire Indian team and where's a new Nike ad?

It is really surprising that there is really less hype surrounding the Indian team...and they are the 'dark-horse' in this T20 World championship.They have done really well to get this far.Yuvraj carried India through against England.Seeing the total India posted it looked like that the 36 run over would only help to increase the winning margin but it turned out to be the match-winning over for India.Yesterday,India stunned host and also 'favourites' South Africa.Before the match begun..everyone were under the impression that it is India and Newzealand fighting for a semi-final spot and South Africa will be the group toppers comfortably.But,only after the Indian innings did the people got to know the magic number 126 which was the minimum score the host would have to score for a place in the last 4.For me,the turning point of the match was Justin Kemp's run-out by Rohit Sharma.It lifted the Indian spirits and after that there was beleif all around.The team beleived that they could pull it off and it showed in their fielding.
Australia has been very silent throughout the tournament and they are terribly lucky to get to to the semis despite losing 2 matches(Vs Zimbabwe and Pakistan).It would be disappointing for me to see them run away with yet another trophy.


Yet...this tournament has been bizarre to me.It is all about the longest sixes and 10 run an over target.The India-Pakistan match also ended in a bizarre fashion.It would have been best had it ended in a draw.I am not convinced with the idea of a bowl-out deciding the winner of a match.It cannot be compared to the penalty shoot-out in football or hockey.In these sports...both the teams are given a chance in every shoot-out.The striker's got to net the ball and the Goal-keeper of the other team can save it.But in this bowl-out...it is all upto the bowler.Instead...an extra over could be played and the team that scores more runs in the 6 balls wins.That would involve all the players rather than to involve only the bowlers.I hope that this Twenty20 format is NOT the future of the game.It is deprived of the beautiful forward defence...and the mind-game between the bowler and the batsmen which can be only seen in the classic test format.
However,cricket in any format is appealing to me.My dream of a India-Pakistan clash in a world cup is realistic than ever before.But Australia and Newzealand are high hurdles and both the Asian teams aren't the favourites in these matches.If such a clash ever arises...i wouldn't want to witness another bowl-out.
Chak-de India!