We gave the Cup up -

Well Well Well –  We “ gave the cup away “ and No “Mauka Mauka” from here onwards … Australia beat India hollow and square to get in to the finals .   India ended up on the losing side in spite of the Prayers , the heart of many Indians that wanted an Indian win  and the bookie predictions… How can that happen? But it did happen and the Indian juggernaut journey came to an end.

In all big matches , the toss plays a important role . Clarke won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat. Putting runs on the board is the best thing to do . India got rid of Warner early and Finch was playing an uncharacteristic innings .. However Steve Smith continued his dominance of the Indian bowling to get to a better than run a ball century.  India got back right in to the game with some quick wickets  and there were optimism  that  India could restrict the Aussies down to 280 or so..  Ashwin bowled a superb spell in the middle to keep things tight and quiet. However , two blazing knocks took Aussies to 328 – 21 of 12 balls by Faulkner and an even better 27 of 9 balls by Johnson that  put Aussie to a winning score.

I thought the total was chasable although difficult … And when  India were at 65 for none , I thought “ Game on “<, however a silly shot by Dhawan gave the match to the Aussies. Dhawan was in great nick and treating the bowlers with disdain  and in a rush of blood , found the only fielder outside the circle   and that was the opening that the Aussies needed . Kohli was never in the chase and a desperate pull scuttled his innings. Aussies started getting on top and  the fielding was spot on. Two direct hits added to the Indian agony and one of the was the wicket of Dhoni. Dhoni did his best but then the target was just out of reach. India folded up soon leaving Aussies a comfortable and deserving winners.

India had a great run in the tournament. The belied expectations in getting to where they ended up. Outstanding bowling ( 70 Wickets in seven matches leading to the semis ) , 300+ scores and great run chase against Zimbabwe and beating Pakistan and SA comfortably.    In the end , they were beaten by a team that was more focused and played the game well and seized all the opportunities they had. Rahane’s referral decision is a case in point as to how the Aussies did everything right on this day. I see lot of negative vibes on the defeat ( posters / comments  and plenty aimed at Kohli). It is time that we give credit to the players and the team. They should hold their heads high as the SA team did after their defeat. We also need to acknowledge this rather taking out frustration over a  defeat

The final will be a big game. Traditionally , Aussies have always overwhelmed the Kiwis ..  but the current Kiwi team led by McCullum is very inspired and wants the Silverware very badly. With the exit of India, things will rationalize both at the venue of the final and the TV viewership – Ad rates will become less costly if not cheap !  I am betting on the Kiwis to turn the applecart in their favour