Temperature is rising

With the World Cup fever at its height, there is palpable energy everywhere. Youngsters are glued to their television sets, commercials are making use of the opportunity while restaurants and bars are airing matches and bringing people together. At least for some, cricket is more a religion than a sport.

But over the years, it has changed from a gentleman’s game to a commercial pastime. And its sheen has somewhat faded with the numerous scandals associated with the Indian Premier League (IPL).  For young cricket lovers though, the love of the game rises above all these and hope Indians to bring home the World Cup. Syed Faiz, an ardent cricket fan, points out that due to a change in the squad, this World Cup will be a different ball game altogether. “Bowlers have to be well trained in this tournament and have to work hard. In the practice matches so far, batsmen have been doing really well but we don’t have good bowlers this time, so India may find it a little difficult.”

Tilak, a student of first-year BCom at Oxford College, points out that the youngsters in the squad can make up for the less number of senior and experienced players. But there are those who have a very different view of the World Cup matches. Karthik, a professional, finds the World Cup quite boring till the last few matches. He points out that the knock-out stages are monotonous and the real excitement catches up only towards the quarter-finals. “Such matches will not have a major impact on the tournament as the tournament itself is designed in a way to ensure that the big teams qualify.”

However, the opening match between India and Pakistan, on Sunday, was the cynosure of all eyes, bringing even the traffic to a standstill.  Tina, a student, does not watch cricket regularly but is an ardent fan of the World Cup. She says that she was happy the opening match was on a Sunday and that she could watch the face-off between India and Pakistan.

With India and Pakistan having a fractured relationship, the question here is whether cricket would act as a level playing field or add salt to the strain? Post-Valentine’s Day, as these two nations faced each other after a long hiatus, Karthik feels that it’s a matter of prestige while Luke Koshy, a professional, regards this battle as the ‘mother’ of all battles as the two nations are ‘traditional rivals’. Clinton Bernard, a second-year BCom student from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, says, “The World Cup brings nations on one field and makes respective nations support their team.  While some believe that rivalry can actually bridge the gap between the two countries, tension can also increase. We should treat all the India-Pakistan matches like any other match and also have to learn a lot from each other as both teams are good in their own right.”

As the saying goes that if cricket is considered the religion, Sachin is the God. However, fans are optimistic even though the master blaster is not in the tournament. While Karthik says that Sachin’s absence would not make a big difference to the team as India won the ‘Champion’s Trophy’ in England, 2013, Clinton says, “I hope Dhoni and Virat Kohli can work their magic.” Chandini, a second-year BSc student from Oxford College of Science, too hopes that Dhoni and Raina can leave their mark this World Cup. But that only time will tell.