India hit back, level the series 2-2

It has been a few years since I updated my blog. I have to admit that there have been no exciting games either (barring the World Cup earlier this year), the overall performance by Team India has pretty mediocre, the players we all loved to watch have retired (incidentally two of my favorites retired in the past 2 weeks) and I have got busy with my life (all this is relative to the period between 2009-2011 when I was really active with my blog). But we are in the middle of an exciting ODI series against a World-class team and so; I thought this was a good time to stage a comeback.

Now about today’s match: Even before the match began, I had the feeling that Team India cannot disappoint its fans so easily. A victory for South Africa today would have meant that the series was decided and that there was pretty much nothing to play for in the next ODI. That would look pretty bad for a team that is a “force” in the limited overs cricket, and so India played their “A” game today and made sure that we have a mouth watering contest to look for in a couple of days’ time (To the media – please do not quote me out of context and report that I have said that the match was fixed J).

MS Dhoni won the toss and not surprisingly opted to bat first. No team has been able to chase successfully in the series so far and the trend continued. Rohit Sharma (when I started my blog which was a good 6.5 years ago, I had not thought that Rohit would be someone that I would really like to watch) and Shikhar Dhawan (who is having a miserable series so far) opened the innings for India but the opening stand was rather short lived. India was two down pretty early on in the innings (35/2 in the 8^th over) and a somewhat familiar batting performance looked on cards (no really big partnerships and limping to a 250 odd total) but that was not the case. Kohli arrived at the crease like a man on a mission and the ever-dependable Rahane gave him good company. The duo punished anything that was loose and the running between the wickets was quick and prompt. As a result, India soon marched to a position from where they could put pressure on the bowlers instead of being forced to play a subdued game. Injuries to Morkel and Duminy did not help SA’s case either but you have to remember that India is not playing with their #1 spinner either, so in some sense it has evened out.

Rahane departed much against the run of play (139/3 in the 26^th over) and that brought Suresh Raina to the crease. Again, a good move by Dhoni to send an out-of-form batsman earlier in the innings; let him settle down a bit and then go berserk towards the end. Raina struggled to time the ball initially but the fluency of Kohli made things easier for him and eventually he got going. Kohli got to his century in style (was that a tribute to Sehwag?) and it was wonderful innings – not too many boundaries to show off but that makes it even more special. He was willing to grind it out and make uneasy runs for the team when it needed the most from its #1 batsman. Kohli was also going through a rather lean phase and this century marks his return to the form, this also makes things interesting for the upcoming test series. Raina made a useful quick 50 before departing and his return to form is another useful outcome of the game. Questions have been asked about his place and his utility even though I have always believed that Raina is a must for India in limited overs cricket. Dhoni came in and tried a few strokes, none of which materialized. Kohli was also suffering from cramps and he struggled through the last 5 overs of Indian innings, nevertheless him staying at the crease was still better than letting some one as inexperienced as Axar Patel come to bat and not knowing what to do really. SA pulled back things magnificently towards the last 5 overs of (they conceded something like 18 runs in the last 4 overs) and the final score on the board was definitely underwhelming but without any doubt very competitive.

This is not for the first time though that India has managed to end up with a total that seems atleast 20 runs short if not more given their progress during the 35-45 overs. The first two games of the World Cup (India vs Pak and India vs South Africa) very pretty much the same in this regard when India did really well during the middle overs and looked all set for a 350ish total but fell well short. While it is indeed a cause of concern and facebook has been filled with posts regarding how Dhoni has lost his mojo and how he should contemplate retirement etc., isn’t it really interesting that India has managed to win all the three games that I have been talking about? This of course is not a reason to justify the lack of a late flourish at the end of innings, it is just a fact that tells us how good India has been at times when they have even made up for the absence of this very vital end-of-innings-acceleration.

A total of 300 was always going to be challenging and if SA were to really give India a worry (which they did, courtesy of the superman AB DeVilliers), keeping wickets intact as well as keeping the run rate manageable was going to be the key (Isn’t it stating the obvious? Of course it is, everyone does that – Sunil Gavaskar, Harsha Bhogle, LSRK J), that did not happen though. Mohit Sharma snapped Amla early on in the innings (he has not the set the series on fire but I am pretty sure and worried at the same time that he will more than make up for it in the test series), and I must admit that Mohit Sharma is a very useful bowler, every time I see him I am impressed (well, the only times I have seen him are the World Cup games). What is disappointing at the same time though is, why does he not push himself to become a great fast bowler? With age and form on his side, he should be going all out and be THE fast bowler that India needs (we have had enough of Praveens and Munafs and Balajis and Gonys, we need a Srinath or a Zaheer). Anyways, the other opener, Quinton de Kock began in his usual fashion and while it seems that his love affair with the Indian bowling would continue, that was not to be. Bhajji got rid of him with a delivery that is an off-spinner’s delight – turn, bounce and THE EDGE snapped in slips. Seeing the opposition two down for 60 odd while chasing 300 is always a happy feeling (Games like Natwest final 2002 do not take place with a high frequency). It got worse for SA as Faf du and Miller did not contribute much either and then it was left for the superhuman AB DeVilliers. There is probably no pitch or bowling unit that can stop him for scoring freely and the innings he played today was a testimony to the same. However, the absence of partnerships did really hurt SA and with wickets falling at the other end, it was only a matter of time before he would be induced to play a false stroke, which he duly did but not before scoring a magnificent hundred (which was deservingly applauded by Kohli later). The bowling was pretty good and expectedly; the spinners did the bulk of the damage before Bhuvan wrapped it up with 3 wickets (which made him look a better bowler). Mohit Sharma bowled a controlled line and the trio of Axar, Bhajji and Mishra played the subcontinent spinners role to perfection – dry the runs and induce false strokes. Bhajji in particular was a joy to watch (he always is when he gets going) and it does look like that he is back (I hope he does not fall out of favour soon).

Overall, it was good game of cricket and now the stage is set for the final showdown – the decider that takes place in Mumbai on Sunday and it will be one contest that we all look forward to. May be the best team win before the TEST series begins.

Score card (courtesy: CricBuzz)

The saga of “Rahul Dravid”

The last time I wrote a blog was almost an year ago, when India won the World Cup at Wankhede. A lot of things have changed since the night of 2^nd April, 2011. Unfortunately, a lot of those things have changed for worse, like India losing their last eight overseas tests in a row. Rahul Dravid stood out in the first four of these tests like a pillar or “The Wall” as he has been famously known. However, he flopped so miserably in the last four and it is no surprise that he has decided to call it a day.

I can write pages and pages about RD and that would still not suffice but I will try to pen down few instances and facts that might explain that why every true cricket lover is going to miss Rahul Dravid.

Rahul Dravid made his debut for India in some Asia cup like event after the World Cup in 1996 in Padang, Singapore. I still remember watching him on TV and wondering who this guy is and what he is up to. He did not last long enough though in his first ODI. Nevertheless India did not qualify for the finals of that tournament and I thought we might never hear of these two guys again (the other one was Vikram Rathore who had managed to impress the selectors). That was not to be since RD was selected for the Indian tour to England in the summer of 1996, and boy, what an eventful summer that was. India did not shine against the English but there are plenty of things that have made the series memorable for me. The arrival of RD and Dada was the highlight of the tour. I also do remember a story that I read in India Today some 12 years ago. When India was playing at Lords, Venkatesh Prasad and RD were at Mecca of Cricket for the first time in their lives. They came to know that if a batsman hits a century or a bowler takes a fiver, he gets his name on the board of honour in the dressing room at Lords. Venky and RD talked to each other and said “Lets strive to get there”. RD missed his century by 5 runs but Venky actually got there. Another highlight of the tour was Sidhu announcing his retirement following a spat with Azharuddin and Harsha Bhogle making an impression with his commentary.

RD had a wonderful tour and became a near permanent member for India subsequently, though his ODI skills were always under the scanner. India toured South Africa in December 1996 and RD’s skill against the pace bowling was evident when he top-scored for India with 27* when the entire team was bundled for a paltry 66 in Kingsmead. Overall, India did no harm to their reputation of poor tourists as they lost the first test quickly and the second one too (though there was an interesting phase in the second one when SRT and Azhar launched a counter-attack against the SA pacers and both got to their centuries). However, the third test was a moment of glory when RD hit his maiden test century and followed it up with an equally brilliant 80 in the second innings. India could not win the match as the weather and the umpires (not to forget Daryll Cullinan’s century) conspired to deny India a victory.

RD also had a pretty good ODI series in SA and made rapid strides to be amongst the starting XI for any game that India played. RD had arrived.

The next superlative performance that I remember was when India toured NZ in December 1998. RD became one of the few Indians to have hit two centuries in two innings of the same test. India still lost the test series while the ODI series was drawn (2-2, if I am not wrong). However, it was during this tour that RD became a permanent member of the ODI team. RD did not disappoint his fans as he went on to become the highest run getter (with 461 runs) in the WC in the summer of 1999, though it was Lance Klusener who stole the thunder.

As India took on the Aussies in 2001 (something that was known as the final frontier to Steve Waugh’s invincibles), RD was going through a period of rather wretched form. On the other hand, Laxman, who probably was having the best time of his life, was promoted to #3 while Dravid was demoted to #6. Following on in the second test at Kolkata and already 4 down, the duo stood together for over a day to deny and deflate the Aussies attack, which until that point had virtually looked unstoppable. The 4^th day of Eden test is almost like “Sholay”, something which happens once in many many years. And Prem Panicker wrote on rediff “If it is possible for RD and VVS Laxman to bat for an entire day, then it might also be possible for me to walk on water and convert a jugful of that water into sparkling champagne”.

The World Cup of 2003: RD as the wicketkeeper-batsman:

The only thing people remember about the Natwest series of 2002 was the Dada moment, bare-chested and waving his shirt in the balcony of Lords as the entire team ran to hug Md. Kaif in the middle. Dada made a statement and so did Yuvi and Kaif. However, something that I still remember is the fact that RD started to keep wickets from this series (more on a continuous basis, before that wicket-keeping was an on/off thing). This allowed the team management to play an extra batsman, and with Sachin, Dada, Sehwag, Dravid, Yuvi, Laxman/Mongia and Kaif, the team did resemble a batting powerhouse. That was a huge step that RD took, again all in the interests of the team. RD also had an amazing test series where he amassed close to 600 runs.

As India went into the WC, they looked a rather battered and bruised team coming from NZ (where they had lost the test series 2-0 and ODI series 5-2). As if that was not enough, they struggled to beat Holland in the first game and then got all out for 125 against Australia. Effigies were burnt and colas and other products were boycotted, as is the norm in India. However, the team regrouped and went from strength to strength. RD kept wickets and batted the way he does- solidly. Nobody can forget the innings that Sachin played against Pak but not many people would remember that it was the hundred run partnership between RD and Yuvi that eventually took India home. India lost the final to Australia but overall it was a pretty successful campaign.

In the next 12 months that followed, RD had two very successful tours to Australia and Pakistan, the latter being the place where he has scored his highest test score (270) in the decider test. Overall, India enjoyed their golden period as the team did quite well under the Dada-Wright combination; RD’s contribution during this period was immense.

RD: the captain

However, all good things must come to an end so did the golden age, for once. John Wright bid goodbye to India and Greg Chappell (or Guru Greg as the Indian media fondly called him) walked in as the new coach. Dada’s form as a batsman had touched an all time low and Chappell made it clear that the time had come for Ganguly to go. Ganguly was axed as the captain and later as a batsman too. Dravid, who was indeed the natural successor to Dada, became the captain. India did enjoy moderate success under RD like winning the test series against the WI for the first time in 35 years in 2006. The period also saw the emergence of MS Dhoni, whom Chappell had already labelled as the next big thing in international cricket. However, the first round exit in the WC in 2007 was a huge blow to RD as a captain. What followed thereafter was quite chaotic with Chappell quitting as the blame game began. RD did not resign as the captain immediately after as he led India to a historic test series victory against England in England in 2007. However, he had only delayed his decision to quit, probably wanting to resign on a high than after a failure. He immediately announced his decision to quit as the captain once the England tour finished. It was quite an interesting period in the history of Indian cricket as the selectors appointed MS Dhoni as the captain for the inaugural World T20 event in SA. The older brigade comprising Dada, SRT and RD opted out of the T20 event and India, famously led by Dhoni went on to win the trophy. However as India played tests, at no point did RD’s form dip or he became a liability to the team. Instead, he stood there, as solid as a rock and became a role model to the youngsters. It is no surprise that Indian media, so famous for sensationalizing things, were never able to write anything remotely mischievous about RD.

India started on a new journey as Anil Kumble became the test captain while Dhoni led the team in ODIs. RD was considered too old for ODIs and hence was no longer a part of the Indian ODI squad. His test form also started to deteriorate and RD was no longer the ever bankable batsman for a while. However, he fought through this rather lean phase in his career and still did reasonably well. The fact that he was recalled to the ODI side for the one of the many series that India has played against Lanka and the subsequent Champions trophy in 2009 showed that the selectors never doubted his ability in ODIs either. He was only sidelined for the supposedly bright stars (like Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa) but these bright stars never shone like a star. Instead, they were mere fuljhadis.

Post Champions trophy, RD was again dropped from the ODI side since India were not scheduled to play a challenging ODI series (say in SA or in Australia). RD continued to turn up for India for tests and did quite well though he did not match the usual standards that he had set. Quite expectedly, he was not a part of the WC winning squad in 2011 which is quite saddening actually. He had one of the best tours of his lifetime when India toured England in the summer of 2011. India were whitewashed 4-0 in the test series but only one MAN stood tall amongst the ruins.

As always he was a team man and did all that he could do in the interests of the team. Opened the batting, made all the runs and stood in the slips to grab any edges (there were not many though, thanks to the pathetic bowling). One moment deserves special mention is the last test in the England, though. He opened the batting for India, carried his bat right through the innings and as India followed on, he was there to open again. Honestly, it was a moment of disbelief to me. How could the team management expect so much from a mere mortal? As if that was not enough, the selectors also named him in the squad for the ODIs and the lone T20 that India were scheduled to play in England. RD obviously was not amused and announced his retirement from the ODIs, but only after fulfilling the assignment that he was given.

Thereafter he played for India against the WI in India and against the Aussies in Australia. His last series turned out to be a huge disappointment unfortunately. He hardly scored anything and by the time the series finished, I had little doubt that RD will ever play for India again, especially given his nature and no-nonsense approach. He announced his retirement this morning, putting a full stop to a glorious era.

RD has enticed us as much as with his batting as he has with his immaculate behaviour (whether on or off field) and his true sense of sportsmanship.

Personally, if I have idolised any player, not just for his skills but also for his overall personality, RD has topped the list (Kumble probably is the next). RD is also the most selfless player that I have seen playing for India and it is highly unlikely that I will see someone else like him in my lifetime. Respect is the only word that comes to my mind when I think about all the contribution that he has made to Indian cricket. He may have been overshadowed so many times while playing for India (by Sourav Ganguly in Taunton or by Sachin Tendulkar at Headingley or byVVS Laxman in Kolkata) but I can assure you that he has won many more hearts.

You are truly a legend, Sir and you will be sorely missed. Wishing you all the best in all your future endeavours.

Disclaimer: Most of the facts that I have stated here are based on my memory, I did not bother to google the same. There might be minor errors here and there (like umpiring errorsJ ). As I finished this, I also realised that I forgot to mention the catches that RD has taken in slips. Will probably need to write a follow up to this blog.

An (un)eventful couple of months

The disastrous tour of the Indian cricket team to England finally came to an end yesterday. It was more of a relief that anything else to me though it meant that India did not manage to win even a single game on such a long tour, definitely not what we had expected before the tour began.

Overall the tour was marked by a series of injuries and loss of form to key players (I just cannot list them here), inefficient management (the ICC awards fiasco) and pathetic selection (Ravinder Jadeja rushed in as a replacement for Gautam Gambhir, RP Singh recalled from his holiday, no wonder he always looked in holiday mood even when he played and lastly Varun Aaron- supposedly the fastest bowler in India carrying drinks for the team during all the five ODIs ). In nutshell, a rude awakening for the team and fans like me who were still celebrating the WC triumph that came way back in April.

There is no point in talking about what went wrong, most of the things went wrong. However, surprisingly and unbelievably, there were a few positives that emerged from this tour too. India did pretty well in the ODIs and most of the games saw a close finish, albeit in England's favour. However, Indian batting really got better as the series progressed and that is a huge plus (and a relief too). It was refreshing to see Dhoni playing his natural game (helicopter shots emerging every now and then), Kohli getting a hundred in the final game (just when it looked that Kohli would have nothing to talk about when the tour finishes), Raina showing why he should be an automatic selection to the ODI side (also why he should be an automatic rejection in Tests especially when they are not played in the subcontinent) and an exciting prospect in Rhane. Jadeja also seemed to have learnt some batting and Parthiv looked like someone who should be in the team as an opener instead of Dinu Karthik. The bowling continued to disappoint though and it remains to be seen who will be the bowlers for India in the upcoming ODI series against the English team in India. It would also be interesting to see how the English respond to the same set of problems that confronted India since they won't be playing in their own backyard and their key players (atleast a couple in Broad and Morgan) have got injured.

On a much more exciting note, I also witnessed some quite unbelievable or rather heavenly tennis last week during the men's semi-final and the final of the US Open Championship. Novak Djokovic, at the moment, looks like a player from a different planet. He has managed to win three grand slams this year but boy, have I ever seen someone play such tennis ? The manner in which he came back in the semi-finals against Federer was just incredible. However, how do you define the way in which he played the final against Rafa ? I do not know if there is any word in my vocabulary to describe that (perhaps Mr Sidhu will know some). The final game lasted a little over 4 hours and was decided in 4 sets and while it may imply that it was a very closely fought game, this was never the case. Djokovic enjoyed complete dominance over Nadal and I would say, Nadal did quite well to just hang in there. Some of the games, especially when Nadal was serving were closely fought, simply because he had to really work hard to save his serve. When Djokovic served, the game would be wrapped up quite quickly. Reminded me of that background score in Ramayana when Shri Ram and Kumbhakaran were fighting (Jab tak chahe khel kare, jab chahe Ram kare sanhaar).

Djokovic is easily my favorite sportsperson in the world at the moment, remains to be seen if someone can dethrone him (he faces some tough competition from Messi though). Nadal still looks good enough to win a few more French Open championships and has vowed to turn the tables on Djokovic (Six straight loses, for sure that's painful but I'm going to work every day until that changes- Nadal during the post match presentation)

As for Federer- he is still playing some very good tennis, but the way his peers have shifted gears, chances of Grand slam #17 look pretty bleak at the moment. However, as I said, he is still fit and is playing some really cool tennis, so you never know.

So quite contrasting summer for two of my favorite sports. Plenty of disappointment from the Indian cricket team, but lots and lots of exciting moments from the US Open. Not looking forward to any more games though. All I am looking forward to is visiting India at the moment. :)

An (un)eventful summer !!

The disastrous tour of the Indian cricket team to England finally came to an end yesterday. It was more of a relief that anything else to me though it meant that India did not manage to win even a single game on such a long tour, definitely not what we had expected before the tour began.

Overall the tour was marked by a series of injuries and loss of form to key players (I just cannot list them here), inefficient management (the ICC awards fiasco) and pathetic selection (Ravinder Jadeja rushed in as a replacement for Gautam Gambhir, RP Singh recalled from his holiday, no wonder he always looked in holiday mood even when he played and lastly Varun Aaron- supposedly the fastest bowler in India carrying drinks for the team during all the five ODIs ). In nutshell, a rude awakening for the team and fans like me who were still celebrating the WC triumph that came way back in April. 

There is no point in talking about what went wrong, most of the things went wrong. However, surprisingly and unbelievably, there were a few positives that emerged from this tour too. India did pretty well in the ODIs and most of the games saw a close finish, albeit in England's favour. However, Indian batting really got better as the series progressed and that is a huge plus (and a relief too). It was refreshing to see Dhoni playing his natural game (helicopter shots emerging every now and then), Kohli getting a hundred in the final game (just when it looked that Kohli would have nothing to talk about when the tour finishes), Raina showing why he should be an automatic selection to the ODI side (also why he should be an automatic rejection in Tests especially when they are not played in the subcontinent) and an exciting prospect in Rhane. Jadeja also seemed to have learnt some batting and Parthiv looked like someone who should be in the team as an opener instead of Dinu Karthik. The bowling continued to disappoint though and it remains to be seen who will be the bowlers for India in the upcoming ODI series against the English team in India. It would also be interesting to see how the English respond to the same set of problems that confronted India since they won't be playing in their own backyard and their key players (atleast a couple in Broad and Morgan) have got injured. 

On a much more exciting note, I also witnessed some quite unbelievable or rather heavenly tennis last week during the men's semi-final and the final of the US Open Championship. Novak Djokovic, at the moment, looks like a player from a different planet. He has managed to win three grand slams this year but boy, have I ever seen someone play such tennis ? The manner in which he came back in the semi-finals against Federer was just incredible. However, how do you define the way in which he played the final against Rafa ? I do not know if there is any word in my vocabulary to describe that (perhaps Mr Sidhu will know some). The final game lasted a little over 4 hours and was decided in 4 sets and while it may imply that it was a very closely fought game, this was never the case. Djokovic enjoyed complete dominance over Nadal and I would say, Nadal did quite well to just hang in there. Some of the games, especially when Nadal was serving were closely fought, simply because he had to really work hard to save his serve. When Djokovic served, the game would be wrapped up quite quickly. Reminded me of that background score in Ramayana when Shri Ram and Kumbhakaran were fighting (Jab tak chahe khel kare, jab chahe Ram kare sanhaar).

Djokovic is easily my favorite sportsperson in the world at the moment, remains to be seen if someone can dethrone him (he faces some tough competition from Messi though). Nadal still looks good enough to win a few more French Open championships and has vowed to turn the tables on Djokovic (Six straight loses, for sure that's painful but I'm going to work every day until that changes- Nadal during the post match presentation)

 As for Federer- he is still playing some very good tennis, but the way his peers have shifted gears, chances of Grand slam #17 look pretty bleak at the moment. However, as I said, he is still fit and is playing some really cool tennis, so you never know.

So quite contrasting summer for two of my favorite sports. Plenty of disappointment from the Indian cricket team, but lots and lots of exciting moments from the US Open. Not looking forward to any more games though. All I am looking forward to is visiting India at the moment. :)  

The World Champions !!!!

India won the World Cup 2011 to script a major chapter in the history of Indian cricket. They also won the coveted trophy after a gap of 28 years and in the process joined the selected club of teams which have won the Cup more than once. The match was also only the 3rd instance in a WC final when a team chasing a total went on to win the game.

Toss: Sri lanka won the toss (amid some confusion) and expectedly decided to bat first. They made some wholesome changes to their playing XI and it is open to debate, now that SL lost the finals. India had to replace Nehra who suffered a fracture in his finger and did that by bringing in Sreesanth which won't be open to any debate since India won the game :).

SL innings: SL started quite slowly as Zaheer Khan bowled an impeccable line and length and was ably backed up by some marvelous fielding. This was in quite contrast with the way he started to bowl in the finals of the 2003 WC, and things looked quite good as he sent his first three overs without conceding a single run off the bat. He was rewarded by the wicket of Tharanga in his 4th over as SL limped to 17/1 in 7 overs with Dilshan and the SL captain Sangakkara at crease. Sreesanth did not exactly set things on fire with his bowling but still was OK by his standards, initially. Dilshan started to open up a bit as Zaheer went out of the attack while Sangakkara was willing to play a wait and watch game. Spin was introduced in the 14th over as Bhajji was given the ball. He started with a steady line and was rewarded with the prized wicket of Dilshan in his second over as he was bowled in a rather unfortunate manner (60/2 in 17th over). That brought Mahela Jaywardene (MJ) to the crease, and together with Sangakkara, this was the pair that could give Lankan innings an impetus, something they really lacked until that point. The duo got about their job in a very mature manner which involved minimal risk- look for singles/doubles but do not miss out on any loose delivery. Their approach was indeed very sensible and quite effective as the run rate started to rise. Yuvraj Singh, the star player for India, was given to bowl but his initial overs were quite ineffective. It was only in Yuvi's fourth over that Yuvraj could get another prized wicket of Sangakkara, but that was a case of Sangakkara gifting his wicket away than anything else (122/3 at the end of 28 over). Samarweera joined MJ (who was batting wonderfully at the other end) at the crease and the two again got about doing a rebuilding job. Meanwhile, Dhoni tried to get in a few overs from Sreesanth but MJ was in no mood to spare his former KXIP colleague and picked runs off him at will. Yuvraj Singh got a bit better with the ball, though, after he had a wicket but Dhoni eventually had to get rid of Sreesanth (who bowled 8 expensive overs) and had to ask Tendulkar to bowl 2 overs in order to fill Sreesanth's quota. MJ continued to bat in a sublime way and toyed with all the bowlers. Samarweera too settled in and even though he is more of a test batsman, he never felt any pressure as Mahela continued to find atleast one boundary per over. Yuvraj finally had a breakthrough courtesy of reviewed LBW decision (one of the rare occasions when Simon Taufel got it wrong ) and sent Samarweera back. Kapugadera was sent in but did not last long as he was immediately foxed by Zaheer who returned for a second spell. This was Zaheer's 21st wicket in the WC and made him the joint highest wicket keeper with Shahid Afridi. This is indeed a feat worth cherishing, considering the fact that this WC is (or rather was) held in the Indian subcontinent, a place where pitches are not supposed to be conducive to fast bowling. Kulasakera made way to the crease after the fall of Kapugadera's wicket and in company with MJ batted quite sensibly until they came to the end of 45th over. It was at this stage that the batting power play was enforced and the SL batsmen decided to cut loose. At the end of 45th over, SL were placed quite reasonably at 211/5 but a late assault during the batting PP overs, took them to 274, something that not many people could have imagined at the beginning. The assault was lead by MJ himself who completed a century in 84 balls (that was indeed a wonderful knock), a bit by Kulasekara while the final over was hit for 18 runs by Perera.

SL raced to 274, something that quite unfathomable, given the slow start they had. Indian bowling and fielding was wonderful at the start but the intensity dropped a bit at the end and Zaheer Khan's second spell was a huge letdown. It looked as if the ghosts of 2003 were back to haunt us.

Indian innings: A very slow over rate ensured that Sachin and Sehwag did not have much time to think about (there was only a 15 minute interval on either side of the two innings) how they are going to go about the target. Sehwag was trapped leg before off the second ball of Indian innings though he always finds it hard to believe that he is indeed out. A meaningless review that he asked for did not change the obvious and he had to make way to the dressing room (0/1 in the first over). Gambhir walked in and immediately got off to the mark as he clipped a fullish ball neatly off his legs. The duo of Gambhir and Sachin started by collecting a few singles and Sachin, in particular, started to look good as he hit Kulasekara for 2 fours in the 4th over of the innings. However, the joy was short lived as Malinga had the better of him in the 7th over (31/2). The two huge superstars of the Indian team were back in the hut and Wankhede was stunned into silence. Entered Kohli, the guy who had the experience of leading India to the under-19 WC win. Kohli and Gambhir initially found the going tough but then settled down as they began a rearguard action. At the end of the mandatory power play, India were placed at 41/2, not a great score if you are an Indian supporter. However, the pressure eased off a bit as Malinga had to be removed from the attack and the duo of Gambhir and Kohli found the pace of Kula and Perera to their liking. After a couple of expensive overs, Sangakkara brought the spin of Randiv in attack and Gambhir immediately had a let off when he was dropped at long-off in the 14th over. At the end of the first 15 overs, India had marched to 81/2 and it was a comeback of sorts after they were reduced to 31/2 at one stage. Sangakkara continued to attack with spin as Dilshan joined Randiv but the expiry of power play overs meant that the field was spread and this allowed the Indian batsmen to take singles and doubles quite easily. Muralitharan was finally brought into the attack in the 19th over but it appeared that the Indian batsmen had come up with a strategy of not trying to attack Murali and gift wickets to him in the process. The 100 came up for India in the 20th over and the Kohli-Gambhir duo had replied to the punches that Malinga had delivered in his opening spell. But just when everything looked to go India's way, Kohli (like he has done through most of this WC, doing the hard work and then throwing his wicket away) was brilliantly caught by Dilshan off his bowling (114/3 in 22nd over). Dhoni made way to the crease, which was unexpected given the fact that Yuvraj is in best of form while Dhoni had not been among the runs at all. The only logic that I saw behind the move was to maintain a left-right combination and not allow the SL off-spinners (Murali/Randiv/Dilshan) to dominate. Dhoni started quite slowly and Gambhir found the going tough as well and consequently the run rate fell a bit. Sangakkara employed different bowling combinations which including bowling a half-fit Murali, a short spell from Malinga besides a couple of overs from Perera and Kula but none could provide a breakthrough. Dhoni started to time the ball quite nicely and his back-foot punches through the cover region were an indication of the same. Gambhir, on the other hand, continued to play a very mature innings where he seldom played a false shot, stole singles and doubles and got occasional boundaries to ensure that the asking rate does not rise. India reached 200 in the 38th over and Dhoni also reached his 50 in the same over (though he did not really show any emotion at that stage). At this point, the match looked to be in India's grasp and if SL were to really get back into it, something dramatic needed to happen. Dhoni was struggling with his back and SL might have hoped that he could gift his wicket in an attempt to hit a big shot. However, in quite an anti-climax, just when Gambhir was about to reach his 100, he threw it away with a loose shot which resulted in his stumps being disturbed (223-4 in 42nd over, Perera being the benificar with India needing 52 off 52). Gambhir made 97 off 122 balls and the kind of fighter he is, deserved a century and his place in the record books with the likes of Ponting, Gilchrist and MJ. Entered Yuvraj Singh, the man who has not put a foot wrong in this WC. While the Lankan fielders and bowlers sniffed a chance, Yuvraj immediately shooed them away, with a boundary off the last ball of the same over. At the end of 42nd over, India neede 48 off 8 overs and with the batting PP still remaining, it was a question of how long will the match continue. Dhoni and Yuvi batted sensibly and kept their attacking instincts under check, to ensure that they see their side home safely. When the PP was enforced at the end of 45th over, India needed 30 off 5 overs. A tight over from Malinga (only 3 coming off it) could have given hopes to an SL supporter but Dhoni smacked Kula in the next over for 11 runs and the target was brought down to 16 needed off the last 3 overs. Dhoni then hit Malinga for 2 consecutive fours in the subsequent over and at the end of that over, India needed only 5 off 2 overs. It was Dhoni again who dispatched Kula over long on for a huge six as India reached the target with 10 balls to spare.

Dhoni finished with 91 not out while Yuvraj Singh was unbeaten at 20.

With this special win, India became the first host country to win the WC. While the fans were expectedly jubilant, the players were a bit emotional at the same time. Bhajji found it quite hard to control his tears but overall it was a celebration of triumph. Sachin Tendulkar was lifted on the shoulders by Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan and given a lap of honour. And then Gary Kirsten was given the same treatment. The celebrations were wonderful with almost each team member crediting the coach (Gary Kirsten) and the senior members of the team for the trophy. Before the WC began, there was this talk of younger players wanting to win the WC for Sachin. It is a matter of pride that they indeed did it. Sachin could not ask for a better parting gift if he does decide to retire from ODIs after the WC.

Once again, India were wonderfully lead by MS Dhoni, the guy with the unbelievable temperament. He remained calm and composed all the time and he chose the perfect occasion- the finals of the WC to find form and answer his critics. Not many people can come up with innings of such high quality to put a faltering run chase back on track in a WC final, and that too at home when the pressure is just so much. India also got back the Yuvraj Singh of old times, an asset to any team with his fearless batting, useful bowling and attacking fielding. It is no suprise at all that Yuvraj Singh won the player of the tournament award, no one else deserved it more.

SL played very well to reach the finals of the WC for the second consecutive time but India exposed their bowling inadequacies and exploited the same to the maximum. They had only one world class bowler in Malinga while Murali was half-fit and should not have played. Kula, Perera and Randiv are decent bowlers but definitely not the ones who could seriously challenge Indian batsmen. And I still wonder why people called India as the team with the weakest bowling attack.

More importantly, the WC was played in true spirit of the game and was never in the news for wrong reasons. It was also characterized by the absence of any off-field or on-field incidents and hence will always be etched in my memory. The famous Indian victory is also a MOKSHA for my blog. I only started to write this blog when India started to do really well. And now that the World Cup has been won in style, I am not sure if I will ever be thrilled so much so as to start writing things. I also assume that I will get more busy with my work and hence it may be hard to find time. But this moment is not about me, this is about the Men who came, saw and conquered.

Thank you very much MSD, Gary Kirsten and all the members of Indian team for bringing smiles to 1 billion (I heard its now 1.2 billion) people.

Jai Hind !!

Scorecard (courtesy: Cricinfo)

India - 5, Pakistan - 0

India made to the finals of the World Cup 2011 with a resounding victory over their arch-rivals Pakistan. The splendid victory gives India a chance to become the first host nation to win the World Cup when the Men in Blue take on SL at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on this Saturday. The win is also indicative of the complete dominance that India has enjoyed over Pakistan in all the World Cup matches and and hence the title of this article.

Toss: India won the toss and rightfully decided to bat first. In a pressure game like a WC semi-final, batting first and letting the opposition chase the runs is always the better of the two options and Dhoni did precisely that. However, Dhoni also announced that Ashwin was dropped and replaced by Ashish Nehra, something that nobody (including the likes of Sidhu and Ian Chappell in the studio and me) could understand. On the other hand, it was not completely shocking considering the fact that the pitch at PCA stadium Mohali has always favored fast bowlers. The only point was if it was worth playing Nehra at the cost of Ashwin. Pakistan, on the other hand, went unchanged which meant that there was no game for Akhtar.

Indian innings:

Nothing calms you more than to see Sachin and Sehwag go and open the innings for you. These two are phenomenal batsmen and the duo has demolished the best bowling attacks in the world. Gul had made his intentions clear of targetting the Indian top order, but instead it was him who was in the firing line. Sehwag unleashed a barrage of strokes in the third over as Gul was hit for 5 boundaries and 21 came off that over. Sehwag hit a few more before he became Wahab Riaz's first victim in the sixth over (48/1 in 6th over). However, Sehwag played quite a useful cameo of 38 and it gave India the early momentum. Gambhir joined Sachin but the fall of Sehwag did put a brake on the scoring rate. However, none of the pacers that Afridi employed looked to take a wicket and he had to turn to his spinners as early as 9th over. Saeed Ajmal was the one to start the spin and immediately made some sort of impact in his second over. Sachin was adjudged LBW by the umpire Ian Gould, but survived courtesy of the UDRS. Off the very next ball, he survived a close stumping call and that was perhaps the beginning of an innings that not many people will associate with Sachin. There was more spin on offer as Afridi got himself in, then brought Hafeez and the three of them (including Ajmal) slowed down the scoring considerably. Gambhir played quite well (he is easily one of the best players of spin in the world at the moment) while Sachin continued to benefit from dropped chances. Things were pretty fine for India until a moment of adrenaline rush caused Gambhir to charge down the track to Hafeez only to be stumped (116/2 in 19th over). That brought Virat Kohli to the crease and he looked quite normal at the crease but India's scoring rate continued to dip. It was not really an alarm at that stage because the plan must have been to consolidate in the middle overs and then attack at the end. What caused alarm to me was the fact that the ball was turning quite a bit and India had opted for 3 seamers. Anyways, Afridi gave the older ball to Wahab Riaz in an attempt to see if he could get some reverse swing, and boy, he found it quite appreciably. He got rid of Kohli and the man-in-form Yuvraj Singh of successive deliveries, and from a position of strength, India suddenly were looking quite uncomfortable as the score read 141/4. Dhoni came in and negated the hatrick, but what followed thereafter was a very slow recovery from India. The boundaries completely dried up while bowlers like Hafeez were very hard to score off (he ended with figures of 10-0-34-1, quite an achievement for an allrounder, if he one). There were few comic moments in between though, as Sachin was dropped repeatedly. Sachin eventually fell to Ajmal, the man who started it all, and was caught by Afridi (it was off Afridi's bowling that Sachin was dropped thrice, the score 187-5 at the end of 37 overs). Entered Suresh Raina, and boy, has not he made an impact in the limited opportunities that he has got. Raina and Dhoni batted quite slowly, and it was not very pleasing to see the always dipping scoring rate, but at least, there was no collapse. Dhoni got out to Wahab Riaz in 42nd over (205/6) which meant that Raina had to grind out with the tail to take India somewhere close to 250. Raina did that very well in the company of the tail, and for a change the batting PP was quite fruitful for India as 43 runs came off it for the loss of only Harbhajan's wicket. Umar Gul could not fulfill his desires of ripping through the Indian top order, instead he got repeatedly hammered even by the lower Indian order and ended up with rather ugly figures of 8-0-69-0. India did well to reach 260, considering the fact that it looked that India may not even bat their entire quota of overs (because of the collapses that India is so strongly associated with in this World Cup). But crossing 250 and being able to bat out the entire innings did give some psychological boost to the team. However, the general sentiment was that India had frittered away the early advantage of a rapid start and ended atleast 20-30 runs short. For Pakistan, Wahab Riaz was the pick of bowlers with a 5 wicket haul and that is no mean achievement by any measures. The spinners did well too but Afridi could not get a wicket today and ended his WC campaign with 21 wickets which is quite impressive.

Pakistan innings:

Zaheer Khan opened the bowling for India while for Pakistan it was the duo of Kamran Akmal and Mohd Hafeez who came to open. Pakistan started their chase in an emphatic manner as Kamran Akmal sent the first ball of the innings to the boundary and followed it with another one of the last ball of the same over. Nehra was the one who shared the new ball with Zaheer and bowled a decent line and length. However, there was no swing on offer and runs came at a decent pace initially with both the openers looking comfortable. Zaheer was replaced by Munaf in the fifth over and the plan looked to give Zaheer a bit of breather and then bring him on from the other end. Nehra and Munaf bowled a couple of steady overs before Zaheer actually returned from the same end in the 9th over and got the vital wicket of Kamran Akmal (44/1 in 9 overs). In came the little known Asad Shafiq to give company to Hafeez. Dhoni also introduced Harbhajan quite early in the 11th over and obviously he was looking for wickets. Bhajji did not get one but Munaf did get one when Hafeez (who had played quite well until then) tried to play a dilscoop only to get a faint edge to Dhoni (70/2 in 16th over). It was at this point that India made a comeback as they brought down the run rate and had picked a couple of pickets as well. Younis Khan joined Asad but the none of them really got going. Dhoni also brought Yuvi in the attack to see if he could get some turn and cause problems for Pakistan. He started by bowling a bit short but soon switched to a fuller length and the turn was there to see. Yuvi finally got one in his 3rd over when he had Asad bowled off an arm ball that came straight into the right hander and had the middle stump uprooted. That brought Misbah-ul-Haq to the crease and together with Younis Khan, it was the most experienced pair in the Pakistani batting line up. However, Younis had a rather indifferent WC and his misery finally ended when he was caught by Raina in the covers off Yuvraj (106/4 in 26 overs). He made a very modest 13 off 32 balls and never looked comfortable. The dismissal of Younis brought the junior Akmal to the crease and with his arrival began the tiny little period when Pakistan looked really serious about the run chase. Akmal collects his runs very quickly and his never shy of playing the big shots. This was evident when he started to hit Yuvi (something that not many have tried in this tournament) and a couple of sixes came in successive overs. It was probably the only time when Pakistan posed a real challenge with a combination of youth and experience at the crease. However, Bhajji had the better of Akmal when he had Akmal bowled off a quicker one (142/5 in 34 overs) and that was a huge blow. Akmal was the one who was playing all the shorts while Misbah was even struggling to rotate the strike. Afridi gave Razaaq a promotion in the batting order as he joined Misbah. However, his stay was again short lived as he was bowled by a beautiful leg-cutter from Munaf Patel (reminiscent of the way Prasad used to trouble right handers) and Pakistan slumped further (150/6 in37 overs). Afridi finally made way to the crease, and while this may suggest the might of a batting line up when you have someone like Afridi coming as low as #8, it actually is quite the opposite. People like Razzaq and Afridi have ceased to be the batsmen that they once were, and hence they essentially come to bat at positions that are reserved for bowlers. Afridi looked to set a few things right with his batting today (Rameez Raja was surely impressed when he said that Afridi looks very good when he had made 17 off just 14 balls :) ). However, Afridi was bogged down by the pressure as the required run rate kept climbing and Misbah kept batting in a rather bizarre manner. He was eventually out for 19 caught by Sehwag off Bhajji in an attempt to score some very quick runs. After that it was only a question of finishing it off, though in a game as vital as this, Dhoni just could not take anything for granted. It was only after Afridi had departed that Misbah came to senses and started to hit a few boundaries. However, it was too late by then and Pakistan eventually folded for 231 in the last over. Misbah in the company of the last three batsmen added 47 runs and also got to his individual half century but it was way too late. The last few overs saw some excellent display of death bowling by Nehra and Munaf though Zaheer was a bit rusty. India eventually won by 29 runs and this win complements the quartet of the earlier WC wins- Sydney(1992), Bangalore(1996), Old Trafford(1999) and Centurion(2003).

This win was set up by the Indian bowlers who bowled their hearts out and made sure that this victory was achieved quite comfortably. All the 5 bowlers who were employed by Dhoni took 2 wickets each and it would be hard to say whose 2 were the most important in the context of the game. However, the Indian bowling unit clicked in unison and answered all the critics who had labelled India as the team with the weakest bowling attack. Two successive impressive bowling performances (restricting Aussies to 260 and successfully defending 260 against Pakistan) tell an altogether different story.

Inspite of all the media hype, the match was played in a very cordial manner and there was not even a single on field incident that could be termed ugly. Pakistan did well to reach the semis considering that they do not play any cricket at home, their team is always mired with controversies but even as a neutral observer, I would say that they were no match for India. They did match India in the bowling department (or even have better bowling resources) but they come noway near to India in batting. They have no specialist openers (Hafeez, I heard throws his wicket after a lovely 30-40 while Akmal is a different case), no specialist middle order batsmen (Younis was not just in form while Misbah was painfully slow, Umar Akmal starts very positively but rarely converts his starts to big ones), no real finishers (Afridi's batting woes do not seem to end and Razaq is more like the Indian equivalent of Ravinder Jadeja). Their fielding is horrible too and that only allowed India to post 260. They also need to find a proper wicket-keeper and a specialist opener rather than persist with someone like Kamran Akmal who is a compromise solution but still a very bad keeper. But still congratulations to the Pakistan team for the way they performed and best wishes to Shoaib Akhtar for his future.

India take on SL in the final on Saturday and this does not get any bigger (or more bore ?) than this. The two teams have faced each other on so many occasions in the past couple of years. Revenge is the first thing that comes to my mind (of the 1996 semi-final). Hope to see Dhoni with the trophy on the coming Saturday.

Good luck to the Men in Blue

Vande Matram !!!

Jai Hind !!!

Score card (courtery: Cricinfo)

India march in the semis

India stormed into the semis of the WC 2011 with a comprehensive win over the once invincible Aussies. This win sets up one of the most eagerly awaited contests in the fascinating game of cricket when India and Pakistan take each other at PCA Stadium, Mohali on the 30th of March. The win also marked the formal end of the era of invincibility that started way back in the summer of 1999 by an Australian team lead by Steve Waugh. But before I write more about the outcomes of this match, let me write about the match itself.

Australian innings

MS Dhoni lost the toss and it was not the best way to begin a high pressure game. Ricky Ponting chose to bat and die hard fans like me immediately went into the prayer mode wishing that it does not turn out to be an encore of the WC final at Kingsmead exactly 8 years ago (the date was 23rd March, 2003) . India opened bowling with Zaheer Khan and Ashwin. Opening with Ashwin was a brave but intelligent move because the 2nd placer who plays for India (be it Nehra/Sreesanth/Munaf) does not really exude confidence. On the other hand, Ashwin is someone who looks like a gutsy spinner willing to take on the challenge. Watson and Haddin started in a reasonably quiet manner though boundaries started to come by gradually. Then, in a moment of madness when Watson could not connect a pre-mediated sweep and lost his offstump in the process saw India take the first breakthrough. In walked Ricky Ponting, a man who has been at the centre of controversy for quite some time now. He started quite cautiously with his nemesis Bhajji bowling at one end. After seeing off Bhajji for his short spell, Ponting began to grow in confidence while Haddin was in usual single-double-occasional four mode. The two were also helped by the introduction of India's weak link in bowling- Mr Munaf Patel. Yuvi was introduced into the attack in the 16th over but did not make an immediate impression. But in this WC, Yuvi is the person who cannot be kept out of limelight for long. Yuvi got rid of Haddin (who made a nice 50 but again failed to convert it into a bigger score), thanks to a nice diving catch by Raina in the covers. In came Michael Clarke who had a mini struggle before Yuvi ended his misery as well. Subsequently, the scoring rate dipped while Dhoni attacked in all possible manners (which included giving an over to Sachin, then one to Virat Kohli) to get more wickets. Dhoni's go-to man did get him the big fish- Mike Hussey but Ponting continued to bat with supreme ease at the other end. White gave company to Ponting for a while but really struggled to time the ball before he eventually fell for 12. That brought the junior of the Hussey brothers- David Hussey to the crease. David Hussey seemed to the the person Ponting was looking for all the while. The duo was able to play some shots and accelerate at the end (with 44 runs coming off the batting PP), something that Ponting could never do before as wickets kept falling at the other end. Ponting made a classy century before he got out for 104 but in the illustrious company of David Hussey propelled Aussies to total in excess of 250.

The story of Aussies innings was all about one man- Ricky Ponting. He did not find much company though and if it was not from the support of Haddin in the earlier part of his innings and David Hussey in the latter half of the innings, the Aussies could have well have ended with something below 250. Indian bowlers (the same people who have been completely written off by our fabulous media) deserve credit for the way they kept things under control. The Aussie batsmen were made to work really hard for each and every run and the fielding was quite good (bolstered by the inclusion of Suresh Raina). All the frontline bowlers with the exception of Munna were good though Bhajji did not manage to get any wicket. However, the pick was again Yuvi who finished with figures of 10-0-44-2. Pretty decent by the standards of a pie-chucker :).

Indian innings

When Sehwag and Sachin walked into face Lee et al I could actually feel my heart pounding. I was wondering how hard it must be for the players who carry the expectations of a billion people. Anyways, Sehwag survived a referral in the very first over bowled by Lee and never looked very comfortable. Sachin on the other hand looked quite calm as he hit Tait for 2 fours in his opening over. India got off to a decent start as they raced to 44/0 before Sehwag tried to pull Watson only to offer a simple catch to Hussey at square leg. That brought Gambhir to the crease and this man really has nerves of steel. I would not say that he is the best player but I have never seen him give up easily. Ponting started to rotate his bowlers as Johnson was brought into the attack while first Watson and then Lee were bowling from the other end. However, as I said earlier, Sachin was all calm as he was hardly troubled by any of the Aussies bowlers. Sachin batted quite solidly for his fifty and in the process also made his 18000th run. However he was done in by an outswinger from Tait and when he departed, the score read 94/2. In came Kohli sa'ab and he took a while to get going. By this time, Ponting also introduced his spinners (Krejza was supposedly the strike bowler while David Hussey and Clarke were supposed to provide him support) but they never looked penetrative. Kohli and Gambhir started to milk the spinners before Kohli sa'ab hit a full toss from Hussey straight to Clarke at short mid-wicket (143/3). Yuvi walked in and got off the mark of the first ball when he dispatched a friendly full toss from Hussey to the long-on boundary. I would say that this was the time when Ponitng missed a trick. He allowed the likes of Clarke, Krejza and Hussey to bowl to Yuvi and this allowed him to get his eye in. In my opinion, he could have attacked a bit more with one of his frontline pacers when Yuvi was new to the crease. Perhaps, he wanted to exploit Yuvi's inability to start well against the spinners but it completely backfired. Gambhir's weird running ultimately lead to his run out (nobody knows what was going through his mind when he wanted to run for practically everything but nevertheless his fifty was so important to the team's cause) with India needing 93 off the last 17 overs. Dhoni came to the crease but his stay did not last long as he was snapped by Clarke at point leaving India in a real spot of bother (74 needed off 75 with 5 wickets in hand). However, the inclusion of Raina for this match meant that India had a technically more competent batsman than the previous matches, in principle atleast. Yuvi and Raina looked under a bit of pressure initially with Ponting going back to his pacers and making life difficult for Raina, in particular. It was advantage Australia at that point. However, Lee was hit for 3 fours in the 40th over and then 13 came off the next over from Tait and this brought the momentum back to India's run chase. These two big overs also made sure that the required rate won't be a problem anymore as India needed only 41 off the last 9 overs. Ponting obviously was quite disappointed by the show from his pacers and turned to Krejza and Watson. The duo of Raina and Yuvi played a couple of silent overs from Krejza while Watson was hit for 14 in his 2 overs in a very good exhibition of risk free cricket. At the end of 45h over, India needed only 22 when the PP was enforced by default. Raina welcomed Brett lee by hitting his first delivery for a huge six of long on and then collected a single. 7 came of that over but India did not lose any wicket (which they donate so generously during batting power play). The subsequent over from Johnson yielded 11 runs which meant that India needed only 4 runs from 3 overs. The winning runs came when Yuvi hit Lee for 4 through the covers. And that was it- the end of a reign and the beginning of a new chapter in the history of World Cup as Aussies were dethroned.

For India, the win was a result of complete teamwork as all the bowlers chipped in while fifties from Sachin, Gambhir, Yuvi and a nice little cameo from Raina set up this pulsating win. One moment that really caught my attention in this match was the responsibility that Raina and Yuvi showed at the end. With only 22 needed of 5 overs, and batting PP in operation, they could have tried to get all the 22 in only over. But they did not. Love you guys !! Well done.

Ponting was graceful in the speech that he made after the loss and despite of all the hatred that he has earned over the years, it was a bit sad when I realized that this man may not captain Aussies again. He could have even been axed but for the century that he made today. Ponting was also critical of his bowlers and he is quite right. Tait is easily Mr Wayward while Johnson is Mr Moody. Lee was very good in the entire World Cup but you could not expect to win matches continuously with only one world class bowler (Now do not ask me, how India does that :) ). Even the likes of Kenya and Canada managed to post decent totals against Aussies but I do not think they even realized their bowling deficiencies, forget addressing them. This world cup could be the last for Brett Lee and I will miss him for sure. For the rest, I do not even know who is going to play in the next series or is CA going to make wholesome changes.

The win also sets up a mouth watering semi-final between Indian and Pakistan for a place in the finals at a venue which is so close to my heart. Before the competition began, I figured a trend in India's performances at the WC. They do well in every alternate edition of the WC. In 1996, it was semis, in 2003, it was finals and now is the time to get the trophy. Go India go.

Jai Hind !!!

Scorecard available here (Courtersy: Cricinfo)