Kudos to Yuvraj Singh for holding his strong nerves and kudos to Zaheer Khan for another brilliant and timely performance with the ball and keeping India in the match. Yuvraj Singh once again proved that he is greatest Indian one day batsman of all time and one of the greatest match winner of all time. Kudos to the Indian team for edging Australia out of the World Cup 2011.
Shaun Tait's performance won the quarterfinal for India more than the brilliant individual performances by Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Gambhir, and Ashwin. A billion of cricket crazy Indian fans must be grateful to Shaun Tait for bowling the way he bowled. Australia has the game in their pocket after winning the toss and then doing the needful in posting 260 runs on the board. An ever aggressive Sehwag was subdued and the frowns were developing on Sehwag's forehead faster than his strike rate. India was under so much pressure that Gambhir created two opportunities for running himself out, and did succeed in the second attempt. Cool-like-cucumber Dhoni lost his nerves and returned back to pavilion in no time. All these demonstrated that Indian team had lost half the battle midway through the match. The one way for India to win this match was for Australia to lose it.
Shaun Tait's performance won the quarterfinal for India more than the brilliant individual performances by Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Gambhir, and Ashwin. A billion of cricket crazy Indian fans must be grateful to Shaun Tait for bowling the way he bowled. Australia has the game in their pocket after winning the toss and then doing the needful in posting 260 runs on the board. An ever aggressive Sehwag was subdued and the frowns were developing on Sehwag's forehead faster than his strike rate. India was under so much pressure that Gambhir created two opportunities for running himself out, and did succeed in the second attempt. Cool-like-cucumber Dhoni lost his nerves and returned back to pavilion in no time. All these demonstrated that Indian team had lost half the battle midway through the match. The one way for India to win this match was for Australia to lose it.
The only thing Australia were required to do was to contain the runs. Bret Lee was reasonably good, but Shaun Tait was not. Shaun Tait did not have the sense of occasion. He did not know what was required of him. Speed was not the primary requirement. The requirement was to stop the runs. Shane Watson instead of Shaun Tait would have done the job, and Smith should have played instead of Shaun Tait.
When you have someone like Sehwag frowing and apprehensive, the only way for Australia to lose the game was to self destruct. Shaun Tait did that precisely. It was reminder of India Vs Pakistan quarterfinal of 2003 World Cup. Shoib Akhtar bowled short, wide, and fast in that game feeding Sachin and Sehwag with ample opportunities to hit the ball for sixes and fours and providing momentum to the Indian innings. Shoib Akhtar though produces some brilliant performances when he avoids those short balls and full tosses, but I have rarely seen Shaun Tait performing well.
What was funny was the fact that Shaun Tait was showing his anger on the Indian batsmen. First, he is feeding them with the short stuff and getting hit for boundaries, then he is abusing them with that F word for hitting him for boundaries. Had he bowled a proper line and length, he would not have required to show his frustration on the Indian batsmen.
But more than Shaun Tait, I feel pity on the Australian management who plays him in the Australian team. If those Shaun Tait overs had been bowled by Shane Watson and other part-time spinners, Australia would have won the game. This game also demonstrated Ricky Ponting as a great batsman and ordinary captain.
The bottom-line is that Australia did not deserve to win this World Cup. They already have four, which is one more than what should be a justifiable tally for them. They had a bit of luck in 1987 when Pakistan and West Indies were better teams and England was a bit unlucky, and luck played a bigger role in their title triumph in 1999. A fifth World Cup for Australia would have reflected poorly on the overall strength of other teams and and balance between different teams.
Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan were brilliant. I had picked Yuvraj Singh as the player to watch out for India before the World Cup. I predicted Yuvraj will be the man for India if India goes all the way. I also picked Zaheer Khan and Sehwag to determine the Indian fortunes at the World Cup. I also predicted that Yusuf Pathan would fail. I am very happy that my picks have performed brilliantly and I did better than the cricket experts here.
The defeat for Australia also meant that cricket-crazy fans all over the World in general and subcontinent in particular will be treated to an India Vs Pakistan Semi-Final. At the same time, I am slightly disappointed that India and Pakistan are not playing in the Final. I hope and wish, whichever team wins the game between India Vs Pakistan Semi-Final goes on to win the World Cup.
What was funny was the fact that Shaun Tait was showing his anger on the Indian batsmen. First, he is feeding them with the short stuff and getting hit for boundaries, then he is abusing them with that F word for hitting him for boundaries. Had he bowled a proper line and length, he would not have required to show his frustration on the Indian batsmen.
But more than Shaun Tait, I feel pity on the Australian management who plays him in the Australian team. If those Shaun Tait overs had been bowled by Shane Watson and other part-time spinners, Australia would have won the game. This game also demonstrated Ricky Ponting as a great batsman and ordinary captain.
The bottom-line is that Australia did not deserve to win this World Cup. They already have four, which is one more than what should be a justifiable tally for them. They had a bit of luck in 1987 when Pakistan and West Indies were better teams and England was a bit unlucky, and luck played a bigger role in their title triumph in 1999. A fifth World Cup for Australia would have reflected poorly on the overall strength of other teams and and balance between different teams.
Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan were brilliant. I had picked Yuvraj Singh as the player to watch out for India before the World Cup. I predicted Yuvraj will be the man for India if India goes all the way. I also picked Zaheer Khan and Sehwag to determine the Indian fortunes at the World Cup. I also predicted that Yusuf Pathan would fail. I am very happy that my picks have performed brilliantly and I did better than the cricket experts here.
The defeat for Australia also meant that cricket-crazy fans all over the World in general and subcontinent in particular will be treated to an India Vs Pakistan Semi-Final. At the same time, I am slightly disappointed that India and Pakistan are not playing in the Final. I hope and wish, whichever team wins the game between India Vs Pakistan Semi-Final goes on to win the World Cup.
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