That winning feeling...

Speechless. On 2nd April 2011, Saturday, India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets to register a famous world cup win. What followed after that was ecstasy and euphoria in the entire nation. The 1.2 billion dreams had come true and people were on the streets dancing and waving the country flag high. The partying on Wednesday after the semi final victory looked like dress rehearsal as the winning feeling on Saturday was even more exhilarating. India had lifted the world cup 28 years after Kapil Dev’s Devils had achieved at Lord’s in England. So this victory meant a whole lot to the new generation. Hence I feel proud to be part of the generation that has won the world cup.



It has taken more than 24 hours for that winning feeling to sink in and only after that I have been able to concentrate and actually think about what I am supposed to write of the final game of World Cup 2011 that we all witnessed. In my last blog, I said Mumbai should make noise and not let the Lankans feel into the game and the people in the stadium obliged my wish. They made so much noise that the match ref could not hear what the captains call during the toss. The repeat toss went in favour of Sanga and the pressure was right back on my Men in Blue. Dilshan and Sangakarra got to good starts and fell away cheaply to Harbhajan and Yuvraj Singh. But one man carried on the Lankan batting right till the end with his superb graceful batting. Jayawardene did not play one wrong shot and just toyed with Indian bowlers by his late cuts, cover drives and exquisite foot work.

India was set a stiff target of 275 to chase. Sehwag and Sachin were dismissed early by Malinga. At 31/2, I will be honest to say that I felt huge disappointment and had lost some hope of winning the cup. I started to feel better when Dhoni came into bat and kept rotating strike and never let the required run rate go beyond 7 RPO. Gautam Gambhir played a masterstroke innings and feel sad for him to have missed out on a century. By the time he got out I knew the match was well within our grasp and I was just gearing upto jump in joy. And then Dhoni provided the killer’s finish and rest as they say is history. The heroes have now become immortals. The victory lap with Sachin sitting on young shoulders of Kohli and Pathan sent shivers down my spine and it was a very nostalgic moment. I am sure the tears of joy will flow again and everytime I see Dhoni, Sachim, Yuvraj and the rest of the team lift the World Cup. We are the World Champions for the next 4 years. Yay!!!!

Here I provide you with my ratings out of 10 for the 15 member squad.

Virender Sehwag – He made a great start to world cup by scoring 175 and it remained the highest score in this world cup. He provided starts to India in every game and picked up crucial catches in the field. He remains India’s best hope in future as well to retain the supremacy in all forms of the game. Rating: 9/10.

Sachin Tendulkar – During the entire world cup, he played with immense pressure to complete his 100th ton. Unfortunately he couldn’t but that doesn’t matter to him as we saw his celebrations in the end. All he wanted was to win the cup and wear the gold medal. His 22 year dream came true. Rating: 10/10

Gautam Gambhir – He got starts in all the game but the hundred remained elusive to him this tournament. His innings of 97 in the final will be remembered for a long time. Rating: 9/10

Virat Kohli – He scored century on world cup debut against Bangladesh. He is the young blood of bold and aggressive Indian team and that shows in the field as well. He is hugely talented and will certainly do well in next tournament as he did now. Rating: 9/10

Yuvraj Singh – He was the talisman of this Indian victory. He bowled superbly his 10 overs in all the games by picking up wickets every time. He was focussed when he was on the crease while batting, he was determined to achieve success for himself and for the team. 4 Man of the Match awards before the final meant he was the favourite to get Player of the Tournament and an Audi sedan version car. He has given joy to the billion people and it’s his world cup. No doubts. Rating: 10/10.

MS Dhoni – He is the captain cool of Indian cricket. He made some brave decisions and he stuck by it. He backed his players and to give 200% in every game and was also humble in accepting the mistakes he made. Cometh the hour, Cometh the man and he proved with a scintillating knock in the finals. Rating: 10/10

Suresh Raina – He did not play the first five games of the world cup. But that did not dent his confidence. He is India’s one of the best finishers and he proved it in the game against Australia and Pakistan. With him playing in the side it helps improve the overall team fielding as well, and again he is one for the future. Rating: 8/10

Yusuf Pathan – He came in with reputation of big hitter in this world cup and a useful spinner. He got his chances but he was barely effective. But there is no denying the talent and he should use this as a learning curve and show the world what he is capable of in the upcoming tournaments. Rating: 7/10

Harbhajan Singh – India’s leading off spinner had a lot of burden on his shoulders. His tactics were to not give runs to the opposition but also look to pick wickets. He was successful in some games but not so much in others. He picked up few wickets but those were the crucial ones in the late slog overs. He always brings passion and commitment to the team and it was evident in the finals too. He has much more to offer to the Indian team. Ratings: 8/10

R Ashwin – This young Chennai lad got the most popularity votes amongst all Indians. He was one member which entire nation wished played every game instead of the seamers. Dhoni always said he has the attitude to play the big games and Ashwin’s mettle was tested against Aussies. He came out in flying colors. Rating: 8/10

Zaheer Khan – He was the lynchpin of Indian attack. Leading wicket taker in the tournament, he bowled superbly with the new ball, old ball and any ball. The captain wanted wicket, he gave it to him. He not only performed above expectations but also helped himself by banishing those 2003 memories. Rating: 10/10

Munaf Patel – He made it to the Indian squad after impressive performances in South African tour. He did well in the world cup as well by bowling within his limits. He didn’t try anything flashy and kept the flow of runs under check. His contribution to the team winning in semi final cannot be counted out. Rating: 8/10

Ashish Nehra – He is the bowler who went from zero to hero in this world cup campaign. He was branded as villain after India’s loss to Saffers but he redeemed himself against Pakistan. He missed out in the finals because of broken finger but his place will also remain etched in history books for his heroic effort in the semi finals. Rating: 7/10

S Sreesanth – He will be obviously disappointed by his performance in the world cup. He needs to put his head in right place to become India’s spearhead bowler. His inclusion in the world cup also came as surprise to many and he will now know he has to fight for his place in this side. Rating: 4/10

Piyush Chawla – He was taken as an additional bowler with leg spin as variety to offer. He did well in the practice games against Australia and New Zealand and we all thought he will be the go-to man in the world cup. For a leg spinner, his googly is the secret weapon but for Piyush it was his predictable delivery. He got it all wrong and he too will have to go back and get his basics right to make place in this 11 member team. Rating: 4/10

Overall winning the world cup is a team effort so to entire team I would say it is a 10 on 10.

Now ofcourse players have to savour the victory and within a week turn up for playing the season 4 of the Indian Premier League. That’s the irony of whole thinf, the players who were unified in dressing room playing for the country will now battle each other in what promises to be 51 days of entertainment and celebration of Indian Cricket.
Cheers INDIA!!!

INDIA Cheers!!!

The stage was set for the biggest game of the world cup. There are many famous sporting rivalries but none of them come closer to that of India v Pakistan. Whenever these two sides meet the air gets thick, one can sense the pride and nationalism on the faces of all the people across borders and it gives another chance for diplomats to try and revive the broken relationships and once again make promises of peace. No matter what and how much ever you say to yourself, that it is just a game - but the fact is that it is NOT just a game. If it was just another game, people would not have taken impromptu day off from work. People would not have installed new LCD TV sets at public places, junctions and stations and the roads would'nt have been empty during peak hours.

So this was it. The crowd was in full attendance with distinguished guests from both countries seated in the VVIP boxes. On this day the toss was crucial and MS Dhoni called it right. However his team selection raised a li'l furore but all was forgotten when players got down in the middle to do the business. Virender Sehwag once again showed that he has no nerves, he plays in his natural way that he knows, if the ball is there to be hit, he hits them hard. Umar Gul was punished badly and he lost his line and length completely as he gave away 5 boundaries in a single over. India were cruising along and it seemed like 300+ score is on the cards. I have not seen a match where Sachin got as many as 5 lives. Yesterday he was helped by DRS system as well as Pakistan's fielders. Yet Sachin fretted away opportunity to score his 100th ton. At this stage, Pakistan were on top and once again Indian innings seemed to crumble under pressure. Suresh Raina batted sensibly to take score to 260 and set up a fighting total.

The battle was on and we had a game hung by narrowest of threads. Indian bowlers, supposedly weakest link of this magnificent team defended the total and bowled deceptively to pick wickets at regular intervals. Who would have thunk that? As usual whenever India had needed wickets in this tournament they have had to look to Zaheer Khan or Yuvraj Singh to provide those break throughs. Though it was not Yuvi's day with the bat he did well with the ball by picking 2 wickets in succession in space of 3 runs. First was an arm ball to dismiss Shafiq and then loopy delivery to outfox Younis Khan who hit straight to Raina at covers. India were inching closer towards the victory. Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi hit some lusty blows but that was not going to stop vigorous Indian players who were getting all the cheering from Mohali crowd. Opting to play Ashish Nehra for R Ashwin was a bold gamble that paid off.

INDIA 5 - 0 PAKISTAN.

We will remember this game all our lives. Pakistan's fine bowling could not compensate for its abysmal catching skills. India's batting was below its best but MS Dhoni's men showed admirable courage whenever the chips were down. Team India deserved to win this game; Pakistan didn't. Hard luck, my friend Jack!

The joy erupted out of the billion Indian fans, many danced on the streets and celebrated the victory last night and a few let small tears of happiness trickle through dreamy eyes and all of them prayed to the Almighty to give us another day like this on Saturday. The finals at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai has got all the ingredients for being a cracker of a cricket contest between the two best Asian countries - India and Sri Lanka. The two teams have played against each other on numerous occasions in last 2 years so there will not be any surprise element or added pressure for the two teams. Sri Lanka have beaten New Zealand twice and not so good England on home soil before coming into the finals. India on other hand, have played a "mini-final" against Oz and "final of all the finals" against Pakistan so they look a well prepared unit to take on the Lankans.All the talk will be about Sachin playing in his home ground, 100th century, may be last world cup game but all that matters to Dhoni & Co. is India winning the World Cup 2011.

So Mumbai Let us up the decibels and give a loud roar for Team India, say Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray!!! Come on India - Bleed Blue!!!

SWOT-ing the Cup

With the momentum of Cricket World Cup reaching its zenith, we now have 8 teams that have reached the quarterfinals of this edition of the cup after month long hard work in group stages.

There are no surprises in the teams that have made it to the next round. Bangladesh's dream came to a crushing halt as they suffered heavy defeat to second string South African team. The Associates had a good world cup too with teams like Netherlands and Zimbabwe managing to give scare to few established teams. But the best team from the lot was Ireland who managed to do a giant killing act as they twice successfully chased a total of 300 plus.

At this stage, let us also look back at few individuals who have shone brighter than some other stars in this world cup.

Virender Sehwag - He started off the campaign with vintage knock of 175 against Bangladesh. He achieved a rare feat for a batsman to score boundary of the first ball in each of the group games he played in.

Kevin O'Brien - He scored the fastest century of the world cup against England in just 50 balls and also set up his team's first win of the tournament. Without this big Irish lad, Group B would'nt have been as interesting as it turned out to be.

Ross Taylor - On his birthday, Ross Taylor smashed a swashbuckling century against Pakistan. Infact he was also team's stand-in captain that day and he led by example. He along with Jacob Oram added more than 100 runs in last 5 overs.

Umar Gul - Apart from Afridi. he has been Pakistan's main bowler in this tournament. He picks up wicket whenever his team needs them and has shown his class in reverse swing department.

Robin Peterson - This little south paw from South Africa has proved to be a gem in the squad. with names like Steyn, Amla, Kallis being the talking points he has quietly won 2 games for his team single handedly with his mighty hitting and plucky bowling.

Now a look at teams that have made it to Quarter Finals and a SWOT analysis to see who has better chances of progressing to the semis and then may be to finals.

PAKISTAN

Strengths: Like many world cups in the past, even this year they are very strong in bowling. Especially the conditions of sub continent suit their bowlers well and Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi have shown it by picking wickets at regular intervals. Abdur Razzaq also picked up few against Australia to get back into some rythm for the knock out stages.

Weaknesses: It is said that Catches win Matches. But for Kamran Akmal, it is the most difficult thing for him to do. Usually spends more energy chirping behind the stumps, would do Pakistan a lot of good if he can focus on his wicket keeping job.

Opportunities: Pakistan have'nt yet posted a huge total in the tournament. They should try to bat first and put a huge total in exceess of 300 to give confidence to their batsmen going into semis.

Threats: Pakistan are susceptible to over confidence, stealth and in-fighting. So far they have manged to stay clear of any such controversies but with them you never know - it just crops up in end hour. From the match perspective, if Gayle, Pollard and co. get going they can make any target look easy.

WEST INDIES

Strengths: West Indies have an explosive batting line up. If Gayle clicks into his best form he can make all grounds looks smaller. Darren Bravo is a talented youngster in mould of Brian Lara and is good on accumulating runs.

Weaknesses: The short comings in batting are exposed brutally if they lose quick wickets. Besides Sarwan, they dont have players with composure who can steady the ship when needed.

Opportunities: Since most of them will already have written them off, they can actually relax and apply their strategies and make Pakistan work harder to get their runs.

Threats: Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi. They have to play these two bowlers wisely and hope their batsmen have a day off.

OVERALL: Pakistan hold a slight edge over West Indies to win the 1st Quarter Final match to be played on 23rd March 2011 at Mirpur, Bangladesh.

AUSTRALIA

Strengths: The team is well balanced and usually late bloomers in the tournament. They are the World Champions and will need no extra motivation to retain that status. Brett Lee's performance has been impressive and they also have a better track record in world cup's against India.

Weaknesses: Form of Ricky Ponting will be worrying the Aussies. Also they have come to India with pace quartet on spinner friendly tracks. If Lee and Tait dont make early in roads they will struggle to contain and pick wickets.

Opportunities: None.

Threats: The whole of Ahmedabad will be screaming for India. So you can be assured of zero crowd support for Australia. Plus they have already lost to India during WC prep match.

INDIA

Strengths: Batting is India's main strength. And likes of Sehwag, Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh have lived up to the expectations.

Weaknesses: India's bowling is not as good as the Aussie counterparts. In Zaheer they have an intelligent bowler but he relies heavily on help from others around him. Harbhajan has been instrumental in stopping the flow of runs but he has been shy of wickets.

Opportunities: India have'nt taken full advantage of death over power play yet. So Dhoni and Pathan have to take up the responsibility to ensure that we don't lose wickets and score at good rate in these overs.

Threats: Shane Watson and Brett Lee - two Oz players who are most liked by few Indians in India because of their IPL presence.

OVERALL: It is time to turn the tables on Australia. Their period of dominance is coming to end. India have home advantage, Sachin's 100th century and inclusion of R Ashwin stabilizing the bowling woes. Only 1 winner - INDIA!!!

NEW ZEALAND

Strengths: They are good fielding side and with that they manage to save 25-30 runs per game. Tim Southee has done well enough to pick up wickets with new ball.

Weaknesses: Batting has been patchy and far too dependent on Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor. They dont play spin too well and can be beaten easily if not their day.

Opportunities: They are dark horses in this tournament hence cannot be taken lightly.

Threats: Injuries to Vettori, Hamish Bennet have already reduced their chances. With respect to the match, their biggest threat will be in all departments - facing Dale Steyn and Morkel or trying to contain Amla or DeVilliers.

SOUTH AFRICA

Strengths: By far the best team in the tournament. They have enough resources to bail them out from any match situation.

Weaknesses: The only weakness could be if they are asked to play on a pitch that turns square onto the batsmen.

Opportunities: They were the only team that was experimental in the group stages and all their players got a decent chance to prove themselves. Most of them are playing at top of their form and have equal opportunities to excel further in the tournament

Threats: 'Chokers' tag which is applicable to this team can come back to haunt them in most unimaginable way. If they are puy under pressure, they can crumble like they did against England.

OVERALL: South Africa are the favorites to progress from this game because they have jelled better as a team.

SRI LANKA

Strengths: Sri Lanka have batsmen who can adapt well to the sub continent conditions. Their quarter final will be played at home so they will have crowd support as well. The form of captain Sangakkara has been pleasing to watch.

Weaknesses: The lower middle order has not performed that well. If opposition can get rid of Dilshan, J'wardene and Sanga then Lankans can be put to sword.

Opportunities: Malinga and Murali have not picked as many wickets as they would have liked. But nonetheless, they have been important to control the match in middle overs.

Threats: Graemme Swann will be an equal threat if Sri Lanka play to their strengths - Spin. Complacency can bring downfall of the best of the teams and Sri Lanka cannot be spared from this.

ENGLAND

Strengths: 6 games, 6 thrillers. They will take a lot of confidence from those matches. But even a lame beggar knows they have been riding on their luck so far in this tournament. Strauss and Trott have been amongst runs and they will need to score again if they want to challenge the Lankans on their home soil.

Weaknesses: England have been poor in fielding. They have dropped catches and misfielded under pressure. Their bowling in power play overs has'nt been great - generally have bowled length and got punished.

Opportunities: They are the T20 champions, they have won Ashes recently. Winning the World Cup when no body expects from them will be a huge lift for the England team.

Threats: They have had a long tour of Australia, then all close games in World Cup. In between this they lost few players to injuries. Not sure if they have enough steam left in their tank to fight another day in the tournament.

OVERALL: There will be a few tired minds and legs in England camp after the game at Colombo. But they can leave the shores with their heads held high for they will have provided 7th thriller of their WC campaign, but just falling short to Sri Lanka.

Just to re-iterate the dates of the World Cup -
23rd March 2011 => Pakistan v West Indies
24th March 2011 => Australia v India (also my birthday, so will be a special match on special day ;)
25th March 2011 => New Zealand v South Africa
26th March 2011 => Sri Lanka v England

Book your calendar and enjoy these games!