Thaindian News

May 17, 2010 (Sampurn Wire):The beauty of cricket! For centuries, this beauty was restricted to the action on the field. However, a certain Mandira Bedi altered the way cricket is viewed. SET Max’s Extraaa Innings didn’t please the purists, but this was mean for family viewing. Cricket and entertainment can coexist together. This was proved by Mandira Bedi.

Leading cue from Bedi is Shonali Nagrani, who has been a regular feature of the cricket tournaments in the last six years. After starting off as a roving reporter, the pretty babe has graduated to hosting pre-match cricket show. There’s nothing “extraa’ about but it’s plain and simply Cricket Crazy.

In the last fortnight, Indian viewers have been subject to some real crazy stuff from the utterly humorous Cyrus Broacha and Nagrani, who’s done well not to be overshadowed by the blabbering Parsi. For the record, Cricket Crazy is a show that precedes every match at the ongoing cricket T20 World Cup in West Indies.

“Cyrus is really a funny guy, one who simply wouldn’t stop with his antics. My job was to provide the calming influence. I’ve done a pretty good job until now. It’s been real fun working with Cyrus. In the beginning, I was little hesitant because Cyrus is known for to be very talkative. In fact, he even told me before hand that this is how he is, so that there’s not trouble once the show begins,” said Nagrani.

Those who’ve witnessed Cricket Crazy must the see sight of Cyrus Broacha playing with a ball throughout the show. Were you comfortable with the catch and throw sessions?

“We all took it very sportingly. Cyrus often threw me a catch while I started talking. This distracted me a lot. However, soon I started intercepting his throws. The men in the studio were all impressed by my catching skills. I used to be called Jonty Rhodes in my school. Here, I dint miss a single catch even while I was wearing a sari,” Nagrani replied.

Not bad for one who’s dressed in a sari? Perhaps, we need to get the great fielder don sari a too, and then put him on the field with Shonali.

“That’s a bad idea. I’ll propose this idea to Rhodes when I bump into him. It would be a great sight to see him in a sari,” the crazy anchor seconded.

-Mayur Lookhar/Sampurn Wire