Sehwag became the first to achieve most of the milestones in the World Cup 2011. Sehwag kicked off India's campaign for the World Cup 2011 by hitting the first ball of the World Cup 2011 for a four in his indomitable style. You could see a lot of nerves in the young Bangladesh bowlers at the beginning of the World Cup. Sehwag not only hit the first four of the prestigious tournament, but also hit the first six of the tournament, and most notably the first hundred of the tournament. He was also involved in the first run out of the tournament. He could have also become the first man to score a double hundred in any edition of the World Cup had Kohli given him more strike. He will be of course the first man of the match of this edition of the extravagant piece.
It turned out to be a bad decision by Bangladesh captain to have fielded first. He went according to the past record on the ground and the expected due today. But when the overall difference between the two teams is as big as between these two teams, it is always better for a weaker team to bat first to have any chance of emerging the winner. They had different bowlers in 2007 edition, which contained and dismissed the Indian team and then chased down a manageable total. It was probably a good toss for India to lose and I expect Dhoni will admit the same in the post match conference.
Bangladesh bowlers were nervy in the beginning and bowled wayward making the job of the Indian batsman much more easier. The veteran of the five World Cups, Sachin Tendulkar too was feeling the nerves. Had the Bangladesh batsmen hold on to their own, they could have got the better of Sachin Tendulkar early in the innings. Sachin was hitting only the bad balls to the boundaries.
Despite the great start by India, I think a lot of Indian fans will be disappointed for the fact that Sachin did not get a big innings here. The fans must have been hoping as he must himself that Sachin gets the first of those three hundreds that will get him to the hundreds of hundreds. Nonetheless, he will be able to play more comfortably on the back of team's performance in the opener.
Sachin's fans would have expected Sehwag to sacrifice himself when Sachin run-out was in the offing. I think it had to do more with the nerves than anything else. I did not see a run there so did Sehwag. Sehwag cannot be blamed even if someone would be optimistic about him sacrificing his own wicket for someone whom he proclaimed as his guru. If not for himself, it was important for Sehwag to stay at the crease than Sachin Tendulkar. A sehwag among runs is a great sign for the Indian team for their prospect in the 2011 World Cup.
Sehwag played according to his own reputation, fearless and attacking all the time. He also fulfilled his desire and aim to bat long. This innings will go a long way for Sehwag's performance and India's chances in this World Cup. I would have loved to see Sehwag getting 200, which would have made him the only batsman in the history of the game to have scored a triple in tests and double in one dayers.
Virat Kohli's outing also augurs well for India. Gautam Gambhir and Tendulkar too got among runs. India will play much more comfortably in their next encounters. They have got the Bangladesh monkey off their back and have dealt with initial nerves. From now onwards India will be a difficult team to beat.
Bangladesh too deserves credit for putting up the fight chasing a mammoth target of 371. Sreesanth, I guess, is getting too much excited for one's liking. After all, India were playing against Bangladesh and they were defending a mammoth score. Sreesanth went overboard and bowled rather wildly. It would have been better for Sreesanth to maintain his line and length and get into his rhythm early in the tournament as there was no pressure. It was good to see Munaf getting his rhythm back. I personally feel Ashish Nehra would be more handy than both Sreesanth and Munaf. Nehra is a wicket taking bowler and produces wicket taking deliveries more than Sreesanth, if not, Munaf.
The signs for other teams are ominous as most of Indian batsmen have struck form. The only concern is Yuvraj Singh, but Yuvraj Singh need just a good innings to come back and he is India's greatest match winner in this format of the game. If Yuvraj Singh strike form during the league stage, I do not see anybody stopping India from winning the World Cup.
It turned out to be a bad decision by Bangladesh captain to have fielded first. He went according to the past record on the ground and the expected due today. But when the overall difference between the two teams is as big as between these two teams, it is always better for a weaker team to bat first to have any chance of emerging the winner. They had different bowlers in 2007 edition, which contained and dismissed the Indian team and then chased down a manageable total. It was probably a good toss for India to lose and I expect Dhoni will admit the same in the post match conference.
Bangladesh bowlers were nervy in the beginning and bowled wayward making the job of the Indian batsman much more easier. The veteran of the five World Cups, Sachin Tendulkar too was feeling the nerves. Had the Bangladesh batsmen hold on to their own, they could have got the better of Sachin Tendulkar early in the innings. Sachin was hitting only the bad balls to the boundaries.
Despite the great start by India, I think a lot of Indian fans will be disappointed for the fact that Sachin did not get a big innings here. The fans must have been hoping as he must himself that Sachin gets the first of those three hundreds that will get him to the hundreds of hundreds. Nonetheless, he will be able to play more comfortably on the back of team's performance in the opener.
Sachin's fans would have expected Sehwag to sacrifice himself when Sachin run-out was in the offing. I think it had to do more with the nerves than anything else. I did not see a run there so did Sehwag. Sehwag cannot be blamed even if someone would be optimistic about him sacrificing his own wicket for someone whom he proclaimed as his guru. If not for himself, it was important for Sehwag to stay at the crease than Sachin Tendulkar. A sehwag among runs is a great sign for the Indian team for their prospect in the 2011 World Cup.
Sehwag played according to his own reputation, fearless and attacking all the time. He also fulfilled his desire and aim to bat long. This innings will go a long way for Sehwag's performance and India's chances in this World Cup. I would have loved to see Sehwag getting 200, which would have made him the only batsman in the history of the game to have scored a triple in tests and double in one dayers.
Virat Kohli's outing also augurs well for India. Gautam Gambhir and Tendulkar too got among runs. India will play much more comfortably in their next encounters. They have got the Bangladesh monkey off their back and have dealt with initial nerves. From now onwards India will be a difficult team to beat.
Bangladesh too deserves credit for putting up the fight chasing a mammoth target of 371. Sreesanth, I guess, is getting too much excited for one's liking. After all, India were playing against Bangladesh and they were defending a mammoth score. Sreesanth went overboard and bowled rather wildly. It would have been better for Sreesanth to maintain his line and length and get into his rhythm early in the tournament as there was no pressure. It was good to see Munaf getting his rhythm back. I personally feel Ashish Nehra would be more handy than both Sreesanth and Munaf. Nehra is a wicket taking bowler and produces wicket taking deliveries more than Sreesanth, if not, Munaf.
The signs for other teams are ominous as most of Indian batsmen have struck form. The only concern is Yuvraj Singh, but Yuvraj Singh need just a good innings to come back and he is India's greatest match winner in this format of the game. If Yuvraj Singh strike form during the league stage, I do not see anybody stopping India from winning the World Cup.
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