India’s Triumph

M. G. Narasimha Murthy

Cricket’s new ‘avatar’ of Twenty20,
Condensed game with intensity -
Daring strokes and runs in plenty
Dhoni ‘sena’s priceless bounty.
Soaring sixes piercing the skies
Like Abdul Kalam’s Agni missiles:
Catches tantalizing on boundary lines,
Hair-breadth run-outs baffling both umpires,
Breathless crowds watching the TV screen
With throbbing pulse and eyes very keen
Their favourite heroes raise the bats
Or quit the field with shattered hopes.
Master blasters falling easy prey
To cunning spinners’ clever turns
And blinding speedsters’ sudden swings.
Jubilant crowds cry for more and more
Hits like Uthappa’s crucial four
That propelled India to the fore:
Mascarenhas madly smashing five sixes
Provoking Yuvraj to wreak vengeance
With six towering sixes and fiery fours
Setting a world record of fifty runs
In two overs, surpassing the wildest dreams!
And Bhajji luring batsmen away from the
crease
Only to be stumped with elan and ease!
Srisanth’s catch, the tournament’s superb climax
Of India’s triumphant World Cup march!
Rejoicing fans expect this stormy trend
To carry cricket to dizzy heights
And bring surprises without end.

* The final match - India vs Pakistan - of the World Cup Twenty20 tournament was played in Johannesburg on 24-9-’07. India won the match by five runs.