India’s match against West Indies was, once again, a bitter sweet concoction that inspired both moments of bliss, and dashes to the washroom to throw up.
To start the proceedings, Sachin nicked a peach of a delivery to the keeper. The umpire stood there undecided, but the West Indians roared because without wasting a single nanosecond, Sachin had accepted his dismissal and already turned to start the lonely walk back to the stands. He didn’t need an Umpire to give him a reprieve so he could continue his quest for the hundredth hundred, that would be very un-Sachin-like.
Such is the adulation of this man in India, where his dismissal at 2 is venerated just as much as an unbeaten hundred.
The mini collapse at the top left India in very familiar waters, where two Punjabi lads had their work cut out for them. Kohli, once again, justified why people think he is a younger-tattooed avatar of Dravid, and behind all the shenanigans he simply plays solid Cricket. He is quickly becoming an indispensable cog in the Indian Cricket machine and the game against West Indies was another feather in his crooked cap.
And then there was Yuvraj.
After countless headlines-for-the-wrong-reasons it seems that the sheer Cricketing brilliance often plays second fiddle to the flamboyance of this man. This is the guy who is the fifth highest run getter in ODIs in the history of Indian Cricket, and is starting to sparkle with his bowling to top it. There is no doubt that he is one of the finest fielders we have ever produced, and at long last, he is starting to show the grayness of the hair that all of us have been waiting for. Fighting sickness and bad form, Yuvraj rose to the occasion to become the true match-winner that he is. A kicking-and-screaming Yuvraj can send six balls sailing into the stands in an over, and as we saw today, a grinding-and-persevering Yuvraj can steer the ship to calmer waters. His good form is not just a welcome twist, but a critical ingredient in the recipe for success for India.
And after all the grit and perseverance, we got to see the brilliant vanishing act that our middle and lower order is dazzling us with these days. They have all put in the hard work, got their heads together and simply pledged to play the bat-swinging brand of Cricket that undermines incredible starts, and leaves our confidence shattered at the end of the innings. Players like Sachin and Yuvraj are looking around and saying “Are you kidding me?”, while Dhoni continues to dish out well-concealed criticisms that mysteriously all start with “Well of course“.
We quickly need to find a way to do two things: one, bat for 50 overs no matter what, and two, make better use of the batting power play. The latter needs to happen no later than the 35th over when the new ball is taken (unless we are in firefighting-mode at this stage already!), and Yusuf Pathan has to wonder how long a couple of hundreds are going to keep the selectors leaning towards him as opposed to Raina. The opposition is already there to beat us, let us not try to do it ourselves!
We are here to hit boundaries, exhibit brilliant stroke play, send the ball into neighboring states and the crowds into brain-cell-killing-delirium.
But sometimes we need to play a subtle-and-almost-ugly brand of Cricket to save games.
Because say what you may, we are first and foremost, here to win the Cricket World Cup.
And rumor says it is time to buckle down!
To start the proceedings, Sachin nicked a peach of a delivery to the keeper. The umpire stood there undecided, but the West Indians roared because without wasting a single nanosecond, Sachin had accepted his dismissal and already turned to start the lonely walk back to the stands. He didn’t need an Umpire to give him a reprieve so he could continue his quest for the hundredth hundred, that would be very un-Sachin-like.
Such is the adulation of this man in India, where his dismissal at 2 is venerated just as much as an unbeaten hundred.
The mini collapse at the top left India in very familiar waters, where two Punjabi lads had their work cut out for them. Kohli, once again, justified why people think he is a younger-tattooed avatar of Dravid, and behind all the shenanigans he simply plays solid Cricket. He is quickly becoming an indispensable cog in the Indian Cricket machine and the game against West Indies was another feather in his crooked cap.
And then there was Yuvraj.
After countless headlines-for-the-wrong-reasons it seems that the sheer Cricketing brilliance often plays second fiddle to the flamboyance of this man. This is the guy who is the fifth highest run getter in ODIs in the history of Indian Cricket, and is starting to sparkle with his bowling to top it. There is no doubt that he is one of the finest fielders we have ever produced, and at long last, he is starting to show the grayness of the hair that all of us have been waiting for. Fighting sickness and bad form, Yuvraj rose to the occasion to become the true match-winner that he is. A kicking-and-screaming Yuvraj can send six balls sailing into the stands in an over, and as we saw today, a grinding-and-persevering Yuvraj can steer the ship to calmer waters. His good form is not just a welcome twist, but a critical ingredient in the recipe for success for India.
And after all the grit and perseverance, we got to see the brilliant vanishing act that our middle and lower order is dazzling us with these days. They have all put in the hard work, got their heads together and simply pledged to play the bat-swinging brand of Cricket that undermines incredible starts, and leaves our confidence shattered at the end of the innings. Players like Sachin and Yuvraj are looking around and saying “Are you kidding me?”, while Dhoni continues to dish out well-concealed criticisms that mysteriously all start with “Well of course“.
We quickly need to find a way to do two things: one, bat for 50 overs no matter what, and two, make better use of the batting power play. The latter needs to happen no later than the 35th over when the new ball is taken (unless we are in firefighting-mode at this stage already!), and Yusuf Pathan has to wonder how long a couple of hundreds are going to keep the selectors leaning towards him as opposed to Raina. The opposition is already there to beat us, let us not try to do it ourselves!
We are here to hit boundaries, exhibit brilliant stroke play, send the ball into neighboring states and the crowds into brain-cell-killing-delirium.
But sometimes we need to play a subtle-and-almost-ugly brand of Cricket to save games.
Because say what you may, we are first and foremost, here to win the Cricket World Cup.
And rumor says it is time to buckle down!
No comments:
Post a Comment