India loses but Cricket wins

So here we are. The Indian cricket team has let it slip yet again and I am a disappointed cricket fan as anyone else from our country would be. Truly disappointed; more so because I was very confident of an India win today. Yet India should not take it as a stumbling block and go ahead in the tournament with this loss as a stepping stone as they had their share of the positives too. A few can be pointed out as below:

  • Their openers yet again giving them a great & swashbuckling start with both Tendulkar & Sehwag delivering vintage knocks. Especially Tendulkar’s looking more solid than ever and never at any moment has he looked vulnerable against any attack in the competition. I am sure everyone would agree that it was quite an uncanny collapse in the last 9 overs which, I am quite convinced to take as an exception.
  • Gautam Gambhir puts to rest all the speculation by hitting the second fifty in this world cup making Indian batting line even more formidable.
  • Harbhajan Singh getting some crucial wickets to end his dry run in the tournament so far. This is very significant for India from strategic point of view. Zaheer has been consistent with the bowl.
  • And last but not the least; they looked much better unit as a fielding side which I felt was a saving grace. There were misses here and there; still they have to be commended for that. I hope it only gets better.

A few takeaways in my opinion would be:

  • Powerplay Glitch: This is a bit strange but true, at least from the looks of it. Batting power play has actually put the teams in trouble rather than being advantageous. You would remember England losing their way from a very good position against India. India had also lost few quick wickets earlier in that match. Things went in the similar fashion this time around, only that it wrecked havoc for India much more than anyone would have imagined. So in a similar situation, let’s go with the flow and let the powerplay wait for the 45th over to commence.
  • Batting order: Let’s not fiddle with it very often. I thought that Yuvraj was as good a hitter as Yusuf Pathan and hence, he should have been sent earlier in case they wanted Virat Kohli to wait. It had actually been better had they sent Kohli after Tendulkar’s dismissal. Dhoni very well brought out the point regarding playing for the team and playing for the crowd. They definitely got carried away. I hope they are careful going forward.

Nevertheless, I would not like to take the credit away from South Africa. I think they emerged as a better side in the end after being hammered brutally by Tendulkar & Sehwag. Hats-off to Dale Steyn for the way he bounced back and went ahead for a 5 wicked hall to be awarded Man of the Match. He proved that he loved the Nagpur ground as he scalped 10 wickets in the last test match he played here. Their Batsmen contributed beautifully. Everyone from Top to bottom chipped in and this was the clear distinguishing factor between both the teams. AB Delivers carried his good form forward and almost took the game away before being dismissed. So Congratulations to them and apparently they now look in much better shape both in terms of the points tally & confidence.

May be it was SA’s day as incidentally 12th March was the day (5 years back) when they beat Australia by chasing a massive 438 runs. Hence, they celebrated their 5th anniversary of that rare milestone in style.

Being a Sachin Tendulkar fan all through the years he has played cricket, I cannot stop writing before congratulation him for the 99th International hundred (48th in One-day Internationals). He’s just one step away from making yet another history (and O boy what an achievement a century of centuries would be!). I am sure that day is not far considering the kind of form he is in currently. A very good thing for India and definitely not so good for the opposition!

Most importantly, the world has witnessed another fabulous game of cricket where the game itself has emerged as a clear winner in its true spirit.

As for India, they are sure going to raise their standards in the game to meet the demands of the competition.

Godspeed!

Comments

Unknown said…
I liked you blog. Very nice, precise and accurate. Keep going. If I may add, one point I would like to make. As the openers and Ghambir is playing soo well and soo long until 30th over in most of the games, I dont see the role of Virat Kohli in the team. I suggest Raina to be included as he is a better finisher, fields as good as Kohli and bowls off spin. I know Kohli is very good and in brilliant form, but each one needs to have a role in the team. I cant see the need of Kohli's batting anchoring role in the team. It is just my opinion and maybe wrong for few.
March 13, 2011 at 1:24 AM
Unknown said…
Hi Vikky,

Thanks for liking my blog. You do have a strong point regarding Kohli & Raina. I have not been able to get a clarity of thought on this one and hence, didn't really pick this up :)

Regards,
Aditya
March 13, 2011 at 11:13 AM
rockysatyam said…
yes... agree to all points..
After watching the match, I thought it was match just between Sachin vs South Africa
March 13, 2011 at 7:07 PM
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