The cricket world cup has been around for some time and is going to stay a bit longer thanks to Dhoni and his team who made India the champions in this edition of the world cup. Most of the people were expecting India to do well. I remember a day as early as 22nd Feb 2011 when I was talking to Jitender Singh on our way to a friend's marriage and both of us opined that this time it should be India. Though we thought the finals would feature India and South Africa rather than Sri Lanka. So people were anticipating an Indian win.
Home conditions, players in form, a good unit under a cool calm leader, blend of youth and experience etc were the main reasons for people to believe that India has a chance. But I was surprised at the way the team played the last leg of the tournament i.e. the Quarter Final with Australia, Semi with Pakistan and Finals with Sri Lanka. India as we all know were a batting side with only Zaheer and Harbhajan to share the bowling attack, but it was surprising to see people like Yuvraj come up and shoulder the responsibility even when he was out of form.
There were some superb turnarounds in the matches, Sachin was on top of his game, Sehwag was doing his bit by giving us quick starts and then there was a solid middle order to take us to the end. The team was very balanced and even the fielding was good by Indian standards. The best thing was the commitment and the body language was very positive. It was just a case where everything fell in place properly and India made it through. It was a very satisfying victory to say the least.
I am overly impressed by Dhoni and his innings under pressure in the Finals. I love the way he talks, he is so mature and I always find him saying the words I want him to say. He is one person who can do no wrong, he led India to the T20 World Cup and now the ODI world cup. He is very situation aware and does not get carried away. You must watch Harsha Bhogle talking through the World Cup Final .It was a team effort and it underlines the fact that no Individual can win you a World Cup or any other tournament. Sachin can finally add the World Cup medal to his list of awards.
Home conditions, players in form, a good unit under a cool calm leader, blend of youth and experience etc were the main reasons for people to believe that India has a chance. But I was surprised at the way the team played the last leg of the tournament i.e. the Quarter Final with Australia, Semi with Pakistan and Finals with Sri Lanka. India as we all know were a batting side with only Zaheer and Harbhajan to share the bowling attack, but it was surprising to see people like Yuvraj come up and shoulder the responsibility even when he was out of form.
There were some superb turnarounds in the matches, Sachin was on top of his game, Sehwag was doing his bit by giving us quick starts and then there was a solid middle order to take us to the end. The team was very balanced and even the fielding was good by Indian standards. The best thing was the commitment and the body language was very positive. It was just a case where everything fell in place properly and India made it through. It was a very satisfying victory to say the least.
I am overly impressed by Dhoni and his innings under pressure in the Finals. I love the way he talks, he is so mature and I always find him saying the words I want him to say. He is one person who can do no wrong, he led India to the T20 World Cup and now the ODI world cup. He is very situation aware and does not get carried away. You must watch Harsha Bhogle talking through the World Cup Final .It was a team effort and it underlines the fact that no Individual can win you a World Cup or any other tournament. Sachin can finally add the World Cup medal to his list of awards.
No comments:
Post a Comment