The Cricketing Religion in GOD’s own country has given us quite a few special moments to be cherished for a life-time. The 1983 WC victory.. 2003 WC Road to the finals.. Sachin’s ODI double century: to name a few.. However, the series of extraordinary events which materialized on 30th March, 2011 in the now-legendary PCA stadium in Mohali will be remembered forever!! Yes, It was a Wednesday when Team India inspired by GOD’s gritty 85 with due heavenly help; bled blue till the very last over to emerge victorious against arch-rivals Pakistan in a WC semifinal match!!

And that was after MSD seemingly shocking decision to replace Ashwin with Nehra for this priceless “mother of all games”. Despite a rampaging start by Viru, MIB finished with just 260! Considered to be a below par score by most experts and yours truly as well. I was in a state of utter hopelessness at the break; with some unbelievably negative thoughts haunting me: Is the DREAM finally over now? Will it be Pak vs Lanka final hosted by India? Will GOD remain without WC glory forever? Crashing out to Pakistan in a WC semis in India: it can’t get more horrible than this?

Hoping the MIB bowling without Ashwin on a spinning pitch & with both Munaf & Nehra on a seamless pitch; to defend this score seemed to be a case of extreme over-optimism!!! Heard about rising to the occasion against all odds with nerves of steel: that’s exactly what the so-called ordinary bowling attack of ours achieved on ‘A Wednesday’!! The fact that the very first extra was conceded in the 37th over of Pak innings is a reflection of the razor-sharp disciplined effort by the now famous-five!! More ironical being the fact that the stand-out performers were none other than ‘Nehra’ & ‘Munaf’: undoubtedly the most ridiculed players in this Indian outfit!! The way MSD marshalled its resources in the most optimum manner despite tons of pressure & a rock-solid start by Pak deserves a lot of appreciation! And the Indians did gave it their all in the field too, which indeed was a wonderfully pleasant surprise!! A strangely played knock by now India’s favourite Misbah and an agonizingly late batting powerplay taken by Pak further compounded their misery!!

Absolute craziness on streets all-over India with booming firecrackers, ultra-loud music, dancing, singing, drinking & what-not: this very very special victory was indeed celebrated with unbelievable enthusiasm & joy!!

Just like 24 Sept. 2007, the day we were crowned T20 champs after another special performance against Pakistan, 30 March, 2011 will also find its place in the golden pages of Indian Cricket history!!

HAPPINESS all around :) :) :D :D

An adrenaline rush of the tsunami-kind, tempers flaring all over the place, blood pressure & heart-beat rates zooming every second & hope, belief, prayers ubiquitous all around: Wednesday , the 30th of March, 2011 will go down in cricket folklore as the dream-turned-reality knockout punch: INDIA vs PAKISTAN. World Cup Semi-final.

Yes, it just does not get better than this. The ultimate cricket-nirvana moment is all set to engulf Asia in particular and the whole cricket world in general when these two arch-rivals lock horns in Mohali. Infact, as soon as Yuvraj Singh dethorned the down-and-out Aussies of their cherished WC crown with that blazing boundary in Motera, the whole of India has been overwhelmed by the sheer thought of the upcoming “mother of all matches”!! Such has been the scale of excitement that the complete social network (Facebook & Twitter) will do well to double-check the power of its servers on this holy day!

The Rise in Price of match tickets will put the all-time-bullish Sensex to shame & after Black Caps, it’s the Black tickets which are the IN thing :P Mohali Mohalla is the cynosure of everyone’s eyes now!!

This God-sent matchup became a possibility after the Kangaroo-killers Pakistan took the stuffing out of Carribean Calypso with a thumping 10 wicket victory led by the ‘bowler’Afridi & 'batsman' Kamran!!

The Mini-finale also lived up to its expectations to produce the most electrifying & intense encounter in Ahmedabad to end the 12 year WC reign of Aussies; despite a determined knock by Punter!! The “UV-Raina” effect soaked in all the pressure to produce a scintillating partnership that shocked the Kangaroos to the core. If playing Raina instead of Yusuf was a MSD master-stroke, then Yuvi’s 4th man-of-the-match effort was the most special of them all: confident, courageous & sublime! This match will also be remembered for some absolutely brilliant performance in field & excellent bowling show by India barring “The Munaf”!

And then came the Oscar-winning knocked out saga of the “Choker in the pack”!! Kiwis ensured that S.A. continued their date with “Knock-out horror shows” with another shocking batting collapse reminiscent of what they managed against England in their group tie! The Kiwi flight was complete and there was no case of “Black Caps Down”!!

The Asian Roar was complete with the most emphatic display of dominating cricket by the inspired islanders!! Such was the extent of the 10 wicket thrashing that their most premier bowler became a “Black Swan” in a completely Straussed-out English side… & to top it all, the neutral cricket fan was even devoid of another English-directed thriller!! However, the curious case of “Yardy-depression” will always intrigue me here..!!

So after more than a month of exciting cricket, the crowning destiny is just 3 matches away for the chosen one!! But before that, it’s with bated breath that die-hard MIB fans await Wednesday, the 30th!!!

No, this is not about Steven Spielberg's next mega-hollywood project; which as a matter of fact is known as ‘Super 8’! For, ‘Super 7’ can be referred to as the series of high intensity & hyper-emotional cricket matches that are destined to take eight nations in particular and most of the world in general to the ultimate Oscar of cricket: The World Cup Crown!

Despite the all gung-ho Irish blood throughout and Bangladesh’s world cup record-breaking 9th wicket saga to stun TRP shooters & neutral cricket lover’s delight: England; it still turned out to be yours truly top-8 that finally did make it to the quarters! However, with certain glaring shockers in the positions indeed… As 10-man Pakistan finally finally halted Aussie juggernaut despite the presence of the one-who-should-not-be-named donning wicketkeeping gloves again… And MIB finally had an almost convincing win with its best bowling effort to date against Windies; courtesy: the Un-Chawla effect!!

Here’s my take on Super 7:

1.Green rule all the way: Despite the nature of its unpredictability, despite “him” in the team and despite a still fragile batting-line up; Pakistan should prove to be just too hot for the minnow-slammers Carribean. A WC Aussie conquest should be their absolute confidence booster!

2.The Mini Finale: Rightly termed-so by the Aussie coach, this could be the Superman encounter in Quarters; especially if Chawla-effect comes back to haunt MIB (remember warm-up match). However, if Ashwin-ism continues & Super-Sehwag is back to match fitness, there is no reason why MIB cant pull this one off! And here’s hoping that batting powerplay nightmares are finally over for once & for all.

3.African Safari rolls on: The only thing standing between Proteas and a semifinal appearance could be the Pallakele Plunderer: Ross Taylor!! But there’s also lot more to this tricky contest: the choker-savvy credentials, Vettori’s tweakers, Villiers injury and ofcourse the recent Black Caps resurgence!! But its definitely Advantage Africa here.

4.Inspired Islanders: One thing can be taken for granted – England will keep its flawless record of producing heart stopping thrillers intact. Everything else, however, is flawed when the case in point is England. For how can one explain this fact: England is the only team in quarters not to have lost to any other team left in this WC!!! And it’s the same bunch of eleven that went down to both Ireland and Bangladesh!! Home advantage, in-form captain & great all-round bowling: this could well be the recipe of Lankan success!

5.The Numero-Uno MATCH: Nothing has, nothing can and nothing will ever beat the awesomeness of India vs Pakistan match in WC!!! And MIB has never ever lost to its unpredictable neighbours in a WC encounter!!

6.The Revenge Match: All those who remember Boucher’s fist pumping in that unbelievable tie that led to S.A. end in WC’03, will know that Proteas would seek revenge in this colossal match-up! However, Lankans may not require any luck to get the better of Proteas this time around.

7.Glory Glory.. MIB!!! If it is indeed an India vs Sri Lanka WC final; rest assured it would be a battle of nerves between two very evenly matched sides. “Preparation can only take you thus far, after that you require a leap of faith”. How I wish :) :)

Fingers Crossed… Let the Super 7 begin…

338, 338, 327 & 329: And to think I had to watch my only live WC match in Delhi and not the new ‘Mecca of heart stopping cricket’: Bangalore!!

The 2011 edition of ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ has reached an 8.0 on Richter scale after witnessing two of the all-time greatest matches’ ever played in history of the game.

The jaw-dropping fastest WC ton laced with 19 hits beyond the boundary-line in a 50-ball fury from Kevin O’Brien toppled the Englishmen and caused the first major upset of the gala event! Considering the Bob Woolmer case after Irish victory over Pak in ’07, I really hope all is well with Andy Flower in the coming days? Group B has indeed come alive.

And this is after ‘yours truly’ went through a complete roller-coaster emotional ride during the historic TIE on the same flat track earlier. From watching the GOD on top of his powers in a majestic display of sublime stroke play during his 120 in MIB-338 to being amazed & perplexed at the same time by Captain England masterly 154 and clueless Indian bowling. And finally dazzled by a mercurial Zaheer and last ball’s single (sigh-of-relief) in English-338.

Pak’s stunning win over the Lankans, Aussies confident start of their defense which keeps Ponting still unbeaten as their WC captain despite his off-field LCD woes and Malinga’s sensational hat-trick against a completely lost Kenyan side keeps Group A alive and kicking too!

Early days into the mega-event but few teams already need to get their thinking cap on:

MIB needs to do a thorough introspection to rekindle the belief and become a once decent bowling unit again. Maybe play a specialist bowler extra! Even the fielding has hit rock-bottom with dropped catches and frequent fumbles: Buck-up guys!!

If there is a team which requires an even greater turnaround in their bowling & fielding performances, it surely is England! But first they need to start believing in themselves again especially after the Irish Shocker!

The defeat to Pak may just bring out the best in the Lankans: how I would love them to halt the Aussies juggernaut finally!! South Africa has begun well and now start firm favourites against the English!! Afridi-led Pak is looking dangerous already & Black Caps need to pull up their socks for the big fights ahead.

As for now, its time to savour the delight of the exquisite Irish Bailey!! Will they be able to continue their killing spree, only time will tell? But MIB will do well not to underestimate them on the upcoming Super-Sunday clash, especially: MIB bowling vs Irish batting promises to be a really interesting affair!

De Ghuma Ke :)