The Indian Premier League is secure.So are the earnings of the International Cricket Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.The commercial significance of India beating Pakistan in Mohali in the second semifinal on Wednesday.
How can I be so cold?The hopes of more than a 121 crore nation on the swing and I'm counting money!Tragedy of my life.Misunderstood despite the best of intentions.So what will convince you?
INDIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..........INDIA!
This is the first time I am genuinely feeling the urge to attend a cricket match at the venue.and why not?This is the single most significant sporting occasion in the last decade to take place in India.In a few hours,for the first time in World Cup history,two Asian teams,and two teams led by their respective wicketkeeper captains will steam up the summit clash of the biggest event in cricket.
It was said that even if Dhoni's men make the final,perhaps the semifinal would be the match with the highest barometer reading.India have made the final,but now,just before the final itself,I am not so sure.It was a perfect setting at Mohali on March 29 for the most anticipated game of the tournament.And yet,almost true to my worst fears,it showed every signs of culminating into an anticlimax.Sehwag started in customary fashion destroying the prolific Gul once and for all in the match only to perish to Wahab Riaz.Sachin Tendulkar got into the clinical mood to be shaken up by the wily Ajmal.The heartbreak as the crowd favourite Yuvraj followed Kohli into the hut missing a devastating inswinging yorker onto his middle stump.The duo of Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez allaying nerves in the Pakistani camp with a comfortable start.Only that it didn't turn out to be so.Sachin had fate on his side,as UDRS and the Third Umpire gave him the first two 'lives',and he got four other off the butter fingered Pak fielders.Maybe he should have utilized them and got his 100th hundred then and there.But,justice had it,it wouldn't have worthy of the special occasion;perhaps he would wish to get there in a less forgettable fashion.And just as India looked in serious danger of wrapping up withing 230-240 with Dhoni adjudged lbw off Riaz,leaving India at 205-6,Suresh Raina struck two small but substantial partnerships in the context of the game with Harabhajan and Zaheer,so much so that India actually produced their second best performance in bating powerplays while bating first in the tournament.Zaheer picked up Pakistan's first wicket,Munaf the second when Hafeez tried to play a scoop off an almost wide delivery,but still it seemed Pakistan had the upper hand.Yuvraj again turned the game on its head by striking a double break of Asad Shafiq and Younus Khan.
Halfway through the Indian innings,Dhoni must have been under pressure of his own conscience for having replacing Ravichandran Ashwin with Ashish Nehra (because,as he conceded later,the Indian thinktank had misread the wicket).Experts were after his head during the break and the memories of Nehra's last over against South Africa coupled with a series of ordinary performances since his return to international cricket from an injury layoff earlier this year did not help his cause.Abuses were running in fan circles and on social networking sites.Suresh Raina in Motera was not under one tiny fraction of the pressure on Nehra in Mohali.Nehra finished as the top Indian bowler,showing samples of the death bowling he's capable of and exercised so well when he led the Indian attack in the absence of Zaheer in 2009-2010!Nehra was almost the M-Seal for Indian bowling that day and India displayed an organised,compact and disciplined bowling performance supplemented by the spirited fielding and the rediscovered enterprise in Dhoni's leadership.There was no necessity to look beyond the 4 specialist bowlers and Yuvraj Singh for completing the 50 overs.When has that last happened in Indian cricket?Another special note about Dhoni and his captaincy.He has been below par with the bat,but he's not letting his failures affect his regulation of the team.Conversely,the team has also been supportive,always ready to vouch for the captain.Besides,we tend to forget that he has another important role to play in the team.He's been doing the thankless job almost without any fuss behind the stumps.
In the end,one might say,the pressure got to Pakistan.You drop the Little Master 4 times,he makes you pay for it.However scratchy it may have been,the 85 runs he scored will be an unpaid debt forever for Pakistan.The batsmen started comfortably,but they pushed themselves into a position of no return,the main culprits being Hafeez and Misbah.The former chased a wide delivery outside off trying to scoop it,gifting a dolly to Dhoni.Misbah,it seemed,took on the responsibility of seeing his side lose.Playing way too many dots,failing to even rotate,let alone hitting fours and sixes.By the time,he decided to use the long handle,it was too late and he had run out of partners.
The joke of the day,though,happened at the presentation ceremony when the MoM went to Sachin Tendulkar.I can't remember a more embarrassing innings by the Maestro.I had no doubts about the rightful recipent of it,and you gotta agree with me: Wahab Riaz.There were lot of speculations if he should make way for Shoaib Akhtar,who had already annonced his retirement plans after the Cup,in the semifinal as he was looked upon as by far the weakest link in the otherwise formidable looking Pak bowling.He stayed.And he scalped 5 wickets,in the match of his life yet.His scalps included the prized scalps of Sehwag,Kohli,Yuvraj and Dhoni!He and Saeed Ajmal,the only bowler to shake,stir,trouble and play on the mind of Tendulkar that day,extinguished India's chances of batting their opponents out of the match.
One thing needs to be mentioned.I had been carefully staying out of the rhetoric surrounding the semifinal for the week preceding it.Even in the Australia match,I had kept my quiet and calm for almost the whole match before standing up to rejoice when Yuvraj hit the winning runs,presenting the picture of a close follower of the game rather than the proverbial cricket fan.Last match,the script was going along the same lines,until Younus Khan holed out to Raina,duped by Yuvraj in flight.I jumped up,pumped my fist in the air thrice,shrieking my lungs out.That was India's in into the match.I didn't stop.With every wicket,I would break into an inpromptu jig in front of my applauding mother.
Bygones are bygones.Over to Mumbai from Mohali.The Wankhede Stadium.All set for the Grand Finale.
Sri Lanka have the advantage in ground experience.They have played one in Mumbai in their last Group A tie v. New Zealand,whereas the Indian team have set their foot in the relaid stadium for the first time.India have won two pressure games in a row which gives the mental practice for crunch situations.Save that,there's nothing to pick between the sides once again.
There are some undercurrents flowing,but none of them more important than the big question: Will Muralitharan overcome his injury to play in an international match for one last time tomorrow?Angelo Mathews,too,is uncertain.On the other hand,India's sole injury concern has at least helped simplifying a selection dilemma.It was commonsense that Ashwin will be back for the final in Mumbai's dry deck conditions.But who to replace?The finger injury that Nehra picked up while trying to grab a low catch of Afridi has saved Dhoni from making a choice.
Statistically,Dilshan and Tendulkar are in a tight scuffle for the leading run scorer honours.Zaheer Khan has a good chance to pip Afridi to the top wicket taker spot.The Player of the Tournament may also turn out to be a choice between Yuvraj Singh and Tillekaratne Dilshan.
But frankly?Right now,nobody cares.It's time to live the moment we have waited for since February 19.Two teams.One Cup.One team carrying the hopes of 1.21 billion cricket crazy nation for whom the sport is religion and drug from daily boredom and disappointments.The other team represents a country just trying to recover from a civil war that is almost as old as the country itself.One side has pledged to win it for their living legend,the God of Indian cricket.The other looking to throw the perfect farewell for their amazing wizard.To whom does tonight belong to?Blue?Or Deep Blue?
N.B. : It's been reported in the morning's newspapers that Dhoni is seriously contemplating about fielding Sreesanth in the XI."If you see the Mumbai track there’s a bit of pace and bounce for seamers initially. Also if there is reverse swing going, the third seamer can make an impact.At the same time if the three seamers are bowling well I can easily manoeuvre the bowling. But if you have three spinners along with a part-timer, and two medium pacers, you can’t manoeuvre too much,” he said.Well,playing him is always a huge risk.This single match can make or break Sreesanth's career,does he play.We can only hope for the best and wish Dhoni's proposed third gamble in as many matches sees success like the other two.On the Sri Lankan side,Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the final.
How can I be so cold?The hopes of more than a 121 crore nation on the swing and I'm counting money!Tragedy of my life.Misunderstood despite the best of intentions.So what will convince you?
INDIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..........INDIA!
This is the first time I am genuinely feeling the urge to attend a cricket match at the venue.and why not?This is the single most significant sporting occasion in the last decade to take place in India.In a few hours,for the first time in World Cup history,two Asian teams,and two teams led by their respective wicketkeeper captains will steam up the summit clash of the biggest event in cricket.
It was said that even if Dhoni's men make the final,perhaps the semifinal would be the match with the highest barometer reading.India have made the final,but now,just before the final itself,I am not so sure.It was a perfect setting at Mohali on March 29 for the most anticipated game of the tournament.And yet,almost true to my worst fears,it showed every signs of culminating into an anticlimax.Sehwag started in customary fashion destroying the prolific Gul once and for all in the match only to perish to Wahab Riaz.Sachin Tendulkar got into the clinical mood to be shaken up by the wily Ajmal.The heartbreak as the crowd favourite Yuvraj followed Kohli into the hut missing a devastating inswinging yorker onto his middle stump.The duo of Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez allaying nerves in the Pakistani camp with a comfortable start.Only that it didn't turn out to be so.Sachin had fate on his side,as UDRS and the Third Umpire gave him the first two 'lives',and he got four other off the butter fingered Pak fielders.Maybe he should have utilized them and got his 100th hundred then and there.But,justice had it,it wouldn't have worthy of the special occasion;perhaps he would wish to get there in a less forgettable fashion.And just as India looked in serious danger of wrapping up withing 230-240 with Dhoni adjudged lbw off Riaz,leaving India at 205-6,Suresh Raina struck two small but substantial partnerships in the context of the game with Harabhajan and Zaheer,so much so that India actually produced their second best performance in bating powerplays while bating first in the tournament.Zaheer picked up Pakistan's first wicket,Munaf the second when Hafeez tried to play a scoop off an almost wide delivery,but still it seemed Pakistan had the upper hand.Yuvraj again turned the game on its head by striking a double break of Asad Shafiq and Younus Khan.
Halfway through the Indian innings,Dhoni must have been under pressure of his own conscience for having replacing Ravichandran Ashwin with Ashish Nehra (because,as he conceded later,the Indian thinktank had misread the wicket).Experts were after his head during the break and the memories of Nehra's last over against South Africa coupled with a series of ordinary performances since his return to international cricket from an injury layoff earlier this year did not help his cause.Abuses were running in fan circles and on social networking sites.Suresh Raina in Motera was not under one tiny fraction of the pressure on Nehra in Mohali.Nehra finished as the top Indian bowler,showing samples of the death bowling he's capable of and exercised so well when he led the Indian attack in the absence of Zaheer in 2009-2010!Nehra was almost the M-Seal for Indian bowling that day and India displayed an organised,compact and disciplined bowling performance supplemented by the spirited fielding and the rediscovered enterprise in Dhoni's leadership.There was no necessity to look beyond the 4 specialist bowlers and Yuvraj Singh for completing the 50 overs.When has that last happened in Indian cricket?Another special note about Dhoni and his captaincy.He has been below par with the bat,but he's not letting his failures affect his regulation of the team.Conversely,the team has also been supportive,always ready to vouch for the captain.Besides,we tend to forget that he has another important role to play in the team.He's been doing the thankless job almost without any fuss behind the stumps.
In the end,one might say,the pressure got to Pakistan.You drop the Little Master 4 times,he makes you pay for it.However scratchy it may have been,the 85 runs he scored will be an unpaid debt forever for Pakistan.The batsmen started comfortably,but they pushed themselves into a position of no return,the main culprits being Hafeez and Misbah.The former chased a wide delivery outside off trying to scoop it,gifting a dolly to Dhoni.Misbah,it seemed,took on the responsibility of seeing his side lose.Playing way too many dots,failing to even rotate,let alone hitting fours and sixes.By the time,he decided to use the long handle,it was too late and he had run out of partners.
The joke of the day,though,happened at the presentation ceremony when the MoM went to Sachin Tendulkar.I can't remember a more embarrassing innings by the Maestro.I had no doubts about the rightful recipent of it,and you gotta agree with me: Wahab Riaz.There were lot of speculations if he should make way for Shoaib Akhtar,who had already annonced his retirement plans after the Cup,in the semifinal as he was looked upon as by far the weakest link in the otherwise formidable looking Pak bowling.He stayed.And he scalped 5 wickets,in the match of his life yet.His scalps included the prized scalps of Sehwag,Kohli,Yuvraj and Dhoni!He and Saeed Ajmal,the only bowler to shake,stir,trouble and play on the mind of Tendulkar that day,extinguished India's chances of batting their opponents out of the match.
One thing needs to be mentioned.I had been carefully staying out of the rhetoric surrounding the semifinal for the week preceding it.Even in the Australia match,I had kept my quiet and calm for almost the whole match before standing up to rejoice when Yuvraj hit the winning runs,presenting the picture of a close follower of the game rather than the proverbial cricket fan.Last match,the script was going along the same lines,until Younus Khan holed out to Raina,duped by Yuvraj in flight.I jumped up,pumped my fist in the air thrice,shrieking my lungs out.That was India's in into the match.I didn't stop.With every wicket,I would break into an inpromptu jig in front of my applauding mother.
Bygones are bygones.Over to Mumbai from Mohali.The Wankhede Stadium.All set for the Grand Finale.
Sri Lanka have the advantage in ground experience.They have played one in Mumbai in their last Group A tie v. New Zealand,whereas the Indian team have set their foot in the relaid stadium for the first time.India have won two pressure games in a row which gives the mental practice for crunch situations.Save that,there's nothing to pick between the sides once again.
There are some undercurrents flowing,but none of them more important than the big question: Will Muralitharan overcome his injury to play in an international match for one last time tomorrow?Angelo Mathews,too,is uncertain.On the other hand,India's sole injury concern has at least helped simplifying a selection dilemma.It was commonsense that Ashwin will be back for the final in Mumbai's dry deck conditions.But who to replace?The finger injury that Nehra picked up while trying to grab a low catch of Afridi has saved Dhoni from making a choice.
Statistically,Dilshan and Tendulkar are in a tight scuffle for the leading run scorer honours.Zaheer Khan has a good chance to pip Afridi to the top wicket taker spot.The Player of the Tournament may also turn out to be a choice between Yuvraj Singh and Tillekaratne Dilshan.
But frankly?Right now,nobody cares.It's time to live the moment we have waited for since February 19.Two teams.One Cup.One team carrying the hopes of 1.21 billion cricket crazy nation for whom the sport is religion and drug from daily boredom and disappointments.The other team represents a country just trying to recover from a civil war that is almost as old as the country itself.One side has pledged to win it for their living legend,the God of Indian cricket.The other looking to throw the perfect farewell for their amazing wizard.To whom does tonight belong to?Blue?Or Deep Blue?
N.B. : It's been reported in the morning's newspapers that Dhoni is seriously contemplating about fielding Sreesanth in the XI."If you see the Mumbai track there’s a bit of pace and bounce for seamers initially. Also if there is reverse swing going, the third seamer can make an impact.At the same time if the three seamers are bowling well I can easily manoeuvre the bowling. But if you have three spinners along with a part-timer, and two medium pacers, you can’t manoeuvre too much,” he said.Well,playing him is always a huge risk.This single match can make or break Sreesanth's career,does he play.We can only hope for the best and wish Dhoni's proposed third gamble in as many matches sees success like the other two.On the Sri Lankan side,Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the final.
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