Thursday, November 1, 2007

First Twenty 20 Match in India

Cricket has always been a passionate sport in India & I am one of the big contributors to this tag. The excitement & the aggression that this game bring to the people of India is beyond imagination. The Twenty 20 game has just added to this excitement & ever since India has won the world cup of this new format the craze is at it’s peak.



Such craze & you get a chance to watch the first Twenty 20 match in India is what one had always asked for. The match was scheduled to be held in Brebourne stadium of Mumbai & on a Saturday as well. India was facing the mighty Australian who had defeated the Indian team in the one day series prior to this match. Whatever it was records are a past when India decides to take the field for a Twenty 20 match & that too as the champions for the first time on Indian soil.
Making sure I am a part of the 40,000 spectators was quite a task, though tickets was not an issue but odd hiccups here & there are bound to happen. Once the tickets were in my hand a day prior to the match, my only job was to make my friends jealous of the possession. To my wonder the ticket was of the VVIP stand & which costed 10K. Came the day & after standing in a huge line & pushing my way through I entered what seemed to be a carnival.



Songs being played, cheer leaders dancing, Indian flags all around & yes the flood lights made a perfect set up for a match where Indian were heavily supported. Though India lost the toss, captain Dhoni seemed quite content with the decision of Australians to bat first. A huge roar went out when Indians took the field, I am sure it must have pumped the eleven Indians who took the field.
Here comes the first ball of the match & the roar goes louder, Aussies came out to their natural game, aggressive & always attacking but Indians led by a good pace attack by R.P Singh were determined to win this format of the game. Harbhajan seems to come at his best when he is playing the might Aussies.
A target of 166, a moderate one which India achieved without much trouble. Its always said in sports it does not matter how you win the match but the celebrations after the match is what is remembered. India did celebrate it in style as well with a victory lap on the car that Gautam Gambhir got as Man of the Match.
Besides this stars like Shahrukh & Deepika added fun to the match. Deepika being shown on screen & Dhoni’s blushing face after that indeed added to the rumors spreading around. In all it was a match worth remembering for the fact that it was the first Twenty 20 match in India. I shall always be able to tell my grand children that I was a part of the first Twenty 20 match in India & India had won it in style.

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