'No fear cricket' - Dhoni and Co swear by it

Once upon a time there lived a small town boy in Jharkhand A boy with big dreams and big aspirations to make a mark in this world and do something huge for the country He tried his hand in soccer, he played tennis ball cricket, he stood for long hours at Kharakpur station and one of the ticket collectors. He hates mobile phones, loves to drink milk and he is none other than our very own muscle man -- M.S.Dhoni.

Yes, the entire nation has come alive. INDIA under the captaincy of fearless Dhoni have struck gold against arch rivals Pakistan by maintaining India's world cup record The team has as on today the 24th of September 2007 brought home the first ICC World Twenty20 Championship With the entire nation glued to their TV sets and thousands of spectators cheering for Team India, Dhoni and co have not let us down and have played some amazing cricket this season.

It was all nicely placed with back to back victories against the experienced T20 teams -- England, SA and Australia. India were high on confidence and spirits Every Indian would have been praying for yet another blinder from Yuvi after a massive 6 sixes in an over and 70 from just 30 balls, another magical bowling spell from the bowlers, yet another brilliant catch from Dinesh and the team just made up for it all. Whether the batting, bowling or fielding, India with no coach in their dressing room and with only the captain's NO FEAR CRICKET attitude to back their instincts, beat Pakistan and have made ever Indian proud.

It all started at the start with the Toss going our way Gambhir batted like a champion and helped India set a competitive total for Pak. Chasing isnt that tough said by all. But the best of the best teams faulter to chase on a big occassion match. It was all Pak in the first couple of overs until the direct throw by Uttappa brought about Imran Nazir's wicket one of the crucial turning points in the match. It was then the small town lads RP Singh and Irfan Pathan who dug the grave for the middle order batsmen. And it was followed by that excellent last over by Joginder Sharma. How can one forget Duggie Murilier who took away the match from us in a Zim vs Ind clash few years back with that over fine leg shot. Misbah tried to do the same, but then he forgot that it was Jogi bowling and not Brett Lee. And as the ball was fisted in Sreeshanth's hand the entire nation came alive

Hearts of millions of Indians would have been in their mouth when the ball ballooned in the air and Sreesanth brought us that moment of relief and glory. I can keep talking about the match and the entire team effort, But I want to just highlight the positives. Dhoni has been fearless and has displayed absolute intelligent captaincy by his players talent and using his mind in the game. This character just flows in the team today. We have a young exuberant team who seem to play ever match as if their lives were at stake. From no odds at all to bagging the first ever T20 World Cup, India has slapped criticisms all over for their horrifying exit earlier in the world cup. The best man DHONI is leading the team from front and bhoy o bhoy he is doing a fantabulous job. I salute that man of honour pride and talent KUDOS DHONI.

Yuvi, Rudra, Irfan, Gambhir, Dinesh, Sreeshanth, Rohit name them all and they have contributed to this dream like journey towards victory The team excelled in all the departments. One would have counted them out after scoring just 160 odd runs but mind you the team chasing has to reach there as well. They battled their way to victory and this kind of team effort has just brought the world alive. A story that will told to every generation that follows to come. I am very lucky to have witnessed this kind of performance. Elated to be part of a nation with such great talent and pride. Chak De India... I backed my team when they very written off and I salute them, applaud their efforts with a standing ovation and will be by their side forever. HO HA INDIA.....JEET GAYA INDIA...

Love story 2007 :- Ball and Thumb

What happens when there is romance in the air on any sporting field. Well, don't get ideas about any same sex romance erupting on the sporting field. I am talking about the love and sparks that flew between the cricketing ball and the thumb of the players in yesterdays match between England Vs India at the Natwest series.

All of this may sound very funny but there are sum things that occurred which has forced me to think about this. Firstly let me congratulate the Indian team for putting up a formidable performance. When they were only 7 in the first 5 overs, I thought it would be a low scoring match once again. But then its Headingly, Leeds where the pitch is a paradise for any batsmen and batsmen with the class of Sachin and Sourav had to make use of this pitch which they did. I was very happy with the overall team performance but they still have to up their fielding standards.

But coming back to the love story. In yesterday's match the ball seemed to be highly attracted to the thumbs of the players. Yes there were many such instances in the match which led to the players yelp out of pain. It all started with Ravi Bopara when he injured his thumb while bowling. He had to rush to the nearest hospital for an X-Ray. The injury was so deep but with gods grace no fracture was detected. James Anderson, the English quickie, also felt the pain when the ball was struck back to him while he was bowling in the slog overs. And whats more the romance wasn't just alive during the Indian innings It erupted even during the second session. Our very own Yuvraj Singh got a blow while fielding in the covers and he just unleashed his frustration but managed to smile as well. The ball didn't even spare the little master. He also received a pass by the ball while fielding in the slips.

Though the ball was attracted towards the players thumbs, the thought that comes to my mind is whether their technique of catching a ball is perfect. I have heard that if the thumb is faced pointing towards the direction of the ball in 90% cases the thumb is likely to get injured. So is this a cause of concern for the team in the dressing room? Does the coach have to keep this in mind? Ii think so it is important to have a look into this issue because no team can afford to let their star player get affected by such a blow.

Injuries in the thumb will just ruin the players chances to hold a bat, ball or even field. It nullifies the essence of the game and I guess the trainers have to keep this in mind. It may sound very small as compared to the level of fitness these players undergo but Ijust thought that one has to give slight attention to this issue. Being an avid fan of the game, I would not want to miss out on some awesome action by great players because of the most smallest injuries to the smallest part of their body their THUMB.