We just got completely and utterly burned. Like annihilated. Into less than ash. Way to go India, WAY TO GO.
Let me just emphasize again- Our bowling attack is non-existent. We played 5 bowlers, dropping Sehwag for that combination no less, AND YET WE BOWLED 8 PEOPLE. EIGHT PLAYERS. What were Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bowling for? Unbelievable.
I doubt we’re gonna get to the knockouts, so I’m just going to mentally prepare for that.
So India makes it through to the Super 8s of the World T20 as top of their group, surprise surprise!
Beating Afghanistan was never in doubt, though they did make a match of it. But yesterday they utterly humiliated England to claim a 90 run victory. Granted the match was inconsequential. But still, a 90-run victory is a huge ego-boost. How? No one knows. Because the match defied all logic. See for yourself:
That last one sealed it for me. It was cricket on crack. There’s really no other explanation for it.
The only thing I wasn’t too pleased about is that Ashwin was benched. And honestly, the way Bhajji and Chawla played yesterday, Ashwin’s place on the team looked like it might be in danger. But we all know Ashwin has been far more consistent and performing much better than them. Bring him back, Dhoni.
Oh and also, there’s the fact that my fantasy team yesterday did nothing for me. NOTHING. This fantasy cricket thing gives me unnecessary high BP. And on that note, let me go pick my fantasy team for today’s match :P
Just watched India lose miserably (as usual) to Pakistan in the warm-up match of the World T20. It’s a small comfort that it’s just a warm-up match because one look at the squad shows that we have practically no bowling options.
Balaji, India? Was he really the best you could muster? His bowling is nothing, and his fielding is really bad in comparison to the rest of the team. 16 runs in the second last over- crucial, crucial over and he gifts the game to Pakistan.
I know Varun Aaron is injured, but what happened to Umesh Yadav? Or Praveen/ Vinay Kumar? I really don’t see how Balaji merits a place on the team, unless everyone else is injured.
Gah.
It is a weird feeling to read Harsha Bhogle’s amazing tribute to Rahul Dravid, while Stay by Hurts plays in the background.
“Say goodbye in the pouring rain
And I break down as you walk away;
Stay.”
A little overdramatic, you may say. But here it is from a die-hard fan’s perspective. Dravid was the first person I watched when I started watching cricket. He was part of my induction into the game, and he was the main reason my love for the game grew so quickly and exponentially, during the 1999 world cup, when I would stay up into the night to cheer at the television, just a silly little 10-year-old discovering a sport which would go on to define her growing up years (though she didn’t know it then). He was my first love, and I have very fond memories associated with all the times I’ve watched him play, with all his greatest innings, and to think I won’t watch him play for India again is… deeply upsetting.
Ok, I’m not breaking down. But it is an emotional moment for me, because for the last 13 years that I’ve watched this glorious game, Rahul Dravid has been for me, the best ambassador of the “gentleman’s game”, a gentleman in every sense of the word, and my all-time favourite player. And for me, he always will be. I think everyone on Cricinfo has already said everything else better than I can, so I’ll leave it at that.
So thank you and take a bow, Jammy. The game will be poorer without you.
I would like to say that THAT match. Was. A. Joke.
Unfortunately India’s starting to think that these regular jokes are very funny. Well TeamIndia, they’re really not.
Watching the prize presentation now, here come the excuses. Breaking news: It’s time to get your head out of the clouds and into the game, India.
As usual, after the disaster that was the Australian test series, I’m avoiding Cricinfo, because I can’t stand all the nonsense that gets posted. Some of the writers there are brilliant no doubt, but there are some who just roll with the tide and feed the seething/ecstatic public exactly what they want to hear. When India is winning, they feed the readers glorious praises about the team and when they’re down and out, they feed them articles trashing the team. I for one, can’t stand it when journalists cannot friggin’ have their own opinion and instead swing back and forth according to the fortunes of the team (hence the extreme respect for Harsha Bhogle, who always sticks to his opinion, regardless of how the team is currently performing).
On that note, I would like to say that the calls to sack Dhoni may seem valid since he just lost us a test series, but here’s the thing, a couple of bad series does not define a captain. Plus, India is entering a transition phase- where the seniors are passing their prime and will slowly step out of the tests and the youngsters slowly have to step up. A captain can only do so much to make that transition smooth. So cut the poor man some slack. Also, do we honestly have anybody better at the moment? I hardly think so.
In any case, I still have faith in him. Everytime he’s had a bad phase and everyone’s called for his sacking, he’s come back to show the world why he’s one of the most respected captains around at present. So I for one think he has more to offer. Of course, I could be wrong, but we’ll just have to wait and see about that.
The Wall continues to stand tall. 35th time, each time with pride and dignity.
