The Semi-Final Preview

The World Cup is at a stage where it is now beyond Prediction Time. As for the quarter-finals predictions, 3 out of 4 successes for me with only the South Africa-New Zealand game going the other way (there I had put in the disclaimer about the South African choke). Now to semi-finals. Or rather THE SEMI-FINAL.

India vs Pakistan at Mohali. The game has already been hyped up beyond just a match. The Prime Ministers are attending (Aside, last time PM Manmohan Singh attended a big match, India lost 8-0 to Australia in the CWG Hockey finals, So I am worried, very worried). People are talking about a national holiday on Wednesday. The whole country is likely to come to a standstill. There is a general sense of nervousness  and anticipation in the air. No one is even thinking beyond this game. So while I try to calm my nerves for the big match, I present here a small compilation of India-Pakistan World Cup highlights as a preview for the match. (All India favoring as we have an AWESOME record in World Cups)

1. The Kiran More - Javed Miandad altercation in 1992

2. Ajay Jadeja's slog overs bash in 1996

3. The Prasad-Sohail encounter in 1996

4. Sachin blasting Shoaib & Waqar in 2003

5. Joginder Sharma bowling the last over to Misbah in the 2007 T20 WC final (Ok it was not an ODI but still a World  Cup only)

6. The bowl out in the weirdest ending ever (from the same T20 WC)

7. The Kanitkar moment in Bangldesh indepence cup (Ok, not a World Cup moment but a great victory moment for Indian fans). This was an example of an entire international career being defined by one memorable shot)

Given the history of the rivalry, God Only Knows what 2011 will provide. But something will linger on definitely.

P.S. In case the match ends in a tie, it will an OOPSE moment for all (Explained in detail here)

The World Cup Memories - 1996

The World Cup came to India (and Sri Lanka & Pakistan) in 1996. In a sense it has been the most relateable World Cup so far. This time around I was in Jamshedpur having just completed Std. 8 and entering Std 9. I remember our final exams having been shifted a week or so early so that we were not distracted too much (:D). I remember the fat world cup special supplements which had arrived with almost all the newspapers and magazines. And it seemed to me that almost everyone was sure of an Indian victory as well. But it ended with a complete heartbreak.

Now for some memories from the tournament. The joint India-Pakistan XI which played in Sri Lanka in a (not so successful) bid to declare Sri Lanka as a safe location for matches. The opening ceremony which was well, a fiasco with a much hyped laser show. The Indian campaign was a quiet progress to the quarter-finals and then it moved from the absolute high of an amazing win over Pakistan to the despair and heartbreak against Sri Lanka in the semis in Eden Gardens. The India-Pakistan encounter also gave the most memorable moment of the tournament, the Aamer Sohail-Venkatesh Prasad encounter with the bowler coming out trumps. The most roller coaster campaign definitely belonged to the West Indies. They lost to Kenya and then beat Australia and knocked out South Africa before somehow managing to lose against the Aussies in the semis. And the last memory would be of Arjuna Ranatunga lifting the cup in Lahore.

Everyone seemed to be in a world cup mood at the time. I remember Asian Paints running a "Mera Wala Blue" print campaign featuring the India shirt on all India match days. For the finals however they switched to a Sri Lankan shirt with the tagline, "Tumhara Wala Blue".

Next Stop: England 1999