I just witnessed one of the memorable Indian victories against their arch rivals and as a patriotic, fanatic Indian cricket fan my chest was swelled with pride to XXL size J. Truth be told, I was really pissed off reading reports about the rubbish that players from across the border have been uttering. It all started last September in the CT when Afridi started saying that India is not a threat, and then Aamer, the guy who did a Chetan Sharma today said that I would love to get the scalp of Sachin. Alright, they did beat India and Aamer did get Sachin out, but enough is always enough. Last week the chairman or director or whatever of PCB, Mr Butt (funny surname for sure J ) said that what is the status of Indian team today. I am sure PCB has not much business with ICC right now, but atleast this guy must know the ICC ODI and Test rankings. And only a couple of days back, Sohail Tanvir, who has a special liking for Hindus said that Indians will struggle against Akhtar. Gautam Gambhir aptly described the victory as payback time.
Pakistan innings: They started pretty well and even though it was a slow start it was nevertheless a safe one. It is good to see vintage cricket being played when all we get to see is mindless hitting in T20s, thank to IPL, the T20 WC and more such tournaments. It took a special effort from the combo of Bhajji and Sehwag to get the first breakthrough and that made way for the Hyderabadi Damaad J to come to the crease. While he has a wonderful record against the Indians, and it did look as if he is going to repeat his heroics, Zaheer got rid of him with an absolute beauty. Then RJ for a change used his brain and athleticism to get rid of the dangerous Salman Butt (another one who loves Indian bowling) and the other new comer was fabulously caught by none other than Kohli sa’ab. At this stageIndia seemed to have made their way back into the game and that was indeed the case. Afridi and Akmal tried to rebuild and Afridi did look to continue from he left against Lanka but his timing soon deserted and he started to struggle in the later part of his innings. Pakistanis also delayed taking their power play and that definitely was not a good move. Wickets kept falling and India did very well to restrict them to 267. I must say that I have not seen such a determined bowling effort from India for quite some time especially when the opposition gets a decent start and the chips are down and that too against a quality opposition. And Pakistan, no matter who all are playing in their team, is always a quality opposition against India.
So India was supposed to chase 267 which is not an easy total by any means. The pressure of batting second against Pakistan and that too in not the best of batting conditions, as an Indian fan, you have all the reasons to worry.
Indian innings: India started very slowly and Sehwag did not get going at all. He is back to international cricket after some gap and may need some time to get back into top gear. But Gambhir is a very senior player in the team and his presence at the crease will always calm the nerves in the dressing room. India lost Sehwag and later Kohli, the score reading 82/2 in 17.4 overs. The scorecard definitely looked bad to me but as elders say, don’t lose hope. Dhoni came to join Gauti and let us give him due where it is due. Dhoni is a very good batsman, not definitely a great one but he is a lion-hearted fellow for sure. He could have sent someone else at that point of time but he realised that the team needs a partnership and what better a person than himself to go out and rebuild. Gauti and Dhoni mixed caution with aggression and kept scoreboard ticking. Both of them were occasionally beaten especially by Ajmal (who bowled very well) but they still kept going. Gauti also benefitted from a dropped chance and Pakistani fielding was indeed pathetic, they never collected the ball cleanly and gave away a lot of singles which could have been avoided. Kamran Akmal was a pure joy to watch, he was getting excited whenever he would take a turning ball cleanly and would appeal like anything. This surely did provoke Gauti at some stage and probably paved the way for his downfall, a little later. Rohit Sharma came and basically tried his luck, he was once dropped by Akmal, the goalkeeper but he did not last long. Dhoni also got out in one of the most unfortunate manners and the blood pressure of an Indian cricket fan must have escalated. The new pair on the crease now- RJ and Raina initially struggled and RJ eventually got out in the 45th over bringing Bhajji to the crease and that was a blessing, for sure. At that point of time, Indian innings was in their batting power play and that was a big plus. Raina decided to hit Ajmal and 13 came off his last over, and that looked like bringing Indian chase back on track somewhat. Bhajji too joined in the fun and hit Akhtar for a six in the 46th over and 9 came off that one as India needed 27 off the last 3 overs. Afridi brought Aamer into the attack and he bowled a decent length but a poor line as he gave 2 wides before Raina hit what was the most impressive shot for me in the entire match. A very full ball, not easy to get under, was placed perfectly between long-on and mid-wicket to take 9 off that over as well. 16 needed off 12, came Akhtar and he was again pulled by Raina for a huge six. Even though Akhar still managed to come back and only conceded 9 from that over, India needed only 7 off the last one and by then pendulum had definitely swung back in India’s favour. Raina did get out in the last over and it did appear pretty tense but Bhajji hit the short of his lifetime for a six as India had needed 3 off 2.
That sparked off celebrations and Bhajji gave a huge roar and he definitely had something to indicate to Akhar, who is not a saint either. India won in style and I am sure people back home would have used this opportunity to use their leftover crackers from last year Diwali. Gauti deservedly won the MoM award and Dhoni praised the team’s fighting abilities and we all agree to that. Afridi said that it was a great team of cricket but he obviously had a bad start to his tenure as captain as Pak crashed out of the Asia cup with two straight defeats from subcontinent teams.
The post match analysis: On bowling front, Indian fast bowlers did pretty well and Zaheer looked like a bowler possessed. I wish these guys have the courage, the heart and the discipline to bowl like this more often and not once in a blue moon. Bhajji also did a decent job and RJ was good too but he is not in my scheme of things for the World Cup. Indian batting was also pretty good. Sehwag is the kind of player who can get back to form anytime while Gambhir is already back to where he belongs. Kohli needs to do better and assure us that he can make runs against oppositions other than SL. Rohit Sharma is an utter waste and so is RJ. Both these guys need to be shown the door immediately and it will not be hard to find replacements, I am sure. RJ has done a decent job as a bowler but his batting is pathetic and I wish we can draft a complete bowler in his place (Ashwin/Chawla/Mishra or someone else) rather than playing someone who gives the false impression of being an allrounder but pees in his pants when he sees the likes of Akhtar coming to bowl to him. Rohit Sharma has done very well against mediocre oppositions (like his 2 centuries in Zimbabwe) but we surely need players who are more responsible, more mature and would like to grab their chances. I would rather wish that Yuvraj gets back to shape and form and regains his place.
The road ahead: India needs to win this Asia cup, win the test series against SL and then the trination series which involves India, SL and NZ. I know the thought of India playing SL puts everyone to sleep but that is decided by BCCI. I am sure the likes of Sehwag and Sachin (the married lot in the current Indian team) are seeing Lankan players more often than their respective wives J. But India needs to win these three series to put their preparations for the mega event in 2011 back on track.
Good luck guys.
Scorecard available at @http://tinyurl.com/357dbol
