The Name of the Game..
Is cricket....and it's at its dream-worthy best at the moment...World Cup 2007.. A time to fantasise and also to let go.

I'm not a sporty personality, but the allure of sport doesn't escape my literary sensitivities and Cricket has been one of the most inspirational games..as far as I'm concerned. If you blame it on my being an Indian...so be it...For their hundred wrongs..the English did one thing right when they left behind the legacy of cricket in our soil. The seeds of that legacy sprouted rich...today the game has an ubiquitous presence in every lane of our mammoth nation and becomes a binding force in a country with a diverse, billion plus population.

The national team is a fine blend of world class acts- be it batting or bowling...I've always found inspiration in the unrelenting attitude of Tendulkar who doesn't give up the game despite more than a decade with it (he started at 16 and shall turn 34 this year)..a decade replete with harrowing injuries, a cracked finger in the leg and I don't know what else. Then there is the fiery dada (big brother)..Saurav Ganguly. If there is a man who can scream, wear his heart on his sleeve and still look like he can decimate the best attack and win a match..its him. I frankly don't like people like that but Ganguly brings on an all new rawness to the game, traditionally called the Gentleman's haunt. Last, but most definitely not the least is Rahul Dravid. I'll candidly confess that he somewhat fits the ideal man image in my mind. Reticence in a man, I'll admit, is a quality that I rarely find and that which I most admire. You can remain mature, perhaps a bit boring with text-book perfection and a natural pull to the convention and still exude that something which makes you endearing...makes you a winner in your own right. When he came to the game..Dravid was written off but today he captains a side that is capable of virtually anything...setting records included...very much.

Whatever be the case...all the gentlemen aside...its the game thats the biggest of 'em all. I may support India, but I more than respect the Australian Juggernaut, the Kiwi class, the English sophistication (minus the Flintoff saga and drinking woes), the Pakis (but not at their current abyssmal form..loosing to Ireland is a shame!)...well..its an endless affair with the game..and the WC marks its biggest day out.

This WC is a time to retrospect and bid adieu. Generations move on...People die out...and new ones come in..the game of cricket like the game of life..moves on. This WC may be the first for the likes of Dhoni, Plunkett, Panesar..relatively unknown names. But its the last for some of my favourite guys....Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting, Jayasuriya, Inzamam..I dunno what it will be without them. But hopefully their legacy shall live on...

Also on a side note...a minute in silence to the late Bob Woolmer...English batsman and paki coach who just passed away.

Eat, drink and breathe cricket...there are people who can die for the game and others to whom it is second nature...and then there are those..who stand on the sidelines...aside from the action...soak in the overalls and cherish the finer aspects of the big game.
PS: I'm having a moment..excuse any muddle...but you can be sure that in the current WC euphoria I'm in-tune with..there shall be more on Cricket..and more so..cricket and life:)