INDIA – The Cricket
Cricket is a team sport born in England, at least in its modern form, and is practiced today mainly in the Commonwealth countries, including obviously India where it is the most popular sport and with the greatest financial interests.
It is practiced with a bat (characterized by a long flat part), ball and glove and is played between 2 teams made up of 11 players each.
The length of the matches can last from hours to several days. A version called Twenty20 was therefore established, lasting about 3/4 hours. This is the formula that is practiced in India and that, after the victory of the Indian National team of the World Cup in 1983, has brought cricket to grow in interest, both sporting and commercial with many live spectators (50-60 thousand per game) and glued in front of the TV (the broadcasting rights are absolutely exorbitant).
The Indian championship –IPL Indian Premier League– has become the richest in the world and therefore attracts the strongest players on the planet with pharaonic engagements. The curiosity is that this championship is made up of only 8 teams and lasts only 2 months, April and May.
How do you play cricket? The game is played between two teams of eleven elements. It is played on a grass field with an oval or rectangular shape, with an area called “pitch” in the center, which represents the launch area and the bases at the perimeter. Each fraction of the game, called “innings”, a team throws and defends against 2 opponents at bat who, once eliminated, are replaced by a teammate until the elimination of the tenth batter. Alternating roles are played between one time and another. The winner is the one who scores the most points, in practice the one who can beat and run better and then not be eliminated in the batting.
The most important roles are the batter, the pitcher, the fielder (who retrieves the batted balls) and the wicket-keeper (who is behind the batter, in an important and strategic position).
An important aspect is however the spirit of the game: there are written rules that include respect for the opponent, for the referees and the traditional values of the game; the prohibition to address disrespectful or offensive words to the referee and to opponents, and above all the absolute condemnation of any violent act between players.
It is therefore a very complete sport, which combines athletics and tactics, all with at the base values of absolute respect towards the opponent.
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