I've seen Rameez Raja run like a lunatic after taking the final catch in 1992, I've seen Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda De Silva embrace in the middle in Lahore in 1996, I've seen Darren Lehmann square cut Saqlain Mushtaq for four in London in 1999, I've seen Glenn McGrath raise his arms in triumph in 2003, I've seen Ricky Ponting walk around as if he owned the world in Barbados in 2007, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni's monster six over long-on a couple of hours ago was probably the most emphatic of the lot.
I've long been a critic and I'm not saying I'm a believer now, but this Indian cricket team has seriously dominated the 2011 Cricket World Cup. And the joy that this win has given people already has been nothing short of extraordinary. This is a team all of us can be proud of.
2 comments:
Unbelievable victory for the Indian team lead by the charismatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni-a true leader who has instilled self belief in the team after the devastating first round exit in the 2007 World Cup.
SL deserved to lose the final given their unfair tactics thrown up by their captain Sangakkara even before the match began.It was a blessing in disguise for the Indian captain who wanted to bat first as well.Having an vulnerable lower middle order,India could have followed their tradition of losing wickets in a heap in the later half of the innings while setting a target,hence they were better equipped to chase having done so successfully against Australia at Motera,Ahmedabad.
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth for Ravichandran Ashwin was a Dhoni Masterstroke,even though it backfired.Sreesanth has been a lucky charm to MS Dhoni,having been a part of final of the World T20 winning side.
MS Dhoni promoting himself up the order against Muralidharan and Randiv in a tight situation showed the character of the Indian captain to lead from the front by setting an example to all and sundry who doubted his ability to deliver with the bat.
The revenge for Randiv's deliberate no-ball to deny Sehwag a century sometime back and the loss to SL at the 1996 World Cup Quaterfinal in Bangalore were well and truly extracted from the Lankan Lions.
The whole of India came to know on super saturday that switching off the television after Sehwag/Sachin's wicket henceforth-would be a big mistake.
After a fairytale 21 years and running-The Little Master truly deserved to lay his hands on the World Cup.Some sections of the media are discussing his retirement although there is nothing from Sachin that would indicate his farewell,yet.
The epic 100th international century would come,but there remains just one batting record that would've have passed Sachin time and again- Brian Lara's unbeaten 400* for the highest individual score in test cricket.It's just a matter of time one would feel after such a glorious career spanning more than 2 decades.
No fairytale ending to the magical Muttiah Muralidharan.And our prediction of the Wankhede wicket crumbling towards the later half of the innings were found untrue.But the law of averages helped tilt the advantage towards India as the dew set in during the second innings preventing Murali to adopt a defensive approach.It was amazing to see the bat speed of MS Dhoni's winning shot for six over long on and how he went with the followthrough after hitting it followed by cameras showing Gary Kirsten in the Indian dressing room with an expression of pure joy and relief throwing his arms behind for eternity-truly a magical moment which will be etched in the Annals of Indian cricket for time immemorial.
Congrats to the Indian team,Coach Gary and the support staff who have tirelessly to fulfill the dream of billions since the Kapil's Class of 1983.
Have you been to the University Cricket Club,yet?
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