Monday, May 21, 2007

Joy of TV-viewing cricket

Watching a cricket match on TV is not just sitting back, with some junk food by the side, counting runs, overs and wickets. Cricket is for enjoyment of both the player and the beholder. But this element of enjoyment will be missed if we take sides while watching. It would not have been cricket if Tendulkar scored a century each time he walked out to bat, or India won each and every game! This is what the fanatics foolishly expect. Siding makes one tense esp., if the favoured team does badly. I know some friends who stay away from the TV when India is playing, just for that reason. Result-in-favour-of-India-oriented watching is no fun. It is here people miss the wonderful nuances of this great game. We must learn to recognize and appreciate the finer points of good cricket, be it from any team. That can be more pleasurable than mere statistics.Patriotism should not be taken too far while watching a cricket match. Cricket is a hard-fought game played between two teams and the winner is always the one who performs better than the other on that day. So involved are many, that they watch the game as if they are commanding the actions on far away grounds! One has to experience the enjoyment of watching cricket sans siding! After all, not for nothing, cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties.

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