Handicapped cricket fan's novel prayer for Team India

Chennai, Mar 16 (UNI) Pundits or rather columnists, ardent fans and even professional bookies look at India after the defending champions Australia, the two in a row winners, as favourites to lift the coveted World Cup being played in the West Indies.

And in cricket crazy Chennai, no prayer is being left unsaid, so to speak, to ensure that Team India would repeat its 1983 feat of lifting the cup. What is most novel about the prayers for the 'Men in Blue' to emerge victorious is the feat undertaken by 23-year-old handicapped L Arun, who went around blind-fold on a motorcycle.

His 15 km ride in the city was his contibution to the Indian team. 'Do the magic, bring the World Cup', was his message, as he told UNI, with people watching in wonder as he rode through the streets.

As a good omen for the team, Arun began the ride from a Ganesh temple in the prescincts of the M A Chidambaram stadium here, which has hosted three World Cup matches in the past.

'Being an ardent cricket fan, I wanted to pray and cheer for the Indian team in a novel way. That is why I did this', he said.

And that is not all. Arun, who is also a magician, has planned another novel feat. Ten days before the final, he would 'foresee' what curtain raiser a particular newspaper would be writing, including the headline. 'I would write down the points myself and put the paper away in a box. I will take it out on the day of the final and you can see that the points will match', he claimed.

UNI