Between the Cup and the lip

Hey, who's that girl? The one who has promised to appear at a cricket stadium in the altogether if India wins the World Cup? In case you didn't understand her, News 24 very helpfully telecast footage of a lady-streaker at a sports event abroad, with a flimsy film of mosaic which is supposed to conceal her but instead makes her all the more visible by singling her out. The girl in question is an Indian model and she was the subject of much heated discussion, Tuesday, on the advisability of respectable Indian girls exposing themselves to the elements, the audience, to say nothing about the players. What did this have to do cricket other than her wanting us to win at any cost, even that of her clothes? Not much, although we cannot say for sure since the participants were so outraged as to be babbling. That's what the cricket World Cup has done to us Indian supporters — like the emperor without his clothes, we're reduced to the naked truth about India's chances.

And who will win the Cup? Well, if you listened to the ESPN-Cricinfo expert on BBC World, Tuesday, it would be the winner of the South Africa-Sri Lanka semifinal clash if South Africa beat New Zealand and Sri Lanka beat England in the quarterfinals, which he is putting his money on. He added that India would beat Australia, today (yippee!) but then, everyone had said we would win the World Cup before it was even there to be won, and most are now strangely silent on the subject (they've done enough damage already, haven't they with their predictions?). Except Sunil Gavaskar who at the end of India's victory over West Indies in Sunday's final league match, said R. Ashwin would help us lift the trophy. Now, if that doesn't make Indian captain Dhoni drop him, nothing will.

... contd.

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