SATURDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2011 BOMBAY TIMES, THE TIMES OF INDIA

21ENTERTAINMENT

Yes, cricket is a religion and natu-rally, we are die-hard addicts ofthe game. Hence, it just doesn’t

get bigger than the World Cup and it’sassociated glory. There’s a lot atstake for the 14 participatingnations, especially the teamsof the Asian subcontinent —India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka andBangladesh considering thatmatches will be played onhome territory and the conse-quent public support and pres-sure to win. One also cannotdeny the might of the big dad-dies of the cricketing worldnamely Australia, South Africaand England. But when it comesto astrological predictions, venueand crowd support comes a dis-tant second to planetary align-ments, birth dates and jersey num-bers. Here, some of the city’s mostfamous fortune tellers predict theirfavourites for a scintillating finale tothe sporting extravaganza. Don’t for-get to keep this story alongside yourcricket schedule.

BEJAN DARUWALLA:Mahendra SinghDhoni’s birth dateis July 7 and thestars greatly favourhim. Also, there are14 teams in the run-ning and seven, whichis Dhoni’s number isexactly half of 14. Thatapart, this year is 2011.The numbers seven and11 are born friends.

Seven is the number of Neptune and 11, thenumber of the moon. Both these are born

sweet-hearts.Hence,there are51 percentchancesof Dhonigainingsuccessand get-ting thecup home.India’s clos-est rival willbe SouthAfrica. Infact, therewill be a closetie betweenthese twocountries. But

the matchesbeing in the

Asian sub-conti-nent, India will

have a psychologi-cal advantage over

South Africa.But remember, in

love and in cricket,even Daruwalla can

lose his wicket.

ANUPAM V KAPIL:The possibilities of Indiawinning are very remote.MS Dhoni’s personal yearnine matches with India’spersonal year nine, but wehave to keep in mind thatthe kabala name vibrationof the Cup and Australia isnumber 4! That India willmake it to the semi-finals

is almost sure.INDIA’s personal year is 915.8.19476+8+2011 =2025=9 and MS Dhoni’s personal year is also 97.7.19817+7+2011=2025=9

And if at all this is the only key in the numbersthat can point to a hidden destiny, whichdespite his individual performance not beinggood, may offer some hope. Another coinci-dence is that he is the only player whose per-sonal year is nine in the whole team! Usually,nineis not supposed to be an easy number in apersonal year and it has not been an easy yearfor India too. Despite so many scams, it is stillmanaging to grow… so if that is a coincidence,we should wait and see.

SANJAY JUMAANI:Australia adds up to number four just like 2011does. Also captain Ricky Ponting (birth date19/11/1974) is a number one (the number of sunand leadership) and he is in his 37th year (again

adding up to number one).Hence, Australia is definite-ly a team to watch out for.West Indies may also be thedark horse that can causemany upsets this time.

Unfortunately, India is notfavoured by the stars thistime. Here’s why: 3, 6 and 9are India’s lucky numbers.

They are in one family and have worked won-ders for the country in the past. 1947(Independence year) equals to three. 15(Independence day) adds up to to 6. 1983 (WorldCup) adds up to number three. Kapil Dev (birthdate Jan 6) is a number 6. 1986 (Asian Cup) also

adds up to number 6. After 24 (which adds tonumber 6) long

years, in 2010(which adds tonumber 3) wewon the Asia

Cup again. 2007 (T20 World Cup) adds up tonumber nine. However, 2011 adds to a 4. Also, weare currently in our 64th year of Independence(six and four adding up to number one). Hencethere is no three, six or nine magic anywhere.Yes, the Indian cricketers follow numerologyand will be wearing their lucky jersey numbers,but they will have to work harder.

MUNISHA KHATWANI: My bet is on either India orSouth Africa. Their cardshave come out as thestrongest contenders. Yes,there could be a surpriseunderdog but these twoteams have the cards of theworld and sun which trans-late into success and victo-ry (India, the card of theworld and South Africa the

card of the sun). These two incidentally are thestrongest cards in the tarot sign. Then, ofcourse, there are factors like playing on hometurf, emotional support, public pressure, that itcould be Sachin Tendulkar’s last world up andunlike during the last WC, this time around hiscards are very positive, that are also working inIndia’s favour. Another reason why I have agood feeling about South Africa is because theyhave not won a World Cup for a while now andthey may just emerge as winners.Unfortunately, both these teams are in the num-ber one position and hence, it’s difficult for meto pick just one.

BHAVIKK SANGGHVI:Two of the strongest con-tenders are Australia andthe West Indies. Here’s why.2011 is the year of Rahu.Hence, it’s very lucky forpeople and places connect-ed with the numbers 1, 2, 4and 7. Australia is a num-ber 22 which adds up to

four. Also, captain Ricky Ponting birth datemakes him a number 1 person and he’s runningin his 37th year which again adds up to number1. All this puts his team’s destiny in sync withWorld Cup glory.

As for the West Indies, the country number is37 which again adds up to a number one. 37 is apowerful octave of num-

ber 1. Thenthere’s the cap-tain, Darren

Sammy (birth date 20/12/1983) who is runningin his 28th year which again makes him a num-ber 1. The finals of the WC will be on April 2,2011 which adds up to number 2, the compoundnumber of that date adds up to number 1. If theWest Indies reach the finals, there is everychance of them excelling.

India unfortunately is a number three.However, captain Dhoni being a number 7 couldsee us perform well. But, the finals seem a dis-tant possibility.

VIPUL SAXENA:India has a great chance ofearning a spot in thefinals. Based on the chartsof Dhoni and Tendulkar, Isee rahu and ketu playingdominant roles (ketu forDhoni and rahu forTendulkar). This combina-tion gives unexpectedresults. However, it mayalso not allow India to winover the match. The datesof most of India’s matches

are very favourable except for the matches withSouth Africa and England. Those will be criti-cal days and the Indian team will have to workextra hard to succeed. As for Australia’s captainRicky Ponting, his charts are very strong andthe positioning of the planets and timing too isfavourable for his team.

rachel.fernandes@timesgroup.com

It’s not easy recovering afteryou’ve been slapped to the bound-ary by a rampaging batsman. It’s

worse when he’s pointing his bat tothe ropes as if to say that’s whereevery ball belongs. The year was 1996and the Indian seamer at the receiv-ing end, Venkatesh Prasad, showedthe world how you respond as hebowled the Pakistani batsman AamirSohail with the very next ball andchose to display any emotion onlyafter that, as he pointed the batsmanto the dressing room.

One needs to display controlledaggression in cricket, says this for-mer bowling coach of the Indiancricket team, who’s currently thrownhis lot behind Anil Kumble and hismen to ensure that the matches inBangalore go smoothly. He says, “Youhave to be ruthless and have somefire in the belly to come out tops. Andthis time round, we’re ideally placedto use all our resources to win theCup. Body language is important incricket as the opposition is bound toget some cues from it. One needs todisplay a positive demeanour and bein a position to channelise youraggression. Otherwise, the aggres-sion will get the better of you. Andthere’s no one better than CaptainCool MS Dhoni to lead the way wherethis aspect is concerned. He’s aggres-

sive but really cool as a leader. Heremains calm and doesn’t add anypressure on the players, allowingthem to give their best.”

So is Sreesanth just what the doc-tor ordered to give India that shot inthe arm where aggression is con-cerned? “I would rate Sreesanth thebest bowler in the line-up, but hisproblem is his aggression,” saysVenkatesh, “I mean, we do haveZaheer Khan whose strength is hisexperience. Zak’s mastered the art ofhandling any situation, but stillthere’s no one who can use the creaseas well as Sreesanth and bowl thoselethal outswingers to right-handedbatsmen. If only Sreesanth couldchannelise his aggression, he’d bedeadly.”

On what India has that other teamsdon’t, Venkatesh says, “We under-stand the conditions best. The fact

that we’re playing at home shouldgive us that extra confidence.” OnYusuf Pathan he says, “If he gets 20runs on board, he’ll decimate anyteam. I have never seen a hitter likehim. He’s strong, aggressive andwhen he winds up his high backlift,he can give nightmares to the opposi-tion.”

How does he think Team Indiashould handle the aggression thatother teams will be throwing at theIndian team, mainly by way of shortstuff ? Venkatesh replies, “TheAussies and the South Africans havethe arsenal to fire short ones at us,and they will. But the knowledge ofthis can work to our advantage. Ouractual worry will be our fielding. Ifwe can tighten ourselves on thatfront, this Cup is ours!”

Edison Thomas I TNN

edison.thomas@timesgroup.com

S Sathish

India, Australia, South Africa orEngland? Or will it be another teamaltogether? Fortune tellers take their pick. Rachel Fernandes reports...

Who will win the

World Cup? World Cup?

Which team won the 1996 World Cup?Sri Lanka cricket team, led by Arjuna

Ranatunga, won the 1996 World Cup, whichwas jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and SriLanka.

How many centuries has SachinTendulkar scored in his World Cup

career?Sachin Tendulkar has scored 4 centuries in fiveeditions of World Cup.

Who was Pakistan`s captain in 2003World Cup?

Waqar Younis, the current Pakistan coach,headed Pakistan campaign in 2003 World Cupat South Africa.

Which batsman holds the record formost runs in all World Cup matches?

Sachin Tendulkar has scored 1796 runs in 36matches so far at a staggering average of 57.93

Who was declared the Man of theMatch in 1983 World Cup final?

M Amarnath (India)

Against which team did India win theironly game in the 1975 World Cup?

India beat East Africa by 10 wickets in 1975World Cup.

How many runs did Sachin Tendulkarscore in the 1996 World Cup?

Sachin scored 523 runs in 7 matches at a stag-gering average of 87.16 during the 1996 crick-

et World Cup.

Who was the highest wicket-taker in1983 World Cup?

Indian medium-pacer Roger Binny was thehighest wicket-taker in 1983 World Cup with 18wickets to his name.

Who was the first cricketer to takehat-trick in World Cup tournament?

The first hat-trick at the World Cup was taken byIndian bowler Chetan Sharma against NewZealand in 1987.

Who is the highest wicket taker in allWorld Cup so far?

Glenn McGrath (71)

Cricket fever is upon us! Update your knowledge about the game with these interesting facts

Brush up your World Cup trivia!

Fire in the belly!Venkatesh Prasad talks about this essential quality that’ll help us win the World Cup

KEEP IT COOL:Venkatesh Prasad

RARING TO GO: Captains ofthe teams participating inthe World Cup

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