#WE WON’T GIVE IT BACK

#WE WON’T GIVE IT BACK

This is the trending #tag in the social media especially in India. It is meant to support the current Indian cricket team in the world cup matches of 2015. India is the country of cricket lovers and most of us are passionate about the cricket rather than any other games. The focus in the sports world now shifts squarely to the ICC Cricket World Cup Down Under and the excitement will reach its zenith in a few weeks from now. India is the current world cup winner. But I guess, we tend to be more optimistic.

                                                                          

 I would like to believe that although the odds are stacked heavily against us, the Indian team still possesses the ability to emerge as a top challenger in the battle for the World Cup. I am happy that my cricketing idol and God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, too, shares my faith in our team. Though the Indians seem a fair distance away from peaking, I believe the format gives them the opportunity to play themselves into the tournament. Even if we struggle against the more serious contenders during the initial league stage, we need to win a minimum of three matches, which could be against the minnows like the United Arab Emirates, Ireland and Zimbabwe. I think we really played against Pakistan and South Africa and we never had a win over South Africa in the world cup matches. But Dhoni and team did it.

                                                                             I would think we are more than assured of finishing in the top four teams in our group of seven, and, thus, making the quarterfinals. Then, we would need to play three high-quality matches on the trot to strike gold. Though that is certainly a tough task, I do not think it is impossible, considering the quality of talent we possess. In some ways, it may even be a blessing in disguise that we have not peaked too early. The time to be firing on all cylinders is now nearing, and match winners like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, M.S. Dhoni and my favorite Shikar Dhavan will have to provide the inspiring performances that one has come to expect from them in the past. They are big match players and there cannot be a bigger occasion than a cricket World Cup!!! So I think ,this could well turn out to be a year of the underdog! If Arvind Kejriwal can produce a cup of the kind that the Aam Aadmi Party pulled off against all odds in the recent Delhi assembly elections, there is no reason why Dhoni and his men cannot upset the applecart of some of the giants of the cricketing world who seem to have struck form well ahead of us. So all the best Indian cricket team. We Indians love you all and we won't give it back.