Afer a long, painful delay in international sporting activities, suddenly, this June has presented us, the sports lovers, with a plethora of sporting events. A few months back, I had to watch a few matches of the IPL, which I would have never done -- as I hate that circus passed off as cricket-- had my plate been not empty. However, the situation is completely different now. Making the proper choice has become quite tricky, as we have had England vs NZ bilateral test series, ICC World Test Championship Final, Euro, Copa America and WWE Hell In A Cell.
As cricket is the most popular spots in India, let's talk about it first. The WTC Final is now over, and you all know that India has been humbled by the Kiwis. But, what you don't know is that the Indian captain Virat Kohli is a great fan of Odin. You must have watched the film Thor: Ragnarok. In this film, Thor had to cause rebirth of Surtur to stop Hela from harming the people of Asgard. In the process, the people were rescued in a spacecraft, but Asgard was destroyed.
If you are wondering what's the relationship of this film with Virat Kohli, I will remind you of the famous dialogue of Odin which he said to Thor in his vision. He said Asgard is not a place, but it's the people. Virat Kohli also believes India is not a place, but wherever the Indian cricketers go, the place becomes India. That's why he chose 2 spinners -- he would have chosen the third one as well had there been anyone left in the 15 member squad -- on a pitch which was very unkind to the spinners.
It was not as if that the NZ was a formidable side. In fact, I would say, both India and NZ are no where to the alltime great test teams of Clive Lloyd or Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting. There is no great cricketer in either team except Virat Kohli, who is terribly out of form in the last year or so. NZ is a mediocre side with lots of guts and grittiness. They have got a very good thinking captain, who lead from the front. They strategised very well, too.
On the other hand Virat made a huge mistake in choosing the playing eleven, apart from losing the toss, which you can however say was not in his hand. But, these two factors decided the fate of the match even before the first delivery was bowled. In other words, India had no chance whatsoever from the beginning. The other factors are non significant. If Virat is going to show the same kind of adamant attitude of playing two spinners in the forthcoming 5 test match series against England, I am afraid, the results of 2018 (1-4) maybe repeated.
Now, let's move to football. The timings of the Copa America do not suit me. So, I am watching EURO, where very exciting football is being on display. The teams like Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Croatia and Germany have shown great skills, scoring some breathtaking goals. However, if I am to pick only two teams, I would choose Netherlands and France as the favourites to win the cup.
Finally, let's talk about the WWE Hell In A Cell, and to be particular the WWE title match between Drew McIntyre and the All Mighty Bobby Lashley. This match reached great heights, and is one of the best that I have ever seen. Drew dominated the match, but victory was stolen from him by the machinations of MVP. I felt very sad for Drew. Adding insult to injury, he lost his match against the Riddle on next day on Monday night RAW.
