Are India Favourites? (The photo is original which I have uploaded in Alamy. Please contact Alamy for commercial inquiries)
Billions of Indians around the world have only one dream right now. India must bring home the Cricket World Cup 2011 Trophy! Dhoni & Co. must be crowned the Champions! So will this happen? Well, for the last two years India has been playing some of the best Cricket ever and they are the current No. 1 Test playing nation as well. Yes the Australians are the No. 1 ODI side but India is quickly closing in on them. So if they continue this current form they are sure to be the champions in the World Cup Tournament that started on the 19th of February 2011. And the opening match was also won by hosts India when they beat co-host Bangladesh. Sri Lanka, co-host as well, is also a strong contender for the cup. Do you think Team India will win?
Aussies and Proteas are also Champion Nations
Well, the current Aussie Team may not be the old 'Never say Die' Team but they still have some fighters who is still being led by the Cricket Legend Ricky Ponting. Ricky who is the next best after Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to stats seems the best person to win the cup for Australia. South Africa, as always, the nemesis for both Australia and India is also a top contender for the Trophy.
Pakistan and England
However, there are still some who favour Pakistan and England. While Pakistan is the Dark Horse who can surprise anyone at any time, England are close behind with the Ashes and Twenty2o Trophies in their pockets. So fans all over the world are watching the matches hoping for their favourite team to win the World Cup.
Indian Cricket Team Players- Click them for Cricinfo Stats
My friend's Facebook update read "After buying tickect for one day..the very evening i came to know...sachin,sehwag...zaheer nor bhajji is playing the series...now it's non stop rain..hmmmmm...hmmmmmmmmm"
Haha...I spoke to him and he said he had no words to describe his situation. India was scheduled to play against Australia in Kochi today. But the Indian team was without Sachin, Sehwag, Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan. The Aussie team was without Ricky Ponting as well. What a shame! This ODI series is between the two top teams in the world. It promised lots of action and drama. Unfortunately most of the fans dont get to see the stars they paid to see. Who knows- it could have been the last time we would have got to see Sachin and Ponting playing against each other. Heh, it could have also been the last time Sreesanth would be bowling to Ponting...
Of course it is an opportunity for the youngsters to claim their position in the team while ultimately, the whole nation will be supporting India to win irrespective of the stars' absence in the field. But just like some 'Sachin' loyal supporters and fans, my friend too didnt know that these Cricket stars were missing. He was really shocked when he came to know about it. And to add to his dismay, the match has been abandoned because of non-stop rain and by now I'm sure he must be eating his ticket. I havent asked him if he will get it refunded though. Heh heh....Yeah these kind of things happen to everyone. Even I have faced situations like these. Haha....But it's fun when you think about it later- heh, laughing at our own misery...hahaha......Well, the good news is that all those who bought the ticket also got a free blue colour Nike T-shirt along with it. So, I think he is happy because he can atleast keep the T-shirt as a memorable item. Chak de India!
SACHIN TENDULKAR WORLD RECORD HITS FIRST ODI DOUBLE CENTURY – 200 NOT OUT VS SOUTH AFRICA!!! Cricket history opened a new chapter on 24 Feb 2010, at Gwalior, when Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar made the first double century in Cricket One Day International against South Africa, the team with the current best bowling attack in the world. I was not able to watch the match but I read the scoreboard in ESPN CRICINFO website sitting here in Ireland.
Congratulations from Cricketers and other Sportstars, Celebrities, Politicians on Sachin’s First ODI 200- Tributes from Famous Personalities!!!
1. "Come on Sachin my friend get your 200. World record to please! You deserve it… Nervous for my good friend Sachin everything crossed for you mate… Glad I'm not bowling to him today ha ha ha." Shane Warne, Australia Cricket, tweets his excitement as Sachin nears the double-century 2. "He should aim for more. Maybe a Test innings of 450 or an ODI knock of 250. And then he himself wants to win next year's World Cup. There is a little boy in Tendulkar who wants to keep playing. That spirit keeps him going. It's absolutely incredible how he keeps going." Sunil Gavaskar, India Cricket
3. "Nobody else does deserve to get there. It's only Sachin who deserves to scale that peak. 200 is a big score in one-day cricket. It's not easy to get there. It took him 20 long years to get there. He has come a long way. It's Sachin's greatness. Records are meant to be broken. I heard somebody [Charles Coventry] equalled my record sometime ago. But I did not know him. It's great that my friend from Mumbai Sachin broke it. I am very happy for him."
Saeed Anwar, Pakistan Cricket, who was the joint record holder with Charles Coventry of Zimbabwe (194 not out), for the highest ODI score of 194
4. "I thought the way he celebrated when he reached his 200 epitomised the man's persona. There was no running laps around the field, no aggressive gestures, nothing over-the-top. He did what he always does, raised both his arms, closed his eyes for a moment and quietly acknowledged that it had been done."
Anil Kumble, India Cricket
5. "What an innings it was. He had come close to achieving it twice. I always felt that Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya are capable of doing that."
Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka Cricket Captain
6. "The unbeaten 200 that Sachin made at Gwalior is a benchmark for others to follow. Now, there will be lot of players who believe that they can also make 200 in an one-day international. We will wait and see."
VVS Laxman, India Cricket
7. "It was a brilliant innings and if you speak to Saeed Anwar, he would be so glad Tendulkar was the one to break his record. We all know how talented and how passionate he is about the game but it's incredible that at the age of 36 he is still going on, he plays the full 50 overs, runs hard and at no point during this knock did he look like he was going to throw his wicket away.”
Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar's good friend and opening partner, Pakistan Cricket
8. "Tendulkar is sincerity personified. He has made sacrifices in his life, there is a lot of dedication involved and he is very passionate about achieving something. He is like us but it's his mental toughness that sets him apart. He knows what exactly he is doing and he is strongly determined and focussed. He will bring more laurels to the country"
Kapil Dev, India Cricket
9. I was very proud to have held the record for a little while but there could be no better man in the history of the game to break through the 200 barrier. Zimbabwe versus Bangladesh.India versus South Africa. Not quite in the same bracket, are they?"
Charles Coventry, Zimbabwe Cricket, who was the joint record holder (194 not out) with Saeed Anwar of Pakistan (194), for the highest ODI score of 194
10. "It shows his mental and physical toughness. He's a player who does not throw away his wicket once he's set. He always places a huge price on his wicket." Dilip Vengsarkar, India Cricket 11. "He is my favourite player. I had said that one day he would go on to break all batting records and now you see him scoring runs and runs." Javed Miandad, Pakistan Cricket
12. "He has got so much class. His greatest strength is the longevity, to be able to be so successful at a young age and to still be doing the same thing 20 years on. We're blessed to still have such a great player playing this game."
Michael Clarke, Australia Cricket, didn't watch the innings, but plans to catch the highlights
13. "He has always respected the game and is dedicated to it. But I think this is not enough for him. He is hungry and I am sure he will keep creating new records. He is a dedicated student of the game and is still keen to learn things." Ramakant Achrekar, Tendulkar's childhood coach
14. "Whatever record is seen to be impossible to achieve, he makes it possible. That's all I can say. It seems as he's getting older, he is becoming more and more mature. No wonder Sir Donald Bradman saw himself in the way Sachin bats." Bapu Nadkarni, King of Parsimony 15. "Sachin - the greatest ever player ever - without any doubt… I salute Sachin... World's greatest sportsman. We can see him only rise. (He is an) inspiration to us all. He is the best." IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi YouTube Video of Sachin Tendulkar making first 200 in ODI
(The photo is original which I have uploaded in Alamy. Please contact Alamy for commercial inquiries)
My friend's Facebook update read "