Campus Craze

Of Bat and Ball- Crickets Victory!

Naziba Basher

"Jitbe eibar jitbe cricket" (Cricket will win this time) - ICC World Cup 2011 theme song.

Cricket has always been considered the national sport of this country. Even though facts say otherwise, people consider cricket as the sport of the nation. Despite that, we hardly ever see many youngsters, especially inthis generation, getting involved in the game. It is either because they just do not find an interest in the whole bat versus ball concept or they do not like sitting in front of the television for seven hours waiting for a result, let alone five days.

A group of students discussing cricket over lunch. Photo: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

They have always been more into football or basketball due to the shorter time and the adrenaline rush when a favourite player gets possession of the ball and runs with full speed to score.

But all of that has changed due to the rise of this underestimated sport in the year 2011. This year has probably been the greatest year for cricket that this generation has witnessed. The rise and fall of teams, the exciting and exhilarating performances of 'underdog' players and so much more have been the highlight of this year in terms of sports. As mentioned in the Bangladeshi version of the theme song written for this year's ICC World Cup by Sheikh Rana, it was indeed cricket's victory, this year, more than anything.

ICC had organised the World Cup 2011 in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka this year. This was the start of the fire that had been ignited for the love of cricket. Since the beginning of the year, Bangladesh had been hyped about the World Cup, decorating the streets with lights and banners and showing support to the Tigers through thick and thin (although there were more bumps than one would have hoped for!).

Throughout the World Cup, the hype went on as fans all over the country supported their favourites such as Bangladesh, South Africa, Pakistan or India. And the betting between friends, the rivalry between colleagues, and the arguments with your father spiced everything up while it lasted. Waiting for Sachin Tendulkar's 100th century and never losing hope on what he might bring to the plate later, watching Muttiah Muralitharan play his last World Cup game and ODI and knowing that they had been blessed to have had the opportunity to watch him play in their lifetime or watching a Kevin O'Brien from Ireland score the fastest World Cup century ever-- whatever the reason might have been, everything about this World Cup brought something different to this country and made new fans.

The hype did not end even after the World Cup was over and India had become the world champions. Everybody then waited eagerly for the Indian Premiere League (IPL). This time, there was more to be excited about-- the T20 format and all the blistering sixes, watching Adam Gilchrist play again, Shakib Al Hasan, our own tiger, being a part of Kolkata Knightriders and so much more. But even when all of this was expected, the IPL kept surprising us as pleasantly as ever. As the young keen fans watched each and every nail biting game, they were awestruck by everything starting from Lasith Malinga's toe-crunching yorkers to Chris Gayles 'bowlers-nightmare' kind of shots. The talk of the town turned into IPL from World Cup in no time. The betting had started again, the arguments, the little fights...the energy did not even get the time to leave properly and it was back full throttle!

After the IPL had passed, fans all over the country thought it was all over. Things got back to normal, youngsters got back to loving football...or so they thought. Soon came the India vs England series, Sri Lanka vs. Australia series and Bangladesh vs. Zimbabwe series. As most football and basketball fans would have hoped to have gotten back into their regular English Premier League and NBA loving times, they could not help but catch a little glimpse of all the cricket that had been going on. Whether they were overjoyed by England defeating India right after they had become world champions or whether they were heartbroken by Bangladesh's performance against Zimbabwe, they were very much involved into what cricket had brought for them whether they liked it or not.

And now, after the long year of cricket here, there and everywhere, we're back to watching the Champions league and waiting for the many more series to come. The city is filled with questions like "When is Kolkata's next game?" or "Did you watch Shakib score that six? Did you see his bowling?” Whether we like it or not, cricket has become a big part of our lives in just one year. It has brought interest in youngsters all around the country to love and respect it. Playing a game of cricket during weekends or hartals, watching an ODI series with friends every other day has become very normal nowadays and to crickets' advantage, the young people are now always involved with this sport somehow or the other. This year cricket has been raised to a completely new level, this year cricket finally earned some respect and this year...cricket was made victorious!

DID YOU KNOW?

Ansel Easton Adams

Ansel Adams, photographer and environmentalist born on February 20, 1902, had somewhat a solitary and unmistakably different childhood, due to his shyness of a broken nose caused by an Earthquake aftershock. He found his joy in nature, as evidenced by his taking long walks in the still-wild reaches of the Golden Gate. When Adams was twelve he taught himself to play the piano and read music. Soon he was taking lessons, and the ardent pursuit of music became his substitute for formal schooling. Although he ultimately gave up music for photography, the piano brought substance, discipline, and structure to his frustrating and erratic youth. Adams' transition from musician to photographer did not happen at once. His passion shifted rapidly after, and the projects and possibilities multiplied. In addition to spending summers photographing in the Sierra Nevada, Adams made several lengthy trips to the Southwest to work with Mary Austin, Grande dame of the western literati. Adams met photographer Paul Strand in 1930, whose images had a powerful impact on Adams and helped to move him away from the "pictorial" style he had favored in the 1920s. Adams began to pursue "straight photography," in which the clarity of the lens was emphasized, and the final print gave no appearance of being manipulated in the camera or the darkroom. Adams was soon to become straight photography's most articulate and insistent champion!

Information Source: Internet.