The third most watched sporting event in the world - Cricket World Cup concluded successfully on April 2 in Mumbai with India winning the cup and quite deservedly so. Financially, this was the most successful world cup ever. Rumor has it that Corporate Hospitality Boxes in Mumbai were going for as much as Rs.5 Crore (US$1.1m).
For world's greatest batsman Sachin Tendulkar, this was the crowning moment of his long and successful career. He is one of the finest batsmen ever produced by the game of cricket, a true gentleman and a fine example for young cricketers to follow.
Cricket is becoming a popular sport around the world. In US & Canada alone, there are several thousand cricket teams at school and local levels. The game is just waiting to break out in a big way in North America.
In the 2011 world cup fourteen teams competed. However, in its infinite wisdom, the cricket governing body - ICC has decided to restrict number of teams to ten in Cricket World Cup 2015. This is a blow to young and aspiring cricketing nations like Canada, Ireland, Kenya etc. However, these teams will be able to compete in the World Twenty20 competition.
The need is to popularize cricket and not restrict it. By excluding these teams from 2015 World Cup, ICC is doing injustice to new and upcoming cricketing nations. Hopefully, ICC will review its decision before long.
Showing posts with label Cricket World Cup 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cricket World Cup 2011. Show all posts
Monday, April 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Cricket World Cup 2011 - India wins the "Clash of Titans"
Congratulations India
The second semi-final of Cricket World Cup 2011 between India and Pakistan played at Mohali, Chandigarh, India today, turned out to be not much of a clash after all.
India batted first and got off to an excellent start. Pakistan with its superior bowling contained India in middle overs, but its poor fielding let it down badly The master Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar's was dropped four times before Shahid Afridi took a brilliant cash to dismiss him at 85. Pakistan team's fielding was atrocious, dropping catches and letting too many balls slip out of their hands towards the boundary. Their lead bolwer, Umar Gul was awful conceding 69 runs in 8 over, bowling full toss upon full toss. The target of 261 runs set by India proved too much for Pakistan to beat.
India was boookies favourite and reports of betting to the tune of one half to a billion dollar were rampant in the media.
As I wrote in my last post, the match was expected to be clean and rumors of teams taking money were just that. All in all, an excellent contest between the two teams and Indian team deserved to win as it played better on the day. India goes on to play the final against Sri Lanka on April 2 at Mumbai.
The second semi-final of Cricket World Cup 2011 between India and Pakistan played at Mohali, Chandigarh, India today, turned out to be not much of a clash after all.
India batted first and got off to an excellent start. Pakistan with its superior bowling contained India in middle overs, but its poor fielding let it down badly The master Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar's was dropped four times before Shahid Afridi took a brilliant cash to dismiss him at 85. Pakistan team's fielding was atrocious, dropping catches and letting too many balls slip out of their hands towards the boundary. Their lead bolwer, Umar Gul was awful conceding 69 runs in 8 over, bowling full toss upon full toss. The target of 261 runs set by India proved too much for Pakistan to beat.
India was boookies favourite and reports of betting to the tune of one half to a billion dollar were rampant in the media.
As I wrote in my last post, the match was expected to be clean and rumors of teams taking money were just that. All in all, an excellent contest between the two teams and Indian team deserved to win as it played better on the day. India goes on to play the final against Sri Lanka on April 2 at Mumbai.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Cricket World Cup 2011 - India Pakistan Semi-final, a Clash of the Titans
March 30, 2011 is a day of major competition in the sporting world's calendar. It is the day when India and Pakistan - two major rivals in cricket, face each other in the semi-final of Cricket World Cup 2011 in Chandigarh, India.
This is an advertiser's dream come true, as the spectacle will be watched by nearly two billion people around the world, third only in viewership to Summer Olympics and Soccer World Cup.
Tensions are high and pressure enormous on both teams. Though this is not the final game, neither side wants to lose. The media hype in both countries is beyond logic, after all this is only a game and only one team can win.
The gambling world (legal and illegal) is in play with full force. Hundreds of millions of dollars (by some estimates half a billion dollars) have been bet on this game. Indian media has made wild accusations that Indian team will lose deliberately because that is what the gambling underworld wants. But that seems rather far fetched and the accusations appear to be quite bogus.
Both teams have played extremely well in earlier stages of this World Cup. No doubt, they will give their all on March 30th. India has played a great deal more cricket than Pakistan in recent years. Also, their star batsman, Sachin Tendulkar is in full form. Pakistan on the other hand has youth on its side. Their bowling has been excellent and their two twenty year old batsmen, Hafiz and Akmal have demonstrated superior skill and mature temprament. Victory will belong to the team that holds its nerve on the day and plays without thinking of all the hype around them.
The Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh who has been lacking in peace making efforts with Pakistan of late. However, he has taken a bold step by inviting Pakistani leaders to attend the match. The Pakistani Prime Minister has accepted the invitation, so the cricket diplomacy is back at work again. Hopefully, these two nations can mend their relations on the back of cricket.
The winner plays Sri Lanka in the final on Saturday, April 2. Sri Lanka has just managed to scrape a win over New Zealand in the other semi-final.
This is an advertiser's dream come true, as the spectacle will be watched by nearly two billion people around the world, third only in viewership to Summer Olympics and Soccer World Cup.
Tensions are high and pressure enormous on both teams. Though this is not the final game, neither side wants to lose. The media hype in both countries is beyond logic, after all this is only a game and only one team can win.
The gambling world (legal and illegal) is in play with full force. Hundreds of millions of dollars (by some estimates half a billion dollars) have been bet on this game. Indian media has made wild accusations that Indian team will lose deliberately because that is what the gambling underworld wants. But that seems rather far fetched and the accusations appear to be quite bogus.
Both teams have played extremely well in earlier stages of this World Cup. No doubt, they will give their all on March 30th. India has played a great deal more cricket than Pakistan in recent years. Also, their star batsman, Sachin Tendulkar is in full form. Pakistan on the other hand has youth on its side. Their bowling has been excellent and their two twenty year old batsmen, Hafiz and Akmal have demonstrated superior skill and mature temprament. Victory will belong to the team that holds its nerve on the day and plays without thinking of all the hype around them.
The Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh who has been lacking in peace making efforts with Pakistan of late. However, he has taken a bold step by inviting Pakistani leaders to attend the match. The Pakistani Prime Minister has accepted the invitation, so the cricket diplomacy is back at work again. Hopefully, these two nations can mend their relations on the back of cricket.
The winner plays Sri Lanka in the final on Saturday, April 2. Sri Lanka has just managed to scrape a win over New Zealand in the other semi-final.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Cricket World Cup 2011
Cricket World Cup 2011 is being played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This is the most watched sporting event after Olympics and the Soccer World Cup. However, the North American public is completely oblivious to this third largest sporting event in the world.
The U.S. & Canadian tv spends most of the time showing ice hockey and football (two very popular games in North America) and Cricket is not mentioned even in passing. They are depriving the North American public from watching one of the best sports competitions in the world. More than a billion and half people are glued to to their tv sets around the world to follow each and every game.
Two more quarter finals remain to be played between New Zealand v South Africa and Sri Lanka v England. The reigning champions of last three world cups - Australia were knocked out of the competition by India today.
India and Pakistan are already through to semi-final. Their match on March 30 will be quite a spectacle. The cricket rivalry is rampant between these nations. This will probably be the most watched event in this world cup, possibly catapulting worldwide tv viewership to two billion.
It is said that baseball was born out of rounders and rounders out of cricket. Interestingly, the first ever international cricket match played was between Canada and U.S. For the 2011 Cricket World Cup U.S. team did not qualify, Canada did, but was knocked out in the first round.
Cricket has tremendous potential in North America and if the major sports channel show some of the World Cup games, interest will increase as a large number of young people in North America already play cricket at school level.
The U.S. & Canadian tv spends most of the time showing ice hockey and football (two very popular games in North America) and Cricket is not mentioned even in passing. They are depriving the North American public from watching one of the best sports competitions in the world. More than a billion and half people are glued to to their tv sets around the world to follow each and every game.
Two more quarter finals remain to be played between New Zealand v South Africa and Sri Lanka v England. The reigning champions of last three world cups - Australia were knocked out of the competition by India today.
India and Pakistan are already through to semi-final. Their match on March 30 will be quite a spectacle. The cricket rivalry is rampant between these nations. This will probably be the most watched event in this world cup, possibly catapulting worldwide tv viewership to two billion.
It is said that baseball was born out of rounders and rounders out of cricket. Interestingly, the first ever international cricket match played was between Canada and U.S. For the 2011 Cricket World Cup U.S. team did not qualify, Canada did, but was knocked out in the first round.
Cricket has tremendous potential in North America and if the major sports channel show some of the World Cup games, interest will increase as a large number of young people in North America already play cricket at school level.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)