The World cup, 2011 has entered the third week, and this time there have been no major surprises, except for Ireland who have managed to cause quite a stir by causing the only upset of the tournament till now by beating England in a game that saw more than 650 runs being scored. Before the World Cup had actually started, India, England, and Australia were the likeliest to lift the world cup, and most likely in that order too. In the past three weeks, nothing has changed. Most teams are playing as was expected from them.

Kallu Koylewala limped into the living room of his house. “Imarti Rani,” he called out to his wife in a shrill voice wiping the sweat from his bald head. Imarti came into the living room from the kitchen smelling of turmeric and garlic. She looked at her husband’s dark face, his dhoti and kurta, which were white when she had given them to him in the morning and were now almost blackened with coal dust.

I can still remember, as a kid, when I started learning the rules of the game called cricket, I saw a young, lean, kid moving around with the likes of Kapil Dev on his tour to Pakistan. I was learning the game, and it was nice to see a kid of nearly my height playing for the country – at that age it made me feel that even we could play with the so called “season ball”. Watching the likes of Waquar, Wasim and Imran Khan bowl bouncers to this kid, and the determination of this kid to go on and score a fifty against them, was just a start.

Indian Premier League , the money spinner for BCCI, courtesy Lalit Modi, is expanding and how. With the huge success of the tournament , IPL organizers have decided to rope in more teams for more excitement, more matches and – not to forget – to rake in more moolah. So, as of now, Nagpur and Kochi are up for grabs, and the news has been conveniently leaked to the media. “Discussions” regarding the auction have started, and the remaining Bollywood bandwagon who missed the bus last time are all geared up to jump in. Heading the list is Salman “Sallu Bhai” , closely followed by Ajay Devgan and the lovable-but-gone-astray-Munna Bhai, Sanjay Dutt.