Cricket is a unifying religion in India, a nation of vast religious and cultural diversities and Sachin Tendulkar its undisputed demigod. The greatest modern batsman the game has ever seen— and a man carrying a billion hopes and expectations every time he walks out to the center, has come out for the first time in support of the Tiger Conservation Program in the country.

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Tendulkar dedicated his brilliant innings of 160 to the cause of Tiger Conservation and asked people to help restore the habitat of a vanishing Tiger. So why is one sportsperson’s call out to the people of one nation to save the Tiger that significant? He told the media that at the start of the century there were nearly 40,000 tigers in India, which were now reduced to 17,000. He compared the situation to his time in school when he was told there were once dinosaurs and hoped we dint have to tell future generations about tigers the same way.

With the savvy media already picking up on the issue in a big way and youngsters talking about it, this probably is the most meaningful step towards tiger conservation in India taken in a long, long time!

Star-power and celebrity endorsement of a green and planet-friendly cause always help propel it into spotlight, but Sachin Tendulkar is much beyond a ‘star’ in the region. He has been a model ambassador for the sport for 20 years that he has played, has stayed on the pinnacle of the sport for all those years and most importantly is one individual whose words are repeated by the media a million times over and taken to heart by everyone who is both a fan of the game and otherwise.

The Indian Cricket Team has officially endorsed the tiger conservation campaign on its tour to New Zealand and even has a poster on its dressing room that says ‘Extinction is forever’.

We’re game!

Yeah, I get the idea about saving the animals, going green, being eco-friendly, going on strike, protesting naked, all those things, after all that’s the idea behind GreenPacks.

Call it a peace treaty, a temporary armistice, a break in the action, down time, chill time … whatever.

India and Pakistan are playing each other in cricket.

There are bats, bowlers, wickets, pitches, strikers and non-strikers, runs, fielders, outs and tea.

The match can go on for three days and nobody will win and still everyone will go home happy … unless, of course, somebody does win.

If India beats Pakistan or Pakistan beats India in this second most popular sport in the world (football/soccer is number one) then the world falls on the brink of nuclear destruction. These countries take their cricket matches seriously. And all the world worries even after the score is published – Who won?

For now -

India won the toss and opted to bat (is it an option to not bat?) against Pakistan in the second match of the triangular (I thought the field was oval shaped) one-day series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.

India have included uncapped (as opposed to the guys who wear caps?) batsman Yusuf Pathan in the team for their first match of the tournament. (I thought it was the second match. I’m confused.)

Pakistan has made one change to the squad that beat hosts Bangladesh by 70 runs in the opening match on Sunday, with all-rounder Rao Iftikhar replacing Fawad Alam.

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