Monday, October 30, 2006
The No.1 Team of the World
India has gracefully exited the ICC Champions Trophy.
In an exhilarating game of cricket, the likes of which not too many teams are capable of, India lost to Australia by six wickets. Defeated - but by no means disgraced.
It was a stupendous performance in line with the age-old Indian tradition of atithi-dharma. India ,being the hosts of the tournament, had an obvious moral responsibility to take good care of their guests. Needless to say, that duty was discharged with aplomb. Also, the phraseology of the tournament name presented a dilemma that had cricket fans all over the world perplexed. ICC Champions Trophy. And not ICC Champion's Trophy. The lack of an apostrophe indicates an inherent entry criterion to participate in the tournament of champions. India's dignified exit served to put an end to that debate as well.
The Indian skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat first. The legendary Sachin Tendulkar was the first to go. Like any good host, he decided to go in order to spare Australia grief while chasing. However he may have been mistaken in his thinking. Because history finds it extremely unlikely that he would have put bat to the ball against the Aussie attack on a pitch which was not Sharjah's . With the exception of the captain, who failed to stick to the team strategy, the rest of the batting line-up played their part in ensuring a smooth passage for their opponents into the semi-finals. Sehwag's effort, an ugly product of the law of averages, only belied his real intentions (which was to return to the air-conditioned cool of the dressing room pronto). Anyway the batsmen huffed and puffed their way to 249 - knowing that it would be a walk in the park for any team up against the Indian bowling attack. Some were heard bemoaning the absence of the hype also known as Yuvraj Singh - who would have single-handedly ensured that the score did not cross 200.
At this point, one would have imagined that the team's cause - to help Australia win their first Champions Trophy - had been accomplished. But the Indian bowlers had other ideas. They sent down thunderbolts and bouncers which struck terror into the very hearts of the Aussie openers. Fortunately, such was the pace generated by the Pathan and Patel and Sreesanth, that the faintest of edges raced away to the boundary. At the end of 14 overs, the Aussie total stood at 100 something. The turbanator Harbhajan Singh joined the party soon after to hand out some lollipops to the run-starved Ricky Ponting. Inside sources inform us that Ponting personally thanked Harbhajan at the end of the match for helping him find his form. At the end of a long and tiring day, Australia finally limped its way to 252 after losing all of FOUR wickets in the process. With FOUR.TWO overs in hand.
There's nothing quite like a good game of cricket. The Aussies are in the semis - they are happy. The Men in Blue returned to their five-star hotel and had the most scrumptious tandoori chicken for dinner - they are happy. The ICC is said to be considering India for the Spirit of Cricket award in recognition of this selfless performance - they are happy. The television ads were sold at a premium - the broadcasters are happy. Everybody is happy. The BCCI president Sharad Pawar is the happiest (although nobody knows why) - he was seen grinning from ear to ear at the presentation ceremony.
It was only spectators who were not happy. The Indian batsmen despatched so many sixers into the stands and the Indian bowlers kept assisting the Aussie batsmen in sending the ball over the ropes so many times that the physical safety of the audience was threatened. In vain did they try to draw attention to their plight by chanting "Hai! Hai!" Unfortunately, with the Indian team being caught up in the passion of purpose, their pleas fell on deaf ears. Needless to say, it didn't take too long for the stadium to empty out.
Management Class : News
In an exhilarating game of cricket, the likes of which not too many teams are capable of, India lost to Australia by six wickets. Defeated - but by no means disgraced.
It was a stupendous performance in line with the age-old Indian tradition of atithi-dharma. India ,being the hosts of the tournament, had an obvious moral responsibility to take good care of their guests. Needless to say, that duty was discharged with aplomb. Also, the phraseology of the tournament name presented a dilemma that had cricket fans all over the world perplexed. ICC Champions Trophy. And not ICC Champion's Trophy. The lack of an apostrophe indicates an inherent entry criterion to participate in the tournament of champions. India's dignified exit served to put an end to that debate as well.
The Indian skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat first. The legendary Sachin Tendulkar was the first to go. Like any good host, he decided to go in order to spare Australia grief while chasing. However he may have been mistaken in his thinking. Because history finds it extremely unlikely that he would have put bat to the ball against the Aussie attack on a pitch which was not Sharjah's . With the exception of the captain, who failed to stick to the team strategy, the rest of the batting line-up played their part in ensuring a smooth passage for their opponents into the semi-finals. Sehwag's effort, an ugly product of the law of averages, only belied his real intentions (which was to return to the air-conditioned cool of the dressing room pronto). Anyway the batsmen huffed and puffed their way to 249 - knowing that it would be a walk in the park for any team up against the Indian bowling attack. Some were heard bemoaning the absence of the hype also known as Yuvraj Singh - who would have single-handedly ensured that the score did not cross 200.
At this point, one would have imagined that the team's cause - to help Australia win their first Champions Trophy - had been accomplished. But the Indian bowlers had other ideas. They sent down thunderbolts and bouncers which struck terror into the very hearts of the Aussie openers. Fortunately, such was the pace generated by the Pathan and Patel and Sreesanth, that the faintest of edges raced away to the boundary. At the end of 14 overs, the Aussie total stood at 100 something. The turbanator Harbhajan Singh joined the party soon after to hand out some lollipops to the run-starved Ricky Ponting. Inside sources inform us that Ponting personally thanked Harbhajan at the end of the match for helping him find his form. At the end of a long and tiring day, Australia finally limped its way to 252 after losing all of FOUR wickets in the process. With FOUR.TWO overs in hand.
There's nothing quite like a good game of cricket. The Aussies are in the semis - they are happy. The Men in Blue returned to their five-star hotel and had the most scrumptious tandoori chicken for dinner - they are happy. The ICC is said to be considering India for the Spirit of Cricket award in recognition of this selfless performance - they are happy. The television ads were sold at a premium - the broadcasters are happy. Everybody is happy. The BCCI president Sharad Pawar is the happiest (although nobody knows why) - he was seen grinning from ear to ear at the presentation ceremony.
It was only spectators who were not happy. The Indian batsmen despatched so many sixers into the stands and the Indian bowlers kept assisting the Aussie batsmen in sending the ball over the ropes so many times that the physical safety of the audience was threatened. In vain did they try to draw attention to their plight by chanting "Hai! Hai!" Unfortunately, with the Indian team being caught up in the passion of purpose, their pleas fell on deaf ears. Needless to say, it didn't take too long for the stadium to empty out.
Management Class : News
mental baba 2:15 AM
Actually I'd like to be a columnist for Stardust. Now that would be something.
Your comments are being posted and so are the replies. No, it is classified as kaadaa.
Your comments are being posted and so are the replies. No, it is classified as kaadaa.
I cuppose it has to get far worse before it can get any better.
|Anil| : I think this product has outlived its shelf life. A desi version of the NBA is what is needed. But hey, I never had a superstar blogger visit my site before :-). Danke!
baba ka katora
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