The fireworks over Delhi – and I guess elsewhere in India – lasted an hour and more on Wednesday night after India beat Pakistan by 29 runs in Mohali in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semifinal. As I drove back home after completing a show on All India Radio, it seemed that flag-waving cricket fans, young and old, were driving to India Gate and Connaught Place, showcasing an outpouring of emotion.
With the final against Sri Lanka just two days away, the team itself may have quickly shifted its focus to calming its nerves and preparing for that massive game against Sri Lanka. But it appeared as if all India, unconcerned yet about the preparations for the final, was in a celebratory mood.
You do not have to strain your ears to hear the continuing buzz on 23-year-old Piyush Chawla and his selection in the Indian team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. After he spent more than two years in the sidelines when others like Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha travelled with India’s Test and one-day international teams, the 23-year-old who answers to the call of Paras after the fabled stone that is reputed to turn all metal it touches to gold was picked ostensibly because captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni sought to have variety in the bowling attack.
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