Who would have bargained for the current line up in the Semi Finals when the world cup started in February? India vs Pakistan was never spoken of or on the cards! But what a turn around it has been? India vs Pakistan and the chances of a Sri Lanka vs South Africa showdown as well!
At the beginning of the tournament my hunch was definitely India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan amongst the final four! I was also of the view that South Africa in all probability could be the fourth team. However my learned cricketing friends added a new argument and a new dimension and persuaded to change my thinking slightly and add Australia to the line up, which I reluctantly did.
That part of the thinking has been proved wrong. However I could still be proved wrong with other semi finalists. Instead we could have New Zealand and England or Sri Lanka vs New Zealand game or even and England vs South Africa game! Despite all these possibilities, I am inclined to believe it will be Sri Lanka vs South Africa at the Premadasa stadium come the 29th March!
A thought on Australia vs India game! To me, India won the game with their over all superiority than really the Aussies loosing it. India on the day was definitely standing head and shoulders above the Australians who actually did well to post the 260/6 in the allotted 50 overs, on a track that appeared to be slow and also had some purchase to the spinners.
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| Australian Cricket captain Ricky Ponting sings his country's national anthem prior to the start of their World Cup quarter-final match against India -. AFP |
Ponting who had a hundred against India the last time the two teams met which was the 2003 world cup final, repeated his feat once more a good eight years later, though he ended on the loosing side. His batting against India resembled the Ponting of old though sadly he had little or no support at the other end to build on his innings. One wonders whether we have seen the last of Ponting! I believe we have. The Australian skipper wasn’t the darling amongst his country’s fans as he was some time ago and I wonder whether it was fate that made him score that hundred which in all eventuality could be his farewell innings.
This is a hundred Australians will least remember as it involved a loosing cause!
The Australians were obviously the under dogs going in to the Semi Final, with the Indian batting which is their strong point appearing to click at the right time. Yuvraj Singh the left handed all rounder has been the player for India in this world cup and it will be no surprise if he wins the coveted “Most valuable player” award as he has been outstanding in all departments.
The other strong point for the Indians has been the dynamic Little Master Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar’s batting has been a class act and appears to be getting better by the day. The Indians have definitely started to bat around the little master, proving it to be a successful ploy. Tendulkar’s grit and determination in his advanced cricketing age and his will to succeed has drawn praise from the West Indian Coach Otis Gibson who wanted his players to approach the game in the manner Tendulkar does. He was of course referring to the West Indian top order that came a cropper once more and was humiliated by Pakistan. Yes on paper the West Indies look experienced and decent but in reality they are a far cry! In the game against India I wonder whether any team worth its salt would have lost from the position, the West Indies were in at a 150/2. But on that fateful day against India the West Indies did!
Then in the Semi Final the capitulation against Pakistan was painstaking for the Caribbean supporters who were used to the days of the Caribbean Kings under the great Clive Lloyd, who won the world cup in the first two competitions and could have easily repeated the third time too! But alas in the quarter final West Indies cricket wasn’t good enough and it was only obvious that the exit will happen in haste! When the Pakistan openers won the game by ten wickets, I believe the ultimate humiliation and degrading of West Indies cricket was complete! Immediately after the Australian game a hilarious text message was doing its rounds! It said India will meet Pakistan in the Semi Final whilst the Australians and West Indies will meet at the airport! Funnily true!
So it will now be India vs Pakistan in one Semi Final and that is in Chandigarh. For Pakistan the geographical significance of the city which is in Punjab is bound to be a factor that will inspire them. It too a great extent will be a home coming of some sort for the Pakistanis, as a crowd of around five thousand are expected to attend the game. Besides the conditions which are generally seam friendly is about the best Pakistan could have hoped for in a game against India, whose attack is based on spin.
From Indian point of view the Pressure has started to mount! No Indian can forgive a defeat to Pakistan. A defeat at the hands at any other country could be tolerated but not by Pakistan the arch rival and the sworn enemy. It will be in that back ground that the Indians will take the field on the 30th March hoping that their quest for the World Cup title will still be intact when the game is concluded. For Pakistan they have no such issues as they were never favourites and in reality has nothing to loose but everything to gain!
The Indians have stopped the Australian dominance which had run for twelve long years. They have just two more days of serious cricket, one of them against Pakistan and who knows the other? Sri Lanka perhaps! The Semi Final stage couldn’t have got any better!
Roshan Abeysinghe is a leading
cricket promoter and an international cricket commentator |
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