Shockers!

Awe- Ah! It has happened! The Indian fan's dreaded nightmare has come true. Bangladesh has defeated India and now India needs to win both the remaining matches ( convincingly) to make it to the Super-8 stage. The Group-B pool was called the "Group of Death" after all.

On the field, Bangladesh could do no wrong. They fielded like tigers and their bowlers stuck to wicket to wicket line. What baffles me is that the experienced Indian batting line-up did nothing to upset their rhythm. They didn't rotate the strike as much as they shoud have given the fact that Bangladesh set pretty defensive fields after the Power-plays.

When they batted, the Bagladeshi youngsters came to the fore. India faced a unrelatively unknown bunch of rookies who handled their bowling with aplomb. As it alway happens in situations like this, I was left wondering if it was the same pitch that the Indians batted on when 17-year old Tamim Iqbal was batting. Finally it was a very well deserved win for the Bangladeshis.

If there is any other team that has greater "baffling" capability than the Indians , it has got to be Pakistan. They managed to lose to an even less fancied opponent Ireland. It was fatal since Pakistan had to win the match to stay in the World Cup. Ireland was clearly a team to watch out for since they had the mighty South-Africans on the mat ( in the warm-ups ) and then tied the match against Zimababwe. Well, they were clearly the hungrier side of the two and deserved to win. Pakistan was lazy and paid the price.

I guess the whole of Dhaka didn't sleep last night. From celebrations that I caught on TV, I guess the whole nation in a state of frenzy. And why not? It's the time to party and rock.

And now what about the Great Indian Cricket fan? Most of them are irritated, disgusted and disappointed. Some die-hard optimists like me will be hoping that India will still pull it off ( not just the next match but the World Cup :) ). For the moment, let's live in that hope.


Thought of the Day: . Cricket is not just a game. Cricket is a religion. Cricket is a passion. Cricket is an obsession. Cricket is a way of life!!! Huh .. Forget all this now! Cricket is just time-pass, baaki sab Bakwas.