Its been ages since i wrote something, of late i tend to write only when i am completely free or i have really something particular to write about. Work is a becoming onerous, yeah that's true and as we group up in the ladder of life this tend to happen. So what makes me write again, the term CWC 2011. This makes me not only grin but also provides an aura within and also revitalizes me a lot. Watching a cricket match, not necessarily live still revitalizes me, for who knows what relationship i had with Cricket in my previous birth.
CWC 2011 as expected with 14 teams was a long journey to reach this phase of Semi Finals. 7 Teams in either group (4 supposedly good teams and 3 minnows) form the group. I was wondering what on earth where the organizers thinking to have a fixture like this. A league stage and then Knock Out to decide the winner. How Stupid, didn't you hear that? I said How Stupid. The teams play 6 league match of course 3 with the so called better minnows, we all saw how better they were. I like the Idea of Super Six in the 99 world cup, that defined definite competition rather than this. Well of course not to take the credit away from Ireland and Netherlands by far the best of the minnows. Why didn't the administrators think about it, were there brains in cold storage??? Leave it for them to answer this.
As an ardent cricket fan, i believe its my responsibility to analyze the season so far and not just watch the game with a favorite team on mind and blindly support it. I should also mention that the crowds these days have become more smart which indicates they have also started to analyze it, which is good for the game. The tournament started with Ind Vs Bangladesh match. I believed there was a definite upset that could come up but luckily India scraped through, there was the first evidence of our bowling strength, chasing 330 odd runs Bangladesh managed to 280+. I started wondering which phase is India going to come out or to be frank knocked off, the league, Quarter Finals or the Semi's. At this stage they have crossed 3/4th of the danger zone. SA would envy India for only one reason this time and that's luck which i believe India have an SA never had.
There we quite a few thrilling games in the league stage, the England India encounter which i happen to watch at the stadium, after the match contemplating whether i wasted my money on it. Everyone would curse me, but frankly either of the teams should have won it, preferably England. Who knows they would have faced another team in the Quarterfinals. Amidst all teams, England have to be appreciated for providing best entertainment though they didn't mind about putting their cricketing abilities at stake. In the beginning if someone had told England that they would lose to Bangladesh and Ireland , Tie the game against India and Win a thriller against South Africa, i wonder what their reaction would have been. It was just a matter of time though they qualified for the next stage for them to be thrashed which the Srilankans did with due respect.
The other group didn't see any big drama apart from rain game that toppled the teams position. Australia and Srilanka wouldn't have like that. I start to wonder how Australia managed to win 3 WC in a row. Well its quite easy, top the group, play relatively lesser strength teams in Quarter Finals and Semi Finals and in Finals two of your big guns would fire to win the game. Pretty simple strategy though. This time that didn't work. Pakistan screwed them sorry their plans. Pakistan win against Australia meant that they had to play a better team or a equally talented side, fortunately India in the Quarter Finals. However i believed that they might get through, reason being India's excellent batting display during power plays. They had the chance. All they need is a chance and they make you pay big time as they did in the WC 2003 finals. This time around they missed badly few of the players or probably half the side. McGrath, Warne, Hayden ,Gilly and Martyn. If at least 2 of them were there in the current team, the Aussies would have been practising for the semi finals against Pakistan for a sweet severe revenge. Neither of this happened, rather they would be back home watching the game with their wives and kids or probably helping them in the kitchens. This re ignites the famous question of whether Mr Punter was a decent captain??? Ahem Ahem i don't want to answer that.
In the quarter final stage Pakistan faced off West Indies. A tricky match indeed, we cannot bet on either of these teams as their form itself is a sinusoidal fashion. They themselves wouldn't bet to be honest. WI missed a lot of things, Gayle's batting, Pollard's smashing, Shiv's and Sarwan's partnership and without any wonder got bundled out for a meager score.Pakistan thankfully didn't help WI and played sensibly to secure their semifinal berth. We never know what could happen if we ask Pakistan to chase this 110+ score once again, such brilliant has been their form. The next game was India Vs Australia, i would have said India 55% and Australia 45% since they didn't have the experienced batting lineup neither a good spinning attack. They definitely missed Shane warne. Hence they were out.
Huh how do i describe the next game. SA vs Kiwis. Even before the match begun everyone was talking about SA playing the semi finals and i think so they were. This may not be the reason. As i was watching the match i was speculative about whether this is a written fate for SA Cricket,not to win a WC or at least go there till the last point and give it a shot. All that i can do is only sympathize with them. The last quarterfinal, i was hoping would produce yet another upset but it rather gave me a surprise when lankans stormed the lions with a 10 wicket win. Either the Bangladesh or the Irish would have put up a better fight.
All these days i was telling my friends, colleagues and acquaintance that it will be either South Africa or SriLanka to lift the cup this time. Thank god that only 50% of my prediction has gone wrong and the other team is looking ominous. As they always say cricket is a funny game and anything can happen. Now its the time for lady luck to smile upon whomever she likes.Going forward we can never predict who will win the semis and the finals. Its really tough to predict and whoever does that correctly well, he just got lucky. Everyone is eagerly waiting for the 2nd Semi Finals against India and Pakistan. The first formally looks like a Srilankan win. We can never neglect the Kiwis. They are the side with a few talented players. Brendon, Ross, Jacob, Vettori,Ryder, Styris. Well can they storm the lankan lions is the question and my instinct says we might get a surprise there too. Lets wait and watch.
The other thought that was running on my mind was how can there be a WC without a India Pakistan encounter, the mother of all battles. Well my dream came true but at an interesting stage though. I cant imagine the consequence that would occur if either of the teams lose. Both are crazy cricketing nations and both want to win at any cost especially when the play each other. Its better than the Ashes or the Border Hadlee Trophy where there is immense pressure. This is the epic. We felt the enormous pressure during 1996 and 2003 WC days and this time its going to be no different. Not sure how many people would demise looking at the result. Pakistan always come hard when it is India, probably they would give 200% and play it like the CWC 2011 final and India is no mean. They would fight hard, remember the Aamir - Venky battle, Sachin-Shoaib Face off. Shoaib and Sachin, last game for either of them in ODI and definitely in CWC. I cant wait to watch, In fact i am making sure not to bite of my nails since there would be none left for this match. I am not guessing or betting who is going to win it. Just hoping like any other cricket fan that it will be interesting one and like a true Indian fan crying my heart out for India to thrash the Pakistanis. What if Manmohan invites Gilani and Zardari for this match, Damn this a India Pakistan match and that's the maximum amount of friendly gesture that we can offer. Leave the rest to the supporters and players to shout, fight and battle it out in the middle and on the stands.
There are four possibilities for the Finals of CWC 2011,
- NZ Vs Pakistan - Highly Unlikely.
- NZ Vs India - Possible.
- Srilanka Vs India - 99% Chances.
- Srilanka Vs Pakistan - Possible.
There is a high likely chance for Event 3 to occur. This is assuming that Srilankans see of Kiwis without major trouble and the fact that India haven't lost a game to Pakistan in the World cup. Hope that to remain the same way unless Pakistan has other plans. Assuming that India play Srilanka in the final, which was an expected an Sub Continental affair final right from the beginning of the tournament. This proves a lot of things, that the other teams like Australia, South Africa, England, West Indies irrespective of however strong they may be as a unit, they still cant play on sub continental wickets. These conditions will still remain alien to them irrespective of how much ever tours they make or how many ever IPL matches they play. Adapting to these conditions will not happen by doing either of the above, but only can be achieved by playing here and going through all following for years and years. The expectations, the brick bats, the short memories, the blind crazy followers support and the iconic status. Simplify it you can put it as for other teams its a "game" and for us its "larger than life".
The final, no money for guessing that i am not guessing. I am leaving it open till 2nd April 8:00 PM. The venue Wankhade is a typical sub continental wicket. Thanks that two sub continent teams are playing in it, if not it would have been a quick one sided affair similar to the 99 WC final. Srilankans and Indians are familiar about the wickets and have similar lineups. This nullifies the so called Home advantage for India. The same is not true if the match was in Premedasa or anywhere else in Colombo. In that case it would have been 65% Srilanka and 35% India. India are still figuring out ways to play better cricket against Srilanka in their home and the vice versa is not true. This is what shifts the balance in favor of lankans in this CWC 2011. They have the edge when compared to the Indians. If we look @ man to man between the teams there is not really much between them,
- Dilshan Vs Sehwag - Equally Talented, can tear apart any attack.
- Tharanga Vs Sachin - Shouldn't be here. Sachin far better by all means.
- Sangakkara Vs Gambhir - Kumar a far better player.
- Mahela Vs Yuvi - Yuvi has upper hand just because of his form.
- Samaraweera Vs Dhoni - Not much difference.
- Chamara Silva Vs Raina - Raina
- Mathews VS Kohli- Mathews, a genuine all rounder.
- Malinga Vs Bhajji - Malinga, toe crushing yorkers.
- Mendis Vs Ashwin - Ashwin a better bowler
- Murali Vs Zaheer - Equally Talented, though Murali gets ahead.
- Herath(Kulasekara) Vs Patel - Herath.
4 crucial players on both sides who have the edge to their counterparts to make the difference. So there is really nothing between these two teams except that SriLanka have a good track record coming into the Finals and look like a much balanced side when compared to India whom seem to lack strike bowlers except for Zaheer. The batting looks stronger for India but doesn't looks ominous when compared to the srilankan line up. The crucial thing again here will be the toss. What will the winning captain do ? Will he bat or prefer to chase ? Will the dew be a concern ? Can Malinga, Murali, Mendis bowl better even if there is dew ? Will the Indians handle them and not succumb to pressure as they usually do ? Contrary can India defend a score of 275+ provided they get there ? Can Zaheer, Bhajji, Ashwin, Yuvi contain the roaring lankan lions ?Too many questions on the plate and none of them can be answered. Better off to watch it even before we start to imagine or search for answers. There are always dilemma and this one in a trickiest of all. Should i go with my heart which says India with 51% advantage or with my Mind which says SriLanka 51% advantage. Between this battle of my Mind and Heart, I hope my heart wins just for the little master. I believe he has given everything for the game of cricket and for team India and the setting cannot be perfect than this, A Cricket World Cup Win in Mumbai @ Wankhede after 20 years of extraordinary international cricketing career.
"Will the Lady luck Smile on Sachin or the Smiling Assassin Murali smile on Sachin". Leave it to the gods!!!
