It was a nail-biting finish at Chepauk when Steve Waugh's Aussies spearheaded by the lethal Glenn McGrath and menacing Jason Gillespie flashed war signs at the small yet vocal contingent of Aussie fans and steamed in to knock over the last few Indian wickets. The whole Test series hung in the balance and in the end, the Indians prevailed thanks to a gritty 22 from stumper Sameer Dighe. After being 0-1 down in the three-Test series Sourav Ganguly had pulled off a coup of which any South American rebel general would have been proud.

It was at that moment that a senior journalist and close friend told me at a sweaty and emotionally charged pressbox that he had not welcomed Ganguly to international cricket when the Bengal southpaw made his debut way back in 1992. In fact, he admitted, that he once wrote that Ganguly's selection was merely a by-product of the unofficial 'quota system' that exists in Indian cricket.

Who can forget the build up in India to the 1999 World Cup in England? Sachin Tendulkar was at his alarming best, Rahul Dravid and Ganguly struck gold with the bat and the middle order was more inventive than ever with Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh at high alert for any rearguard action. A prominent Indian weekly magazine then wrote, "11 reasons why India will win the World Cup." But on June 20, 1999 Steve Waugh had the most coveted one-day trophy in his hands and India was nowhere in the picture.

That article has since become a source of great glee among those who've seen enough cricket in their lives to refrain from making any predictions - especially about the roulette version we call limited overs cricket.

Then there's the case of the most quoted, (if you ask him he would say misquoted) secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Jaywant Yashwant Lele. The diminutive figure has been the spokesperson of the Board for a while now and has provided newspapers and websites with more column inches of humour than most satirists manage in a lifetime. When the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was at its most active, unearthing the darker side of the matchfixing controversy in India, Lele made the most startling statement. "Matchfixing in India? Impossible," he cooed in his inimitable high pitched voice.

A few days later, Mohammad Azharuddin supposedly 'confessed' to the CBI at least four Indian cricketers were slapped with bans that ranged from five years to life. Yes, you're right, it was Lele himself at the press conference when this ban was announced.

What is it then about cricket that makes people say the darndest things only to be proved wrong in the course of time?

The answer to that question is best found in the thriving trade of bookies... Everyone loves a wager, be it legal or illegal. It could involve currency, traded favours, a few glasses of chilled lager or most dangerously, a person's credibility itself. The pure joy however in backing the most unlikely candidate and coming out tops is far in excess of rooting for the leader. Yes, you're right, that's why the moneyed play the stocks instead of cramming their bank accounts full.

With India playing the Standard Bank Triangular Tournament in South Africa one suspects that the stage is set for upsets galore, predictions going awry and a lot of old fashioned tearing the hair out in frustration. Is that what we love most about this great game? No, but it is a direct fall out of what really makes this game tick with Test cricketers, scribes and millions of fans alike - the glorious uncertainty of willow meeting leather.

And that is precisely why we stray from the straight and narrow and reach for the stars. All in the full knowledge that a generous helping of humble pie is always close at hand to be eaten with a contented chuckle.

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