Super(b) Eights !!

Ok... So the news is finally out ! India is going back home.. There might have been a few optimistic fans, who would've hoped for a Bermuda win in their encounter against Bangladesh yesterday. But coach Dav Whatmore has made sure that Bangladesh are a much more confident side, and are much serious at their World Cup outings than they seem to be.

India, with one of the most pathetic performances in their cricketing history, will be returning back home. They actually deserved to be beaten with the body language they portrayed on the field in both their encounters against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. No one seemed too interested to play seriously, and after every tournament prior to the world cup, you could hear the captain say, "We are 'preparing' for the World Cup !". Little did the country know that they were only preparing for three games, only to lose two of them :)) Wow !

I was watching a show hosted by Harsha Bhogle on ESPN, which also stars Sunny Gavaskar and Pat Symcox - Who provide their bit of analysis about the tournament. On a point being discussed about the fan reactions back home, Sunny was surprised at the harsh reactions by fans in India to the defeats against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He commented that the fans should understand that this is only a game, and it was basically two bad days that the team had. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka just played much better cricket on those particular days. But is an Indian fan ready to buy that argument ?? Well, as a cricket fan, I'm not ! Sure they had two bad days... But what I see right now is India is ousted out of the tournament - A tournament that is most important for cricket, and one that happens once in four years !! They claim to be preparing for this tournament months before it starts, and now that their claim is over, they can't just say that they had a bad day out ! I'm sorry !

And to the fact that Indian fans over-reacted... Does any one person among the 'expert' group comment on an over-reaction when India wins a match ?? Fans over-react that time as well - They just take the players to unimaginable heights, and treat them as 'gods' !! No expert sees an over-reaction in that. Is an over-reaction only visible when fans are angry and create a mob-like environment ? Maybe the fans are not correct in doing what they are, but such a reaction is expected in a cricket-crazy country like India - Where cricket is more than just a game !

The fact that the Indian team is out, is not good news for sponsors too !! They would be loosing out on hundreds of crores of rupees. Tour operators are already crying since most Indians have already cancelled their trip to the West Indies. The match tickets are selling at dirt cheap rates ! April 15th was expected to be an "India-Pakistan" encounter. It will now be a "Bangladesh-Ireland" encounter :)) And you expect people to flock the stadium and pay hundreds of dollars for that one ??

But looking at the game in general, we now have eight teams moving on to the next stage... And fighting it out for a place in the semis. Australia and New Zealand already have 2 points each, and they would both be playing Ireland and Bangladesh - Which virtually gives them 6 points each - And an entry into the semi finals. It is upto the rest of the teams to showcase their strengths, and prove that they're the best !!

Let's see what's in store for us in the next stage of the Cup !!!