Skip to main content

India-Pakistan Finale @ Champions Trophy

By
So, to those who were wondering why there was no blog immediately after the finals,
this is why. I always wrote immediately after the match. Midnight. Fresh off the boat kind. But this particular final, every time I took the pen, (read laptop/google docs), I felt this surge of emotions go through me. I read somewhere that distancing is necessary for creative effort. That I should not trust the impulse for immediate action if it is much too intense.
It’s been two days since we lost to Pakistan. In the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.
By 180 runs. Sigh. And it still hurts. OK. Trying to be unbiased. ( Kinda hard isn’t it? Especially if it is an India-Pakistan Match?)
So here’s what happened.
India came into bat with a target of 339. It is a mighty peak to conquer for the best teams. The pressure of the number alone can get a team hassled big time. And that is probably what happened with the Indian batsmen. Within five minutes a beautiful straight on the middle and leg stump traps Rohit. One down. And then Kohli gets caught at point. Two wickets down before score reaches double digits. That is trouble.
Enter  Dhawan. He tried his best. Hit a couple of fine shots. Yuvraj tried to give him company at the other end. After two much-needed boundaries, Dhawan edged to the wicketkeeper. Ten overs saw India at 47/3. By this time, the hockey world saw India Beat Pakistan. People who had switched to hockey to feel good now were forced to come to cricket. There was the alternative of switching off the idiot box. Wonder how many did that.

While Dhoni tried to find his bearings, Yuvraj was adjudged LBW by DRS (Umpire Decision review System). And then Dhoni left the scene. Pakistan was not just on a roll, but very much on the path to victory. It seemed like just a matter of time. In a matter of an hour, India was all out. Pakistan thrashed India by 180 runs to seal the CT title.
Earlier in the day, India won the toss and put Pakistan to bat. A wrong decision in hindsight? Hard to tell. The match begins with a maiden over. It all looks well for India. And then Fakhar Zaman was edged and taken. But wait… No Ball. The worst timing, if ever there was one. Life. This life proved to be very expensive as Zaman went on to hit a century (114 of 106 deliveries). He was supported sufficiently by Azhar Ali’s 59 and Babar Azam’s 46. Mohammad Hafeez’s 57 further helped Pakistan reach the mammoth total that could have stumped India Psychologically. The rest was just waiting to happen.
Pakistan outclassed India on the day that mattered. The relationship between the players seems to be doing pretty good though. Snaps of Dhoni with Sarfaraz’s son has been doing the rounds. Virat Kohli praised their performance without any hesitation. It is nice to see, I suppose. Sports indeed has no boundaries.

 Pakistan now would like more teams to visit them. It is a good wish considering that they have proven to be world class. They shattered all previous notions and have defeated the best sides of the world. They deserve to enjoy their moment. And they are.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chennai beats Mumbai and clinch thriller

By
It is not just about coming back. It is about the impact you make in the process. And Chennai team knows how to with a bang.  The Chennai team beat the home team by one wicket in what was an absolute sit-at-the-end-of-the-chair thriller. It was one of the best chases the tournament has seen and it most definitely won't be the last. The player who made the difference in the end - Jadhav - literally came back from the dead after retiring hurt to take his team to the finish line by hitting the ball in style with a six and a four.  Batting on one leg and playing an absolutely unbelievable shot, this player leveled the scores first with a six and finished the match with a four.  Key Points  MI has never won their opener since 2013. This was Chennai's first win against MI in an opener of this T20 League  DRS used in the league for the first time  Bravo : It was a great team effort. I want to dedicate this win to the CSK fan, they have waited long for
Post a Comment
Read more

Need for co-ed sports

By
Now, this is hardly a feminist piece. I am not here to tell you that women can do anything that men can and better too. One, you know it too. Two, this is hardly about women. I am not here to praise women and demand better rights. I am talking about the possibility that the entire field of sports can take a whole new meaning if gender is not made the criterion. So this is how the idea for the blog started. The Women’s Indian Cricket Team performed really well at the world cup this year. Mithali Raj praised her team for their hard work, persistence, and passion for the game. She also added that there should be an IPL tournament in the country for the women’s team now. Raj believes that the team’s fantastic game has increased the fan following for the women’s team as well and that they have earned their place here. While I am honestly not sure about an IPL tournament for women, it did get me thinking. Why not mixed sports? Now that girls play almost all the games that the guys do, w
3 comments
Read more

Blog Time: How I won my Fantain Fantasy Cricket

By
I played the Sri Lanka – Zimbabwe match and I won more than six times what I put in. That is a really good investment, isn’t it? I have been asked by Fantain to share what I did and how I planned my lineup. This is how. Kusal Perera  – I made him captain. I won a massive 120 points. My vice-captain was Dinesh Chandimal .  So I got 43.5. In hindsight, I could have picked Perera. He did fabulously well and earned a whopping 89 on the app. The other player in my lineup who helped me win was Sikandar Raza . He got 88.5 on the app. These four players are a must be in the next match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.  Dinesh Chandimal is one good consistent player that I always have. So it’s like this. I have four categories when I play fantasy cricket. One is the must-have players who will be on my team no matter what. For this match that I played, they were Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, and Upul Tharanga. For me, old is gold. Experience speaks volumes. The second category is ba
Post a Comment
Read more