Top India Sports Posts of 2011

By Will Davies

It?s been a packed year for sports fans in India, and broadly-speaking a cheerful one, particularly in early April when the whole country erupted in celebration as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Men in Blue won the Cricket World Cup in a sizzling final in Mumbai. The Formula One Grand Prix on the outskirts of Delhi was also a highlight of the sporting year, as India laid some of those Commonwealth Games ghosts to rest with a well-organized and widely-watched event.

Cricket, unsurprisingly, remains far and away the sport of choice in India but it wasn?t just the players on the pitch grabbing headlines. Cheerleaders did, too.

Here?s a look at some of the sports posts you read the most on India Real Time:

1. India in World Cup Final ? This live blog of the World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan generated more hits than the final itself, as the two big rivals ? both on and off the cricket pitch ? fought it out for a place in the final, and history.

2. India Wins Cricket World Cup ? Sticking with the cricket theme here, unsurprisingly, with a live blog of the World Cup final in Mumbai in April. A nation?s prayers were answered when M.S. Dhoni smashed that historic six to beat Sri Lanka and win India the World Cup for the first time since Kapil Dev?s team won at Lord?s in 1983.

3. India Beats Australia by 5 Wickets ? We did say cricket remains the sport of choice in India. Again, readers tuned in for the World Cup, this time it was the quarterfinal between India and Australia, in which the hosts overcame a century by Ricky Ponting to secure a spot in the semifinal against Pakistan.

4. A Ferrari for Dhoni? ? India?s cricket captain M.S. Dhoni didn?t just get his hands on the World Cup this year, he also got hold of a red Ferrari 599 GTO with an Indian tricolor on the hood for good measure.

5. Mumbai Indians Cheerleader Sacked for ?Secret? Diary ? A South African cheerleader for Indian Premier League team, the Mumbai Indians, was sacked and deported after writing about the off-field antics of some party-loving cricketers in a blog.

6. Five Reasons to Hate Sachin Tendulkar ? This tongue-in-cheek look at the ever-popular Little Master was intended to demonstrate that it?s impossible to think up even five decent reasons to dislike this man loved by millions. Some of our readers didn?t get the joke.

7. Records Broken at IPL Auction but Legends Miss Out ? The Indian Premier League auction grabbed headlines after franchises paid record sums to secure the services of some of the world?s top cricketers. Can you remember who got the biggest deal?

8. The Top Ten Rivalries in Global Sports ? Ahead of the India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal, we took a look at some of the other great rivalries in sports.

9. India?s F1: What Would Buddha Think? ? Finally, a non-cricket related post taking a look at the new logo for the Buddh International Circuit used for India?s inaugural Formula One Grand Prix. The F1 track has been widely praised as one of the best in the world. The logo hasn?t.

10. Mr. Dhoni, My Wife Is Mad at You ? The night India won the World Cup, crowds thronged the streets and threw a once-in-a-lifetime party. It was a fantastic occasion, unless you were trying to get to the airport.

You can follow Will and India Real Time on Twitter @WillMHDavies and @indiarealtime.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/12/30/top-india-sports-posts-of-2011/?mod=WSJBlog

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