The Messrs Hit Hit Bang Bang

I'm willing to bet that the number of blog entries posted across India today is at least double the average. And everyone who does post one is completely justified in doing so, yesterday being a completely blog-worthy day!
Let's start at the very beginning. I've always got a lot of flack from a lot of my friends who think cricket is too slow and too long. Twenty20 brings exactly what a lot of people complained about the lack of in cricket - excitement. And I for one am loving it.
My grandad isn't too thrilled with the whole idea. He said, and I quote, 'In 2017, we'll be watching 10-a-side matches, ten years after that, one over per team. I don't think they can take it below that, though'. Which brings me to my point. T20, in every way, is a game for youngsters. (My mum should be thrilled with this assessment. She loves T20!)
Yesterday's last match was nothing short of a thriller. The morning match was the real high scoring one - Sri Lanka made 260-odd against the Kenyans. But in my opinion, Harsha Bhogle made an excellent observation. He said the match left him cold. Because that's not what cricket should be about. It isn't really as much fun if every bowler's economy rate is over 8 and the outfields doctored to push the ball to the boundary. Give the bowlers a pitch with a little something in it and T20 cricket could be something more than just a display of mindless hitting. And that's exactly why yesterday's India-Pak match was brilliant. That, and the fact that India won.
I don't really think it's necessary for me to write a match report or anything of the sort. However, for the souls far removed for cricket, here goes. Md. Asif started off the match by taking a wicket each in each of his four overs. India looked absolutely down in the dumps. Robin Uthappa, however, did his best to turn things around with a nice partership with Dhoni, only to be dismissed immediately after his 50. The rest of the innings was a whole lot of swinging of the bat, with a little cameo from Pathan in the middle. India, surprisingly, reached 141-9.
Needing only 142,(Yeah folks, ONLY 142. ONLY 7.1 an over. That's T20 for you!) Pakistan seemed clear favourites. But wait! India had other plans. Some nice bowling from our openers, backed up by an absolutely inspired spell from Pathan (including a double* wicket maiden), in turn backed up by a brilliant spell from Harbhajan, ensured that India was on the brink of victory. The dropped Afridi catch notwithstanding. But we all know the Indian team has the uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They NEARLY did. Misbah Ul-Haq and Yasir Arafat brought it down to 1 required off 2 to win. The first delivery of the two, Ul-Haq missed completely. On the second one, it seemed like they had the game but some great fielding from India led to Pakistan finishing their 20 at 141-7. It was a tie that needed breaking.
And then there came a little something that I enjoyed thoroughly, but that was entirely because we won. I would have cursed it thoroughly had we lost, and I have no qualms about admitting it. One of football's joys is the penalty shootout, and now cricket has it's very own version. The bowl out. Each team nominates five bowlers to bowl at the stumps alternately, till one team has more stumps down than the other. To put it in a nutshell, Sehwag hit, Arafat missed, Harbhajan hit, Gul missed, Uthappa hit, Afridi missed and India won 3-0. Elation!
Everyone has their own take on this version of the game, and I'm no different. Personally, I love it. It's short enough to keep the game from getting boring - not a dull moment in T20 - and at the same time long enough to make sure real talent and efforts count. The other great thing about this ultra shortened version is that it is a great leveller. We saw a team dogged by controversy and hence consisting of mere schoolboys beat the undisputed world champs. As I speak, Bangladesh, the so-called minnows who have already sent the Windies home, have hit 76 off the first 7 overs against a solid SA side. You can't afford even a single moment of laxness, or the opposition can have a moment of brilliance which has you with your back to the wall.
What makes this World Cup enjoyable is more than just the whackfest. There's the additional advantage that since Dhoni-led India has absolutely no chance of winning the cup or even coming close, we can view every match as a bonus and watch it tensionlessly.

* The first ball of this over yielded a wicket, albeit a run out. Later in the over, Pathan picked up his first with a beautiful ball. So wicket maiden or double wicket maiden? Go figure. Whatever you decide, it's a rarity in this game. Which is why, for me, Pathan was the man of the match, not Md. Asif. Then again, my nationality might have something to do with it...