Gotchya
State Vice-Captain
Well, words cannot describe the knock Sachin Tendulkar came up with today. For all the years that I have watched cricket, and these two teams battle it out, I haven't seen India dominate like they did today, courtesy of the man they call Tendulkar. He dosn't seem to have a flaw, no weaknesses and no holding back. Threw total caution to the wind and blew away the Pakistani pace attack like a pack of cards. Norhing left to imagination really.
I for one was smiling ear to ear when Pakistan walked off scoring 273, Taking so many occasions before this, I had good reason to believe that Pakistan would be succesful in defending this total. But ofcourse, Tendulkar dismissed everything that was thrown his way, scoring at about 9-10 runs at the over for around 12 overs, that just took the game away, beyond Pakistan's reach. I dont think Pakistan played badly to fall out, India played better to down them. Congratulations to them for reaching the Super sixes, they have recorded a thumping victory against Pakistan. And should be very high on confidence, for the first time in many years, I think that this Indian team is the closest to converging to a complete team. The bowling is looking good (good enough) and the batting has been irresistable so far.
I was looking forward to this game, and my word has it been some game. After about three years, these teams play each other and India *have* changed ! For all the cricket they may play against other teams, the ultimate yardstick is always this match-off, and they have impressed. India won against a Pakistani side that was particularly out of shape. The batting had been disastarous, the potent bowling attack had just not been delivering what it promised earlier. And now probably Pakistan are out of this World Cup, which is not a very good sign. Bowing out early out of a World Cup is not what Pakistani supporters are accustomed to (alright you can pounce on this one
Maybe they still have a semblance of a chance, but of their own accord we are out of the World Cup. Still, well played India !
Shoaib is a strike bowler, even if he goes for runs but picks up wickets : NOT A PROBLEM. Strike bowlers are meant to be aggressive uncompromising creatures. Pakistan seem to have that element in every bowler. That is why Waqar Younis will pitch the ball up to the bat when Sachin Tendulkar is batting. Sachin batted extra ordinarily and I wont blame Waqar or Shoaib for trying to get him out the way they did.
Three players I really ended up feeling for were (all Pakistani , not surprisingly)
a) Inzi
b) Saeed Anwar
c) Waqar Younis
Inzi. came out there, played positive and over did it. The old friend.....the run-out again doing its duty and sending Inzi back to the pav. As Manjrekar put it, he's probably experiencing what all players experience in their careers, a lowest point which may prove to be a turning point in their careers. Either Inzi will grow out of this, or he'll fade away.
In any case, all eyes were fixated on him an I am sure that he fancied playing well today, to get out in the fashion he did will have shaken every inch of confidence that he might have. Still, I remember 1992, debut tournament and he played an unforgettable innings. He can pull out.
Saeed Anwar, finally got among the runs, and held the innings together. He has done this for Pakistan many times before, get an effort in when it counts most, and their were glimpses of the Saeed Anwar of 5 years ago. Yet all that effort was down the drain when Tendulkar plundered and massacred the Pakistani attack to pull off a savage victory. Anwar increased his personal tally of centuries to 20, which had been lying dormant for some time. It was though really dissapointing to see a great player's effort go wasted as this maybe his last efforts.
Waqar Younis. For all the good cricket this man has played,, for all the Not bowing your head attitude he has shown, coming back from the worst of times wether off the field or on the field, he has maybe failed to lead Pakistan to greater glories. Rather the team has experienced one of the most *consistent* bad patch in its history. It may not have anything to do with Waqar's captaincy, still though I think that Pakistan's record under him is shame to the capabilities and will power that Waqar possess. Surely he deserves much more than what he has been dealt with in the last few months.
If Pakistan bow out of this World Cup, it would probably herald the end of some its great players. The list is IMO irreplaceable, including Wasim, Anwar and maybe Waqar. Three players that have served Pakistani cricket to no end. I just wish that their careers end at a more positive note then this.
PS. It took a sub-continent team to cluster out another, point made ? :saint:
I for one was smiling ear to ear when Pakistan walked off scoring 273, Taking so many occasions before this, I had good reason to believe that Pakistan would be succesful in defending this total. But ofcourse, Tendulkar dismissed everything that was thrown his way, scoring at about 9-10 runs at the over for around 12 overs, that just took the game away, beyond Pakistan's reach. I dont think Pakistan played badly to fall out, India played better to down them. Congratulations to them for reaching the Super sixes, they have recorded a thumping victory against Pakistan. And should be very high on confidence, for the first time in many years, I think that this Indian team is the closest to converging to a complete team. The bowling is looking good (good enough) and the batting has been irresistable so far.
I was looking forward to this game, and my word has it been some game. After about three years, these teams play each other and India *have* changed ! For all the cricket they may play against other teams, the ultimate yardstick is always this match-off, and they have impressed. India won against a Pakistani side that was particularly out of shape. The batting had been disastarous, the potent bowling attack had just not been delivering what it promised earlier. And now probably Pakistan are out of this World Cup, which is not a very good sign. Bowing out early out of a World Cup is not what Pakistani supporters are accustomed to (alright you can pounce on this one

Maybe they still have a semblance of a chance, but of their own accord we are out of the World Cup. Still, well played India !
Shoaib is a strike bowler, even if he goes for runs but picks up wickets : NOT A PROBLEM. Strike bowlers are meant to be aggressive uncompromising creatures. Pakistan seem to have that element in every bowler. That is why Waqar Younis will pitch the ball up to the bat when Sachin Tendulkar is batting. Sachin batted extra ordinarily and I wont blame Waqar or Shoaib for trying to get him out the way they did.
Three players I really ended up feeling for were (all Pakistani , not surprisingly)
a) Inzi
b) Saeed Anwar
c) Waqar Younis
Inzi. came out there, played positive and over did it. The old friend.....the run-out again doing its duty and sending Inzi back to the pav. As Manjrekar put it, he's probably experiencing what all players experience in their careers, a lowest point which may prove to be a turning point in their careers. Either Inzi will grow out of this, or he'll fade away.
In any case, all eyes were fixated on him an I am sure that he fancied playing well today, to get out in the fashion he did will have shaken every inch of confidence that he might have. Still, I remember 1992, debut tournament and he played an unforgettable innings. He can pull out.
Saeed Anwar, finally got among the runs, and held the innings together. He has done this for Pakistan many times before, get an effort in when it counts most, and their were glimpses of the Saeed Anwar of 5 years ago. Yet all that effort was down the drain when Tendulkar plundered and massacred the Pakistani attack to pull off a savage victory. Anwar increased his personal tally of centuries to 20, which had been lying dormant for some time. It was though really dissapointing to see a great player's effort go wasted as this maybe his last efforts.
Waqar Younis. For all the good cricket this man has played,, for all the Not bowing your head attitude he has shown, coming back from the worst of times wether off the field or on the field, he has maybe failed to lead Pakistan to greater glories. Rather the team has experienced one of the most *consistent* bad patch in its history. It may not have anything to do with Waqar's captaincy, still though I think that Pakistan's record under him is shame to the capabilities and will power that Waqar possess. Surely he deserves much more than what he has been dealt with in the last few months.
If Pakistan bow out of this World Cup, it would probably herald the end of some its great players. The list is IMO irreplaceable, including Wasim, Anwar and maybe Waqar. Three players that have served Pakistani cricket to no end. I just wish that their careers end at a more positive note then this.
PS. It took a sub-continent team to cluster out another, point made ? :saint: