Euphoria ! Bliss! Unparalleled joy! Bonheur ! Felicidad! 11 people on the ground made 1.2 billion people in the country and 1.6 billion people around the world feel all this and more with their stupendous performance in the World cup and specially, in the final.
The final lived up to its billing of being a humdinger between 2 sub-continent teams on a pitch that was tailor made for both teams - a great batting track that took a bit of spin. The match started on a controversial note with no one sure what happened at the toss. If India had lost the game, many would have surely pointed fingers at the toss. Nevertheless, Sangakara won the toss and batted first. The start favored the Indians with Lanka tottering at 60/2 in the 18th over but what everyone witnessed after that was a thorough masterclass performance from probably the most elegant batsman in the World right now - Mahela Jayawardena. I couldn't but help but marvel at the way he caressed the bowl with delightful touch and wrist work on his way to what looked like a match winning century. Mahela's Mahila(his wife, bad joke but not mine!) asking him to stay at the crease after he reached his 50 was an endearing sight and he turned out to be an obedient husband, much to the chagrin of every Indian! As Ian Chappell pointed out, he batted as if he wanted to protect the cover of the ball. The Indian bowling , including the joint leading wicket taker,incomparable Zaheer Khan suffered at the hands of this master and his students. Sri Lanka set up a very very challenging total with 63 coming off the last 5 overs. 275 was the target. A target that had never been chased in any World cup final.The highest total that was successfully chased at the Wankhede under lights was 227. Add the pressure to that and 275 probably looked like a gargantuan 300. Any other match, any other final , this would have been a winning total but not today! 33,000 fans in the stadium prayed and a billion prayed outside the stadium for a Tendulkar century and an Indian win . The former didn't happen but the latter did!
Malinga looked fierce and snapped Sehwag and the God himself, Sachin. Nervousness reached its peak. No finger nail left on any finger. People shifting around nervously to find their "positions" to make sure that the stars were happy with the Indian chase. There were still 5 recognized batsmen. There was Rajni in the stadium that allayed fears of millions of Indians!Add Aamir to that and a cricket fan said you cannot lose when both of them are in the stadium!
Cometh the man, Cometh the hour. There were 2 of them in this case for India. First, the bicycle loving( my friend calls him a bicycle coz' he keeps jumping out of the crease and doesn't know when to stop running!) Gautam Gambhir, whose every over first ball charge worked along with Virat "goggle" Kohli. They ran very hard between the wickets and played with cool heads that belied their age and experience. The Lankan attack looked confused, even the ever reliable Murali struggling to bowl well, slightly aided by the dew. Second, was our very own charismatic, master strategist, the biggest gambler of the team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni who walked in after Kohli fell. People were surprised because they expected Yuvi, the man of the hour to walk in. Dhoni was short of runs, was criticized for his batting, was completely out of sorts with less than 160 runs in the tournament.
Not for nothing is he the most respected cricketer in the country after Tendulkar. He stamped his authority on the match with a fantastic, fabulous, brilliant, outstanding knock. Leading from the front just got a new meaning altogether! He ran fast, looked dehydrated, didn't give up, ran even faster, showed his emotion just once, hit the ball harder than anyone, had an offside helicopter shot and finally ended the game with a massive six.
Both Gambhir and Dhoni were fantastic and led India to a World Cup victory after 28 years. The scenes that followed were hysterical, fans went nuts, the players ran all around (except Munaf!) Insane SMSes followed - one being "Anhoni ko honi kar de, honi ko unhoni, ek jagah jab jama ho teeno, rajani, ghajani aur Dhoni!!" Sachin went around on the victory lap on his teammates' shoulders. Kohli said "Sachin carried the nation's hopes for 21 years, its time we carry him". Dhoni was as frank as ever at the post match conference even admonishing Gambhir for getting out on 97! As Dhoni lifted the World Cup and the champagne flowed, the heart of every Indian sang "Maa, Tujhe Salaam"! People flooded the streets with gay abandon, fireworks lit up the April sky, strangers celebrated wildly with each other, danced and shouted at traffic junctions high fiving one and all who went by. The celebrations continued and will continue(rightly so!) for ages to come. The pictures of the Indian cricket team holding aloft the cup that mattered the most will be etched forever in memory. Its also an Ugadi/Gudi Padwa gift to people celebrating these festivals.
Finally,Dhoni for President ????? I think he will be a super duper president if and when he becomes one!! Bharat mata ki jai!!! Celebrate India! Jai ho!
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
B for Bhajji, C for Catch, D for Drop,G for Gul,M for Misbah, W for Wahab
Millions of fans were treated to a fantastic game of cricket that didn't go down to the wire but was a fabulous game nevertheless with its series of high blood pressure moments, high swearing moments and high fiving(this doesn't exist, so what!) moments!
The stadium and indeed, the city, resembled more of an old fort where the kings and queens, on their thrones, would keenly watch the warriors with daggers and spears on horseback fight it out for ultimate glory with the denizens of the kingdom supporting in the loudest possible manner . Today, the kings and queens were the Prime ministers of the two countries, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the respective cabinets. The warriors were 11 eager players from each country (India and Pakistan) fighting for glory and the denizens were billions of fans around the world watching the game via some technological innovation of the last century or the last decade.
India came out victorious but not before a fabulous fight from Pakistan.When India batted first after winning a crucial toss, things began at a frenetic pace. Sehwag played like he would in the Vasant Kunj ground against Delhi Division 3 cricketers, showing 0(Yes, ZERO) respect to the opposition bowlers ,specially Gul . So that brings us to G for Gul who contributed to the game and in this case, the victory, by getting swatted all over for just over 7 boundaries in his first spell. Even Sachin was a mute spectator till W for Wahab came by and got Sehwag first, then the sun-shades wearing Kohli and the Maharaja Yuvi, all in quick succession. He indeed was the Chupa Rustam because he wasn't supposed to be playing today! Akhtar out, Wahab in, meant a wonderful five-for for the talented south paw. In between these dismissals we had the most important moments represented by D for Drop and C for Catch. Pakistan provided unprecedented competition to Sri Lanka (they dropped Morgan 3 times) by dropping Sachin 4 times!Sachin ain't Morgan to not take advantage ! Add to that, Technology helped him twice with the result that he survived Six times before he made 85 when he was out finally. The Indians were in a bind when Ajmal , Afridi and Hafeez bowled ( and they did so brilliantly!) but somehow scratched around to 260 led by Dhoni's single game, Raina's impressive slog overs stint, Pakistani's friendly fielding and Gul's
At half time when the score read 260, many of us were firmly of the view that India had lost the plot, that they were one spinner short and that they can afford only one of Nehra or Munaf in the playing 11.(A leading newspaper has published a study that suggests India's athletic ability per minute or (AAM) goes down by 37% when both of them are on the field!!)Well, we were all proved wrong thanks to a fantastic team performance , imaginative and aggressive captaincy by Dhoni , some help from the dust bowl at Mohali and some help from the opposition !
M for Munaf( my friend calls him the bowling machine!) bowled a beautiful line to get Hafeez out and later Razzaq. B for Bhajji bowled a fantastic spell to get rid of the mighty dangerous Umar Akmal and Afridi and we thought we were well and truly through. Crucially enough, M for Misbah played a mysteriously scratchy, defensive, later converted to a partly aggressive innings that helped India seal the game! Before the team was reminded of what Misbah was capable of (remember Jo'burg in 20-20 final? ) , the door was shut on our neighbors thanks to an amazing knock where he consumed a lot more than he produced! It was a case of Misbah killing Misbah and for that alone, he deserved the man of the match award!
As the match ended, there was utter chaos and celebration around the Indian team and absolute gloom in the Pakistani camp , that promised so much but didn't deliver in crunch moments. Sonia Gandhi hurrayed, Aamir Khan smiled, Sreesanth jumped, the PMs clapped and an entire nation of one billion plus celebrated a wonderful victory that they will cherish for ages to come. As a result, we will know play Sri Lanka in the finals that promises poetic justice to the man they call the God of Cricket - Sachin Tendulkar - being played on his home ground , its the world cup final, a chance to go to his 100th century and a very good opposition . Now you know why the streets would be empty on Saturday!
Anyway, superbly played India, well played Pakistan , Thank you for the game of cricket. Now for the finals, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!
The stadium and indeed, the city, resembled more of an old fort where the kings and queens, on their thrones, would keenly watch the warriors with daggers and spears on horseback fight it out for ultimate glory with the denizens of the kingdom supporting in the loudest possible manner . Today, the kings and queens were the Prime ministers of the two countries, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the respective cabinets. The warriors were 11 eager players from each country (India and Pakistan) fighting for glory and the denizens were billions of fans around the world watching the game via some technological innovation of the last century or the last decade.
India came out victorious but not before a fabulous fight from Pakistan.When India batted first after winning a crucial toss, things began at a frenetic pace. Sehwag played like he would in the Vasant Kunj ground against Delhi Division 3 cricketers, showing 0(Yes, ZERO) respect to the opposition bowlers ,specially Gul . So that brings us to G for Gul who contributed to the game and in this case, the victory, by getting swatted all over for just over 7 boundaries in his first spell. Even Sachin was a mute spectator till W for Wahab came by and got Sehwag first, then the sun-shades wearing Kohli and the Maharaja Yuvi, all in quick succession. He indeed was the Chupa Rustam because he wasn't supposed to be playing today! Akhtar out, Wahab in, meant a wonderful five-for for the talented south paw. In between these dismissals we had the most important moments represented by D for Drop and C for Catch. Pakistan provided unprecedented competition to Sri Lanka (they dropped Morgan 3 times) by dropping Sachin 4 times!Sachin ain't Morgan to not take advantage ! Add to that, Technology helped him twice with the result that he survived Six times before he made 85 when he was out finally. The Indians were in a bind when Ajmal , Afridi and Hafeez bowled ( and they did so brilliantly!) but somehow scratched around to 260 led by Dhoni's single game, Raina's impressive slog overs stint, Pakistani's friendly fielding and Gul's
At half time when the score read 260, many of us were firmly of the view that India had lost the plot, that they were one spinner short and that they can afford only one of Nehra or Munaf in the playing 11.(A leading newspaper has published a study that suggests India's athletic ability per minute or (AAM) goes down by 37% when both of them are on the field!!)Well, we were all proved wrong thanks to a fantastic team performance , imaginative and aggressive captaincy by Dhoni , some help from the dust bowl at Mohali and some help from the opposition !
M for Munaf( my friend calls him the bowling machine!) bowled a beautiful line to get Hafeez out and later Razzaq. B for Bhajji bowled a fantastic spell to get rid of the mighty dangerous Umar Akmal and Afridi and we thought we were well and truly through. Crucially enough, M for Misbah played a mysteriously scratchy, defensive, later converted to a partly aggressive innings that helped India seal the game! Before the team was reminded of what Misbah was capable of (remember Jo'burg in 20-20 final? ) , the door was shut on our neighbors thanks to an amazing knock where he consumed a lot more than he produced! It was a case of Misbah killing Misbah and for that alone, he deserved the man of the match award!
As the match ended, there was utter chaos and celebration around the Indian team and absolute gloom in the Pakistani camp , that promised so much but didn't deliver in crunch moments. Sonia Gandhi hurrayed, Aamir Khan smiled, Sreesanth jumped, the PMs clapped and an entire nation of one billion plus celebrated a wonderful victory that they will cherish for ages to come. As a result, we will know play Sri Lanka in the finals that promises poetic justice to the man they call the God of Cricket - Sachin Tendulkar - being played on his home ground , its the world cup final, a chance to go to his 100th century and a very good opposition . Now you know why the streets would be empty on Saturday!
Anyway, superbly played India, well played Pakistan , Thank you for the game of cricket. Now for the finals, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!
Monday, March 28, 2011
The Signs of Four
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and surprise , surprise, New Zealand are the semi finalists. Its a celebration for the sub continent teams as all of them came through in conditions most favorable to them . Whereas India outclassed Australia in a close ,tense match, Pakistan and Sri Lanka demolished the West Indies and England respectively. Biggest upset though was caused by the Kiwis . The South Africans simply collapsed as is their forte. Apparently, its come to a stage where every time there is a knock out , SA just collapse. The media, their opponents, the crowd - no one allows them to forget the dreaded 'C' word. Lets not take anything away from the Kiwis though. Lets look at the first semi -final then, between the Lankans and Kiwis.By the way, its their 6th World Cup semifinal . Exceptional for a country with just 4 million people and cricket not being their primary sport! Its like having a cricket team comprised of players from Jayanagar, Basavangudi, Indiranagar, Malleshwaram and Koramangala!
The visitors face an extremely challenging task of playing at the dancing and partying Premadasa, which is also THE Lanka fort! Home pressure also counts for something as was evident when the Lankans dropped Morgan 3 times but their superior batting led them through .
From the Kiwis side, Ryder and Taylor hold the key. Brendon Mccullum has promised much but delivered so little. Their lower middle order with the young but extremely talented Williamson, the quarter final man of the match, Jacob Oram and the captain himself, Vettori is very much capable of piling up the runs but can the big question is whether they can do it against Lanka's spin. Sri Lanka like in the quarter finals , will surely field 3 spinners and tackling them might be really tough on a slow and low wicket tailor made for the home team. Add Malinga's slingas to the mix and the entire match might be decided by whether the Kiwis will be able to handle Lanka's bowling.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka's top order is in unbelievable form - Dilshan, Tharanga and the golden 2 - Sanga and Mahela - with the top 3 in the top 5 scorers' list of this World Cup but if the Kiwis are somehow able to get through to the middle order , then the game might turn out to be interesting. The Kiwis won't forget the 2007 World Cup when they started off excellently but were done in by a Mahela Jayawardene master class. As always, Mahela and their inspirational captain Kumara Sanagakara are the key predators in their line up. Much will also depend on the field placements off Vettori . Having atleast 6-7 extremely athletic and flexible fielders would surely save 10-20 runs for the Kiwis but field placements are the key. On the bowling front, the black caps will field 3 spinners in Vettori , the younger and currently more accomplished Mccullum and I forget the 3rd bloke. It is going to be a battle between spin of the 2 sides and Lanka's top order vs Kiwis' middle and lower middle order!
Best way for Kiwis to pull off an upset (again)? - Taylor/Mccullum tackle Lanka's spinners and the Kiwi bowlers get the top 4 of Lanka out before the half way mark.
Best way for Lanka to pull off a victory - Top order tears apart Kiwis' bowling . Mahela and Sanga milk their bowling with their spinners going on the prowl during their bowling stint and Malinga running through the lower order.
Key questions - Will Muralidaran play ? Can the Lankans soak in the home pressure and the Kiwis' dare devil attitude to conquer ? We will know in the next 24 hours but If I have to put my money on one of the teams, it has got to be Sri Lanka with a 64% chance . You ask me how ? Well, I ran a complex algorithm starting with the Diffie Hellman Algorithm followed by running the player's statistics against a complex statistical analyser. Do you want to know more ???
Anyway, the stage is set then for a very colorful 1st semi final ,which is almost a blessing in disguise especially because the entire world is probably looking at the 2nd one!
The visitors face an extremely challenging task of playing at the dancing and partying Premadasa, which is also THE Lanka fort! Home pressure also counts for something as was evident when the Lankans dropped Morgan 3 times but their superior batting led them through .
From the Kiwis side, Ryder and Taylor hold the key. Brendon Mccullum has promised much but delivered so little. Their lower middle order with the young but extremely talented Williamson, the quarter final man of the match, Jacob Oram and the captain himself, Vettori is very much capable of piling up the runs but can the big question is whether they can do it against Lanka's spin. Sri Lanka like in the quarter finals , will surely field 3 spinners and tackling them might be really tough on a slow and low wicket tailor made for the home team. Add Malinga's slingas to the mix and the entire match might be decided by whether the Kiwis will be able to handle Lanka's bowling.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka's top order is in unbelievable form - Dilshan, Tharanga and the golden 2 - Sanga and Mahela - with the top 3 in the top 5 scorers' list of this World Cup but if the Kiwis are somehow able to get through to the middle order , then the game might turn out to be interesting. The Kiwis won't forget the 2007 World Cup when they started off excellently but were done in by a Mahela Jayawardene master class. As always, Mahela and their inspirational captain Kumara Sanagakara are the key predators in their line up. Much will also depend on the field placements off Vettori . Having atleast 6-7 extremely athletic and flexible fielders would surely save 10-20 runs for the Kiwis but field placements are the key. On the bowling front, the black caps will field 3 spinners in Vettori , the younger and currently more accomplished Mccullum and I forget the 3rd bloke. It is going to be a battle between spin of the 2 sides and Lanka's top order vs Kiwis' middle and lower middle order!
Best way for Kiwis to pull off an upset (again)? - Taylor/Mccullum tackle Lanka's spinners and the Kiwi bowlers get the top 4 of Lanka out before the half way mark.
Best way for Lanka to pull off a victory - Top order tears apart Kiwis' bowling . Mahela and Sanga milk their bowling with their spinners going on the prowl during their bowling stint and Malinga running through the lower order.
Key questions - Will Muralidaran play ? Can the Lankans soak in the home pressure and the Kiwis' dare devil attitude to conquer ? We will know in the next 24 hours but If I have to put my money on one of the teams, it has got to be Sri Lanka with a 64% chance . You ask me how ? Well, I ran a complex algorithm starting with the Diffie Hellman Algorithm followed by running the player's statistics against a complex statistical analyser. Do you want to know more ???
Anyway, the stage is set then for a very colorful 1st semi final ,which is almost a blessing in disguise especially because the entire world is probably looking at the 2nd one!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Time for the Quarters!
30 days of non-stop cricket and we have ladies and gentlemen , the quarter finalists! Some would say the team list is predictable but most definitely it wasn't the case. Inspired performances from Ireland and Bangladesh kept one of the groups alive till the last match. If there ever was a prize for the most entertaining team in the league stage, the deserving winner would be England! With that background, lets look at the clashes and possible winners and match winners!
QF 1 : Pakistan vs West Indies - The match of the unpredictable nations though Pakistan I must say has been most impressive. The Windies haven't won a match against a renowned test nation as yet. Is this the match where they will fire ?
Key match moments and potential match winners (KMMPMW) - Pakistan's spin attack vs the Windies batting. Windies have a phenomenal ability to collapse leaving even gully tennis ball cricket teams far behind. If Pakistan bat first and score 250+ , then West Indies might have to bat out of their skins to win the game. Don't forget Gul. On the other hand, if the Windies play 3 fast bowlers - the 3Rs Roach, Russel and Rampaul (instead of the "nothing can affect me but i will still frown" Benn), then it might be interesting!
General Favorite - Pakistan
My favorite - My heart always supports the West Indies but more often that not my heart ain't right but hope it is this time!
QF 2 : India vs Australia - Some are already saying that this is the final before the final! India surely, I mean SURELY, go in as favorites. Australia seems to be wobbling with a lot of inconsistency in their ranks presently.
KMMPMW - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Veeru against the Aussie pace attack. Ashwin and Zaheer vs Watson and Ponting. Hussey vs the Indians. Finally, the Batting Powerplay! India has gone from 9/29 to 7/51. Someone might mistake these numbers for Jim Laker or Anil Kumble's best bowling figures in a test match but this is India's performance this World Cup ! I will say this though , if Watson gets going and scores a hundred, Australia will win else India will ! India, avenge the 2003 World Cup final defeat. Do what the Aussies did to you ! Go India Go !!!
Favorites - India ! Jeetega bhai jeetega, India jeetega ! 60-40 to India.
QF 3 : South Africa vs New Zealand - Hmmm, somehow seems like a no brainer . Out and out South Africa and I suspect this will be a one sided game unless Taylor and co. can go hammer and tongs against Steyn and co.
KMMPMW - New Zealand bowling vs SA top order - specially Hashim Amla and AB De villiers. Tahir and Peterson vs Taylor and Oram . Finally, Steyn vs the entire New Zealand team.
Favorites - South Africa unless they choke. It will be a HUGE upset if the Kiwis pull this off. 90-10 to South Africa.
QF 4 : England vs Sri Lanka - This , folks, promises to be a kickass clash! Sri Lanka's spin vs the English. Mahela and Sangakara vs the English. Premadasa vs the English. Mouth watering. Both teams have done well but Sri Lankans at home are clearly the favorites but England is probably the new Pakistan . Moreover, I stand to win 600 rupees if England wins the World Cup !!!
KMMPMW - Its all about how either team will play Spin. Murali vs Swann . Strauss vs Sangakara. Awesome clash! Also remember half the England team is out injured and that means, new faces but with fresh minds! Never ever count out Malinga but I have a feeling the bragging rights will end with Morgan !
Favorites - Sri Lanka
My Favorite - Sri Lanka but am excited to watch the English! Never thought I would say this (ever!)
4 days - 4 matches and we will have the semi-finalists!
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, ready steady go !
QF 1 : Pakistan vs West Indies - The match of the unpredictable nations though Pakistan I must say has been most impressive. The Windies haven't won a match against a renowned test nation as yet. Is this the match where they will fire ?
Key match moments and potential match winners (KMMPMW) - Pakistan's spin attack vs the Windies batting. Windies have a phenomenal ability to collapse leaving even gully tennis ball cricket teams far behind. If Pakistan bat first and score 250+ , then West Indies might have to bat out of their skins to win the game. Don't forget Gul. On the other hand, if the Windies play 3 fast bowlers - the 3Rs Roach, Russel and Rampaul (instead of the "nothing can affect me but i will still frown" Benn), then it might be interesting!
General Favorite - Pakistan
My favorite - My heart always supports the West Indies but more often that not my heart ain't right but hope it is this time!
QF 2 : India vs Australia - Some are already saying that this is the final before the final! India surely, I mean SURELY, go in as favorites. Australia seems to be wobbling with a lot of inconsistency in their ranks presently.
KMMPMW - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Veeru against the Aussie pace attack. Ashwin and Zaheer vs Watson and Ponting. Hussey vs the Indians. Finally, the Batting Powerplay! India has gone from 9/29 to 7/51. Someone might mistake these numbers for Jim Laker or Anil Kumble's best bowling figures in a test match but this is India's performance this World Cup ! I will say this though , if Watson gets going and scores a hundred, Australia will win else India will ! India, avenge the 2003 World Cup final defeat. Do what the Aussies did to you ! Go India Go !!!
Favorites - India ! Jeetega bhai jeetega, India jeetega ! 60-40 to India.
QF 3 : South Africa vs New Zealand - Hmmm, somehow seems like a no brainer . Out and out South Africa and I suspect this will be a one sided game unless Taylor and co. can go hammer and tongs against Steyn and co.
KMMPMW - New Zealand bowling vs SA top order - specially Hashim Amla and AB De villiers. Tahir and Peterson vs Taylor and Oram . Finally, Steyn vs the entire New Zealand team.
Favorites - South Africa unless they choke. It will be a HUGE upset if the Kiwis pull this off. 90-10 to South Africa.
QF 4 : England vs Sri Lanka - This , folks, promises to be a kickass clash! Sri Lanka's spin vs the English. Mahela and Sangakara vs the English. Premadasa vs the English. Mouth watering. Both teams have done well but Sri Lankans at home are clearly the favorites but England is probably the new Pakistan . Moreover, I stand to win 600 rupees if England wins the World Cup !!!
KMMPMW - Its all about how either team will play Spin. Murali vs Swann . Strauss vs Sangakara. Awesome clash! Also remember half the England team is out injured and that means, new faces but with fresh minds! Never ever count out Malinga but I have a feeling the bragging rights will end with Morgan !
Favorites - Sri Lanka
My Favorite - Sri Lanka but am excited to watch the English! Never thought I would say this (ever!)
4 days - 4 matches and we will have the semi-finalists!
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, ready steady go !
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Paper tigers
Half time - India vs South Africa - India's Score - 296 all out
Someone who hasn't seen this would say "Wow! Awesome performance" but the fans who probably saw them collapse in the manner they did would be very angry, very irritated and deeply shocked !
It was almost like Indian cricket team of 90s and 2000s - Once Sachin falls, every one else follows. If Sachin ever told his team to follow him , he never ever meant that they should follow him back to the pavilion and at the pace at which they did.
To imagine that they were 267/1 and lost their last 9 wickets for 29 runs, is just worse than club cricket. 0 3 1 0 0 0 were some of the scores that our Indian batsmen had against their names on the scoreboard. Our cricketers forgot the concept of singles! So to remind all of us , if you touch the ball with your bat and run across to the other end from where the bowler just bowled (and the nonstriker runs to your end provided you are not caught) , then 1 run is added to your score! If you touch the ball with other body parts and run across, you still get one run (if you are not LBW etc etc).
Many proverbs/phrases were probably made just for the Indian team , an example being "falling like nine pins".
By the way, if someone asked you who is the best bowler of the world cup you must (MUST) tell them that its the batting powerplay.
Last but not the least, a big salute to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. An amazing amazing knock with those trademark straight drives , flicks, cuts, sixes !!! The guys in the dressing room were posing when he was batting and even seemed like they wanted to bat. No one even tried to bat after that! My teacher once said "Paper tigers" with reference to students' writing exams but that quote is so very apt for our batting today! So paper tigers, will you turn out to be bowling and fielding tigers later today ?
Well the game is over and South Africa fought and fought till they won. Hitherto not so good cricketers come good against India and Peterson showed just that right at the end.
India were 10-15 runs short thanks to their woeful batting. Dhoni's luck finally ran out. Maybe Bhajji who had a fabulous day getting the crucial wickets of Amla, AB Deviliers and Duminy, should have bowled the last over . Who knows what would have happened ? Bowling a intoxicated looking Nehra in the last over was in hindsight, a massive mistake. The fielding surprisingly was pretty decent but as they say in life , you pay for your deeds and India did on the cricket field for their miserable collapse. India probably didn't deserve to win today. As Dhoni summarized in his post match conference - "Play for the country , not for the crowds"! As a result, no one has qualified for the quarter finals from this group !!!
Last point - Guys, please win when Tendulkar scores a century :P
Someone who hasn't seen this would say "Wow! Awesome performance" but the fans who probably saw them collapse in the manner they did would be very angry, very irritated and deeply shocked !
It was almost like Indian cricket team of 90s and 2000s - Once Sachin falls, every one else follows. If Sachin ever told his team to follow him , he never ever meant that they should follow him back to the pavilion and at the pace at which they did.
To imagine that they were 267/1 and lost their last 9 wickets for 29 runs, is just worse than club cricket. 0 3 1 0 0 0 were some of the scores that our Indian batsmen had against their names on the scoreboard. Our cricketers forgot the concept of singles! So to remind all of us , if you touch the ball with your bat and run across to the other end from where the bowler just bowled (and the nonstriker runs to your end provided you are not caught) , then 1 run is added to your score! If you touch the ball with other body parts and run across, you still get one run (if you are not LBW etc etc).
Many proverbs/phrases were probably made just for the Indian team , an example being "falling like nine pins".
By the way, if someone asked you who is the best bowler of the world cup you must (MUST) tell them that its the batting powerplay.
Last but not the least, a big salute to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. An amazing amazing knock with those trademark straight drives , flicks, cuts, sixes !!! The guys in the dressing room were posing when he was batting and even seemed like they wanted to bat. No one even tried to bat after that! My teacher once said "Paper tigers" with reference to students' writing exams but that quote is so very apt for our batting today! So paper tigers, will you turn out to be bowling and fielding tigers later today ?
Well the game is over and South Africa fought and fought till they won. Hitherto not so good cricketers come good against India and Peterson showed just that right at the end.
India were 10-15 runs short thanks to their woeful batting. Dhoni's luck finally ran out. Maybe Bhajji who had a fabulous day getting the crucial wickets of Amla, AB Deviliers and Duminy, should have bowled the last over . Who knows what would have happened ? Bowling a intoxicated looking Nehra in the last over was in hindsight, a massive mistake. The fielding surprisingly was pretty decent but as they say in life , you pay for your deeds and India did on the cricket field for their miserable collapse. India probably didn't deserve to win today. As Dhoni summarized in his post match conference - "Play for the country , not for the crowds"! As a result, no one has qualified for the quarter finals from this group !!!
Last point - Guys, please win when Tendulkar scores a century :P
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