A teacher cynically remarked during class once that you guys (the students) only feel patriotic when supporting India in cricket. I laugh at the cynical remark now as I see Indians run on the road and feel delirious, proud and joyful. I am glad that in the climate of scams and corruption, we at least have cricket to unite such a large number of the humans.
I hope India wins of course. Not very sure it will happen though. There has been very little time between the semi final v Pakistan and the final. It is not the lack of practise which is the issue for me. The emotional and psychological drain is. The semi final would have been taxing emotionally for even the most experienced players. I saw Dhoni, who has generally been coolness personified even during and after games like the IPL final being so excited when India was on the brink of winning. The day after the game, when I woke up, it felt like you would after a night of heavy drinking. And that’s just me. The players would have been much more drained.
As Dhoni said after the game in a press conference, and I believe too, and has been seen countless times, the determining factor in world cups is about peaking. You wonder whether India has already peaked. It is all right to think you will be geared up but some times you want to and yet it does not happen after a game like the India-Pakistan game. I remember the great Australian team not being good at winning dead rubbers against lowly England. It was not because they wouldn’t want to win of course. It is difficult to be charged up after the emotiona drain of winning the Ashes. This is concerning for me.
To sort out this problem, playing some new face is important. It is great Nehra is injured and we get the opportunity to play either Ashwin or Sreesanth for him. Nehra was unlikely to fire any way without support for his swing and so that’s another reason I am glad he is out. I was a huge fan of Nehra and he had an unfulfilled career after injuries plagued him and though he bowled exceptionally well in the last game, I am not sure how long he will last. India might want to take him to the tough English tour for his swing and experience maximum.
Coming back to the final, the only aspect of comfort is the Sri Lankan lower middle order with Samaraweera and Chamara Silva is very weak and Sri Lanka may just not be strong enough for an Indian team which has got it’s balance right with Yuvraj bowling. The Sri Lankan ‘3′ for mine is exceptionally strong though and that is leaving Jayawardene. Tharanga wasn’t rated highly not that long ago but he has matured and developed really well. He knows his game now and 11 ODI centuries after 120 games is a fair effort by any standard. Dilshan is a tough cookie as well and we know Sangakarra is world class. I would be tempted to play Perera v India as he is a fine promising pace man who might trouble the Indians more than say Mendis. The only aspect to consider is whether the lack of much experience might be a problem.
India has been a poor finisher though that problem seems resolved now with Raina back. Sri Lanka on the other hand is exceptional while bowling in the death. In a recent world cup match, Sri Lanka bowled yorker in 40 percent of their deliveries in the death (Simon Hughes tweeted about it with a graphical illustration from ESPN). The death overs might me the key aspect if the Indian batting doesn’t run away with the game by scoring 300 plus.
These two sides have played each other a hell of a lot of times over the recent past and would know the strengths and weaknesses of each other on the back of their hand. This is a game which might be decided on strategy as much as it would on nerves of playing the world cup final. If India wins, and it is still a big if despite the huge optimism of the Indian fans, India will become arguably the best team in ODIs as well (they are already the best in tests). I would derive a huge amount of pleasure from it apart from the huge euphoria which would overwhelm on winning the world cup. It would be symbolic of the fact that India has become a cricket super power in more ways than one. Maybe it is just me but I can’t think of that many symbolisms if Sri Lanka wins. Right from 1975, the world cup winning team has been symbolic of some aspects. The most disappointing might be the false dawn after Pakistan won in 1992. It did show what it could achieve if it played to potential though.
Maybe a symbolism isn’t needed or it would emerge later like it did with the Australians of 1987. Who cares, winning the Cricket World Cup is big enough in itself. Win it India!
I haven’t had a big match feel like this since the India-Pakistan World Cup 1996 Quarter Final. India and Pakistan had not met each other for a while before that game and the tension before the game was unreal. They had a nice montage with a players taking part in the game talking about the game before it started in the then Prime Sports. It is a time and tested format and I have seen it in many American broadcasts, it was perfect, a sharp contrast to the millions of bytes on the television we see today in the trillions of news channels.
Coming to the game, I did see Pakistan closely in their game versus Australia and they played like a team. They were motivated, united (despite Akhtar being dropped in the last couple of games) and had a jazba about them which tells you this team is dangerous and means business. Afridi captained really well, opening the bowling with the miserly Abdur Rehman, who was turning the ball far more than characteristic from him (which also showed Afridi had read the wicket amazingly well among other things). Pakistan dropped Rehman after that which shows their strength and conviction. The most important aspect was Pakistan was not bowling wayward in the game at all. Not many poor deliveries bowled, some thing so uncharacteristic of the Pakistani team.
Given all of this, I do think Pakistan has a better chance. They may not be the better team on paper but are the far more prepared team, by the looks of it. Imran Khan had the motivation of building the hospital. This Pakistan team seems motivated to do it’s part to revive Pakistani cricket after the visit to the dark ages in the last couple of years.
Reports are saying this will be a batting track but I don’t think any one can say it won’t have the traditional Mohali bounce. The bounce has usually favored Pakistan (they have never lost an ODI in the ground versus India) but with Indian batsmen more adept at facing quicker bowlers now, the edge here might lay with India. Pakistan SHOULD play Shoaib Akhtar to balance this, more so as Wahab Riaz might not be experienced enough for a big game like today.
Usually, I have a good idea which team might be stronger but this is placed so beautifuly, you have no idea which way it is going to go. I am nervous and think Pakistan has the slight edge (India is NOT the favorites despite what Afridi or the bookies might tell you). In the end it might all come down to Tendulkar. However, given how in a tight game, it needs more than just an individual performance to win a game, it may, as it should, depend on which team pulls more weight and has more resources to keep punching back at you.
After a big climax, it can turn out to be a damp squib too like the Pakistan-Australia 1999 final. Let’s hope it is a game which tests the nerves though. A few champagne moments like the Rashid Latif catch, Jadeja flourish, Sohail-Prasad encounter would be great to remember another memorable India-Pakistan encounter with.
The incredible India collapse has baffled a lot of Indian fans. The people are questioning the use of the third power play but there is another big problem which needs to be addressed –
Finishing strongly while batting.
Here’s how India has batted in the last few overs of each match –
v Bangladesh – 39/2 in last 5 overs
v England – 46/7 in last 5 overs
v South Africa – 10/5 in last 5 overs
They need a strong finisher in the end and for that they need to bring in Raina. That’s a must where I am concerned. He is one of the best finishers in the game. Gambhir is a fine batsman actually even though he hasn’t had a great world cup so far but he doesn’t fit in the scheme of things at the moment. He has seemed undroppable after he went for 11 crores in the IPL and scored runs against New Zealand, which I don’t agree with. I have believed Raina should come in for Gambhir even before the World Cup started but now it is more clear than ever before.
What it will also do is have Yuvraj bat higher up the order. He is one of the finest batsmen in ODI cricket when in form, like at the moment, and India needs him to face more overs. He will ensure India don’t slack and has a good run rate in the middle overs as well.
(stats via help of my friend pappubahry)
Ireland defeating England may look great but we have had upsets before. It hasn’t materialized to much a lot of the times, largely due to ICC neglect. Kenya was great in the 1996 World Cup for instance. They didn’t get many matches though and ended up having an internal match fixing scandal. Now, cricket in Kenya is in shambles, epitomized by the drubbing Sri Lanka gave them a few days back.
Ireland has been showing the talent for a fair while in the recent past. They are easily the best associate right now. Yet, all their players can aspire to do is to play for England, and England would like that too as it helps their player pool. The subcontinent wouldn’t mind it either as a team like Ireland would hurt their voting block.
Zimbabwe is now doing good after all seem doomed a few years back after the player exodus. They even have a test lined up and the country they are playing is South Africa, which should come as no surprise. South Africa has always been a country which is more than ready to help out it’s African brother. Zimbabwe kept playing in tri-series ODIs in South Africa for instance.
Now, how many ODIs do you remember England playing versus the likes of Ireland, Scotland and Holland?
The players playing for associate nations aren’t professionals and it is important to understand this. There have been reports of players quitting because of having to travel too much and play too much in tournaments like the Intercontinental Cup for instance. What they need is a strong domestic structure and strong ties with the nearby countries who are stronger who can help improve their status. Teams given responsibilities of various regions and not just for the sake of it – ensuring they pursue it diligently would be a right way to go about it.
Most of the nations, even South Africa and India were once minnows. You have to look no further than Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe (late 90s) and Bangladesh though. If they can progress like they have, there is no reason why more teams can’t, with a little help. The ‘little help’ is vital though.
The minnow issue is a big one. Till the quarters, the only interesting thing is whether Bangladesh can qualify ahead of some one else. It is a month long drab fest. The ICC has reduced the minnows for the next world cup. You wonder why they couldn’t have had some foresight and did it in this one in the first place. As expected, people have different views on this. Swann wants minnows there, Ponting doesn’t believe constant thrashing improves them in any way. Imran Khan believes a proper domestic first class structure and exposure in T20 tournaments is the right way to go about it.
Where I am concerned, it is important the world cup is competitive. It isn’t for the most part of the first month – even matches between test nations may be of less importance with teams not hugely concerned where qualification to quarters go.
The reason why the football world cup is such a spectacle is because, among other reasons, every match is competitive. You are in a group of 4 and 2 teams go through to the knock out which makes each game one you desperately want to win. However, given the bad experience of the 2007 World Cup where Pakistan and India were knocked out early, the organisers didn’t want to risk such a situation. They went to the other extreme end of the spectrum though which means we have the current problem of too many matches about which no one cares about.
I would suggest a 12 team tournament. Given there are 9 test playing nations, it means it gives the opportunity to 3 rest of the best teams the opportunity to play in the world cup. Divide the 12 teams in two groups and play a round robin with the top 3 from each group qualifying for the next round. We have the Super Six and from there we have the semi finals. It is a simple format and we have tried this in England in 1999. There, the points carried over from the earlier round was the issue but that meant the format needed a tweaking, not an overhaul. While the quarter final format created a great spectacle in 1996, it means a bad day in office can mean you lose out. South Africa play well in the Round Robin in the world cup for instance but one bad game against the West Indies meant that they were out. Ideally, I would like a best of three semi finals and finals as well but I don’t think most people would agree with some thing like that. People like the spectacle and ‘big match’ occasion of a single final and knock outs.
The weakness of the 5th bowling option of India is a worry which has plagued me for a long time. This is the prime reason I believe India is not a very strong ODI team despite it’s batting. Yusuf Pathan has not been very threatening as a bowler with a career economy rate of 5.6. This has changed recently but it isn’t enough to convince me. If you allow Bangladesh to score 230/3 before 40 overs, you have to acknowledge there is a problem where bowling is concerned.
Praveen Kumar’s injury is a serious blow to India. He was a superb ODI player who could move the ball in the air and be a threat in the subcontinent and be economical at the same time. He should have been a lock for the XI where I am concerned. Now that he is gone, you have to select one of Sreesanth and Munaf. Both have their strengths – Sreesanth can take a few wickets within a short period of time while Munaf can be economical but equally, they have problems as well. Sreesanth can be erratic and inconsistent. Munaf, because he has slowed his pace down a fair deal, and isn’t crafy like Zaheer Khan (who at his slow pace can still be threatening), Munaf can go for a few on the flattish wickets in the subcontinent. On some wickets, whatever he does, it may be too easy for the batsmen to hit him for runs.
I really don’t know why the selectors selected Piyush Chawla and not Pragyan Ojha but now that that is done, you have to select Ashwin in the XI. I don’t think 3 fast bowlers is the way to go in the subcontinent, except maybe against a subcontinent team.
Two reasons mean India might still triumph though. Firstly, ODI cricket has weakened from the heydays of ODI cricket and many of the other teams are not as strong or cohesive units like before. Secondly, in the last world cup played in the subcontinent, Sri Lanka triumphed despite not having a great bowling attack. The batting won it for the Lankans. The competition for the batting places in the squad will also mean that the players will be on the edge to perform on every given opportunity. The competition for places is a great problem to have in this regard.
The balance of the side is not right but I don’t think the Indian ODI side has been balanced, for a fair while.
Another cricket world cup begins today. My cricket journey started a bit earlier in 1991. That was the cornerstone, but the strong foundation was really laid in 1992.
Cricket matches start a few hours earlier in Australia (and even earlier in New Zealand) because of the time differences. This was perfect for us to catch a few overs as we got ready to go to school. Mark Greatbatch revolutionized one day batting in 1992 blasting away and exploiting the early overs. We told the score as soon as we entered the school bus to eager ears. By the time the next kid was picked up by the bus, Greatbatch had smashed a few more and the score rose more than we could have believed it could. It created tremendous excitement. By the time the 1992 world cup was over, I was hooked. I remember we had school on the day of the final and I ensured I had the match recorded so that I could catch it later.
By the time 1996 came, I had followed a fair few series, read avidly about the game. I watched as much of the action as I could. I even watched all the games countries like Holland played. The only time I remember falling asleep was when India was bowling in a game against Zimbabwe if I recall correctly. I crack up every time I think about it. The quarter final stages made the 1996 world cup special though. The big game aura surrounding the India-Pakistan game was surreal. The two teams hadn’t met in a while and though I have seen many India-Pakistan encounters since then, nothing quite matches up to that game, not even some of the tense tests the two countries were to play a few years later.
I was there at Eden Gardens during the infamous India-Sri Lanka game and while Sri Lanka celebrated, I was quite sad the game didn’t finish. I was hoping against hope India could still mount a fight back. I found the same hoping against hope feeling coming in during the 1999 world cup as the Indian batsmen came and went against Australia. That India lost against Zimbabwe summed up that era in Indian cricket. Tendulkar wasn’t able to play the game as he had flown back to India after his father passed away and India couldn’t even win against Zimbabwe without Tendulkar. His subsequent century versus Kenya was very special. The very fact that he was there playing that game was striking. Shane Warne’s performance in the later games of the World Cup was very special too. It was pure magic to watch him bring Australia back in the game versus South Africa in the semi final.
The 2003 world cup was a drab mainly because of the format but I won’t go into that. The strongest memory from that tournament was Ganguly electing to field first after losing the toss. Two years later, Ricky Ponting was to make a similar blunder in an Ashes test and that incident has been much talked about but for me the 2003 blunder was equal, if not bigger. One could argue you can come back in a 5 day test match after a bad day but you don’t have that many chances in a one day game. Also, let’s just pretend 2007 never happened. Indian performance aside, it was sad to see empty stands for the games in 2007. The ticket prices were set too high and even the stadiums were far away from the city. West Indies traditionally has always had huge crowds in the games with people even hanging on trees to catch a glimpse of the action. It was their world cup and the effort should have been made to get as much crowds to watch it as possible. The lack of foresight on the part of the organizers was quite terrible.
The world cup is a great way to get new fans into the game. I hope there are some more by the time this marathon is over.
A few days before the auction of the players was to begin for the 4th season of the IPL, I was discussing about cricket with some one who isn’t exactly an ardent follower of the game. He laughed and said that the players were going to be sold off like prostitutes. I didn’t know what to make of it and kept quiet. Kapil Dev, a person whose I don’t always agree with, had raised dismay at the auctions the first time it had occured before the inaugral IPL and I had not known what to make of it then as well.
Well, now I am sure. The auction business broadcast on live tv is not just ugly, it is worse than Big Boss and Rakhi Ka Insaaf, two Indian television broadcasts which have been shameful television in the name of TRPs. TRP is what is given as justification for any thing in India actually. When Ashutosh Gowarikar (the famous Indian director who director Lagaan) took Sajid Khan (another Indian director, if you can call him that) to task over making fun of people in an awards ceremony, Sajid Khan’s reasoning was that he was doing it as it was what people wanted. So let me ask every one who justify thus – if you show a live rape on TV, it will sell and you will get a lot of eye balls. Would that make it right? Heh.
Coming back to the auction – in the end, Md. Kaif, India’s World Cup winning Under-19 Captain was auctioned 3 times. When he was being bid for while he was auctioned the third time, the bidders were laughing and joking about the player. It was quite sickening to watch them make wisecracks as a cricket fan who has cherished the game and every thing about it. Kaif was small fry though.
Arguably India’s greatest captain in Saurav Ganguly wasn’t bought by any of the teams either. Just after the auction ended, Harsha Bhogle, India’s most respected commentator asked the question that what’s the big deal? Many players have been not selected before. I don’t think he got the sense of humiliation it is for a fan to see his hero disgraced. It isn’t the perfect example, but maybe if he thinks about the hero worship he had for Azharuddin before Azharuddin let him down with the match fixing, he may get a sense of perspective.
He, and other Indian fans do not even need to dwell that deep. Ganguly was one of the finest captains India produced and I don’t think any one can deny that. He had a controversial end to his captaincy but he did bring a paradigm change in the team and captained India to many famous wins. As an Indian fan, and it doesn’t really matter if you are a fan of Ganguly or not, it should hurt to see your former captain disgraced like this.
I am not going into the selection issue of Ganguly. Arguments can be made that he didn’t deserve to be in the team because he didn’t cut it for various reasons and that is fair enough. I am not the biggest Ganguly fan in the planet. My point is that the scenario which played out shouldn’t have played out in the first place. People can also alllege he raised his price before the auction. That was an error of judgement but should that mean being humiliated like this? I really don’t think so.
It wasn’t just Ganguly who was humiliated. Brian Lara, one of the greatest batsmen ever to have played the game was also not selected. Also not selected were loads of players from all over the world. As a cricket fan, it was pathetic to see so many talented cricketers not being bought. There was a cheapness to it which just wasn’t right. Some players were even put to the hammer a second time and yet no one bought them.
A lot of people are saying the IPL is good for the young players from India but the cap/uncap rule has put a huge dampener on that. If you haven’t played an international match for India, you can’t go into the auction and can fetch yourself a maximum of Rs. 30,00,000. So Manish Pandey, one of the best performers in the recent IPLs won’t get a lot of money. This rule isn’t there for the foreigners which means that an Australian under-19 player can laugh his way to the bank. I don’t think Manish Pandey and others would dare protest either even though every one who follow the game know it isn’t just.
Before people start saying I am not being rational about the whole thing, let me tell you that I follow sports keenly from all over the world and I don’t see such a scenario any where that I am aware of. NBA, for instance, has it’s drafts for the young players. The draft is about the opportunity to play in the NBA and not about the money or being disgraced in any way though.
Firstly, I don’t think that you should have auctions every few years. You should have contracts and once the contracts are over, you can have new contracts. Even if you are going to have contracts, have them within closed doors and don’t let it be public the players who weren’t chosen and such.
Really, I don’t want to see an auction guy go on shouting “I sold Stuart Broad” repeatedly on national television.
It’s just not cricket.
A famous win for India at Durban. What a difference a fast bowler can make. Laxman keeps adding to his legend. I am concerned regarding the batting still but I thought Dravid showed signs of improvement despite not scoring a lot of runs after a long, long time. Pujara in place of Raina is a welcome addition as well.
This has been one of the best test matches I have seen. I always like pitches where batsmen have to ‘earn’ their runs. ODI matches between India and Pakistan in the Sahara Cup in Canada was great fun for instance. Watching the batsmen battle it out in the first inning was really terrific. I do think that the batsmen gritted it out in the first inning was very important. 200 might seem like a low score but given the wicket, it was pretty good according to me.
Sreesanth bowled 5 no balls in 8 overs in the 1st inning and Ishant bowled 7 in 9. Ishant carried on in the second inning. Shows a real lack of discipline and practice.
The win epitomises how the fortunes of the two teams has been over the past 18 months or so. On paper, South Africa is the better rounded side but they never deliver as much as they should. India keeps proving again and again why they are the number 1 side in the world.
A decent performance in the third test will mean India will hold on to the number 1 spot. They won’t be challenged for the spot for a fair while till the England series.
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