Cup of Glory..
Though it was announced that twenty20 or T20 world cup will be held in September in South Africa, there was no hype around it and the Indian public had no idea about the tournament. Added to that the big 3 backed out of the tourney and a bunch of new kids with virtually no international exposure were hand-picked for the matches. The selectors themselves dint expect much from them and jus wanted them to go the super 8s. All were proved wrong by one person who lead the team from the front. He is none other than our new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni... He has made many eye brows raise with his amazing attitude and coolness and has grabbed the favour of leading cricketers.
The first match was washed out and next came Pakistan. Any game against Pakistan is no ordinary game with a nation's pride at stake. And India has the reputation of not losing to Pakistan in world cups. With an ocean of e
xpectation around them, the Indian team managed to pull off a thriller at Durban by "Bowl out". And next stop was New Zealand. India lost by a whisker. They lost way at the end. England was beaten and India was one step away from semis. Came the toughest team of the tourney, S Africa.If India beats SA, India thro or else its out. With such a tough constraint our boys managed to keep their nerves and pulled off the victory and in the process knocked the hosts out too.. It wood have been heart-break for SA as it was their 1st match that they were losing and they were out of the race for the cup. They are the most unlucky team always in Big tournaments. Right from 1992 till now.
Next came another biggie. Its was the Aussie challenge in semis. With r team's average age being 24 and their's being 32 with each one looking like a beast, it was an Everest to climb. India batted first and was crawling. It was just 48/2 in 9 overs and reached 188/5 in 20 overs. It was a stupendous achievement against a formidable Aussie bowling. They had Kangaroo curry for dinner. It was terrific to say the least. Thanks to Yuvraj and his raining sixes.
Mike Hussey summed it up as " We lost to one man, Yuvraj Singh".
India was thro to meet arch rivals Pakistan in a dream final in Johannesberg.
It was monday the 24th of september 2007. There was nothin special about this date until 2007. From here on, this day will go into the record books as the day when an inexperienced Indian team won a determined Pakistan in the closest ever world cup final.
Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat as it had clicked for them through out the tourney. But India was off to a dismal start losing quick wickets but maintained the run rate constantly. Gambhir played his best innings and he kept the strike rotating. A lot was expected of Yuvraj but he failed with his willow. Oh come on.. He cant hit 6's all the time. He just had one bad day. The Pakistan team had 6 main stream bowlers and there was nothing much India co
uld do. Dhoni lost his stumps and his wish for scoring 180+ became distant. Thanks to Rohit, India managed 157 and many doubted if this was enough.
Pakistan's strategy was to use 6 bowlers, bowl India under 160 and finish the game with their 5 batsman. Their plan bombed as Indian bowlers came to the party and Pakistan was tottering at 97/6. I had thought the game got over. But then, Misbah-ul-haq ensured they wont go down without a fight. The battle went down to the wire. His 3 sixes of Harbhajan changed the course of the match as Pakistan
needed 13 off the last over with only 1 wicket in hand. Dhoni gave the ball to Joginder and his first ball was a wide and the next was a six. Tension was at its peak as Pakistan was inches away from pulling it off. They needed 6 from 4. It was definitely gettable. A billion hearts were praying for the fall of Misbah as Joginder came in to bowl. Misbah came outside the off stump and tried to scoop it over fine leg. As luck would have it, the ball came towards him and he couldn get the angle right. It was a slow ball too and it landed safely in Sreesanth's hands as India managed to pull off another edge-of-the-seat thriller. It was agony for Misbah and ecstacy for a billion others. Indians ran a victory lap around the stadium as India kept its record intact of not losing to Pakistan in world cups. Its 5-0 in world cups for India now. As destiny would have it, The Indian captain with his amazing attitude lifted the "Twenty-20 world cup" in the same ground they had lost the 2003 World cup final.
It was a very rare scene to see the tag "World champions" with the Indian Te
am. After 24 long years this title is back in the reckoning.
Certain words from Dhoni require mention. Here they are:
To Ravi Shastri:
Hello Ravi, before I would like to talk about the win against Australia, I would like to talk about ur article on cricinfo. U had said that Aussies may well be the winners but we proved u wrong by winning and I m sure u would be more happier than us.
To the team:
158 may not be a very big target in this pitch but then they are yet to hit that. Its not a war, its just a match against Pakistan and that’s the way I want u to think.
To Joginder:
He said this when he was bowling the final over against Australia." Just keep bowling to the wicket. The Aussies have the reputation of winning and the batsman is under more pressure than u. So be cool.. Just enjoy the moment.
This one during the final.. " I don mind even if v lose. Defeat is just part of the game. U bowl ur best. Don be tensed"
To Sreesanth:
I don like him staring at players. He gotta maintain his cool. I m the captain and he gotta bowl the way I tell him to.
To media after "bowl out":
Though "bowl out" was thrilling, I don think its the best way out to judge a winner. It could have well been a tie.
He got kudos from all leading captains and former players for maintaining his cool. And his faith in youngsters was commendable. He gave the final over to Joginder when other experienced bowlers were there. He got in Yusuf Pathan to make his debut in the final of a world cup when Dinesh Karthik was sitting out. He dint make his mainstream bowlers to bowl in the "bowl out". He kept his cool throughout the crunch situations and India managed to pull off 4 straight knock-out matches on their road to victory. Ask any captain and he would say "Its no mean feat".
Perhaps, It would be apt if Dhoni says "Riskungrathu ennaku rusk sapidura mathiri"
Ever since their victory its raining money for all players. Adding their match fee + 12 crore for the team + money from their resp state govt + man of the match fees + 25lak worth houses given by Sahara, each person would get an average of 85lak and it will keep increasing. Add an extra crore for Yuvraj for hitting six 6's and a porsche 911 for him. And some players along with their families would get discounts in air travel for the next 5yrs.
Sounds dizzy right??!!!
One light moment after the victory:
Abdul Kalam's dream fullfilled!!! Twenty twenty (2020) la India Superpower. Ha ha..
They may have got huge monetary benefits but the GLORY they have attained is priceless!!!!!!! After all, they will go into the record books as the FIRST ever team to have won the World cup in the shortest version of the game.
The first match was washed out and next came Pakistan. Any game against Pakistan is no ordinary game with a nation's pride at stake. And India has the reputation of not losing to Pakistan in world cups. With an ocean of e
xpectation around them, the Indian team managed to pull off a thriller at Durban by "Bowl out". And next stop was New Zealand. India lost by a whisker. They lost way at the end. England was beaten and India was one step away from semis. Came the toughest team of the tourney, S Africa.If India beats SA, India thro or else its out. With such a tough constraint our boys managed to keep their nerves and pulled off the victory and in the process knocked the hosts out too.. It wood have been heart-break for SA as it was their 1st match that they were losing and they were out of the race for the cup. They are the most unlucky team always in Big tournaments. Right from 1992 till now.
Next came another biggie. Its was the Aussie challenge in semis. With r team's average age being 24 and their's being 32 with each one looking like a beast, it was an Everest to climb. India batted first and was crawling. It was just 48/2 in 9 overs and reached 188/5 in 20 overs. It was a stupendous achievement against a formidable Aussie bowling. They had Kangaroo curry for dinner. It was terrific to say the least. Thanks to Yuvraj and his raining sixes.
Mike Hussey summed it up as " We lost to one man, Yuvraj Singh".
India was thro to meet arch rivals Pakistan in a dream final in Johannesberg.
It was monday the 24th of september 2007. There was nothin special about this date until 2007. From here on, this day will go into the record books as the day when an inexperienced Indian team won a determined Pakistan in the closest ever world cup final.
Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat as it had clicked for them through out the tourney. But India was off to a dismal start losing quick wickets but maintained the run rate constantly. Gambhir played his best innings and he kept the strike rotating. A lot was expected of Yuvraj but he failed with his willow. Oh come on.. He cant hit 6's all the time. He just had one bad day. The Pakistan team had 6 main stream bowlers and there was nothing much India co
uld do. Dhoni lost his stumps and his wish for scoring 180+ became distant. Thanks to Rohit, India managed 157 and many doubted if this was enough.Pakistan's strategy was to use 6 bowlers, bowl India under 160 and finish the game with their 5 batsman. Their plan bombed as Indian bowlers came to the party and Pakistan was tottering at 97/6. I had thought the game got over. But then, Misbah-ul-haq ensured they wont go down without a fight. The battle went down to the wire. His 3 sixes of Harbhajan changed the course of the match as Pakistan
needed 13 off the last over with only 1 wicket in hand. Dhoni gave the ball to Joginder and his first ball was a wide and the next was a six. Tension was at its peak as Pakistan was inches away from pulling it off. They needed 6 from 4. It was definitely gettable. A billion hearts were praying for the fall of Misbah as Joginder came in to bowl. Misbah came outside the off stump and tried to scoop it over fine leg. As luck would have it, the ball came towards him and he couldn get the angle right. It was a slow ball too and it landed safely in Sreesanth's hands as India managed to pull off another edge-of-the-seat thriller. It was agony for Misbah and ecstacy for a billion others. Indians ran a victory lap around the stadium as India kept its record intact of not losing to Pakistan in world cups. Its 5-0 in world cups for India now. As destiny would have it, The Indian captain with his amazing attitude lifted the "Twenty-20 world cup" in the same ground they had lost the 2003 World cup final.It was a very rare scene to see the tag "World champions" with the Indian Te
am. After 24 long years this title is back in the reckoning.Certain words from Dhoni require mention. Here they are:
To Ravi Shastri:
Hello Ravi, before I would like to talk about the win against Australia, I would like to talk about ur article on cricinfo. U had said that Aussies may well be the winners but we proved u wrong by winning and I m sure u would be more happier than us.
To the team:
158 may not be a very big target in this pitch but then they are yet to hit that. Its not a war, its just a match against Pakistan and that’s the way I want u to think.
To Joginder:
He said this when he was bowling the final over against Australia." Just keep bowling to the wicket. The Aussies have the reputation of winning and the batsman is under more pressure than u. So be cool.. Just enjoy the moment.
This one during the final.. " I don mind even if v lose. Defeat is just part of the game. U bowl ur best. Don be tensed"
To Sreesanth:
I don like him staring at players. He gotta maintain his cool. I m the captain and he gotta bowl the way I tell him to.
To media after "bowl out":
Though "bowl out" was thrilling, I don think its the best way out to judge a winner. It could have well been a tie.
He got kudos from all leading captains and former players for maintaining his cool. And his faith in youngsters was commendable. He gave the final over to Joginder when other experienced bowlers were there. He got in Yusuf Pathan to make his debut in the final of a world cup when Dinesh Karthik was sitting out. He dint make his mainstream bowlers to bowl in the "bowl out". He kept his cool throughout the crunch situations and India managed to pull off 4 straight knock-out matches on their road to victory. Ask any captain and he would say "Its no mean feat".
Perhaps, It would be apt if Dhoni says "Riskungrathu ennaku rusk sapidura mathiri"
Ever since their victory its raining money for all players. Adding their match fee + 12 crore for the team + money from their resp state govt + man of the match fees + 25lak worth houses given by Sahara, each person would get an average of 85lak and it will keep increasing. Add an extra crore for Yuvraj for hitting six 6's and a porsche 911 for him. And some players along with their families would get discounts in air travel for the next 5yrs.
Sounds dizzy right??!!!
One light moment after the victory:
Abdul Kalam's dream fullfilled!!! Twenty twenty (2020) la India Superpower. Ha ha..
They may have got huge monetary benefits but the GLORY they have attained is priceless!!!!!!! After all, they will go into the record books as the FIRST ever team to have won the World cup in the shortest version of the game.
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