Reading & Writing Assignment (5) – My Favourite Sports Moment
If there is only one thing you could do to improve your English, it should be to read a page and write a paragraph every day. Why do we keep saying this in every single assignment in this series? Because it is that important.
What will you do in this assignment? – You would read something (hopefully) entertaining, watch a video on it, and then answer a question.
Today’s situation
One of my favourite sports moments is from 1996 Cricket World Cup quarter-final between India & Pakistan. This was the time when the world of cricket was yet to be shocked by the match-fixing scandals and the entire country was firmly in the grip of cricket fever.
Being one of the hosts (the 1996 world cup was jointly organised by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), the Indian team was running favourite to win the cup. First it was the World Cup, and second, this do or die match (i.e. the quarterfinal) was with our arch rival, Pakistan – one could sense the tension in the air as a nation of 1 Billion sat down to watch the 2nd inning of the match in which Pakistan was chasing the Indian total of 289.
It did not start well for the Indian team. Some master stroke play from the opening pair of Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail (especially by Aamir) seemed to be taking the match (and with it the World Cup hopes) away from India. By the end of the 14th over, Pakistan was comfortably cruising towards victory at 109 runs for the loss of 1 wicket. And then came the 15th over from Venkatesh Prasad which changed the game, and possibly scarred the opposition forever.
Aamir Sohail slashed the 5th delivery of the over towards extra-cover for a boundary and made a hand gesture towards Venkatesh as if asking him to go and fetch the ball. In one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of Cricket, Venkatesh Prasad avenged himself on the very next delivery when he uprooted the off stump of the left-handed batsman and gave him a send-off that he would remember for rest of his life. This momentary loss of concentration by Aamir Sohail and the damage it did to Pakistani players’ confidence proved to be the turning point of the game. Pakistan lost the match, the crowd in Bangalore stadium (where the game was being played) and everywhere else in India erupted in joy, a Pakistani viewer reportedly shot the TV & then himself, and the effigies of Pakistani players were burnt back in Pakistan.
Words can not do justice to the beauty and the adrenaline rush of the moment. You have to watch it to feel the same :)
Question for you– Describe your favourite sports moment (can be from any sport) and also tell why it is your favourite. Please write your answer (min. 100 words) in the comments below.
You can also read fellow students’ answers but do so only after you have submitted your own answer so that you don’t get influenced by what others wrote. We also encourage you to share your feedback, appreciation, and thoughts against others’ answers. Remember, it is a community effort and we are all in it together :). Only when you participate, you can expect others to participate and share feedback on what you wrote. Deal?
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