Yawn! Yawn!
So, what’s new guys? History repeats itself, and every single time, whenever India & Pakistan clash in a world cup cricket tournament. For the past 34 years, ever since the very first World Cup, Pakistan has never been able to beat us, and I am sure they will not be terribly happy about this at all. Pakistanis would wonder, who says cricket is a great leveler? As for us Indians, it is just a great reveler.
Even though this was a warm-up match, nothing associated with this game would suggest so. The tickets for the entire stadium were sold out 2 days in advance. The crowds donning their country colours, cheering and jeering with mad frenzy on every boundary & wicket, made it seem like the final before even the first ball is bowled in the actual tournament. And the intensity with which Pakistan batted in the first inning, surpassed by India in the second inning, hinted that this was not just a friendly warm-up match, but a battle which both sides wanted to win under any circumstances. So much so that when Harbhajan dropped a catch early on, there was genuine sorrow being seen on his face and his compatriots, and the Indians amongst the crowds were groaning and the Pakistanis celebrating. The whole atmosphere was electric to an extent that even the final would be proud of.
With the kind of response this match generated, guess England would want to become the neutral venue for all Indo-Pak matches – it’ll ensure capacity crowds and great television earnings in a country which fathered this great game, but where football is pushing this into the background. But then which country won’t like to play host to an Indo-Pak game? The rivalry has become bigger than the Ashes, and I think it is time that this also is given a commemorative name – how about “Clashes”? (…No pun intended).
158/6 that Pakistan scored, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, was by all means a decent score, and one that should not have been too difficult to defend. At least, one would have assumed that the match would have been a cliff-hanger, going to the last over if not the last ball, before either side emerged victorious. The bowlers were not entirely effective, and India had to employ 7 of them. The fact that 5 of them did snare a wicket each and kept giving crucial breaks meant that India were able to stop Pakistan at a chase-able, under 8 target. And with 158 on the board, even Pakistan would not have been too unhappy going in to bowl in the 2nd innings.
When Gautam Gambhir & Rohit Sharma walked out to open the Indian innings, many would have felt Sehwag’s absence, who is out because of injury. However, the two openers were out on a mission and ensured that there were no twists in the tale, and went on to score at will, marauding the Pakistanis. Incidentally, Pakistan too employed 7 bowlers, but only 1 of them could get the sole wicket to fall – Rohit Sharma who scored a brilliant 80 off 53 balls. When he departed, the score stood at 140/1 with 4 overs still to go to chase the balance 18 runs. Undoubtedly, Pakistan’s fate was already sealed. Gambir & Dhoni completed the formalities of hammering in the last nail in Pakistan’s coffin in the very next over, and India romped home in front of a 23,000-capacity crowd in style, with 9 wickets to spare.
For us Indians, the final has been played, even before the first ball being bowled in the actual tournament, and India has once again crushed Pakistan on the world stage to emerge victorious. Whatever happens hereon in the tournament is not so very relevant.
As I finish writing this, a thought has just drifted into my mind - why can’t we settle all disputes between India and Pakistan peacefully through a cricket match once and for all? Condition being, it is played at a world cup tournament.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Welcome aboard!!!
Hi Varun,
Welcome aboard mate, on what promises to be a journey full of excitement.
As the saying goes, "two is always better than one". And so, here we go hand in hand writing about a common passion... cricket, what else?
I have also added a blidget (now, what's that?) on the site. For the uninitiated, a blidget (blog + widget) is a blog turned into a widget. Which means that others can now showcase this blog onto their website or blog, simply by adding this widget through a simple download. Link is: http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/cricketcetera.
And yes, before I forget, I've also added a new poll, for which votes are invited - "Who do you think will win the ICC World Twenty20 2009 Championship?" Just go to the poll section & check the team you think will win, and finally we'll see if together we got it right.
I've also added an automated mailing list of friends who will automatically get an e-mail whenever a blog is added here. All the usual suspects are on it... so no missing a blog ever! Cool, eh?
The action is hotting up in this stadium. Hopefully, together we will team up to play an exciting inning that everyone will enjoy!
Welcome aboard mate, on what promises to be a journey full of excitement.
As the saying goes, "two is always better than one". And so, here we go hand in hand writing about a common passion... cricket, what else?
I have also added a blidget (now, what's that?) on the site. For the uninitiated, a blidget (blog + widget) is a blog turned into a widget. Which means that others can now showcase this blog onto their website or blog, simply by adding this widget through a simple download. Link is: http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/cricketcetera.
And yes, before I forget, I've also added a new poll, for which votes are invited - "Who do you think will win the ICC World Twenty20 2009 Championship?" Just go to the poll section & check the team you think will win, and finally we'll see if together we got it right.
I've also added an automated mailing list of friends who will automatically get an e-mail whenever a blog is added here. All the usual suspects are on it... so no missing a blog ever! Cool, eh?
The action is hotting up in this stadium. Hopefully, together we will team up to play an exciting inning that everyone will enjoy!
Look Ma... I turned a co-blogger!!!
Another cricket lover on the net...
Slash, thanks for inviting me to contribute on this wonderful blog. Looking forward to sharing Cricket ecetera on... hmm... cricketcetera...
Cheers
Slash, thanks for inviting me to contribute on this wonderful blog. Looking forward to sharing Cricket ecetera on... hmm... cricketcetera...
Cheers
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Sri Lankan cricketers are safe; sadly, we can't say the same for the state of Pakistan
Yesterday, in Lahore, The Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by gun-yielding, and even rocket-launcher equipped terrorists, and many players were injured in the attack. That they are all out of danger and safely back in their own country is a relief, to say the very least.
This attack once again reminded me of precisely what I, and many others, have been saying for the past so many years. Pakistan is a safe haven for terrorists, and they have produced a Frankenstein that they no longer control. Without an argument, the terrorists are a creation of the state and have always been given all the monetary, military and political support they needed to create mayhem in India. Now, as was witnessed very recently through the large celebrations & public display of arms by the Taliban in the Swat Valley post Sharia law being allowed there, the radicals want much more power and wish to control everything in Pakistan, much on the same lines as they did in Afghanistan till a few years ago.
The tentacles of terror have truly gone beyond their maker's control (the Pakistani politicians, army and ISI) and are now deliberately attacking civilians, and even foreigners and teams on a goodwill mission to Pakistan, to spread their awe & fear. The September 2008 Marriott attack in Islamabad was a grim example of the same, and even yesterday’s attack was aimed at bringing their power & capabilities to international notice – much like the US 9/11 and the Mumbai attacks.
There were many knee-jerk reactions in Pakistan to these attacks to absolve themselves of the blame. These ranged from – this is a work of RAW; after all Sonia Gandhi promised retribution for 26/11. Another being – this is the LTTE striking with vengeance as a last hurrah in their fight against the Sri Lankan army. I, for one, do not believe this at all. And there are many reasons for the same.
12 heavily armed terrorists attacked the team bus, being escorted by 6 policemen. All the policemen were killed and all the terrorists got away unharmed and escaped being captured. Wow!
How could the terrorists manage this feat, especially given the fact that the bus route to the stadium was changed at the last minute due to security concerns, and nobody but the police were supposed to know the route. The only sound logical reason that comes to my mind is that the terrorists were Pakistani insiders, possibly policemen/ISI men themselves rather than radical terrorists, who staged this to create an impression that Pakistan is itself a victim, and not a perpetrator, of such attacks. If the RAW or the LTTE did it, they would surely not know of the last minute change in route, and would not have been able to strike. Even if they managed to do so somehow, they would certainly have been captured or killed by the Pakistani forces – goddamn, at least 1 out of the 12 could have met that fate. That this did not happen, is proof enough of the complicity of the authorities running the show there.
Anyhow, the purpose of this piece is not to defend our nation or the LTTE against the blame, or to fault Pakistan. I write this as a grim reminder of what is our fate, if such terrorists were allowed to take center-stage in Pakistan. They have no love for our nation, and I dread the day the nuclear option against India will cease to be an “option” and will become an “opportunity” in Pakistan. For that very reason, we have to continue applying international pressure on Pakistan to fight this menace. And yet, howsoever much we may not want to do so, somehow help them combat this terror. It might be their creation which is hurting them now, but it is our neighbour’s house collapsing that will take our own home with it as it falls. Difficult thought to digest, but a bitter pill that I fear we will have to swallow.
This attack once again reminded me of precisely what I, and many others, have been saying for the past so many years. Pakistan is a safe haven for terrorists, and they have produced a Frankenstein that they no longer control. Without an argument, the terrorists are a creation of the state and have always been given all the monetary, military and political support they needed to create mayhem in India. Now, as was witnessed very recently through the large celebrations & public display of arms by the Taliban in the Swat Valley post Sharia law being allowed there, the radicals want much more power and wish to control everything in Pakistan, much on the same lines as they did in Afghanistan till a few years ago.
The tentacles of terror have truly gone beyond their maker's control (the Pakistani politicians, army and ISI) and are now deliberately attacking civilians, and even foreigners and teams on a goodwill mission to Pakistan, to spread their awe & fear. The September 2008 Marriott attack in Islamabad was a grim example of the same, and even yesterday’s attack was aimed at bringing their power & capabilities to international notice – much like the US 9/11 and the Mumbai attacks.
There were many knee-jerk reactions in Pakistan to these attacks to absolve themselves of the blame. These ranged from – this is a work of RAW; after all Sonia Gandhi promised retribution for 26/11. Another being – this is the LTTE striking with vengeance as a last hurrah in their fight against the Sri Lankan army. I, for one, do not believe this at all. And there are many reasons for the same.
12 heavily armed terrorists attacked the team bus, being escorted by 6 policemen. All the policemen were killed and all the terrorists got away unharmed and escaped being captured. Wow!
How could the terrorists manage this feat, especially given the fact that the bus route to the stadium was changed at the last minute due to security concerns, and nobody but the police were supposed to know the route. The only sound logical reason that comes to my mind is that the terrorists were Pakistani insiders, possibly policemen/ISI men themselves rather than radical terrorists, who staged this to create an impression that Pakistan is itself a victim, and not a perpetrator, of such attacks. If the RAW or the LTTE did it, they would surely not know of the last minute change in route, and would not have been able to strike. Even if they managed to do so somehow, they would certainly have been captured or killed by the Pakistani forces – goddamn, at least 1 out of the 12 could have met that fate. That this did not happen, is proof enough of the complicity of the authorities running the show there.
Anyhow, the purpose of this piece is not to defend our nation or the LTTE against the blame, or to fault Pakistan. I write this as a grim reminder of what is our fate, if such terrorists were allowed to take center-stage in Pakistan. They have no love for our nation, and I dread the day the nuclear option against India will cease to be an “option” and will become an “opportunity” in Pakistan. For that very reason, we have to continue applying international pressure on Pakistan to fight this menace. And yet, howsoever much we may not want to do so, somehow help them combat this terror. It might be their creation which is hurting them now, but it is our neighbour’s house collapsing that will take our own home with it as it falls. Difficult thought to digest, but a bitter pill that I fear we will have to swallow.
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