The Hindi word aadhar means foundation and it was ironic that Infosys co-founder and the face of the erstwhile UPA government’s Aadhar scheme, Nandan Nilekani yesterday spoke of the good foundation the Indian cricket has made for itself in this World Cup.

Nandan Nilekani

Here for the India-New Zealand Business Summit, Nilekani said that he hoped Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men could win the World Cup again. “They have begun the tournament well and that’s a good foundation. I hope they can go on to win it now. I’m keen to watch Saturday’s match at Eden Park,” Nilekani told mid-day at the Cloud at Queen’s Wharf here following yesterday’s summit attended by top dignitaries including New Zealand Prime Minister John Key besides other ministers, Parliamentarians and businessmen, who discussed the enormous business and trading prospects between the two nations.

B'desh keep Indian media on pins
The travelling Indian media contingent was keenly following the second half proceedings of the Bangladesh vs New Zealand match on TV at the Eden Park media centre here yesterday as NZ lost a couple of quick wickets in their chase of the 289. Most were hoping that Bangladesh don’t win. Not because they have anything against Bangladesh, but the scribes were worried that a Bangladesh win would upset their travel plans out of Auckland. Most Indian journalists have booked their flights from Auckland to Melbourne, having done their calculations and arrived at the conclusion that India will play Bangladesh at the MCG in the quarter-finals on March 19. However, a Bangladesh win would change things and pit India against possibly Sri Lanka at Sydney leading to a change in travel schedule and last-minute chaos in hotel bookings for the scribes, who have already travelled across the length and breadth of Australia and New Zealand throughout this tournament. Eventually, NZ won by three wickets and the India-Bangladesh fixture was confirmed, allowing the journalists to heave a sigh of relief.