Saturday, March 17, 2007

A fairy tale day in Cricket: Tale of two tragedies


Whoa! What a day for cricket. Certainly, not for fans from India and Pakistan. Teams termed as minnows executed two fabulous victories against the 'Giants' of one day cricket. If at Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh out classed India in every department, the match at Sabina Park, Jamaica was a nightmare for Pakistan. This certainly is not the first time that a 'minnow' team beats a test playing nation. However, this may be the first time, that a team as inexperienced as Ireland, gets through to the next stage, by playing all the matches. That is, if Zimbabwe do not end up surprising the home team. Kenya did reach semifinal in 2003, but New zealand and England boycotted from playing due to security reasons.

The fairytale began, but as expected, when Sehwag dragged one, on to his stumps, cramped for space. It is time the Indian think tank made a firm decision on Sehwag's inclusion, for his own good and for India's good. It makes you wonder why Dinesh Kaarthik is made to stand by the sidelines, whereas, Sehwag gets to play every match. It is one thing to have faith in a player, but totally another thing to field a player who is out of sorts completely. India boasts of one of the strongest batting line up in the world today. The Bangladesh team's combined experience is possibly less than Sachin's. However, what Bangladesh had, was belief that they belonged here. And rightly so, for them, as they displayed some brilliant bowling, making perfect use of the early movement in the strip. They followed it up with scintillating batting, some of the batsmen, half as young as the likes of Sachin, Sourav and Dravid, who looked to give charge to the frontline Indian seamers. Bangladesh has gone from strength to strength since Dav Whatmore took over as the coach. Remember, he was the architect behind Sri Lanka's dream run in 1996 World cup. I am sure Bangladesh would dedicate this fantastic victory to Manjural Islam, the 22 year old who perished in a motorbike accident, few days before. Is Dav Whatmore the answer for India when Greg Chappell completes his term?

Ireland scripted, what I think, is the biggest upset ever in a World cup cricket, if not in the entire ODI history ! The reason I say this is, in 1996 West Indies were done in by their over confidence and complacence, against spirited Kenyans. However, today, Pakistan going in to the match with a must win situation, were definitely not complacent. Ireland had nothing to lose, but for Pakistan it was a do or die situation. Yet, theywere in for a rude shock, thanks to some inspired fielding, which made up for the wayward bowling. The scorecard says it all, extras being the highest score with 29. It is impossible to miss McGrath like bowling figures for Botha - 8-4-5-2. He triggered the collapse, after which the procession to the pavilion started. This is an emotional moment for Irish men, causing one of the biggest upsets ever, on St. Patrick's day. I can see beerfest not only in Ireland, but everywhere in the world with Irish supporters. Infact double cheers for them, as they also won the rugby game. Infact, I am going to check out the Irish pub tonight. I will not be surprised if I get a pint or two for free.

The two matches today should silence the critics who are bothered about minnows playing in a prestigious tournament like World Cup. It is ironic that Rahul Dravid and Bob Woolmer are two of the few people who feel justified in the inclusion of minnows. But they ended up in the receiving end today. I had no doubt Bangladesh would win today, once they skittled out India for a meager 192. However, it was the authority with which the young lads took on the more experienced Indian bowlers, never intimidated by the demi-god Indian players. I can only hope that this upset loss does not trigger violent attacks back home. It is time that we become more mature and learn to take victories and losses as part of the game. Thanks to the Indian media, a single victory or a hundred is hyped as the best ever. This then upsets everyone when India loses. I have a question for every one. We all take credit when India wins, but back out when we lose. What do we prove by burning effigies or hitting the coach? Why do we get angry when India loses? Is it a sin to lose? Can we not carry on with our lives and keep cricket as a source of entertainment? I cannot agree more with Nirmal Shekhar who is a columnist in The Hindu. I am sure I agree with most of what he has to say, though I have slight reservations on few of his points. However, it is definitely worth reading and more importantly, worth practising.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/08/stories/2007030809112200.htm

Having said that, some food for thought about the Indian team. This match leaves us at square one. This is just the second occassion, that we are beaten by Bangladesh. There are lot of issues to be addressed before we meet Sri Lanka in an all important match on 23rd of this month. It also makes me wonder if we perform better when pushed against the wall. I cannot help but draw a parallel between this world cup and the one in South Africa, 4 years back, even though, it is too early to draw this parallel. India were beaten in New zealand, crawled to victory against Netherlands and to top it all, lost their second match against Australia. The rest is history, we reached the finals, only to be battered by the awesome Aussies. This time, on the other hand, India came to the Carribean with a series victory over Lankans, also in the same pool as India. In the practice matches India registered two comprehensive victories, only to be embarassed by a diligent Bangladesh team. I am just wondering if its just my thinking, or is it true that the men in Blue roar back when cornered? As an ardent Indian fan I hope we stage a comeback against the other minnows in the group, Bermuda. We not only need a victory over Sri Lanka now, but an emphatic victory over Bermuda, if we have to move to the Super Eight stage. The World Cup is alive and only time will tell, if we will witness more pounding by the 'minnows' in a World Cup that is packed with surprises.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I think India likes to get burdened in pressure after losing minnows and trying to fight back later.Hopefully team blue would roar back when cornered.

Raghav said...

I think it was the decision to bat first. Of course not that Dravid din know abt the pitch. He must have thot batting second with minnows wudnt be a good match practice. Taking such a hasty decision and under estimating the young test nation we do deserve at least a defeat, If not by a big margin. Regarding Pakistan's defeat, They dont need to worry about how their fans wud react when they go back. Coz, they have a lot of issues to worry about now. Thanks Mr.Mushraf.

Unknown said...

Dude, you are bang on about sehwag..they should send him home...Also dravid was terrible with the handling of his bowlers

Unknown said...
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Sanky said...

The situation was very tricky in Sehwag's case if you compare it with Pathan's or Zaheer's. Whereas, these guys could domestic cricket, Sehwag did not have time or matches to sort himself out ahead of the World Cup. But now its getting seriously repetitive, that Dravid and the Selection committee ought to make a decision before its too late. Either play Sehwag at No. 6 or even No. 7, or drop him for Dinesh Kaarthik. That is if India has to progress to Super Eight stage. Otherwise, we can start a home series against Pakistan, next week. There should not be any scheduling conflict !

Sanky said...
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