India Wins T20 World Cup

I think this is what all bloggers, atleast all Indian bloggers, will write today. India winning the Twenty20 World Cup. Its a wonderful feeling to have seen the spectacle unfold in front of your eyes (on TV ofcourse!).

I somehow managed to leave office by 5:15 pm (match started at 5:30) only to realize that its raining cats & dogs - so heavy that there was no way i could ride my bike home. Fortunately, I met a friend who was heading home in his car and got a lift. I reached just after the first ball was bowled & did not miss any action after that.

It was a match befitting a final of a World Cup. Two evenly matched teams who unexpectedly reached the finals, a very un-Wanderers like pitch, good weather & a wonderful crowd. I dont think i should write much about the match as everyone and his aunt would already know. I would just write about few of my thoughts.

I know we would always regret that Misbah got out to a poor shot than to a great ball, but very importantly we won inspite of our best batsman, Yuvi, and best bowler, Bhajji, both failing to deliver. That sounds great for the future as we have been plagued with CMM level 1 victories in the past, i.e. victories achieved by individual brilliance of one or two players. This victory was a team effort with lot of players playing crucial roles.

We must appreciate Gambhir's knock. In my book, he was the man of the match. He scored a priceless 75 which was pretty much half the Indian tally, on a day when batsmen struggled. Though the wickets taken by Pathan, as well as RP, were crucial, imagine India's scoreboard if Gambhir had scored a 20!

What can we say about Joginder Sharma? I am clueless how he survived yesterday. He was bowling slow, wide & with no variation. I think the Pakistani batsman were baffled that he could bowl like that in a final and hence lost the mind game to him! I think he was simply lucky.

Spare a thought for Misbah-ul-Haq. Clearly the Player of the Tournament. A flawed points system saw Afridi winning the award just because he scored his runs quickly & got some wickets (4 of them against Scotland). Misbah is a wonderful player, especially in this form of the game. I don't know why he was not in the Pak one day team earlier. He stays calm whatever the situation, calculates his moves, pre-empts the opposing captains strategies, and hits the right shots at the right time. As Harsha Bhogle pointed out, his mind works like a computer with all the available information, and he launches an attack at the best possible time. Hoping to see more of his batting in the future.

Finally, another captain and another World Cup. Dhoni emulates Kapil in a wonderful show of captaincy. He is a level-headed, cool & thinking captain. Though fortune swung his way coupla times, we must appreciate the right moves at the right time which he made. Like bringing on Harbhajan in the semi againt the Aussies, or the intelligent bowling changes with Pathan in the final. Though his batting has not been at its best, he did play couple of crucial knocks. Here's wishing him success in his career as captain.

I dont know how selectors will deal with this situation. You can't change a team which won a World Cup. But we have the Big Three waiting at home, and they cannot be left out either. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

Congratulations to the Indian team for a memorable victory. Where's the party tonight?