Mumbai fans feel left out of cricket World Cup

After the cricket World Cup schedule was announced a couple of months ago, cricket buffs in the city swiftly downloaded the schedule to see if there were any India matches taking place in their home city. After all, India is one of the host countries for the 10th World Cup. But Mumbaikars were in for a rude shock. The schedule did not have even one match featuring the Indian team at the Wankhede Stadium, which will be playing host to the World Cup in its new avatar.

The fact that the city will be the venue for the final World Cup match has done little to lift the spirit of disappointed cricket-crazy Mumbaikars. Vanessa Abhishek, lawyer, said, “I am extremely disappointed that there are no home matches are being held in Mumbai. I understand that the final will be in Mumbai, but I believe that there should have been at least one match featuring the India team in the city.”

PR manager, Bratin Roy seconds Vanessa, and states that he would have bought tickets if the host country was playing in the city. “I want to watch the match in Mumbai when India is playing, otherwise it really doesn’t make sense for me to go for some other country’s match. I might as well sit and watch them in the comfort of my home”.

What further saddens them is that there are two India matches being held in Bangalore. Assistant manager, Russell Pinto said, “This is preposterous. I don’t see why the Eden Gardens game couldn’t be rescheduled to Mumbai, especially since there isn’t any single big game until the final. Pinto further adds, “I don’t know how the organisers could make such a mistake.”

If all this wasn’t enough, what makes it worse is the thought that this might be Sachin Tendulkar’s last World Cup. And for Mumbaikars, not getting to watch the Master Blaster playing live is disheartening. “Just for this reason, Mumbai deserved a home match even more. Now, let’s just hope that India reaches the finals,” says Vanessa.

The only hope that can cheer up Mumbaikars is if India makes it to the final and plays in their city. Then for them the World Cup will definitely be worth a live watch.

Can India bring the trophy home?

 Yes, we can!
I do believe that we can bring the World Cup home this year. First of all, we are playing on home ground and that adds to a lot of enthusiasm and motivation. Secondly, Dhoni is an extremely effective captain and has proved to be very lucky for our team in the past. Our batting strength is good.
Shrikanth K, 39

Chances are less
The Indian team being the favourites to win has me a little worried. I don’t think our team can withstand that kind of pressure. Also, I think there is a lot of scope for improvement at our bowling end. I think South Africa has a great chance of winning the World Cup this year.
Sonam Nath, 23

We can’t handle the pressure
Although we look like a strong and formidable team on paper, it’s been proven that we tend to falter under pressure, especially in the end stages of a tournament. So I am not really sure if we can bring the World Cup home. According to me, Australia has a bright chance of winning the World Cup. Those guys know their game well and perform exceedingly well under pressure.
Yogesh Kashalkar, 26

What are your World Cup plans?

More the merrier
Both my husband and I are cricket fans. We are planning to gather all our friends and family who are just as cricket-crazy as us and watch as many matches on the big screen at a lounge bar as possible. When it comes to watching a match, it’s always more the merrier.
Purnima Verma, 44

Exams can wait 
For the World Cup, the institute authorities, on the request of the student body, are screening all the matches at the convocation hall. And with the kind of cricket-crazy crowd at IIT, you can expect the hall to be packed despite the fact that we have examinations going on.
Aditi Jain, 21

Will certainly watch all the matches
 I’ve been playing cricket all my life, except when work has kept me away. The Ranji Trophy was named after my great granduncle and the Duleep Trophy was named after my uncle. So I’ve grown up in a very cricket-crazy atmosphere. I will certainly be watching as many matches as I can on the grounds but if not, then definitely on TV. This is a rare event for us, so there’s enormous enthusiasm, more so for the matches that India plays.
RK Sukhdevsinhji, 74