Image above (Credit Wiki) shows a match during the 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Chennai.
As cricket fans all over the world know, the T20 Cricket World Championship is being held for the first time jointly in the USA and the West Indies. Needless to say, I am rooting for Team India with all my heart and soul but I was also curious about the USA cricket team. I had never seen them play.
Team USA are super professionals
To say I was impressed would be an understatement. In their inaugural match against Canada, Arron Jones from Queens, NY stole the show, scoring a blistering 94 of 40. And in their second match Team USA caused what some experts are calling ‘the biggest upset in cricket history’, beating 2022 finalists Pakistan in a nail biting contest. The hero of that match was Indian-born American Saurabh Netravalkar who, following the long and illustrious tradition of Indians excelling in technology, works as a Senior Software Engineer at Oracle. He took 2 for 18 from his four overs and bowled the crucial Super Over conceding only 9 runs and taking a wicket.
A delightful scene was witnessed during the India-USA match. Many Indian fans seemed to be cheering for both the teams. 🙂
What surprised me most was how professional the USA players were. Against all expectations, they entered the Super 8, while experienced teams like Pakistan, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka were left out. The Super 8 journey was tough for Team USA but that was to be expected. They have plenty of talent and a great attitude; all they need is experience of playing against the best teams. It might be a good idea to consider some of the Team USA players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year. Team USA’s superlative performance in this world cup will be a great boost in popularising the sport in USA.
This may be the first big official introduction of cricket in the US, but as Ashish Ravinran explains in his CNN op-ed, cricket has been thriving organically for years in the South Asian and the Caribbean communities in the US. It has become a strong pillar for many of them to stay connected to their roots. With proper exposure and good venues, I think cricket has great potential to capture the US market. And with cricket included in 2028 Olympic games, the timing could not have been better.
In the video above, you may notice a logo of Amul on the T-shirts of the USA team. Amul is a primary sponsor of USA Cricket team, along with the Sri Lankan and South African teams. A multinational dairy giant from the state of Gujarat, Amul has a unique and inspiring history. In 1970, Amul spearheaded the “White Revolution” of India, a co-operative movement that promoted women empowerment. Dr. Verghese Kurien, chairman and founder of Amul was the architect of this revolution that made India into the largest milk producer in the world. With Amul Milk now available in the USA, Amul is looking to expand in the American market.
Team Afghanistan have outdone themselves
The cricketing world was in shock when Afghanistan beat the mighty Australians in the Super 8. And today, they beat Bangladesh to enter the semi finals for the first time.
There is a hidden side to Afghanistan’s success. They became full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2017. Since 2015, India has taken the Afghan cricket players under its wing. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) provided support to the Afghan players, including facilities and coaching by former Indian players. Playing in the IPL gave some of these players financial stability and invaluable experience. In India , many Afghan players like Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azamtullah Omarzai have a lot of fan following due to their excellent performances in the IPL. Afghan players are known here for their talent and hard working attitude.
One of the best headlines I read today was ‘Afghan cities erupt in joy as Afghanistan reaches T20 World Cup semi-finals.’ The joy of the Afghan people today cannot be measured in words.
Go Team India
Team India have gone from strength to strength as the World Cup progressed. It was great to see Hardik Pandya performing well in both bowling and batting departments, fulfilling the difficult task of an all rounder. The journey of Rishabh Pant has been nothing but inspiring. After the accident, not only did he come back to play for India, but is doing exceptionally well as a no 3 batsman. His other role is that of a wicket keeper, a strenuous job to say the least.
Great to see Rohit Sharma playing a captain’s knock against Australia, blasting out 92 in just 41 balls. Watching a batsman playing when he is ‘in the zone’ is as delightful as reading a great book or listening to great music. It’s a work of art. Although it was a batting pitch, the conditions were not easy due to the strong breeze. Rohit succeeded because he played keeping the conditions in mind. His excellent use of the bowling attack is another evidence that his thinking cap is always on.
When I watch Suryakumar Yadav play, I am reminded of my other favourite sport – chess. Suryakumar is always playing chess with the opposing team. Okay, you have set this field to prevent me from hitting a boundary. Now, watch me hit a boundary anyway. Who else can hit a ball well outside the off stump for a four to the mid wicket boundary? He almost walked towards the ball before hitting it and the bowler was in disbelief, unable to believe what he just saw.
If Suryakumar is a chess player, then the one and only Jasprit Bumrah is like a dreaded math teacher, coming up with one unsolvable problem after another for the unfortunate batsmen of the opposite team. Every one of his deliveries is like a puzzle for the batsman and most of the time, they are unable to solve it. As many an expert have noted, he is always changing his deliveries, according to the batsman, pitch, and conditions. His best figures were against Afghanistan, 4-1-7-3. India is fortunate to have the best bowler in its bowling attack.
Arshdeep Singh from the other end has a great responsibility to open with the new ball and he has done exceptionally well, his best being 4-0-9-4 against the USA. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav have now joined in the second leg of the tournament to boost the spin attack. Both did great against Australia.
Only two matches to go, semi-finals on Thursday and Finals on Saturday.
Go Team India! 1.4 billion people are cheering for you!!
