Admittedly, I am a Sachin connoisseur. It was as if I had written the script in my last post and Sachin decided to read it and deliver a critic's dream performance. Pity the Academy awards were done and dusted last week else, I guess, Sachin's batting today would have been a contender. At the very least, it has been a slap in the face to all his eternal doubters. Enough said about him; my generation has grown up watching Sachin and if anything, I have always wanted him to be in a world cup winning squad. Then again, that's just me!!
A more pertinent accolade must go to the firebrand Dhoni. I was pretty disappointed he did not play a fully fit Piyush Chawla until the final. In fact, I had rued the fact in my last post. What I didn't expect was to see Dhoni field his trump card at the deep end! It was always a given that Chawla would be more than useful in Sydney and Adelaide if not at the other venues. However, if Chawla had been taken to the cleaners today, I am sure there would have been a fair amount of tabloid space dedicated to some Dhoni bashing. That would have been quite unfair. I guess Dhoni's line of thought would have been something like this - "I have got a bits and pieces bowler in Praveen Kumar and I have got two bowlers struggling for some form in Munaf and Sreesanth. Why don't I punt on my reserve leggie kid who had a good time on the most unhelpful pitches in Ireland and England?". The worst that could have happened was that Piyush Chawla might have gone for a few runs but then Munaf and Sreesanth couldn't have been backed for anything better. Therefore, I consider Dhoni's call to play Piyush as one backed by sound cricketing logic and hence a masterstroke.
Then again, there is that small matter of Dhoni's masterstroke paying off with Bhajji and Piyush suffocating the Aussies in the middle overs. Dhoni has a presence even in press conferences. He comes across as a captain who does not take the post match presentation as a formality. He treats it as just another chat and his words are pertinent and natural. His rider for caution and intensity for the remaining games was well received. Here is a leader of men whose words will not be lost on his charges. I hope he is able to back it up with results and in the very short term I hope he is able to finish his business down under at the Gabba!
Good Luck India, May the fours be with you ...... always !!
A more pertinent accolade must go to the firebrand Dhoni. I was pretty disappointed he did not play a fully fit Piyush Chawla until the final. In fact, I had rued the fact in my last post. What I didn't expect was to see Dhoni field his trump card at the deep end! It was always a given that Chawla would be more than useful in Sydney and Adelaide if not at the other venues. However, if Chawla had been taken to the cleaners today, I am sure there would have been a fair amount of tabloid space dedicated to some Dhoni bashing. That would have been quite unfair. I guess Dhoni's line of thought would have been something like this - "I have got a bits and pieces bowler in Praveen Kumar and I have got two bowlers struggling for some form in Munaf and Sreesanth. Why don't I punt on my reserve leggie kid who had a good time on the most unhelpful pitches in Ireland and England?". The worst that could have happened was that Piyush Chawla might have gone for a few runs but then Munaf and Sreesanth couldn't have been backed for anything better. Therefore, I consider Dhoni's call to play Piyush as one backed by sound cricketing logic and hence a masterstroke.
Then again, there is that small matter of Dhoni's masterstroke paying off with Bhajji and Piyush suffocating the Aussies in the middle overs. Dhoni has a presence even in press conferences. He comes across as a captain who does not take the post match presentation as a formality. He treats it as just another chat and his words are pertinent and natural. His rider for caution and intensity for the remaining games was well received. Here is a leader of men whose words will not be lost on his charges. I hope he is able to back it up with results and in the very short term I hope he is able to finish his business down under at the Gabba!
Good Luck India, May the fours be with you ...... always !!
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