The Wareblog

There could not have been a better occasion for a champion to show his class, especially for the sake of fans like me who have been waiting for the same for almost an eternity.!

The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ (He’s probably too fast for the tag anyways) as they call him, chose such an opportune moment to vindicate his class and passion for the game and on the receiving end were the Delhi IPL team.

With the first half of the match witnessing paltry yet dogged batsmanship from the Calcutta team, the bowlers and the fieldsmen had to perhaps play the match of their lives and am glad that they did and in doing so gave the spectators moments that would become the highlight of this edition of the IPL when seen in retrospection.

But the whole show was setup by a man who had been on the receiving end of blow after blow from his national cricket body and had been at the centre-stage of severe criticism with former players even doubting his attitude and sincerity towards the game.

This was his first competitive game in a long time but he chose this very moment to weave magic, the way only he can.!

One would exaggerate to say that he silenced them all with his show but it would only be an understatement if I said that Shoaib Akhtar’s passion and flair for the game is still burning; in fact, it’s exploding..!

And every cricket fan who witnessed yesterday’s match would agree that the champion bowler single-handedly blew up the opposition.

It’s ironical that when the nation was burning with the Pink City blasts and alleging foreign hands in the same, here was a foreign hand which was blasting away in a very different and appropriate way, much to the delight of the masses.

Perhaps, we will never learn to treat our champions the way they are due.

Well played Shoaib Akhtar, the cricketer..!