18 off 6

I was closely following the T20 world cup semi-final between Australia and Pakistan today. The Australians had fought with great valor and the equation read 18 runs to win off 6 balls. In true Australia spirit ("Australian Maaj") Michael Hussey pulled it off and did it with one ball to spare. It was nothing short of sensational.

However, this inspired an interesting thought... If the equation read 18 to win off 6, how would've other teams reacted?

India : Unless someone's pants were on fire, India would've scored about 7-8 runs; at best 12-13 and gone off the field feeling proud of how well they fought (no one would say that they actually LOST the game).

Sri Lanka : Similar to India but they would also make some strange, stupid noises "Aaaalalalalalalala.. geelllaaaalalal.. khlalahh khulalalalaa" (Read this aloud in a high pitched tone and you'd suddenly feel as if you are in Colombo)... or something like this. But yes, they would've lost too.

New Zealand : Would've lost as well. And would complain that most of their 'in-form players' (like who?) were injured.

South Africa : It would've either started raining or they'd have forgotten to play a shot or miscalculated or something like that. Chances of winning would be about 50%.
Pakistan: Anything could happen. They could either score off these runs easily or maybe just lose wickets on all 6 balls.

West Indies, England, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe: Never mind.

-Shri

Jai Dhoni ...

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's two outstanding gestures simply won him over. If there was anyone who did not like him, these gestures would have easily made them his biggest fans. The idea to ask Sourav Ganguly to lead for a few overs before the match was over outstanding. I couldn't believe it for a few minutes. And when I did, I had a big lump in my throat. A few minutes later, I had a big smile on my face and respect for Dhoni was infinite :).

Then after India won and during the presentation, he asked Kumble to share the trophy with him and after a few pictures were taken, quickly moved aside and let Kumble enjoy the trophy and the limelight. It showed that he understood the contribution and the hard work that the 'old man' had put in.

Not only does he have great cricketing acumen, he seems to be good at man management.

It was hard to increase the respect that I had for Dhoni. It was already at infinity ;).

India Vs Australia

Right... the time is just perfect. Its a Friday evening and I've been stuck into analyzing a core dump for the last few hours. What better time could I get for writing a blog!!

India take on Australia in what would be the most interesting crciketing battle in the last few months. Remember India did exceedingly well in their last trip Down Under. Will the Aussies hit back with a vengeance? Or will the famed Indian middle-order rise to the occasion and deliver a splendid performance? Only time will tell...

For starters, all the talk about India giving a red-carpet welcome to the Australians is certainly not good. Yes, the Aussies would certainly benefit from practicing on Indian pitches and Indian bowlers. But a true match is when both the sides are equally competent on a certain type pitch. So this practice to the Aussies will only make the actual contests interesting.

The other worrisome part is the media going hell-for-leather against the likes Ganguly, Dravid, Kumble and sometimes even Tendulkar. Agreed that all of them are well past their prime, but the real question is are there replacements with enough capabilities? The selectors could certainly do with a better strategy. For example, they could have each of these being made to sit out of a match so that some other youngster gets a chance. That should keep everyone happy (yeah.. provided all of these seniors are the same kind of form).

Keeping Ganguly out of the Irani Trophy was pretty sad. Right since the outset, I've had a soft corner for Sourav. He just had that attitude where one felt he'll back you through out. I really really hope that the selectors do select him in the 14 for the Tests against Australia. Its fine if he cant make it to the playing 11. He could play the 2nd test when some other senior batsman sits out. If he's not selected, I would feel bad :(.

I'll write more about this series as and when I find time...