India Rises…

What a match it turned out to be!!! Billions of people went through the adrenaline rush while the quarter final match was on between India and Australia. Undoubtedly it was the biggest match in the tournament for both the teams-- Australia were the world champions and India were being considered favorites this time which they didn’t seem to have justified in their earlier matches. India rose to the occasion in the end and won the nerve-wracking match by 5 wickets. So CONGRATULATIONS to team India!!! J

I had mentioned in my earlier post below that India would sure be raising the standard of their game to meet the demands of the competition and they did exactly that. The day for me started with excitement & anxiety in the anticipation of the big game and went through a roller-coaster ride as the game progressed. The sad part was that I did not have a holiday to enjoy the match ball by ball and yet it was really great to watch the enthusiasm in the office pantries and the cafeteria. This was one of those occasions where I found myself a little too much emotionally involved and I was simply euphoric in the end.

Hats-off to Yuvraj Singh for grabbing 4th man of the match award (for his unbeaten 57 and 2 wickets; an all-round show yet again) in the World Cup 2011. With this he not only put an end to all the speculations around his career, he proved that he would end up playing a pivotal role in India campaign in this tournament. Sachin Tendulkar (53 runs) looked as solid as ever and gave India a firm foundation to build upon. Gambhir’s half century (50 runs) and his partnerships with Sachin & Kohli were crucial too. Suresh Raina (34 not out) showed yet again as to why he is one of the most coveted faces of Indian cricket currently. His sixer of Brett Lee in the final moments of the game will be remembered for long. There were a few hiccups though like Sehwag unnecessarily throwing his wicket, disheartening run-out of Gambhir and early departure of India Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But these are the parts of the game. India did manage avoid any mess-up in the top order and Dhoni should be credited for good captaincy.

Bowling and fielding department also didn’t disappoint. I thought they did a great job in restricting Australia to 260. That also became possible because of Ricky Ponting’s determined effort (104 runs, a century that came after 18 innings) & a little cameo by David Hussey towards the end of their innings. Sadly for the Australians the ton was clouded by the team effort of Indians. Ashwin, Zaheer and Yuvraj were best of the bowlers. Ashwin impressed yet again especially as he opened the bowling and managed to keep Australians quiet before dismissing Shane Watson who has become one of the most talented campaigners in the world cricket today. Munaf Patel again missed out and would definitely have Indian management thinking about his spot in the next game. They must be mulling over playing Sreesanth in the semi-finals.

I would not like to go into more details and like to pick some of the highlights of today’s match straightaway:

  • India recorded their 3rd win against Australia in a World Cup taking the head to head tally to 3-7 (India has won 3 and Australia 7). Moreover, this is their first win against them in a World Cup in 24 years. This shows Aussie dominance in the past and how big a win for India this is.
  • Sachin Tendulkar adds another feather in his cap by completing 18000 runs in one-day cricket. Phenomenal!!! Isn’t it?
  • Tendulkar also moves to the top scorer position in this world cup and may very well be on the way of becoming the highest scorer in 3 world cups (previous two being in 1996 (523 runs) & 2003 (673 runs) world cups). It will definitely be a unique feat. Let’s hope he gets there.
  • Zaheer Khan is on the top of the table in number of wickets taken as far as India is concerned. He’s been mainstay of the India bowling unit. Let’s hope he keeps playing like this.
  • Yuvraj Singh has put up a dashing all-round show and he has so far scored 341 runs and taken 11 wickets. A front-runner for Man of the Series title.

Even more exciting times are ahead as India take on Pakistan in the second semi-final on 30th March 2011 in Mohali (Chandigarh). Hence, we have another high octane battle in the offing. Although Pakistan team is looking strong, India has 100 % track record against them in a World Cup so far. Moreover, India has also gotten into the groove and favorites to enter the finals in my opinion.

And last but not the least as I wrote in one of my facebook comments earlier-- Being a cricket fan and Indian, I feel it's truly important that we direct our best wishes for our cricket team. Listening & observing so many criticisms around disturbs me a little. Even though today’s win must have silenced a lot of critics yet I personally feel that putting up a brave show in the field at such a level is not at all an easy task. I just think of a situation, when I am supposed to perform under pressure/publicly and then I realize how nervous and anxious I get. Each player of the India cricket team is carrying the expectation of billions and last thing we would do at this stage is to criticize them unjustly as it would only yield to a negative "collective consciousness" making it even tougher for them.

However, I do see more momentum building up towards positive “collective consciousness” after the victory tonight. India has already made a history today and is just two steps away to make yet another and the biggest one so far.

All the best to Team India….Let’s go for the Glory!!!

Cheers! :))

Comments

thinker.... said…
Nice article...i like it. I did not know you write blogs
March 25, 2011 at 2:58 AM
Aditya Pranav said…
Thank you very much! It means a lot...
At times we do take time to notice a thing. I am glad that you know now...
March 25, 2011 at 11:51 AM
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