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| Number One won, Number Two too |
| Monday June 22, 2009 |
| It was the team that did not have any member playing for the IPL that won. But Sri Lanka, with their fantastic combination of art and science of cricket, won the hearts. So, the team that did not have any member playing for the IPL has finally emerged champion for the ICC T20 World Cup. I am hardly one to suggest a conspiracy theory against the IPL but I wonder if more should be read into this coincidence. Am I happy that Pakistan has won? Honestly, I would have preferred to see Sri Lanka win since I always believed that they looked a more complete side. On the day of the final, I must say, Pakistan deserved to win since they played better. For every ball that Shahid Afridi blasted outside the ground in the last two matches sending Pakistani supporters delirious with joy, the skill of Tilakratne Dilshan in finding the boundaries was winning hearts around the world. He may have missed out in the final but still ended as the player of the tournament. Umar Gul just could not stop bowling the yorkers in the death overs, troubling batsmen with the reverse swing, as the master craftsman Murali reminded people around the world that he could still command respect, irrespective of the nature of the game. Abdul Razzaq, sneaking back into the site after quitting the rebel ICL, proved his class with the odd chance that he got, as Angel Mathews did enough, with the bat and ball, to add himself as the 'fourth M', adding to the list of Muralitharan, Mendis and Malinga. If the final did not justify its billing as the big bang game, Pakistan were responsible - there was little drama when they batted. Former captain Wasim Akram correctly said that this was the first final that Pakistan had won without any panic. If Sri Lanka did not score enough, as the captain also said in the end, their batsmen did not live up to the reputation that they had earned. It is interesting to compare Pakistan's T20 World Cup win with the 1992 World Cup win, when Imran Khan was the captain. As a college student, watching the matches live from Australia, I remember Pakistan losing by 10 wickets against West Indies despite scoring over 200. They were bowled out for 74 against England but managed to get a point from the match as the match was rained out soon after England started to bat. I also remember Pakistan being bowled out for 173 while chasing 216 that India had made. (I spoke to Javagal Srinath once who remembered bowling out Javed Miandad and narrated me how India desperately wanted to win that match). But the brilliance of Inzamam ul Haq saw them past a tight situation in the semi finals before they beat England in the finals. The run up for the team in this tournament was no better. They lost the warm up matches, with India beating them comfortably by nine wickets. They struggled during the initial part of the tournament. Afridi in particular looked completely off colour. The openers did not seem to click and the batting order was in a mess. And then Afridi decided to take the semi final by the scruff of the neck, in a manner that only he can, to confirm the chokers tag for South Africa. For Pakistan, a country ravaged by internal strife, this perhaps means a lot more than just a victory. Sri Lanka, who, in my opinion, also played like champions did not have a good day on the field. Throughout the tournament, Sri Lanka won the hearts, Pakistan won the trophy. PS: Is there also a lesson for the Indian captain on the way the Pakistan batting order was reshuffled? In a crunch match, Afridi was sent higher up the order just to make sure that the man who could turn around the match could get to play longer than others. Remember, who did Dhoni send? Ravindra Jadeja!! |
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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. 
