Cricket World Cup Madness

Like any cricket playing   nation Nepal is  gripped  by   ICC Cricket  World Cup  fever now in progress in  Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

Cricket     aficionados   across the Himalayan kingdom from bustling cities to sleepy villages   have been   literally consumed by the World Cup madness.

Such is the craze for the game that people of all walks of life are  virtually  glued to their television sets  around the clock. Evidently they  do not  want to miss a bit of the high voltage  spectacle.

Undaunted by the regular and frustrating power outage they have made their own arrangements   to   watch   live  telecast  of  the tournament in  its entirety.  

Cricket no doubt is   toast of the country at the moment. The coverage  of the  competition  by the  media   both  print and electronic is  not only prominent  but huge.

Over the years cricket has become increasingly popular in South Asia and beyond, and we have witnessed a   dramatic   spike  in the fan following.

Nepal is  no exception.  Despite   the sad  state  of  domestic cricket,  it    continues to grow by the day in terms of popularity. Fans  worship the game that is so close to their hearts.

Since the World Cup  is back  at  their back yard for the third time it is another opportunity for them to become part of this great sporting tradition.

Prior to that the  tournament was held in the Indian sub-continent  in   1987 and 1996.

The local support is divided ,however,  overwhelming   it is for India. At this stage of the  competition  I cannot pick a winner  for the simple reason  no single  team has emerged a cut above the rest.

In my opinion defending  and four times champion Australia is the most balanced side but are not invincible by any stretch of imagination.

That said,  still  they are the team to beat and   remain  undefeated  so far. Should   they win     their fifth  World Cup  it would not surprise me at all.

The competition  features  the world's  best of the best   14 countries.

 The 43 day  action  by now midway through  features   Australia, Bangladesh,  England, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa,  Sri Lanka,  West  Indies and Zimbabwe( the 10 full members).

And   crossing swords with the big guns are four associate members Canada, Kenya, Ireland and Netherlands.

 Another hot contender is South Africa. Though they  are yet to peak  form their latest thrilling victory over India cements the facts that they can make things happen.

Co-host India has looked far from convincing. They escaped with a draw against England and made a hash of the match against South Africa which they should have won handily.

The bowling department is one grey area  that  the Indians  must  address and take care of immediately. Otherwise, a second World Cup might not be within their reach.

A word of praise for master blaster Sachin Tendulkar who continues to grind  runs. Already he has to his credit two swashbuckling centuries.

The former World Cup champions Pakistan and Sri Lanka are through to the quarter-finals, however, have struggled quite a bit. Unless they  take their game  to a  whole new level  and shrug off  mediocrity, things might not go as they would  like.

 After two  successive defeats Bangladesh  has managed to rebound magnificently. They  have  a chance to reach the quarter-final,  following their victory over England.

With two defeats and  a draw England  dangerously teeters on the brink  of elimination and not making the quarter-final. The English were rattled by   lesser known opponents Ireland and Bangladesh.

Much to everyone’s  surprise New Zealand  has played steady cricket . Do not count them out.

Two times champion West  Indies  are  a pale shadow of themselves  but well can turn out to be the dark horse. They have the firework to spring surprises. Watch them.

Barring Ireland’s shock win against England it has been a relatively  upset free tournament. The minnows bracket comprising of Kenya, Canada, Netherlands, Zimbabwe and Ireland  have  lacked  depth and power to  trigger mayhem.

I  say it is  a wide open  World Cup. Just hope that   your team  prevails at the end of the day.  As for now  keep your fingers crossed and  fully enjoy the  suspense and drama that continues to unfold in front of you.