Saturday, January 27, 2007

Cricket Curry

Although India won the 1983 Prudential World Cup in England with a thumping victory over the West Indies by 43 runs, the cricketing world didn't tak the victory very seriously and termed it as a fluke. So when the Indian cricket team arrived in Australia in the summer of 85, no one gave them any real chance, as the cricket pundits thought that unlike the World Cup the Benson & Hedges was the real thing and would reveal the real thing....
"The ‘Hill’ at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which has now been made into a stand, was notorious for its colourful and vociferous crowds. On the day that India played England in the Benson & Hedges Cup at the SCG, an English fan on the ‘Hill’ displayed a banner saying, “GIVE ‘EM CURRY, DAVID GOWER!” English supporters sought revenge for England’s ignominious semifinal defeat in the 1983 World Cup. Chasing 225 to win, the England asking rate climbed to impossible proportions due to some excellent bowling by the Indian seamers and spinners. The elaborate scoreboard at the SCG, in the place where the asking rate is shown after every over, displayed just one word: PRAY! When India won the match by 86 runs, a banner displayed by a delighted Indian supporter, replying to the England supporter’s ‘Give ‘em Curry’ banner, read, “Did the pressure cooker blow up in your face, Mr. Gower?”
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