When Dhoni announced the team after the toss, I felt a lump on my throat. Is it a right decision to leave out Yusuf Pathan?
I quickly got convinced that Suresh Raina is a better choice to bat Tait, Lee and Johnson. However the selection of Munaf Patel definitely baffled me. Both Sreeshanth and Chawla had good game against Australia in the warm up. It only makes sense atleast one of them is included in the playing 11. In all probabiliy it should have been Sreeshanth for the right balance.
Much to the expectation, the mediocrity of Patel was completely exposed by the Australian batsmen. The sorrow did not end there. There was a time when India should be attacking as Haddin, Clarke, White and M Hussey departed at regular intervals, Dhoni was busy getting out the quota of Patel. Another day, India would have applied pressure at both ends to dismiss Australia at a cheaper total.
Dhoni might have total hatred for Sreeshanth, but I feel country takes precedence over personal likings. Mind you, it is Dhoni's name that is about to enter Hall of Fame as the World Cup winning Captain. Despite all this, if Dhoni is still not inclined on picking Sreeshanth, it is high time the think tank field 8 batsman.
All in good spirits, I only wish India dont repeat the same mistakes in Semi Finals. After all there is no time machine to rewrite history.
On the postive note, Indian fielding was awesome. Bowlers were brilliant. Once again Zaheer was the pick of the bowlers. The much criticised middle order came to party. Big Kudos. Excellent batting by Tendulkar, Gambir, Yuvi and Raina. Big thanks to Yuvi for leading the show. His performance would have shut those minds that doubted his credentials.
From Australia, It was heartening to see the champion making statement with a century.
Come Wednesday is another festive occassion. India takes on Pakistan at Mohali in the Semi Final clash. I would not be surprised if that day is declared public holiday in both these countries. At the end of the day only one country would celebrate while the other would grief.
Bottomline: When Tendulkar's century goes on a losing cause, it is critics pick. Does Ponting ton carry the same fate?
Dinesh
Cricket Lover
Much to the expectation, the mediocrity of Patel was completely exposed by the Australian batsmen. The sorrow did not end there. There was a time when India should be attacking as Haddin, Clarke, White and M Hussey departed at regular intervals, Dhoni was busy getting out the quota of Patel. Another day, India would have applied pressure at both ends to dismiss Australia at a cheaper total.
Dhoni might have total hatred for Sreeshanth, but I feel country takes precedence over personal likings. Mind you, it is Dhoni's name that is about to enter Hall of Fame as the World Cup winning Captain. Despite all this, if Dhoni is still not inclined on picking Sreeshanth, it is high time the think tank field 8 batsman.
All in good spirits, I only wish India dont repeat the same mistakes in Semi Finals. After all there is no time machine to rewrite history.
On the postive note, Indian fielding was awesome. Bowlers were brilliant. Once again Zaheer was the pick of the bowlers. The much criticised middle order came to party. Big Kudos. Excellent batting by Tendulkar, Gambir, Yuvi and Raina. Big thanks to Yuvi for leading the show. His performance would have shut those minds that doubted his credentials.
From Australia, It was heartening to see the champion making statement with a century.
Come Wednesday is another festive occassion. India takes on Pakistan at Mohali in the Semi Final clash. I would not be surprised if that day is declared public holiday in both these countries. At the end of the day only one country would celebrate while the other would grief.
Bottomline: When Tendulkar's century goes on a losing cause, it is critics pick. Does Ponting ton carry the same fate?
Dinesh
Cricket Lover
The most thrilling shot for me was the attempted yorker from Brett Lee that Yuvraj directed towards the third man (right?) boundary.
ReplyDeleteReal confidence.