India Wins Cricket World Cup 2011

India has won the Cricket World Cup 2011. India is the champion of the world of Cricket. Blessed by God Almighty, India has won the ultimate prize in Cricket - sending the entire nation into a state of frenzy.

In the biggest showdown in the world of cricket, hosts India took on co-hosts Sri Lanka in a high voltage final at Wankhede stadium, Mumbai on 2nd April 2011. 

Sri Lanka won a controversial toss and decided to bat first. They scored a majestic 275 runs, inspired by a great century by Mahela Jayawardane. 

Chasing under pressure was never India's forte, and the top order collapsed. However, powered by a great sheet anchor knock by Gautam Gambhir and super cool innings by uber cool captain - MS Dhoni, India won the World Cup it style. Gary Kirsten - India's coach - was also a great influencing factor in this victory.

Winning moments like these are rare, and India have done it in great style.

India had last won the World Cup in 1983 - under the leadership of Kapil Dev. And in 2011, just less than 10 hours back, entire India was on tenterhooks. Sachin was playing in what was most likely his final World Cup match, and the entire nation wanted Team India to win the Cup.

The toss was a disaster. MSD threw the coin and Sangakarra made the wrong call. Incidentally, neither the referee nor MSD had heard what the Sri Lankan captain had called. The referee insisted that the toss be done again. The Lankans won it this time and chose to bat. The entire country contemplated whether this toss-gate would result in the loss of the Cup 9 hours later.

Sri Lanka got off to a good start - but not a great one. Their top players - Tharanga, Dilshan and Sangakarra - couldn't score freely and were out without scoring heavily. 

Mahela Jayawardane stepped up and took on the responsibility of steering the innings. He scored 103 runs - proudly cheered by his wife. The lower order batsmen too hit some great boundaries and sixes. Sri Lanka made it to 275 runs, a score which would have scared most Indians.

Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel had kept their cool in the most important match of their career. Yuvraj too bowled his quota of 10 overs, taking crucial wickets. The surprise selection - Sreesanth - took some stick. Yet, he didn't let the match  completely slip out of India's match.

And when India took to the field to start the batting, the hopes of the entire nation rested on master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. 

Sehwag got out in the first over of the match - caught leg-before-wicket to Malinga. My thoughts raced by to 2003, when Sachin had got out to McGrath in the finals against Australia. Would India lose the finals again? 

Next came Gautam Gambhir. If there is any man in the Indian team who is the most under-rated, it's Gautam. If there is any man who plays without seeking any attention, it's Gautam. 

Sachin Tendulkar looked to be in great touch, scoring good runs. But then came then moment which the entire nation feared. Sachin Tendulkar got out for 18 runs, and people across the country felt that the Cup had slipped out of India's hands.

Virat Kohli came into the middle and scored a respectable 35 runs. He was caught out by a stunning catch by Dilshan. At this moment, India were under immense pressure. The fire was on. And in walked the uber-cool skipper, MS Dhoni, ahead of the man in form - Yuvraj Singh.

If you have noticed MSD keeping the stumps, you would notice that he goes about his job with heavy concentration and supreme determination. India needed these very qualities at this moment. 

Dhoni rose to the occasion. He went about scoring runs with a quiet pace. He kept Gambhir on his feet and made him do the same. And after doing all the hard work though the middle of the innings, India were standing at the door steps of victory.

Gambhir got out on the score of 97, with India needing just 53 odd runs. I had got into a superstitious habit of not sitting down for the last 20 overs. Incidentally, I sat down for a single ball and Gambhir got out. That made me curse myself, but only to make a resolution of not sitting down - until India wins the World Cup.

Once Gambhir was back, the Man of the Series Yuvraj Singh joined his skipper in the middle. Both the champions went about scoring the runs with ease, never letting the pressure get on to them. At the same time, they didn't let the strike rate to climb.

They say - Strike while the iron is hot. True to this axiom, when Kulasekara came to bowl in the 47th over, Dhoni and Yuvi ripped apart his bowling to bring India on to striking distance of a victory - a victory which could not have been stolen from the nation - come what may!!

And in the 49th over, the skipper MS Dhoni won the World Cup for India, hitting the biggest six of the match, in great style. India had won the World Cup. India were crowned as the Champions. India had won the title - sending the entire nation of 1.2 billions into a state of euphoria, pride and happiness.

If you have to relive those moments, it is these three minutes of magic. The entire country wanted Dhoni to finish it in style with a four. He delivered a sixer - the most stylish one. He didn't start celebrating until the ball had landed in the stands. After that, it was just party all the way. 



Jubilant and emotional scenes were seen across the entire nation. Almost every single player said that they had won the Cup for Sachin. Sachin was his modest self in the victory, crediting the entire team. MSD was his frank self - playing a captain's knock in the most important match of his career, backing his decisions, laying any doubts about his leadership capabilities to rest.

Importantly, a great team work powered India to this majestic victory. Different player fired when it mattered the most in different matches. India made true of the saying - the sum is more than its parts. 

After a long gap of 28 years, India had won the World Cup. I was not even a 28 day baby when India had won the Cup back in 1983. And today, it is a proud moment to see India being crowned as the Champions of World Cricket.

Jai Ho!!! 

(All pictures courtesy - Getty Images, Google and The Times Of India)

ICC Cricket World Cup Finals 2011

Fresh Fresh 
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India wins Cricket World Cup 2011
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The stage is set for the battle for the supremacy over the world of Cricket. It will be India Vs Sri Lanka in the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup Finals on Saturday, 2nd April 2011 in Mumbai (Bombay).

Both India and Sri Lanka have been co-hosts for this World Cup -  staged across the Indian sub-continent over the last 40 days. The sub-continental giants - both of whom have won the World Cup once - will be taking on each other in the finals at Wankhede stadium, Mumbai.

India were touted as the favorites for winning the championships. They have lived upto that expectation, losing just one match on the road to the final. Sri Lanka too were considered as a strong side. They too have grown from strength to strength to block the tickets to Bombay.

In the semi-finals, Sri Lanka played against New Zealand. After restricting New Zealand to just 217 runs, Sri Lanka kept their cool in the difficult run chase - winning by 5 wickets. 

The top order fired for Sri Lanka, as it has done all through the tournament. Guys in the middle order also digged in to take the team to a glorious victory. Importantly, it was their champion spinner - Muttiah Muralitharan's - last match on Sri Lankan soil. And Sri Lanka heads to the final with the intent of wearing the Champion's Crown once again.

The other semi final was between India and Pakistan. It wasn't a cricket match. It was a battle. The hype before the match was simply too huge too comprehend. 

Adding to the pressure was the fact that the Prime Minister's of both nations - Dr. Manmohan Singh of India and Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan - were meeting on the sidelines of the cricket match. This is what they called as cricket diplomacy.

India batted first and the Indian top order looked as if they were firing. Only Sachin was able to dig through the innings, with the blessings of the generous Pakistani fielders who dropped him four times. India managed to score a respectable total of 260 runs.

In the second innings, MS Dhoni - India's captain - led the team into the field. The entire nation contemplated Dhoni's choice to play Nehra over Ashwin - expecting it to back fire. 

Pakistan got off to a great start. But India took wickets at regular intervals. All the five bowlers bowled like champions in the most important match in a decade. The Pakistani team fell like nine pins. Misbah-Ul-Haq, the eldest Pakistani player, scored at a snail's pace, virtually awarding the match to India.

And with two wickets a piece, the five Indian bowlers wrapped up the Pakistani innings with a bowl to spare, winning by a majestic 29 runs.  

With this, the euphoria is set to rise further - culminating in the final's in Mumbai. Sachin Tendulkar, India's Demi-God will be playing it in front of his home crowd. The entire nation will be hoping that India wins.

If there is one star which is missing on Sachin's proud chest, it is the victory medal of the World Cup. And Sachin would be making every possible effort to win the Cup for India, in what should be - for all practical purposes - his last World Cup match. ( A few blog posts back, an anonymous visitor left behind a comment, saying - Sachin will play two more World Cup's. You never know what the future holds.) 

But as they say, Cricket is a team game. And the entire team needs to back up Sachin. India needs a fiery start from Virender Sehwag and a stable knock from Gautam Gambhir. Yuvraj Singh should score a decent knock and Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni should make a respectable contribution.

Among the bowlers, Zaheer Khan has to lead the attack once again. Harbhajan has to bowl with all his guile. Munaf Patel was impressive in the big game against Pakistan and should keep his cool. 

And, if - once again - you have too choose between Ashwin and Nehra, Nehra should get a place in the playing eleven. But you never know how the uber cool skipper - MSD - would think. Whatever may be the choice, the chosen player should play his best.

Most importantly, it's the captain - MS Dhoni. He is the captain of the ship which has sailed so far. He is the general of the army which has won all these battles. Dhoni would have got a lot of flak - be it for his selections, or for his interspersed poor keeping, or his mediocre batting through the Cup. 

Whatever may be the case, captaincy is his stronghold. He should construct his best thoughts over the next two days, prepare a plan for every single eventuality which may shape up in the game, and lead his team with confidence. He has a team which is extremely talented, and has a huge heart. He just has to rally them like a bunch of champions and take them to the glorious pedestal - a victory in the Cricket World Cup.

As for what Sri Lanka needs to do, I will just leave it to the Lankans. They are India's opponents - and any tips are not advisable.

However, it will be worthwhile to analyse Sri Lankan's for the benefit for India. The top three batsmen - Dilshan, Tharanga and Sangakkara - are the most dangerous. India should prepare a very strong plan to get these guys out.

Among the bowlers, Malinga has been very very dangerous with his slingers. Sachin and Sehwag should rip apart his bowling, and demoralize him completely. 

The spin twins - Murali and Ajantha Mendes - will use all their tricks to get the Indian's out. India should play them with utmost caution, and capitalise on their weak deliveries.

Simply speaking, India have an uphill task against Sri Lanka. A long fifteen years back, in 1996, when I was just a little school going boy, India played Sri Lanka in the World Cup semi-finals at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta. The Indian batting crumbled under pressure and India lost poorly. Sri Lanka went on to win the match, under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga. 

I just want one thing. India should avenge that defeat and win the Cricket World Cup 2011.

For the next two days, the entire nation will be on tenterhooks. After celebrating the victory against Pakistan, the entire nation will sit down and prepare the plans for winning the World Cup. From trains to buses, from schools to colleges, from TV to Radio, from corporate boardrooms to the neighboring tea-shops - it will be just one thing - India and World Cup. Everything else will take a back seat.

You don't have any Octopus Paul predicting the winners. But if you are interested in following someone, it should be the guru of spin bowling, the wizard of spin - Aussie spinner, Shane Warne. He has been predicting winners with amazing accuracy. Do not forget to check him out on his twitter page before and through the match.

I strongly hope and pray to God that India emerge victorious in Mumbai on 2nd April 2011, in the World Cup final.

And by God's grace, if this wish comes true, entire India will erupt into a state of joy and euphoria. Just three days more - and India will be crowned as the Champions of World Cricket.

Dhak Dhak Go, India Go!!

Hiding

Hiding is a fundamental human trait which we would have all attempted at some point of our life. It means preventing someone from knowing a fact, or seeing something.

If I consider today's online newspaper - the top two headlines are about hiding and concealment. The first headline says that one person bribed another person (a politician, to be specific) for a Million US Dollars. Now both these guys are concealing this fact from the general public for their own benefit.

The second one alleges that a little child has been killed by her parents. This allegation is made by the widow of the man, who was also their servant, and was also killed on the same night.

Here too you have a strong evidence that something is very fishy and concealment or hiding is being attempted.

While these are things which are being followed in the public domain, and are extreme cases (especially the second one), the situation is not different in our small personal life - our little world itself.

We would hide for a variety of reasons. 

Let's say that you are happy about something. Sharing your joy, they say, increases it. But then you don't share it with all, but only with a special few. Or with only your special one. And from the rest, you conceal.

The reasons for this are multitude. You may not want someone to share your joy. Or not want someone to feel jealous about your joy. Or maybe think that the person does not have to be privy to your joy itself.

The same thing can be said about stuff which hurts you. You don't want your loved ones to share the same anguish as you do. You do not want them to inflict them with the same pain as you are facing.

And in broader interests, you conceal something. You bury that thought deep in your heart. You keep them away from such situations to isolate them. 

It can also be said about things which you proudly possess. And you don't want others to have their prying eyes rest on your valuable assets. 

You would hide them completely so that those glaring eyes don't have a look at them. Like the gold, silver and other precious ornaments and valuables that you keep in the safe lockers.

Let us consider things from the perspective of someone from whom something is hidden.

If you consider the first illustration of the murder, it results in a deep sense of hurt and helplessness for the close ones of the people on whom the crime was committed and the society in general.

Moving onto simpler situations - like the one where the joy is hidden from you. In the aftermath, I bet you would consider yourself foolish to even think that the person should have shared his or her joy with you. It's like falling flat on your face.

And if something which was concealed was done with the intent of preventing the hurt, you would feel a deep sense of anguish. A tornado of torment would run through your mind - making you think on whether you could have done something to reduce or eliminate the reasons which caused the hurt.

Oh my God!! Is this such a complex trait? Does this have such resounding impact on the lives of people??

And if you are confused between hiding or showing - you could give a small hint. A small clue would keep that someone thinking about what you are hiding.  And make you exceedingly alluring.

This thought is beautifully conveyed by the lady below.

It was this advertisement, featuring Natalia Vodianova, for Idylle by Guerlain perfume, which got me thinking about this offbeat topic. (It's another matter altogether that it has taken me approximately two months to compose thoughts on this subject)

So when did you hide something the last time? And from whom? And why did you hide it? And was it for good or bad? Just contemplate.

Cricket World Cup Knockout

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 being played in the Indian sub continent is just past its league stages and the quarter final line up has been framed. The stage is set for the knockout matches to begin.

The mood across the world is of sombre and anger. The terrible Tsunami in Japan has resulted in immense loss of life and property. On the other side, a war is being fought in Libya - wherein an internal civilian conflict has snowballed into a war between Libya and Coalition forces, comprising more than 10 nations.

The World Cup matches in India too are said to be under threats from terrorists. The players of various nations are showing great character in playing under such trying circumstances.

The last few matches of the group stages made an upset quarter final lookup quite possible. However, the top teams managed to pull it off and will now be battling it in the quarter finals.

 

At the quarter final stages, two matches are scheduled to be played in Bangladesh and one each in India and Sri Lanka. The semi finals are in India and Sri Lanka, with the final scheduled in Bombay.

The first quarter final is between the Asian giants Pakistan and the erstwhile champions of the world cricket - West Indies. 

Even though West Indies figured lower than Bangladesh in the ICC Cricket rankings, they have made it to the knockout stages with a good show of cricket. Pakistan were tagged as the underdogs and they have lived upto the billing, by topping their Group A. In my opinion, if Pakistan play the way they have been till now in the Cup, they should emerge as winners. 

The next match is the one which is being most looked forward too. After all, it is the hosts India taking up the winners of the last three Cups - Australia. 

There is a lot at stake here. It will be the World Cup swan song for many a great players. Sachin, Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee come to my mind right away. And all of them would want to finish their careers with a high and this match stands between them and World Cup glory.

India were deemed as the favorites, but have choked in crucial moments. Australia too have wilted under pressure, as can be seen in their last match against Pakistan. 

It will be difficult to predict the winners of this match. If you have to go by the form book, Australia can win. But the hopes of an entire nation - India - will rest on Dhoni and his men to take them through the quarter final, only to setup a battle royale against Pakistan a week later in Chandigarh.

The next one is between South Africa and New Zealand. Both teams have done well in the league stages. But they have a historic reputation of being chokers in the elimination round matches. Whoever manages to keep their cool in this match will come forth as the winners. My money is on South Africa to win this one.

The last of the quarter finals is between the other hosts - Sri Lanka - against the men from England. 

England were virtually knocked out from the Cup. Yet Andrew Strauss promised his country men that they could still win this Cup. Amazing confidence, I would say. Sri Lanka too have been looking weak and strong, in waves. 

While Sri Lanka look to be the favorites to win the match, a resurgent England might just pull it off. And if things go the way in the next match too, they will  be on the way to Bombay to play the finals.

The next 10 days promise to be exciting for cricket lovers across the world. 

Just as with any Indian, who has been with - eat cricket, sleep cricket - I too strongly hope that India win the cup. And if they have too, they have to play like champions in the next three matches. 

Sachin has to the ruthless batsman he has been over the past two decades. Zaheer Khan has to bowl with the heart of a lion and lead the weak Indian bowling attack. Sehwag has to be the swash-buckling batsmen, ripping apart the opposition bowling attacks. 

Harbhajan has to bowl his best for the next thirty overs - using all the tricks in his bag. As for the rest, they have to play the role they have been given. 

Most importantly, MS Dhoni has to be the super cool captain which has bought him this glory in the past five years. 

And finally, if "All goes well", it will be party time across India on April 2. Until then, its fingers crossed.

Anger, Jealousy and Serenity

Red, Green and Blue are the fundamental colors in the world which drive away the dark black and plain white - to bring in the vividness in our life.

What does the color Red say today?

Are you facing the wrath of someone's anger?

And what does the color green say today?

Are you jealous? Or is someone jealous of you??

Well, someone can be angry. And someone or you yourself can be jealous. But what can you do in such a situation?

Just stay calm, composed and serene - just like the color Blue.

P.S. Apologies to the pretty ladies - Asin, Parineeti Chopra and Padma Lakshmi. The colors of your attires were so bold and brash that I couldn't help choosing your pictures.

Sarararara

Once in a while, you have a song which you like immensely. Half an year back, it was Mora Piya from Rajneeti for me.

And today I caught onto this song - Sarararara - from the movie Yeh Saali Zindagi.

The lines of this song are simply amazing - they echo "life" so nicely.

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Kuch deke chalti woh, sab leke chalti woh
Hai dum toh rok usse, balkhaake chalti woh
Sarararara, zindagi nikal chali
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara

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Or were they meant for this pretty actress (read Aditi Rao Hydari) in the movie? 

Catch a small video of this song right below

And the entire lyrics too.

Sarara sarara sararara
Sarararara, zindagi nikal chali
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara

Hey behla ke chalti woh, phusla ke chalti woh
Kanya karaari si, itra ke chalti woh

Kuch dekhe chalti woh
Sab leke chalti woh
Hai dum toh rok usse
Bal kha ke chaldi woh

Mara mara mara ..
Girta na har tu toh mara mara

Arrey sarararara, zindagi nikal chali sararara

Khwaabon ki jootar hai, yaadon ki payal hai
Zindagi husn tera hum tere kayal hain
Aaja na reham tera humpe barsa ja
Sarara sarara ..

Aaja na jhalak teri humko dikhlaja
Teri raahon mein bhich jaaye bas tere nagme kayi
Aaja na aaja na aaja aaja aa
Tumpe apna bhi haq hai, apna haq leke jaaye
Behla ke chalti woh, phusla ke chalti woh
Kanya karaari si, balkha ke chalti woh

Sarararara, zindagi nikal chali
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara

Sa sa sa ra ra ra ..

Hey hum chalte hum rukte, sab teri hi marzi hai
Jeenay ki chaahat ho, kehde kyun khudgarzi hai
Aaja na noor tera humpe barsa ja
Sarara sarara ..

Tu koi noor nahin, tohdi narmi toh la
Tu agar zid pe atki hai hum bhi na gabhraaye
Aaja na aaja na aaja aaja aa
Chori karna bhi ik fun hai
Apna fun na aazmaaye

Kuch deke chalti woh, sab leke chalti woh
Hai dum toh rok usse, balkhaake chalti woh
Sa sa sa ra ra ra ..
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara

Khwaabon ki jootar hai, yaadon ki payal hai
Zindagi husn tera hum tere kayal hain
Aaja na reham tera humpe barsa ja
Sarara sarara ..

Aaja na jhalak teri humko dikhlaja
Teri raahon mein bhich jaaye bas tere nagme kayi
Aaja na aaja na aaja aaja aa
Tumpe apna bhi haq hai, apna haq leke jaaye
Kuch deke chalti woh, sab leke chalti woh
Hai dum toh rok usse, balkhaake chalti woh

Sarararara, zindagi nikal chali
Sarararara, haathon se fisal chali sararara
Sarara sarara ..

This movie also stars one of my favorite stars - Chitrangada.

Liz Hurley

You have people who are hugely talented and skilled. And this makes them famous and popular. And then you have some who are popular just because they are pretty, beautiful and smart. And you also have some, who are social bees, which moves them up the popularity chart.

If you know Elizabeth Hurley a.k.a. Liz Hurley - you would wonder about the category to which she belongs to. But whatever may be the category, she is hugely popular with the newspapers and the tabloids. And this has been the way for the last fifteen years.

All of 45 years, Liz is an English model and actress. 

She has been an actress since 1987 - acting in about 32 films since then. Her films have not been hugely popular - but she has been extremely popular. 

So what has made Liz move up the popularity chart over the years??

Well, in 1987, a hitherto unknown Liz Hurley met the British actor Hugh Grant. And they were good friends, a couple in fact, for 13 years till the year 2000.

And it was with Hugh Grant that she propelled herself up the popularity ranks. 

At the age of 29, in 1994, she walked with Hugh Grant to the premiere of his film - Four Weddings and a Funeral - wearing a black Versace dress. The dress was held together by several gold safety pins and it immediately put her right at the center of the media's attraction.

This "Safety Pin" dress was later voted as the greatest red carpet gown of all time.

An year later, she was signed up by Estee Lauder to model for their products. And since then, she has been an icon for them - helping them sell their stuff across the world. 

Most famously, she helped them sold their perfumes - becoming a style icon. Sensuous and Pleasures were immensely successful.

Liz Hurley also supports Estee Lauder's breast cancer awareness campaign.

All of this happened much before I knew someone called Liz Hurley ever existed. That was when she starred in a movie named Bedazzled. A review of this movie introduced me to her.

She split from Hugh Grant in 2000 and had a baby with Steve Bing in 2002. Later in 2002, she started dating Indian business man Arun Nayar.

Her relationship with Arun also went through intense media scrutiny. They finally married in India in the year 2007.

All through these years - till date, she remained good friends with Hugh Grant.

And after her much publicized marriage to Arun, she announced that she had split form him in late 2010. And this was via Twitter - the new age communication media.

And if you are wondering what had possibly triggered this, then you should have a look at the picture below. 

This was at the races in Melbourne in July last year.  If Liz is famous, so is he. He is none other than Shane Warne - the greatest spinner in the world of cricket in the last 25 years.   

Since then, the media has been intensely speculating the nature of the relationship between the British starlet and the Aussie spinner.

They had been keeping their long distance relationship alive with a lot of tweets. And when the Liz decided to go to Australia to meet Warnie, the media was all gung-ho. Her visit has made it right to the front pages of the tabloids.

What is it about Liz which makes her immensely attractive? Is it her charm or is it her intelligence? Is it her beauty or is it her persona? What makes her be in the media's spotlight continuously? 

Keep contemplating.

So here is Ms. Hurley - going from strength to strength - becoming a hugely sucessfull social celebrity. And if she does end up marrying Warne, then she is bound to be a darling of the Aussie masses.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

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Click here for India wins Cricket World Cup 2011
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Click here for a view on the finals

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In India, they say - Cricket is a religion. And Sachin is the God.

For the unknowns, Cricket is a game. And Sachin Tendulkar is the most cherished player in Indian cricket.

And for the knowns, this introduction is not needed. 

What also is not needed is a reminder that the biggest festival in the game of cricket - The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 - is set to start in the less than 10 days from now in the Indian Sub-continent.

The World Cup will be hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh jointly. Pakistan was initially decided as one of the co-host. But a spate of terror attacks in the country in 2009 resulted in Pakistan losing its chance to be one of the co-hosts.

Stumpy will be the Mascot for this World Cup.

Cricket is a game which is played most commonly in the Commonwealth nations. Considering this, you will see most of the nations participating in the game to be Commonwealth nations. The Netherlands in the exception.

Fourteen nations will be participating in this year's World Cup. Four of them are the associate members of the ICC while the remaining ten are the permanent members.

The World Cup will be played over 42 days - starting 19th Feb 2011. The finals are scheduled in Mumbai on 2nd April 2011.

The matches will be played across 13 stadiums across the 3 nations - 8 in India, 3 in Sri Lanka and 2 in Bangladesh.

What makes this Cup special is the fact that it is 10th edition of the Cricket World Cup.

What makes it special for me and you is the fact that it will be played in our country. India as a co host are one of the favorites to win the World Cup.

Back in 1983, India won the third edition of the Cup in England - beating the mighty West Indies.

Four years later, the Cup travelled to India. Australia won the Reliance World Cup in 1987.

Circa 1992, the Cup was played in Australia and New Zealand. Pakistan, under the able leadership of Imran Khan, emerged as the victors.

The Cup was back on the Indian Sub-continent in 1996. India managed to reach the semi-finals but were blown away by the eventual winners - Sri Lanka.

Later in 1999 and 2003, Australia were the champions. They played like lions - under the leadership of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

The 2007 World Cup is the one of which I have the faintest of the memories. Played in distant West Indies, I don't think I even managed to see a single match. Australia were the winners once again.

But off late, the Australians are no longer the ruthless warriors.

India, under the wings of their charismatic captain, M.S. Dhoni are the new superstars. At this moment, they are right at the top of the ICC rankings.

The draw is out and each group comprises of 7 nations - with round robin games to be played between each country.

In Group A - Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan - look like the favorites to go into the knock out stages.

In Group B, you have India, England, South Africa and West Indies looking like the most likely candidates for the next stage.

But in a stage big as the Word Cup, you have a few rookie nations who can upset the applecart of these biggies. Bangladesh, Ireland, Kenya and Zimbabwe have the capability to beat these star nations.

As always, all of India hopes and prays that India will win the World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar - at the age of 37 - will be playing in his sixth and last World Cup. And he would definitely like to crown his superb career record by winning the World Cup for India. 

And with the final to be played in Bombay a.k.a. Mumbai, Sachin will just have one thing on his mind for the next month and a half - lifting the Cup with his proud hands.

Chitrangada Singh

"Ohh My God!!!". 

This is what I said when I looked at this picture of hers less than 24 hours back.

She is none other than Chitrangada Singh.

I was reading a new article which had her interview. It said - her name meant - someone with unique features. I wouldn't disagree.

All of 34 years, the Indian actress has been on silver screen for the last 8 years. Yet she has acted in just 5 films.

Six years back, she made a stunning debut in the film - Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (A Thousand Such Wishes). Her role as Geeta Rao received widespread appreciation.

In this movie, she didn't dress up in alluring clothes. Or didn't have any enticing make up. Yet, I found her amazingly attractive.

A month back, I wrote about Attraction. And contemplated why someone is attracted towards someone.

It's very difficult to say why someone is attracted to someone. And Chitrangada is that someone for me.

After 2005, Chitrangada took a hiatus from making movies. 

And when she made her comeback in 2008, starring in Sorry Bhai, I made a beeline to watch her movie on the first weekend.

And then she disappeared again. Only to come back again in 2011.

Starring in Yeh Saali Zindagi, she is making waves again.

So what is it about Chitrangada which makes her so enamoring, so tempting, so alluring, so charismatic??

Is it her eyes - which makes you drown in them??

Or is it her dusky looks, coupled with a messy hairstyle which gives her that desirable look?

Or is it her oomph factor - elegantly conveyed in the snap below - which would give the super models a run for their money?

Or her cute smile?

Or is it simply her elegance?

Keep thinking. And let me know if you are attracted towards her.