Twenty-20 !
A few friends have actually complained that I am writing very *mushy-mushy* posts these days and that I had lost even the iota of saneness I had once upon a time. So just to prove them wrong, here is an analytical post on today’s game and the tournament in general.
The toss was really a no-brainer. India wanted to put runs on the board and Pakistan wanted to chase. So I was pretty confident that India would bat first, which they did. The inclusion of Yusuf Pathan was a very mature and a bold move. A few months ago one could have expected Dravid to come up at the toss and say ,” Yusuf hasn’t played a game in the tournament. He does not have any prior experience. He’s Nervous. We will go in with tried and tested players (read: tried and tested failures) . Blabber. Blabber.” So when YP actually played, it showed that the team thought that all 15 players in the squad were good enough to turn up and actually play. He tried his best Yusuf with the limited technique he’s got. The six off Asif was courageous.
Gautam Gambhir showed immense maturity to stabilize the innings after Utthapa chose the wrong ball to slog. With the law of averages fast catching up with Yuvraj, Gambhir had to take over as the aggressor and he did his job with panache. Rohit Sharma, again, made an invaluable 30* which perhaps tilted the balance in our favour. I have always believed that 160 is a par score in T20. If you can’t defend 160, its because you have bowled badly. The batsmen are not to be blamed.
People at my house were expecting us to score 180+ and I had to tell them that 160 is a very good score, especially in crunch finals. But they weren’t too impressed anyways. Also its becoming rather difficult to watch the games with my entire family. When I watch any sport I keep a very open mindset. I appreciate everything thats good. And I don’t really care if it comes from Team India or someone else. So when Arafat and Gul were firing in yorkers, I went “Excellent bowling” after each delivery and everybody else was like “Why isn’t he hitting” and then I used to get those ‘gaddar’ glances . Sometimes you need give credit where its due and keep sentiments aside. You need to appreciated the game in general and not individual players or teams.
Imran Nazir slashed with great effect and could have easily slogged his way to superstardom had it not been for an inspired direct hit by Robin. RP got too early scalps bowling a teasing line outside off. YP chipped in with one over for five and I for one thought he was underbowled. Pathan bowled very cleverly, Joginder was very lucky today for he bowled utter rubbish wide outside off stump and Harbhajan was not convincing.
Before I start , let me tell you that Misbah Ul Haq is 33. Yeah same age as Dravid. Doesn’t look that old, does he ? He may never play in a T20 final again. He might never play a ODI World Cup again. But the composure and poise in his batting today was there for all to see. At an instant, he rejected a single off Harbhajan with 21 balls to go. And I was like * Thats the most stupid thing he can ever do. Does he actually think that he can win this game on his own ?* . I got my answer in the next three deliveries. 2 went out of the park.
Dhoni was very impressive. But again I’ve watched so much cricket over the last decade that I can’t help but point a finger at him. Mohammad Asif is a typical number 11. Does he have the slogging capabilities to clear mid-of/mid-on ? No. Can he produce an outside/inside edge? Yes. You bet. With 7 balls to go, and Asif on strike, it is imperative that the captain called mid-off/mid-on into the circle and moved his third man and fine leg as fine (as close to the wickets) as possible to counter the possibility of an edge. Asif edged and the ball raced away for a four which IMHO *should and must* be anticipated at this level.
Coming back, we (I watched the last part of the game with a friend of mine) were pretty sure that Pakistan would win with 13 runs to get and Misbah obliged with a six. With six to win off four, it was *such a low percentage shot* to play. He could have maneuvered his way to victory. And it was so disappointing to see that no Indian went up to him and consoled him after he got out *remember Ashes 2005 Brett Lee/Flintoff* . For he had played an absolute blinder. From a situation of no hope, he had nearly won the game for Pakistan.
The post match presentation was a big farce.
Shoaib Malik said something like *wherever all Muslims live*. I mean cricket does not follow a religion. Sports like music knows no cultures, religions and boundaries. And for SM to say something like this on such an occasion was really disappointing. Does SM think that only Muslims support Pakistan ? I think not.
Afridi came in and went like *I congratulate Indian countries* . And I always thought there was just one.
Ravi Shastri said that India were first time winners of Twenty20. Well, given that the tournament was the first ever World Cup, it wasn’t the greatest of remarks. Also he got all excited at the end and blurted out that India were TT champions !! And I thought that Forrest Gump was the best TT player on this planet.
The best part of watching TV with friends is the useless talk that goes on simultaneously. Here’s how today’s banter went (using A and B, which one is me is anybody’s guess).
*camera on the trophies*
A: What an ugly trophy!
B: Thats why the OZ didn’t want it. They get better trophies at domestic level.
A: SreeSanth’s actually wearing spectacles. He looks like a professor.
B: Yeah and once he removes them the only thing he does is sit down in the middle of the pitch and bang his bands against the ground as if *censored*
*So Irfan, what was on your mind when the last over started?*
A: Tanushree Dutta !
B: *rolling on the floor…..hurts his head*
*Shahrukh starts hugging people for no reason**Hugs SreeSaanth*
A: Do you know what he just said ? Although you don’t understand Hindi and are a Rajnikant fan, please watch Om Shanti Om which is scheduled for a Diwali release. And tell all your Gaonwallahs to watch it too. You bowled pretty well today. You were the one who bowled the last over? Weren’t you ?
Huff ! Enough ! I can’t recollect more. A really good win and a blog post !
Related posts:
Dhoni is linked to Tanushree.Not Irfan.
lol.. Awesome match! You forgot to mention that no pakistan players can speak english.. We have more than one good reason to be proud of indian players..
u have gone absolutely bonkers….lolllz….
amd i agree with u on the shoaib malik comment….
@m_m: Chal na, who cares, but that really had me in splits. Plus I did not know that they were *linked*. I thought that it was a random chant.
@anushree: Are you sure you watched the right sport ? :p
@nipura (ok that was intentional and not a typo): bonkers? arey this was supposed to be a very serious post analysing the events of the game to prove that I still understand what i going out on the field [:p] …. i dunno something has gotten into you…..perhaps its the midsems…..[:p]…..perhaps……i can never be sure [:p]
ehhh…. i meant the a and the b part…. not the analysis….
arey…that is just the tip of the iceberg… multiply that by 120 mins and you get a laugh riot and a sore back when u roll on the floor laughing every 2 minutes [:p]
malik could not make a single sentence composition in good english.. nor could afridi in the end ka speech… atleast pathan and dhoni were speaking in good english and not making a fool out of themselves… so apart from the winning the match the indian players dont make india look that bad a 3rd world country! whichever sport you watch thats like the first thing you evidently should notice..
that was me
No. I wasn’t questioning your arguments. I was actually taking a dig at you for watching a cricket match for first time in how many years [:p]
9 comments must be bliss for u.
*absent mindedly gives a 10th*
Beckhamsbarber;
Don’t you think it’s too early to praise Dhoni’s leadership qualities.
Any captain need to have attitude. Attitude reflects leadership (Steve Waugh).
Who else it could have been if not Y. Pathan. Piyush Chawala was injured, G Boycott’s Grandma can bat better that Ajit Agarkar. I feel he started as Happy Go Lucky Captain and came out victorious. This might not work every time.
And I personally feel he should get himself into a rude(I mean on field) captain who knows his team better than anyone else and earn the respect. He can do it as he will be getting support from 3 Gurus (Sachin/ Dravid / Dada)at least next couple of months. The ability is there and it’s neccessary to mould that into a good captain.
Need to be very selective with his interviews and TV appearance as media is the one who will make him HERO 1 day and turn him to the ZERO on 1 fine day.
Anyway so far Good Job MS and good luck for the future.
Hi, I never said that Dhoni is a great captain or anything similar. Its too early to pass a judgement on him. Actually, I criticized him for letting the Asif boundary go past third man.
Give him some time. Give him his space. And then we can pass a verdict.