2(0) Fast 2(0) Furious !

That's the only way to describe the action at the recently concluded 20 20 World Cup .. fast n furious . This was the inaugural t20 world cup and the authorities could not have asked for a better exhibition of cricket to firmly entrench this new format in every one's mind

They could not have asked for a better start to the tournament as South Africa and the West indies served up a fantastic appetizer to the rest of the tournament ..Chris Gayle made the first (and ironically last ) century of the tournament blasting 10 sixes along the way to get the West Indies to a 200+ score .. Barely had the reverberations of such a pyrotechnic display settled down when the South Africans surpassed it , gettin to the stiff target with consummate ease and 14 balls left . This match set the stage for the rest of the tournament , showcasing stimulating cricket , the innovative dancers , the music , the underlying statistics of the sixes ( the number of them , distance travelled ) and many other novel features

It was the turn of Zimbabwe to steal the spotlight next , when they upset the world champions Australia in a close encounter ..By the time the tournament progressed to the Super 8 stage everyone had come to expect big hitting (as evidenced by sri lanka piling on 260 vs kenya) , close nervy finishes and the possibility of any team being toppled , which the Windies discovered much to their disconcertion as they made a unceremonious round 1 exit .

They very epitome of nervy finishes was provided by The India Pak match in the groups .. The match swung one way , then the next before finally ending in a tie and being resolved India's way by the introduction of crickets equivalent to the penalty shootout :- the bowlout

Come Super 8 time , the action just got more competitive with not too much separating the teams ..The indians stepped it up a notch as well with the fireworks being provided by yuvraj vs england and the bowling doin the job in an excellent match vs the south africans

The semifinals saw pakistan put it past new zealand with ease and india unexpectedly prevailing over the Aussies with a spirited comeback to set up the most electric of matches .. India - Pak , in a world cup final to boot !

The final turned out to be a fitting culmination to the tournament providing a nerve wracking finish and proving that india pakistan games are never done till they are done .. When mizbah choked for the second time in 2 games , after reviving pakistan from the brink, it led to delirious celebrations from indians all over the world

Everyone jumped on the bandwagon announcing ostentatious awards for the cricketers , which were all the more conspicuous by the lack of the same for world champions in other sports , consequently leading to protests by them .

Apart from the fact that India did great in this tournament and won it against all odds , i really loved this tournament for all the entertainment it provided .. i Watched almost all the matches ( having nothing better to do :-P ) and did not really get bored too many times .. A few would even rank right up there with the best ive ever seen , in terms of sheer tension at least .. All the india matches were fantastic and the others dished up some good fun as well... Not too many matches were one-sided , apart from australia stepping it up and totally eviscerating sri lanka when it mattered.

Overall this tournament was one of the most memorable cricket series' i have ever witnessed and it was exactly what was needed after the fiasco that was the 2007 Odi world cup in the West Indies and as a sequitur everyone is talking about 20 20 as the future of this game


PS : I Came up with the title of this post before the issue of India Today was released , juz look @ the date for proof ... which just shows i should be writing for them :-P

PpS : Another good thing that resulted from this tournament was that , although it was heartstopping at times ( or perhaps due to ) , it meant i dont have to cut my nails for a while :-)