quick-news

A sigh of release and a intelligence of satisfaction! These could be the likely transformations Shoaib Akhtar might just go through after his much-awaited Indian Premier League’s debut match against Delhi Daredevils. The twists and turns in the pacer’s contentious life seemed to be quite identical with his comeback bowling. From facing a five-year ban on his global career to lastly getting a nod for IPL, Shoaib’s rollercoaster trip to reach the grounds at Eden Gardens in Kolkata has been phenomenal. The infamous bad boy of international cricket - Shoaib Akhtar joined Shah Rukh’s bunch of goons, as he proudly promotes them in one of his TV commercials, and brought the missing charm to the Bollywood star’s depleted team.

Knight Riders very much needed Shoaib’s services and it couldn’t have got better than this day when they had to defend a mere total of 133 against mighty Delhi Daredevils. The force was on bowlers and Riders came out confidently, may be with a cerebral benefit of Shoaib Akhtar being in their playing XI.

Second ball of the primary over by ‘Rawalpindi Express’ triggered his vision entrance at the place where he once got Sachin Tendulkar out on his first ball in 1999 - Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Virender Sehwag was only left guessing and nick the ball to the keeper - Prasanta Saha. The crowd roared with pride and yes, it was Shoaib’s much-awaited reply.

Next was Gautam Gambhir to prize the pacer with his second success. David Hussey made no mistake in helping Shoaib clinching the current-holder of the ‘Orange Cap’. The party had just begun and SRK was only adding on to every bit of it by cheering his team like always. After all, the intense bonding between the two has never been a secret and Shah Rukh Khan made every possible effort to bring back the $425,000 priced player in his Sourav Ganguly-led team.

gratitude to Shoaib Akhtar, Delhi’s AB de Villiers and Manoj Tiwary joined the queue with Gambhir and Sehwag back in the pavilion. He was now on a hat-trick but couldn’t sustain his demolishing act and missed the tempting chance. But, no one really care about the misses, it was Shoaib’s attendance that was being felt by every individual present on his particular day. Knight Riders’ Laxmi Shukla too fetched a pack of four wickets and was also instrumental in handing over the victory to their side.

As expected, the pace lead was confirmed ‘Man of the Match’. What a way to kick start his first season. Now that’s what is called an ideal comeback and a rocking IPL style debut. Shoaib’s winning act would surely shut some of those blabbered mouths for a while. And for the fans, it’s a treat to watch the excitement spread all over the stadium with millions of TV spectators too coming jointly in the dual celebrations of King Khan’s ‘Korbo Lodhbo Jeetbo Re’ group. The feel of Kolkata’s opening match has been unknowingly brought back by Shoaib Akhtar. Welcome Shoaib, greeting on board!