‘If India wins the toss, they win the match!’
On the eve of a blockbuster match between Australia and defending champions India in the World Cup Semi Final, Sourav “Dada” Ganguly delighted the audience at Maharajah’s Havelis in Quakers Hill as he answered a number of questions thrown at him.
Maharajah’s Havelis’ is well known for hosting the big names and last night was no different. Though it must be said, there was an almost ‘West Indian’ casualness about the whole evening. The proceedings were delayed and many could relate to the common “Indian standard time” stereotype. There was a live cross being performed to India and “Dada” was placed in the hot seat. He had to remain patient as he would have done playing test cricket, as there were technical difficulties and further delays before proceedings could finally commence.
The audience was a mix of high profile Indian business men, local & international media and those close to Satinder Benepal, the restaurant’s owner.
Sourav Ganguly spoke about how India will be up for the challenge, however was not prepared to pick a favourite. “I had said India will defeat South Africa and they did. But this match – it will be a tough game. It’s the semi-finals and so it’s a 50-50 contest.” He then paused. Then, there was a twinkle in his eye as he smiled and said, “But if India wins the toss, they win the match,” which was met with rapturous applause. Ganguly thought India had played good cricket thus far and were well balanced.
He believed crowd support had a major role to play in India’s World Cup Success. All of India’s matches in the World Cup have been close to sell-outs meaning India feel more at home. “The crowd support from the fans has been fantastic. That has really got the team going,” said Ganguly. To that extend, India’s numerous supporter groups led by the Swami Army originating in Australia and the Bharat Army from UK have ensured substantial support at each of India’s matches. And it is not just their presence that has an effect – but also their chants which can make opponents feel uneasy fielding anywhere near the boundary.
Dada spoke about the dangers of Warner, Maxwell & Smith and how India needed to find a way to keep those players quite. He also revealed that he enjoyed bowling and his favourite wicket was the 100th of his career whilst his most memorable century was his fairy-tale debut at Lord’s.
The atmosphere of the evening was further enhanced by the presence of two Dholis, which has now become synonymous with this summer of cricket. They have featured in all of India’s matches and have been a welcome enhancement to the audience experience at grounds. They will again have a major role to play in the Semi Final as India’s supporters aim to drown out the SCG in a cacophony of noise unlike anything seen before in this nation.
India’s presence at the SCG will be unrelenting – both on and off the field. Whilst the fans will hold a vice like grip over Australia from the stands, it will be up to MS Dhoni’s men to fight fire with fire and win the battles on the ground. India is yet to defeat Australia in almost four months of being in the country. That will count for little and is likely to be forgotten if India turn up at the SCG and win. No one gave India a chance before the World Cup. The batsmen were said to be out of their depths and the bowlers ragged and wrecked after a gruelling test series. But Team India has proved the critics wrong. The punters place Australia as firm favourites today. And that will suit MS Dhoni’s men just fine. India has surprised a lot of people in this World Cup campaign. So, it can be fair to say that you can expect the unexpected for this match too!
Maharajah’s Havelis recently opened the ‘Maharaja’s Bar’ which is a fully stocked bar making this a perfect venue to watch all the cricket on the big screens in-house. In addition, the restaurant serves a variety of North Indian dishes.
Semi-Final Match Special:
There is an amazing deal for fans at the Maharajah Bar today during the match.
If you buy one drink, you get another one free!*
They are also serving FREE COCKTAILS throughout the match!
Navneet Ganesh is the founder of Infinity Cricket, a leading cricket organisation. He is passionate about the sport and its development. He founded Infinity Cricket in 2010 with a vision of ‘Connecting people through Cricket.’ Infinity Cricket organizes Australia’s premier ‘open’ T20 cricket events at the grassroots level and has a presence currently in two cities: Melbourne & Brisbane. Infinity Cricket will be launching in Sydney in 2015. Navneet is also a passionate cricket writer.
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Web: www.infinityt20cricket.com
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