Dream scenario: Hosts, 3 Asian teams in semis

London, So, three teams from Asia in the semifinals, plus England. In terms of the success of the tournament, this is a dream come true for the organisers. Not too long back, last month, ICC faced a horrifying scenario — India delayed their confirmation for the tournament. And once they declared they’d be here to defend their title, the mood lifted — the sponsors suddenly became more interested, and day by day their numbers increased.
India became the third team to get into the last four, after England and Bangladesh. Tomorrow, the fourth spot will be confirmed — it will be either Sri Lanka or Pakistan who’d make it through. Globally, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh account for the biggest chunk of fans of the sport — and definitely the most passionate. The presence of three of these four teams in the semifinals guarantees unprecedented interest and eyeballs.
“This will be fun!” says Mohammad Islam, a restaurateur in central London. “I’ve not got the tickets yet, and they’re very difficult to obtain — but I’d go get them at any cost! This is celebration time for Bangladesh!”
Staying put
The Indian team will be staying in England until the end of the Champions Trophy and depart from here for the West Indies, where it will play an ODI series from June 23.
India have made it to the semifinals, where they will almost certainly play Bangladesh in Birmingham on June 15. India would hope to win that game to reach the final, to be played on June 18. However, even if India lose to Bangladesh, the team would stay put in England, train here for a few days, and depart for the West Indies, probably on June 20. It has been confirmed that Virat Kohli would be part of the Indian team for the West Indies tour, according to a BCCI source. Will coach Anil Kumble — whose contract ends at the end of India’s campaign in the Champions Trophy — be with the team, too? No decision has been made on it yet, says the source.
Indian win before match
Before the match, there was a good omen for India. An impromptu quiz contest between an Indian and a South African fan was won by the Indian, a young student. To be honest, it was an unfair contest.
The Indian representative was helped a great deal by the watchers — Indian fans know their cricket facts very well, and they helped her with every answer. The questions related to ODI cricket, and top scores of players such as Viv Richards and MS Dhoni. On every question, the Indian fans managed to provide India’s contestant the correct answer. And with each correct answer, wild cheers went up for the Indian girl.
Alas, the South African representative got no help from the fans! The prize wasn’t too valuable — just a plain floppy hat — but India’s fans went away happy because with the win, for there was no guarantee of a win in the middle of the ground, against the world’s No. 1 team.