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| Chokers live up to reputation |
| Friday June 19, 2009 , New Delhi |
| Before the semi finals, South Africa had everything going for them. The batting had clicked, having scored 211, even though it was against the minnows. The spinners had managed to tighten India into submission. Wayne Parnell had one of the best bowling figures in the tournament and looked to get better with every outing. The batting looked solid and AB de Villiers was having a fantastic run with the bat. They were unbeaten in the first two rounds of the ICC T20 World Cup. Nothing, absolutely nothing, seemed to be holding them back from steamrollering the opposition. Even a small total was being defended with missionary zeal. South Africa had earned this reputation over the years. None would doubt that they richly deserved this reputation. But the team also earned another reputation - that of being chokers. Unfortunately for their fans they lived up to that reputation yet again. During the last T20 World Cup, South Africa had failed to get 126 against India. During the 1999 World Cup semi final, they ended up on the same score with Australia, who scraped through to win the finals. Lance Klusener had almost got them to the final but Allan Donald finally managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, after the panic. In the past, they have lost similar close matches. Cricket pundits have perhaps now lost count of the number of semi-finals and finals that the Proteas may have lost. While the world may focus on South Africa and talk about their being chokers, I have something more to add. The other team, Pakistan, too has lived up to its reputation - that of being unpredictable - world beaters on one day and absolutely submissive before the opposition on another. It was a fantastic display of fast bowling by Umar Gul that saw them home when it was a tight situation towards the end. So, does this make Pakistan my favourite for the T20 World Cup? Well, the Mandira Bedis and Gaurav Kapurs are still around to make the predictions. I, instead, will prefer to enjoy some good cricket. |
Ashutosh Sinha is a business journalist, whose day job involves tracking the stock markets. He enjoys juggling with the numbers at the stock market and ones from the cricket field. Ashutosh believes that the job of Sunil Gavaskar has been one of the most difficult in cricket history and that the West Indian pace battery of the 1970s was the best ever bowling attack. His religion is cricket. 
