A Billion Dreams Come True!

Whilst the 2011 Cricket World Cup certainly threw up the odd surprise or shock result, it was the pre-tournament favourites, India and Sri Lanka who emerged to contest the final. Few would argue against the observation that both teams were in the final on merit – India were widely considered to have the best batting line-up, whilst Sri Lanka’s varied bowling attack had lived up to the high expectations placed on them throughout the tournament. Whilst the final presented the opportunity, perhaps, for a memorable battle between bat and ball, it also offered the perfect stage for two of the game’s greatest players to bow out of international one-day cricket. Rumour had it that Indian batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, would call time on the shorter form of the game after the match – certainly it would be his last game in the World Cup, and therefore his last chance to add an elusive winners medal to his astonishing list of achievements. There were no such doubts that the final would be the last one day international appearance for Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. The denouement of this World Cup, then, would provide the backdrop for the last battle between these two wily old foes, master batsman against master bowler, record breakers and national treasures both. If Tendulkar was to come out on top, and reach three figures, he would be the first man to record a hundred international centuries! You couldn’t have scripted it any better surely?!
As ever, expectations of an Indian victory and a match-winning Tendulkar performance were high before the final:

Such was the noise generated by the capacity crowd that match referee Jeff Crowe failed to hear the call of “heads” from Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakarra, necessitating a re-toss. Sangakarra again called “heads”, this time audibly so, and correctly, and opted to bat first on a flat track. India’s outcricket was initially impressive, restricting Sri Lanka to just 31 runs in the first (ten over) powerplay. Sri Lanka then made steady progress, reaching 183-5 after 40 overs. Some 91 runs were plundered off the last ten overs of the innings resulting in a total of 274-6, widely considered to be a competitive score. The innings was largely founded on an unbeaten century from former captain, Mahele Jayawardene. Jayawardene’s innings was quite simply a master class in timing and placement, an innings of such composed elegance and artistry, played out in a pressure cooker atmosphere.



India’s reply got off to the worst possible start when the explosive Virender Sehwag was out second ball, lbw to Lasith Malinga, without a run on the board. Sehwag’s dismissal was greeted with stunned silence by the largely Indian crowd, a reaction replicated not long after when the unthinkable happened – Tendulkar edged a Malinga delivery and was well caught by Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Sangakarra. With both of India’s premier batsmen back in the pavilion, and just 31 runs on the board, Sri Lanka looked well on top. Had Nuwan Kulasekera held a difficult chance at long-on from Gautam Gambhir, on 30 at the time, India would have been in further trouble. Instead, Gambhir, together with another of India’s young guns, Virat Kohli, steadied the ship by putting together a partnership of 83 for the third wicket. Kohli was then superbly caught and bowled by Dilshan for a patient 35, allowing Indian skipper MS Dhoni to enter the fray. Dhoni had shown little form with the bat during the tournament, so it was a surprise that he had chosen to promote himself up the order, ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh – clearly he felt he had something to prove. Dhoni was soon bludgeoning the ball to all parts of the ground, as he and Gambhir began to dominate a rather toothless looking Sri Lankan attack. Seamers Kulasekara and Perera failed to extract any movement from the batsman friendly wicket, whilst spinners Muralitharan and Randhiv struggled to cope with the ball, suddenly wet as result of evening dew. Even Malinga, normally so devastating mid or late innings when bowling with the old ball, failed to add to his two early scalps. Dhoni and Gambhir put on 119 for the fourth wicket before Perera gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope by bowling Gambhir for an excellent 97. Yuvraj Singh then joined Dhoni at the crease, and the two embarked on guiding India to victory. Dhoni looked in particularly determined mood, and it was fitting that he should hit the winning runs with a trademark straight six off Kulasekara. No one could be more aware of the pressure that the Indian team were under during this tournament than Dhoni. As captain of the team, every decision he made, every aspect of his performance was open to the closest of scrutiny by the cricket mad, billion strong, Indian public. They do not simply expect success, they actively demand it!
Having the nerves of steel that are needed to cope with the intense pressure of a major final is an essential ingredient of a winning team. On the day, India certainly coped with this pressure more effectively than their near neighbours from across the Indian Ocean. Particularly impressive was the way that India made light work of a stiff victory target through a succession of significant partnerships, and by always ensuring that they kept up with the required run rate. Sri Lanka seemed to get a little carried away as a result of their early successes in the Indian innings, and then seemed to lose heart and lack belief all too easily. The enforced loss of key all-rounder Angelo Matthews, through injury, certainly affected the balance of the team, but the response of the selection panel – to make four changes from the victorious semi-final team – puzzled and concerned me even before the final itself. Talented young off-spinner Suraj Randiv could have considered himself unlucky not to have made the original Sri Lankan squad for the tournament, but surely he would have never even dreamed that he would be thrust straight into the team for the final, at the expense of Ajantha Mendis, who had proved to be both reliable and economical throughout the tournament. The decision to recall both Kulasekara and Perera, probably in the belief that the pitch would offer some assistance for the seamers, backfired as both bowlers failed to trouble the Indian batsmen. Chamara Kapugedera was brought in for the out-of-form Chamara Silva, but he, too, failed to make an impact during the match. Then there was the inclusion of a clearly semi-fit Muttiah Muralitharan, a questionable decision, yes, but inevitable considering his talismanic effect on the team and his achievement and stature within the game. He looked a shadow of his former himself, though, unable to extract the zip off the pitch, and conjure up the guile that had tormented many a batsman the world over for so long. A World Cup victory would have been an ideal swansong for this champion off spinner, whose record breaking achievements are unlikely to be bettered, but sadly it just wasn’t to be.
So it was India’s Cup, and the fulfilment of Sachin’s dream and that of a billion others:

M S Dhoni and his team will know to enjoy the moment, to savour the victory, to reap the spoils of success, for cricket being the ‘great leveller’ it is, failure is always looming round the corner!

Alive and Kicking!

For some time now, many a prominent member of the cricket fraternity has argued that it’s high time that the game’s 50 over format was jettisoned in favour of expanding the profile of its younger, flashier sibling, Twenty20 cricket.  Certainly, the Twenty20 format has proved to be hugely appealing to a distinctively mixed demographic of cricket fan the world over. Its supporters claim that the format has absorbed all the most appealing aspects of 50 over cricket – the batting pyrotechnics, the skill and guile of the bowler, the feats of superhuman fielding, the nail bitingly tense close finishes, the sheer unpredictability of  the one day game – whilst dispensing with the frequently turgid, attritional nature of the mid-innings phase. Removing 50 over matches from the game’s international fixture calendar will also provide some much needed respite for the game’s global superstars, many of whom have been vociferously complaining of ‘burn-out’ as a result of national commitments, whilst strangely showing little reluctance in signing up to partake in the high profile gravy train that is the IPL!
Judging by the opening fortnight of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, reports of the imminent death of the 50 over format have been exaggerated. There have been record breaking feats with bat and ball, twists and turns in numerous matches, controversial umpiring decisions, and shock results, often played out in front of colourful, captivated capacity crowds in impressive stadia. No team has experienced the highs and lows of the tournament so far as much as England, a sentiment not lost on key spinner Graeme Swann.  Having struggled to overcome a Ryan Ten Doeschate inspired Netherlands in the opening game, a heroic batting display against India resulted in a dramatic last ball tie! England then came crashing down to Earth, losing by three wickets to underdogs Ireland.  A second successive defeat seemed on the cards in England’s next game, as South Africa looked well placed at 121-3, chasing a target of just 172. A dramatic collapse then led to an unlikely English victory, and, not for the first time, much questioning of the collective temperament of the South African team.

At the time of writing, picking a winner is a tough call to make. India are the main hosts of the tournament, and so are familiar with the unique playing conditions – slow, flat, batting tracks, generally affording little help to all but the most patient and skillful of seamers, whilst frequently providing some assistance for the slow bowler. Factor in, also, India’s stellar batting line-up, headed by the incomparable Sachin Tendulkar, and the fanatical Indian support, and it’s no surprise that India were many a fan’s pre-tournament favourites:

Aside from the possible future of 50 over international cricket, much is riding on the 2011 Cricket World Cup. India and co-hosts Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be very keen to run a successful tournament on and off the pitch, knowing full well this will result in a welcome boost to various sectors of their respective economies. India will want to show that they have learnt their lessons from hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games, an event beset by a host of ills - excessive budget overruns, construction delays, poor living conditions for athletes, the withdrawal of prominent athletes, even allegations of corruption. Sri Lanka will want to grab the opportunity to show that post-civil war, the country’s previously warring factions can unite behind a single cause. Bangladesh, too, will want to show that a spirit of resurgence is prevalent within a country best known for its deep and widespread poverty, and susceptibility to damning Acts of God.