So mission oz is done and dusted with...
if there was any more motivation needed by our team to win finals straight this tour provided every bit of it...
while previewing CB series i said that this series is going to be first step towards long journey... that it will be very important series for team india coz our selector showed lots of courage by selecting youngsters for this tough series...
i also wished that if not for anybody this team should succeed for sake of selectors...they gambled big time against tide...and needed assurance in the form or favorable results...but we not only succeeded but went far ahead of everybody's imagination and won in straight sets!!
i am not good at in depth analysis so here are some facts which caught my imagination...
- dhoni has made this team the reflection of his self...care free yet not lost...focused without taking undue pressure...cool but composed...
he not only takes risks but owns them...thats why he made hero out of first joginder (though with some luck) and secondly with praveen kumar...how many would have thrown the new ball to him to bowl at guys like hayden, gilchrist, ponting...in pressure cooker finals...
for me he is the man of the series coz not only he scored at crucial time for india...he handled and guided his team to win which his more pedigreed predecessors failed to do so...
- teams spirit is at all time high and one instance at second final displayed it so aptly when harbhajan took the wicket of symonds...everybody flocked harbhajan and covered his face for his expressions then could have created another crap headlines in oz media...
- Our bowling has taken huge leap...with ishant undoubtedly being the find of the tour...i bet opposition team will think twice before giving us green tops...
if only we can look after bowlers well...we will win more matches overseas as well as home and onus is also on BCCI to not let this momentum go waist and prepare sporting pitches for SA tour without even iota of doubt...no more dead tracks for me...
- some one (most preferably kirsten with team management) please sit with sehwag and most importantly yuvraj and tell them in no uncertain terms what is expected from them coz sachin is not going to be around forever and they must put their hands up and behave responsibly as senior guys to take our team to next level...
thats why this time i had not sympathy for sehwag when he was left out coz he invited his exclusion by blowing away his good form...
they have let team down on so many occasions...refusing to heed to put team cause first for the flair of their 'natural play'...if the batsman of stature of sachin can do it...no reason why they cant do it...
- by blunting binga in consecutive finals india has exposed a significant weakness for other team to cash on that if you don't loose wickets specially to lee their bowling lacks penetration and almost looks pedestrian...
if i were CA i will be deeply disturbed by this...coz they keep on harping about lack of quality spinners but do they have good pace bowling too??? its an urgent question before them the answer of which they need very quickly...
take well deserved rest, but be focussed guys...coz we tend to loose all momentum during breaks...
.
click to translate »
« back to original...
We have won!!! and how!! what a final!!
my first wishes to dhoni, selectors, all youngsters and sachin
...and last but not least...
thanks kumble for instilling the belief in team that this oz team can be beaten...(don't look surprised)...
what a special gift you all have given us...i am feeling like its been a poetic justice...after all they have to go through this summer...
more after a while...enjoy!!
click to translate »
« back to original...
and kick their a@@ till they are sore like hell and ask them to repeatedly say we wont gift our wickets like this...
special treatment should be given to yuvraj coz he is vice captain and he just dont seem to care about this fact...
i mean what they think they were doing there...oz were on mat...laid low waiting for their fate helplessly and what you do...offer them life on platter...
if not for anything they should have respected the fact that on other end there was a person who seem to be on the mission of life with great resolute and what they only needed to do was to be with him and support him in his mission...
irrespective of result of today's final...they needed to be told this lesson...much the same way as i mentioned earlier
do you agree...??
click to translate »
« back to original...
when team india will step inside the filed on 3rd Fab...we all will be seeing beginning of a long journey towards world cup in 2011...
there's only sachin left which is our link between past and present and selectors have taken very bold step of blooding youngsters...come back players...and for once for the sake of poor selectors i want team india to do fairly well otherwise we all know how the reactions will be...
they have prefect platform...away from our every hungry 'over the top praises in one second and writing obituary the next second' type of overzealous media...
CB being longest ODI series they will hopeflly be able to play more hopefuls and see how they respond to pressure cooker situations coz aussies will come hard and they will be tested to core...good outing here will do world of good to their confidence and what better platform to show the metal they are made of...
it would also be interesting to see the approach of sehwag...what different he will do this time...coz for all his game suited to ODIs he is not so successful...
how sachin will approach games now onwards...being the only senior left in the team will he take his role too seriously and become the drafter...or will he just enjoy out there and rub the confidence to his younger ones...
i will also be keeping an eye on dhoni...he seems to have dig an imaginary hole and somehow don't look like coming out of it...i think he is also getting found out by bowlers...it wont be easy for him to clear ropes with bigger grounds here...and how he will pace his innings will determine how long he will go from there...
while they will be doing their bit over there it would also be interesting to see how our selectors, and particularly media will react to possible defeats...will they embrace defeats with the resolve of vision...will they stick to their stand or wilt at the drop of hat like what happened in SA series...is remained to be seen...
coz irrespective of what we would like to see our media and system reacts in his own way...
that a program was running called 'Match ka mujrim kaun?' (who is the culprit of match?...pardon me for this translation) even if we won the match sums up for me...
anyway folks, being optimistic, i am sticking my neck out...and here's my x1 for first match
sehwag
sachin
gambhir
raina
rohit sharma/karthik
robin
dhoni
pathan
harbhajan
ishant
sree santh
what is your team?
click to translate »
« back to original...
