© Shailesh Nigam, Varun Khanna (for respective articles)
The forgettable Super Eight stage for India ended last night and T20 World cup enters the final knock out stage. South Africa and Sri Lanka with their undefeated run will continue to be favorites for the grand finale on 21st at Lords. What a match it would be if it happens! Pakistan and West Indies, on the other hand are the two teams which are coming from behind and by now they have already demonstrated that on their day they can humble all reputations. The uncertainties of the game prevents one to predict the champions, still.
Pakistan would like their batters and fielders to back their strong bowling. Windies will rely once again on their limited match winners to be in their 'zone'. South Africa has surprised everyone with new weapon in their armory - spin... who would have thought! Sri Lanka have their M square (Murli & Mendis) doing exactly what they are best at - choking opposition and leaking their wickets, and Slinga ever so devastatingly gives them more than an option at the death. Suddenly T20 seems to have become a bowlers game... again... who would have thought!
Three straight losses for India in important games has already become a national calamity. All newspapers and news channels worth their salt have yet again taken the responsibility to dissect, analyze, identify reasons and responsibles for the debacle and pronounce the punishment to the perpetrators on prime space in their respective mediums. Dhoni and his team get converted from national heroes to Ajmal Kasab before they could say 'Oh Shit!'. Surprising what one bad week can do...
Of course there are issues. There was an apparent deficiency in commitment from Indians on the field, bit of overconfidence and fatigue. The optional practice sessions before crucial matches lacked participation. Ball kept on slipping out of fielders butter fingers and there was no direct hit on stumps when it mattered - a stark contrast with previous world cup where Indian fielding made difference in every match they won.
I am 100% confident that BCCI would certainly fix these issues at the first opportunity they get after they finish fully commercializing the sport. The only problem is that this is not likely to happen soon enough. Till such time, I am afraid we will have to contend with watching India win only on ESPNSTAR and NEO, who will happily continue to replay the old glory.
The silver lining after Indian loss is that probability of the best team winning has increased!!!
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