The 20-20 World Cup 2016 so far

I had restrained writing on this favourite Indian  sport  till the group league matches were completed and we had the four semifinalists identified ( West Indies , England , New Zealand and India ).  With that now cleared  , here is my take  :

India came in to the tournament as the Favorites to win – Plenty of reasons :

1.       No reason – India will win, that is all.

2.       Home matches , crowd support , better equipped to manage the local conditions

3.       Run of the form – India have done extremely well in the lead up to this tournament – beat Australia at their own backyard 3 – 0 and then clinched the Asia Cup in the same formats.

4.       It was time to recapture the cup that we last won in 2007 in the inaugural tournament

But the four matches that the Indian team played so far  , they would have pushed their supporters to the wall –  nail biting finishes , a loss that hurt at the start and inability of the top order to deliver.

First , against the Kiwis , they were given a taste of their own medicine . On an underprepared track at Nagpur  , Kiwi spinners outplayed their Indian counterparts to give Kiwis a victory that they did not expect . And this result meant,  India had to win every group match  going forward, to stay in the hunt for a place in the semi finals .

 In the second group match against Pakistan, a team against which  no Indian would like to lose , India came through thanks to some brilliant batting by Virat . He was the single differentiator amongst the two teams. Pakistan also looked jaded and it did not look like the team that normally raises the bar against India .  It turned out to be an easy victory.

The next match against Bangladesh was one of the greatest Houdini acts that the Indian team has performed so far. The match was won by the Indian team in the last three balls . Needing 11 to win , Bangla Tigers were happily placed , with 2 runs to get off the last three balls . Common sense indicated that you block the ball and get the two runs through singles. But in a mad rush , two of their most talented and reliable and senior Bangla  batsmen threw their wickets away  playing reckless shots and that brought down to the equation to 2 runs of the final ball. With the bat making no contact of the last ball , an attempt to steal a single was thwarted by splendid  presence of mind and athletism by none other than Dhoni as he outran the last man. It was a miracle that was pulled off by the Indian team. I switched off the TV for the last three deliveries and through  WhatsApp messages learnt of the incredible win. So , India stayed in the hunt . And the next match was a knock out as well – Against the mighty Aussies

The final group match was a high voltage one .  It was also one of the finest  matches in terms of the quality of the cricket that was played .

Aussies got off to a flyer but old warhorse Nehra , jaddu , Yuvaraj pulled it back ,Ashwin had an off day. Fielding was tight and Aussies put up a below par score of 160 for India to chase. Aussies were never in command – every time they threatened , India would take a wicket  and that pegged them back. First four overs , 54 (13.5 runs an over ) runs made and then in the balance  sixteen overs only 106 were scored ( 6.60 runs an over ) Clearly , the Aussies were looking for more and would have been happy with a 175-180 total for India to chase

The chase was painful. India lost wickets at regular intervals but Virat stay put .  Virat played a waiting game and kept accumulating runs in ones and two’s and running hard. Just , when it looked the target was beyond reach of the Indians, virat broke loose. Magnificent shots on either side of the wicket  and two overs from Faulkner and Coulter Nile went to the cleaners. What looked stiff was made ridiculously easy by Virat .  India was home and dry with 5 balls to spare ( this never looked possible ). Virat did not play a single reverse sweep or a Dilscoop or a switch hit .  He played in orthodox style and still had a strike rate in excess of 160 in this innings. Again, it was one man that made the difference .  Virat

If India needs to recapture the cup, everyone needs to fire and it cannot be just Virat alone.  And it is just two matches away from getting their hands on the title.