2nd Semi Final: More Than a Match

In this cricket-infested country there is virtually nobody who is indifferent to the game but there are many who, if I can politely say it, have a restricted understanding of it. There also are a plenty who might not understand the technicalities of the game and would not consider the cricket world cup as something of immense importance. Yes, there is a large variety of people in India. However, when it comes to an India-Pakistan game, there is no pair of eyes in either of the countries that fails to have a glimpse. I have seldom seen folks, disinterested in the game of cricket, discussing it with such remarkable fervour. Moreover, when the stage is as big as the semi-final of the world cup, the craze is just indescribable.

Mohali was the stage for a game that was second in magnitude only to the final of the world cup. For some, it was even bigger than the final. As we often see in both India and Pakistan, there is no impure opportunity, that is missed by the politicians and the media. Unfortunately, the pristine match between the old rivals was no exception. And amidst the chaotic blend of fanatical spectators, opportunistic politics, and air-tight security started a game that was watched by a number of people that could easily outnumber the population of most of the countries on the planet - even that of a few continents if I'm not making a miserable mistake in geography.

The vital toss that was won by India was followed by an Indian innings that started with Sehwag's exuberant stroke-play. He smashed 5 fours to amass 21 runs of Umar Gul's second and the third over of the innings. As a result, Umar Gul, arguably Pakistan's best bowler in the tournament, endlessly struggled for line and length. Every bit of confidence in him was shattered by that merciless assault by Virender Sehwag and India quickly set off to a flier.

The violent cameo ended with a beautiful delivery from an unknown Wahab Riaz that hid the swing on it till very late before snatching an lbw that led to sighs of relief across Pakistan. At the other end, as usual, was the master in the run for another finely placed knock. Gautam Gambhir joined the king in an attempt to carry the Indian innings forward. All went fine for India as they looked to be marching towards at least 300 on a pitch that many had misread to be a belter.

It was an over by Sajeed Ajmal that brought the rarest of the moments in the game. Sachin Tendulkar - yes, Sachin Tendulkar - was deceived twice in two consecutive deliveries and survived a lethal lbw appeal followed by an appeal for an unimaginably close stumping. The first one was the regular off break which the master failed to read the turn on and was struck on the pads. The very next one was an attempted wrong one or the doosra - which did not turn at all - which Sachin treated like an off break. After this, started one of the shakiest knocks I have ever seen from the master. Nonetheless, he hung in there and also played a few fantastic strokes in between but offered chances to the fielders fairly regularly which they failed to grab on four occasions. Dropping someone of Sachin Tendulkar's stature four times was a sin that the Pakistanis eventually paid for. A Sachin who was far from his fluent best finally gave it up after scoring a trembling 85 (Mind you, he still top-scored in the match). His struggle was a clear indication of the fact that the pitch was far from being a belter.

After the first 10 overs, the wicket had slowed down and was allowing a lot of turn. Before Tendulkar got out, Gambhir was stumped on 27. Kohli and Yuvraj were gotten rid of in two consecutive deliveries - both carrying some late swing on them and the second one, the one that bowled Yuvraj out on the first ball he faced, gently reminding us of Wasim Akram. Dhoni offered some resistance and played a wise yet unmoving knock of 25 to offer Raina some company. Suresh Raina, however, seemed to be a different batsman since his memorable knock against Australia and played a superb unbeaten knock of 36 from 39 to push India to 260.

Pakistan should have been delighted to have not allowed India to reach even 275 and could have been bustling in confidence at the innings break but the other half had a different story to tell.

Kamran Akmal started off in a Sehwagish manner with a boundary through the covers and Pakistan looked well placed at 44 for no loss before he fell to Zaheer Khan. At 70-1, Mohammad Hafeez played the most irresponsible shot of the world cup to get caught behind off a Munaf Patel delivery. Asad Shafiq formed a decent stand with Yunis Khan to carry the Pakistani innings forward but was left with broken stumps in a poor attempt of cutting a quicker one from Yuvraj Singh. The Indians were fielding like the South Africans and were bowling tight as Glenn McGrath. As a result, the asking rate was slowly increasing. Yunis Khan was stagnated at a poor 13 from 32 deliveries and was forced to play bad shot in a desperate attempt to score runs only to get caught by the fielding livewire called Suresh Raina. With him, fell many Pakistani hopes of a maiden world cup win against India although a fighter called Misbah was still at the crease.

The talented Umar Akmal showed some flamboyance with the bat as he launched onto some Indian spin and looked to be in fine shape to rebuild the Pakistani innings with Misbah before he fell to what was the ball of the innings to me. Harbhajan Singh, coming around the wicket to the right hander for the first ball of his new spell, bowled a quicker one that pitched on length and knocked Umar Akmal's off stump off. The incident left Pakistan struggling for momentum as Misbah, at one point, was batting on an inexplicably slow 10 off 30 balls. The mindless hitters in Razzaq and Afridi were to follow but the former was bowled out by a slower one from Munaf Patel that had hints of swing and the latter went for a hopeless slog only to get caught by Sehwag. The tail had little role to play as Misbah watched from the other end. He then accelerated and also played a few good shots that must have gently threatened the Indians but by that time, it was too late and all over for Pakistan.

India surprisngly found their criminals bowlers - Munaf Patel and Aashish Nehra - on the delightful side of the game as they bowled out of their skin. Nehra gave just 33 away from his 10 and picked up 2 wickets and Munaf gave just 40 in 10 to pick up his 2. Only 5 Indian bowlers bowled and picked up 2 wickets a piece to bowl Pakistan out for 231 with one ball to spare.

India improved their already perfect record by making it 5 world cup wins against Pakistan in 5 matches. Sachin Tendulkar, who has played in all those 5 games, won the man of the match award for his shaky - and probably the worst in recent times - inning of 85. As a result of this epic drama, India have booked a place against Sri Lanka to play their 3rd world cup final and the first on home soil.

The win was celebrated through every corner of the Indian street as crackers went off and their flashy light mixed with frenzied cheers of most of those whose sole objective was to see India beat Pakistan in a world cup match. Bars and restaurants were flooded with people. The tri-colour was being flaunted prodigiously and the people - rich or poor, fair or dark, dumb or smart - were celebrating the event with an unmatchable zeal. I, for one, led a rather quiet celebration to rejoice in one of the most special moments in the 15 passionate years of my love for cricket, hoping that Saturday could just be the most special one.

Man of the Match: Sachin Tendulkar

1st Semi Final: A Fight in a Mismatch

Yes, as expected, Sri Lanka beat New Zealand to march to the final. However, that takes nothing away from the spirited Kiwis who have outgrown the odds to reach where they eventually did in this world cup.

Once again, New Zealand batted sensibly and very much within their limits. They were not aiming too high as the inning kicked off. Their inning demanded steadiness and they had to bat out fifty overs. Apart from the shaky end, where at one point they lost 4 wickets for 4 runs, steadiness was maintained throughout the innings although the run rate looked to be an issue. But that's the best the Kiwis could manage playing in Colombo against a spin-studded Sri Lankan attack. Nobody had given them a chance, just as nobody did when they played South Africa. They won that one but lost this. To me, this one looked much tougher for them than any other game they have played in the tournament and the reason for that is spin. Had they played Sri Lanka in Auckland or Perth it might have been a different story altogether.

New Zealand are a better fielding side than a batting side but defending 207 was always going to be difficult. Continuing his form from the previous game, Dilshan got off to a flier and scored a match-winning 73. Tharanga and Sangakara played well too. There was a little bit of panic in the Lankan camp when these three and Jaywardhane had gotten out and their untested middle-order was suddenly exposed to the hugeness of the event. Yet, in the end they sailed through and won by 5 wickets.

Sri Lanka have booked their ticket to the city of dreams - Mumbai - and the Kiwis will have to go home with a lot of respect and with memories of some great fights they have put on show in this world cup to finish among the top four.

Man of The Match: Kumar Sangakara

A Quick Bite

Sri Lanka are the clear favourites. Although, I'd like New Zealand to come out strong. I shall be supporting New Zealand tomorrow, knowing that a team like New Zealand - none of whose batsmen can tackle quality spin - will have to pull off the biggest upset of the tournament so far to beat Sri Lanka in Colombo.

Hopefully, it won't be a walkover for Sri Lanka unlike the one against England. This, anyway, is the lesser celebrated semi-final and a Kiwi win could be its only way to fame.

4th Quarter Final: A Walkover

Yesterday's match, which was as big as a quarter-final of the world cup, unfortunately turned out to be a soporific encounter dominated by Sri Lanka. Playing at the Premadasa, the pitch and the game both turned Sri Lanka's way. England enjoyed a fair share of luck by winning the toss which is vital at the Premadasa. Batting first was their best chance to make a match out of it, and honestly speaking, they did not play too bad. Of course, they struggled against spin. Not that they did not put up a fight while batting but they simply lacked any talent to tackle quality spin. None of the Englishmen seemed confident picking any of the three spinners that Sri Lanka were armoured with. Jonathan Trott's fine 86 and Eoin Morgan's fortunate 50 helped England to reach a decent total of 229.

It was not impossible to defend 229 but considering England's impotent bowling attack we all thought it would be tough. And it indeed was. It proved to be so tough for England that they did not manage to pick even a single Sri Lankan wicket. Sri Lanka's road to victory was no tougher than a walk around a park. Dilshan and Tharanga both scored unbeaten hundreds and took Sri Lanka to the target with 63 balls to spare and 10 wickets in hand.

In my opinion, there was nothing spectacular about the match. Not the Lankan spin. Not even the 2 hundreds by their openers. The English inning looked like an elongated struggle and the Sri Lankan batting, although the scorecard suggested otherwise, lacked any flamboyance whatsoever. Not that they did not play well. They were dominating right since the beginning but it's just that the Lankans are not exciting to watch in my opinion.

The docile English attack looked simply incapable of making a mark on the slow pitch of Colombo. And that's why the teams seemed to have batted on two different pitches. England endured a seemingly endless struggle against spin to reach 229 for 6 in 50 overs whereas the Sri Lankans chased down the target with all their wickets in tact in 39.3 overs.

This was the story of the 4th and the last quarter-final which, by all means, turned out to be a dull match to watch and a walkover for Sri Lanka. This was also the end of a media-hyped and sensationalized English world cup campaign that, unlike some of its previous versions, did entertain us most of the time but failed to leave a lasting impression on the cup of glory.

Man of the Match: Tilakratne Dilshan

3rd Quarter Final: The Come-Back of a Wicked History

I wonder if there is a greater sorrow in world cricket than being knocked out of the world cup after starting as one of the favourites, especially by a team that even the hardest optimist did not expect much from.

Nobody, as I said, nobody gave New Zealand a chance yesterday. After all, they were playing against what apparently was the most balanced side in the tournament. South Africa enjoyed being the best bowling side on paper, they batted deep, and fielded to excellence. They were certainly one of the sides to beat.

New Zealand, on the other hand, lacked talent. They lacked the sort of stars that most of the other teams in the tournament could sport. They were also haunted by a defamatory defeat to Bangladesh just before the world cup.

This was predicted to be the most one-sided of the quarter-finals, closely followed by Pakistan vs. West Indies. So much so that, people had already begun to talk about a semi-final involving South Africa. Then what went wrong? Did New Zealand outplay South Africa by pulling off a one-in-a-million performance or, as it has happened often in the past, did South Africa kill themselves?

Well, to me, it was a day when New Zealand did nothing wrong. They did not aim too high as they batted first and tried to keep it as steady - although slow - as possible. The openers fell early and Jesse Ryder had to meet Ross Taylor in the middle to form a fine stand of 114 runs. Taylor scored a vital 43 and Ryder top-scored with 83.

As Vettori said later, they were targeting 250. It is often important that a team does not get over-ambitious in a match like this. New Zealand were well-aware of the might of the South African attack and also their own limitations as a batting side. Hence, they kept going slow and at one point it looked difficult for them to even cross 200. Kane Williamson scored an unbeaten 38 of 41 in the final stages of the innings to take New Zealand to 221.

222 was definitely not a tough task for a team that batted as deep as South Africa. New Zealand, on the other hand, might have thought that it was their best chance to make a match of it by picking up some early wickets on the slow and sluggish Mirpur wicket where the bounce was never true. They got a lucky break as Hashim Amla got out early in one of the rarest fashions. Jack Kallis, the old horse, formed a couple of good partnerships with Smith and AB De Villiers. The South African ship was sailing smooth at 108-2 in 24 overs before Jacob Oram caught a blinder on the long on boundary to get rid of Jack Kallis. This marked the beginning of a play of fate that way going to lead South Africa to tears in the next couple of hours. Wickets fell as if there was an earthquake in Mirpur. Duminy was bowled by Nathan McCullum. AB was run out. Then came defeat chasing the last remaining and the only deserving participants from the African continent to confirm what was more of a South African loss than a Kiwi win.

South Africa remained at the bitter end of another tragic tale of a world cup qualifier, and, as I am forced to say - apart from 1992 when they had as valid an excuse as one will ever find - they should have only themselves to blame for acquiring this destructive trait commonly known as chocking.

Man of the Match: Jacob Oram

2nd Quarter Final: The End of an Era

Occasions don't make men stronger, but without an occasion there could be no exhibition of strength. The greatest measure of the fight in a fighter is how he rises up to an occasion, and India have showcased their share of fight in a phenomenal manner today in Ahmedabad.

Knocking Australia out of a world cup had remained an unattained dream for most teams in a generation. It was way back, 19 years ago, in 1992 when it was the last time Australia did not qualify for the semi-finals of a world cup. Since then they have played all the finals of the four world cups till the current one and, as we all know, have won 3 in a row. It was an era of utter dominance, marked by a gradually and carefully acquired habit of winning. Home or away, Australia kept winning. An Australian loss was as rare as a good ball from Munaf Patel. In fact, as the analogy might further suggest, it was virtually non-existent.

However, as they say, nothing is permanent in this world filled with fragility and change. Everything, how much ever significant and great, has an end, and today the team that had fought the best against Australia in their golden era and the team that had managed to ask them questions fairly regularly - although mostly in Test Cricket - marked the end of that era. Yes, I take immense pride in saying that it is India who have beaten the Australians in the quarter-final of the world cup 2011 and have set them right on their way home.

The dilettantes might believe that today's was not an exciting game of cricket as not many spectacular shots were played and not a lot of action was staged on the ground. However, the literates of the game would know that it was a thriller - more at the inside than from the outside - by all means. It was a match that pressure resided in like a permanent citizen and, soon as the match began, spread all over in the territories of both the sides like a fluid of low viscosity. Australia did well to reach 260 as Ricky Ponting played a fantastic knock for his fifth, and most probably last, world cup hundred. India, on the other hand, who have been one of the worst bowling sides for a large part of the tournament believed that they had done well to restrict Australia below 275. Zaheer Khan bowled brilliantly and rose up to the occasion. Harbhajan and Ashwin spun the ball well and kept things tight in the initial stages. Yuvraj, the statistically best bowler, bowled his 10 for 44 and picked up 2 wickets.

India came on to bat with a purpose and got off to a good start before Sehwag fell mistiming a pull as he was caught at midwicket. Sachin Tendulkar looked superb as usual and played some remarkable strokes all over the ground for his 53 and formed a good stand with Gambhir. Sachin was caught behind on Tait's bowling which was the only highlight of Shaun Tait's presence in the match. Otherwise, Tait was haywire, never settled down, and frankly, never bowled well. The occasion was a huge one and the match that was getting away from the Australians was once again well-balanced as Kohli got out off a full-toss ball and Gambhir killed himself running with Yuvraj Singh in the most bizarre possible manner. And when Dhoni got out shortly after, the Indian ship looked to be sinking and the famous Australian attitude of never-say-die suddenly looked alive and shining.

Then came the 7th man - Suresh Raina - the last person guarding the weak Indian tail from the lethal pace of Brett Lee, Mittchel Johnson and Shaun Tait. Yuvraj Singh, with great support from Suresh Raina, scored a match-winning 57 not out in 65 balls which, to me, was as good as a hundred. The two formed an unbeaten partnership of 74 which was as good a match-winning effort as you will ever see. Raina remained unbeaten on 34 off 28 and actively participated in writing a glorious piece of the history of Indian cricket.

Fascinating pieces of cricketing history have been written by the Indians and importantly they have a lot more to come their way. With this scintillating win, India have confirmed an appointment with their arch-rivals Pakistan in Mohali on Wednesday, 30th of March, 2011. That is as big a game as one could possibly see in world cricket. For tonight, India can rejoice and cherish a victory that would have tasted like a divine delicacy cooked in their own backyard.

Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh

Pre'match'ure Take: India Vs. Australia

Excitement was never greater. India playing Australia in a world cup quarter-final in Ahmedabad. It's been days of excitement leading to this day and it has dawned. The quarter-final will be on its way in less than an hour from now. The toss will take place shortly.

Australia have been struggling with the bat but have a pretty good, balanced bowling attack. India sport the best batting line-up in the tournament but have been close to pathetic with the ball so far.

This is THE CLASH.

I predict a nail-biter. The fan in me wants to be pampered and wants to watch India sail through. From an analytical standpoint, too, I think India will have a slight edge today. I predict a 55:45 to India. Fingers crossed. The biggest match so far will shortly be on its way.