The Game of gentlemen

I have always been fascinated to see the love Indians have for the game called “CRICKET”.It has been evident from the way we treat our cricketers in this country (they are more or less treated like god!! ) that cricket cannot be replaced by any other game in its popularity.

Introduced by the British when they were ruling India,we Indians took it up like fish to the water.The game has its roots in Britain in the mid 16th century when it was first played only by childern until the 17th century when it was taken up by the adults.The name cricket was evolved form the word “creckett” which means a stick, is a word of dutch origin.

The first international cricket was played between England and Australia in the 19th century.Then the game was introduced in the other countries like South Africa,New Zealand and India.Each country has its own domestic tournaments to help find its talented players. The Sheffield Shield for Australia, Currie Cup in South Africa, the Plunkett Shield in New Zealand and the Ranji Trophy in India.

From being an advanced version of the game of bowling,to being what it is today the game has seen it all.We have seen many era’s of cricket right from the legendary “Sir Donald Bradman” to the sensational “Virat Kohli” of today.

The evolution of cricket is evident from the advent of t-20′s and the older one day internationals.The game which was a five day affair in the beginning has had many changes since then.From being four balls an over to eight balls an over it has seen it all.Then after the world war when cricket resumed in England it was changed to the six balls an over format which is intact till this date.

Like many other games and sports,cricket has hosted many tournaments and the most popular ones are the one day world cup and the twenty 20 world cup.When talking about tournaments how can one forget about the legendary ASHES SERIES, a series of five test matches played between England and Australia.This tournament is played alternately in both Australia and England and is fiercely competed between the two teams bringing out the best in them.
Cricket has had its share of controversies and incidents.From the famed bodyline series,the banning of South Africa due to its Apartheid policies,the Hansie Cronje fixing incident to the spot fixing scandals by the Pakistanis,cricket has seen it all!

Talking about cricket how can one forget about the greatest cricketer to have ever walked the earth,the guy who changed the dimension of the game right from the time he came into the scene.Yes,I am talking about “SACHIN TENDULKAR”.The little man who stands at 5’5 has dominated the game for more than two decades.Called the Don Bradman of our era this guy has been phenomenal right from the time he made his debut in 1989.From then he has come a long way to be the icon that he is now.He has got all the major records there ever is in his book.From having played the most number of games in both test and ODI,and having scored the most number of runs in both the formats and scoring the most number of centuries by a batsman ever,this guy has done it all!!

Finally,the game which is played in almost every gully in India and which has got huge number of fans for itself has inspired me to take up the game like many others in a very early age and to sit here and write this blog .Today I can proudly say that “CRICKET IS MY RELIGION! “.