Sometimes it all comes down to one decision, just one knife-edge of a moment at which the past and the present fulcrum.
Should I say “I love you”?
Should I jump this stop sign?
Should I peek into my neighbor’s answer-sheet?
Should I attempt an Ashraful shot and seal the game?
Misbah-ul-Haq, after half an hour of near perfect batting, arrives at such a fork in the space-time continuum as Jogiya Khali-bali Sharma’s gentle offering comes down the pitch. He waits, judges the bounce and the pace perfectly and makes his choice. As the ball loops up taking the hearts of millions with it and settles down into pyscho Sreenath’s hands, one realizes that two weeks of frenetic cricket of the highest order, climaxing in a classic punch-counterpunch, nerve-knotting sporting spectacle between two teams neither of whom deserved to lose, has finally been settled and history created.
All because of one wrong decision taken in a split second.
And yet that cute shout could so very well have been the deciding blow. Which is where the monumental tragedy from the point of view of Pakistan lies—so deservingly near and yet so far.
But what the F am I talking about? Who cares about deliberations on how fragile the line between defeat and victory, happiness and sadness, sin and redemption is—screw it all… WE WON !
For today it’s simply “Chak de India” (and there was even a ghoulish-looking Shahrukh Khan to cheer us) . For today it’s sweet revenge for decades of Friday drubbings at Sharjah. Paraphrasing Chacha Nehru, there comes a time which comes rarely in history when India wins an international tournament, when the souls of fans, long suppressed by first round defeats and “the bad day in office” and “this is an young learning side” excuses, finally find utterance.
Which is why today I am going to scream. Jump about like a little girl on whose nose a flying cockroach has alighted. And give a shout out to anybody who will listen.
Dear Shoaib Malik. Firstly you are a very good captain and your English is better than your predecessor’s. But dude, you seriously need to understand that the Pakistani team does not represent all the Muslims of the world, as you so sagaciously pointed out in your presentation speech.
“First of all I want to say something over here. I want to thank you back home Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world.”
[Link]
I understand the pan-Islamic sentiment that has been fed into your brain but here’s the deal. Look around. See the smiling Pathan brothers there—-one of whom strangled your team’s progress in the middle overs and the other led a rousing charge on your opening bowler. Tell you what, they also belong to the “Muslims of the world” and yet are deliriously happy at your defeat . Why wouldn’t they be ? They caused it.
Just as happy as many Indian Muslims are today all over the world at India’s victory.
Which is why it should be brought to your notice that Pakistan’s fan base does not cover Irfan Pathan, Yousuf Pathan and many other “Muslims all over the world” and so there is no need to “thank them” for their supposed “support”.
Let me say dear sir, Pakistan has always been my favorite team after India ever since I started watching the game. Though the way you guys wear your religion on your sleeve has often left me a bit queasy, your statement today just crossed the line, more so because it is soundbytes like these that are often twisted to imply that “Muslims in India cheer for Pakistan ” which as a generalization is about as screwed up as Michael Jackson’s sexuality. So kindly excuse my outburst —it indeed is a shame to have to bring all this divisive stuff into the mix on such a nice day. But you started it.
Dear Flintoff. Sledging and displays of aggression may be considered to be kosher in today’s game. However “I will smash your face, you wait” (which is what you told Yuvraj Singh) is simply a threat of violence which shows you up for what you are—a thug without an iota of subtleness (ability is another matter) who can keep doing what you do because the match referees do not mind such things as long as it does not come from subcontinental teams.
Of course, your behavior is a perfect fit for an English team of whiners, cribbers and jellybean throwers—-nothing amused me more than to read that one of the reasons England’s Twenty20 specialist side flopped so badly was because some of the top players like Collingwood had been away from their families for so long (which explains his escapades in a strip club perhaps). No Mr. Flintoff. The reason you lost was because you had Snape in your team instead of a certain Mr. Potter—-I would find that that easier to digest than the “away from home/too much cricket” justification.
Dear Aussies. Face it. You guys, for once, were outclassed. I know you are still the best but let’s do away with the “We do not take the format seriously” subtext of all your post-match press conferences—I am sure if you had won, you would not have been saying this.
Dear Kiwis. Am I the only one who feels that your entire batting order consists of clones who not only look like each other but bat exactly the same?
Dear South Africans. In a movie called “Hum Aapke Hain Kaun” Madhuri Dixit wore an ornament which looked great on her. Its called a choker. It will look good on you too.
Dear Sri Lankans, What’s with the change in uniform? Why the light blue Team India-type look? Do get back to the deep blue uniform cause maybe this time God, who doesn’t see as good as he used to any more from way up high, got confused and thought you were India—which explains why you did not make the semis.
And finally Dear Team India. Thank you thank you thank you. For playing like an unit with each one covering for the other, for being fearless, smart and able.
And to you Mr. Dhoni—a bow of appreciation from a fan. You have been nothing short of inspirational (The two non-cricketing moments I shall remember from the final being Dhoni handing over his jersey to a young fan and helping him wear it and Irfan Pathan, perched on the shoulders of elder brother Yousuf Pathan—their faces glowing with pride)
Mr Dhoni we understand. It is not easy wicket keeping, strategizing, blasting deliveries to all corners of the park, praying that Joginder Sharma does not get hit for a six , hoping that Sreesanth does not slice a batsman with a pocket knife, while all the time carrying on your shoulders the weight of a million expectations.
But you have done it. And how.
I do not have $2 million dollars to give you nor a Porsche 911 (Yuvraj beware: Lalit Modi may try to pass off Kevin Pietersen’s used Porsche as your “gift” —to be fair he never said you would get a new one) as a gesture of my gratitude.
But my humble self can only dedicate a song to you—from the Bhojpuri Spice Girls. The lyrics of the song go thus :” Aare re nimbua kasam se gol gol, taneek kholke dekh raja” I have no idea what the song means or rather what the nimbua refers to ; it is just that the lines “ball-wa dabaiba to bara maaja aawe” seemed very appropriate for the country’s debt of gratitude for you.
Thank you again dear sir. Kasam se…. bara maaja aaye.
[Picture courtesy Cricinfo]
Congrats Team India.
Glad to be the first commenter
Nice going, you called it.
but what made them chose Afridi as Man of tournament?
Aussies are not invincibles anymore, not once once but thrice they lost.
I knew there would be a post from you - and lo and behold! here it is! And I think I have the honor to be the first commentator for this wonderful post, which is no mean feat, given your loyal band of followers! You’ve beautifully put into words what every Indian, no matter where they are geographically, have been feeling. Glorious moments like these are very few and far between - so let’s all celebrate!!
Nice post. Throughly enjoyed. Thanks!!!
Greatbong,
A perfect tribute for the perfect win!
Chak De India!
Chak de GB! Reading this post was the perfect end to a day spent reloading and googling “live cricket streaming” as site after site gave up with 503 errors, emails and IMs flying think-and-fast, browsing tens of youtube clips that were uploaded seemingly minutes after the match ended, and savoring the phrase WORLD CHAMPIONS INDIA after 22 years.
Snape turned out to be on the side of the angels, btw
Now that they have done their duty, its our turn.
Just mow down ur celebration a bit. Give them the feeling that they are supposed to be world beaters and this is not a flash in the pan. I pray God that the indian media does not forget other sports as this nasha will take atleast a decade to subdue.
I am happy that cricket has evolved into more athletic sports and more closer to what we play in the streets.
Very nice post. I still cant believe it. WE WON.
I am amazed at Dhoni’s captaincy and the decisions that he took. Especially the decision to bowl Harbajhan, RP, Jogindar in the last three overs against Australia and the decision to bowl Jogindar instead of Harbhajan in the last over against Pakistan.
Also what I enjoyed was the never show die spirit of the Indians, which was sorely lacking in the past. There were periods in all matches when we were down. But we came back with force.
a memorable win indeed.
hey… I have a namesake..Hi Rishi
Great post under tremendous pressure to deliver. You’d be a shoo-in for number six in blogger twenty world-cup (but not quite a world cup) team….Truly enjoyable!
Shoaib Malik’s thanks to Muslims all over the world - that was a stupid one!
@ Giri
that was instinct
Hi Rishi khujur.
typo: psycho sreenath -> psycho sreesanth
Can’t savour the win. Ground floor of our our house in Lake Town, Kolkata is a yard deep in water. All of us are now closeted in the first floor. No, water, pump set in under water.
Waiting for God to drop us drinking water sachets on the terrace.
What a day to win the T20 World Cup!!
Aby the Original
Hey wait….why is SRK ghoulsih looking? I guess the straight male eye will not really comprehend SRK’s sexuality, a pity. Am glad we won though, was he in the field cheering our team..ooh la la
Hi,
I always read your messages, but this is my first comment. I think you were the only guy who mentioned that these guys might just bring back the cup after 83. How true it was
Congrats
@ GB da:
Incredible post. you covered it all. unbelievable piece of writing.
The difference between 1983 and 2007 in Kolkata was that even though the city was flooded (some things never change) there was no power cut (somethings do).
The DTH provider Tata Sky (isko laga dala to life Jhingalala) stopped working. So i had to follow the match via cell phone internet (as BSNL broadband was also wiped away by the rain) and then watch the match on old cable (which i found out the cable-wallah had forgot to disconnect).
thanks for pointing out shoaib malik’s (even i like him a lot) stupid pretension for being representative of muslims around the world. and also the fact that cricket has double standards when it comes to the code of conduct.
and man.. you called it the first time in ‘twenty-twenty vision’. that’s 20-20 vision for you!
Great Post! You said it all! Chak De India!!
wonderful..on par with your 1983 post….and your pre t20 WC post turns out bang on mark…. are you spooked out ?:)
What should I write… kono bhasa nei… really!
Yes, it was a great win. For a nation starved of sporting achievements, this was a moment of ecstasy.
Very good post. Enjoyed reading it. The last few lines were touching.
What a win this was ….Eng - Saffers - Oz and the good old neighbours …..
The fielding was crucial
The bowling was great (we didn’t expect it to be)
Gambhir had his basking time
…too good I’m drunk and happy …Cheers India …bring on th Aussies home then ….
Sept 29th Chinnaswamy ….
You should have seen how Bangalore celebrated the victory. It felt like a Diwali night.
Not to mention that infamous six. But well done India !!!!
Great summary on the all the teams. And I cant believe how whining the Aussies have become - you’d almost mistake them for the Poms. After India won the semis - the only report of the incident in The Australian was buried in the 5th or 6th page of the sports section under the headline ” Players strained by no rest day” !!!
Great post, as usual… the classic GB style!
Sorry to be nitpicking, but that last catch was taken by Sreesanth, not Sreenath. And Snape was a good guy, after all. Sorry again if it came as a spoiler for you… I don’t know whether you read Harry Potter.
Very well written GB.:)
Thank God there was a Sharma but there was no Miandad in the last ball!
Btw, was SRK wearing a hairpiece ?!
Just too happy !! Can’t stop smiling.
CONGRATULATIONS INDIA !!!
Dada, we’re World Champions. Shuntei kemon bhaalo lagche na?
:) 
Sreesanth will be a better bowler if he learns the lessons the hard way like Pathan and Zaheer did. I have a premonition that he will.
Now that India has won, I can ask this question - Who on earth decided to play Y Pathan in such a high-stakes game, that too as an opener? Things could have gone horribly wrong for him even before facing the first ball.
Shoiab Malik needs to get his head out of his ass, I am pretty sure that Muslims in Turkey or Indonesia, didn’t knew that a certain SM was fighting on their behalf.
Btw, Congrats we did it. Phew!!!
Nice post, GB. And superb achievement by the young cricketers.
Very well written!!
The way Pakistanis are going about being religious, thanking ‘all muslims of the world’ and ‘all Indian Nations’ (was Afridi trying to be funny?), soon they will have Talibans playing in their team
And you didn’t mention Ponting singing same old too-much-travel-too-less-gap-between-matches song! Why the hell these people accept that they were too rude to take a World Cup seriously!
And last: Talk of luck. Talk of Joginder Sharma!
Great performance by the Indian team. The fielding was great, batting courageous and bowling adequate. Joginder Sharma, given his limitations was much better than Agarkar in the death. And for those who said that he was lucky that Haq played the scoop shot rather than going downtown, he deserved it as he was terribly unlucky in the earlier matches.
Give Malik the benefit of the doubt. His English is marginally better than Inzy. He had lost a close World Cup final against the arch rival and he was noticeably upset. He may have meant “all Pakistanis” and in his effort to sprout out legible English words blurted out “Muslims”. Most of the Indians have a good rapport with him. In fact Shreesanth had gone on record say that he looked forward to meet up with his former captain (Asia XI) “Malik Bhai”. You will not have such a good rapport with a temparamental guy like Shreesanth who is a non muslim if he were communal.
In my earlier comment, I had expressed my concerns about this format. Now after two weeks I take back everything I had said then. Twenty twenty is here to stay and not just because India won. It is because it is such a viewer friendly format with entertainment all round.
I think you meant Sreesanth instead of Sreenath in this “As the ball loops up taking the hearts of millions with it and settles down into pyscho Sreenath’s hands”.
Loved the whole piece, first thing i had been waiting for ever since the ball DID land in psycho Sreesanth’s hands. Incidentally i have a bhojpuri friend who explained to me the meaning of the song, in detail when i forwarded him the link to your post. Apparently he had heard it a lot of times.
I still remember reading your first post on vision 20 20 and smiling at your optimism for this team. But you were right all along.
Cheerios!
“Just as happy as many Indian Muslims are today all over the world at India’s victory.” How I wish this statement was “Just as happy as ALL Indian Muslims ….”. Sadly I am a witness to “Muslims in India cheer for Pakistan”. Maybe the next time India wins a world cup things would be better - another 23 years, maybe?
Regarding the religiosity of the Pakistani players, have you noted that once “Daadhi mein Tinka” Inzamam left, lots of the players have just shaved their beards off? Earlier it was five prayers a day, observing the fast even on playing days (making batsmen cramp up because of hunger) and sidelining players who refused to get “preachy wid it”. At least they’ve become saner again! Cricket needs a great Pakistan team.
Arnab, first of all, thanks for an emotionally charged post. For some of us, cricket is the only religion we know- the victory, then watching those visuals repeatedly and then your beautiful post – make a very a special package.
I thought Malik was trying to preempt a possible ‘fatwa’ and/or a ‘nice’ reception at home when he mentioned that everyone in team gave their 100%
Very nice post GB.
The comment of Malik is really funny. I just can laugh in it.
Congratulation Team India, Dil khus kar diya.
hi
gr8 piece…i hope someday u will write a blow by blow account like u did for the ‘83 world cup …really enjoyed reading that too
Malik’s comment is highly objectionable. I am glad u mentioned that.this is exactly the kind of coment that stirs up communalism. ofocurse the pathan brothers grinning away at pakistan’s defeat totally nullifies the implications of his comment.
anyway jitechi etai anondo …HURRAY for India!!!
Beautifully written dude …..
Congrats team India and Thanks a lot for bringing such a moment in our lives ….
Brought a smile back on everybody’s face,I guess!!
All of us stupidly grinning away to glory in our office…
Talk about productivity loss and they still grin…
I guess noone really cant get over the shock WIN..
Great post GB!
Re. Shoaib Malik - what an ass! As someone pointed out in an earlier comment Inzy being the religious influence, I think it is more to do with Mushtaq Ahmed being a part of the team (as bowling coach, I guess).
Anyway, fact is we won and won it in style.
Cheers!
Arnab da,
I am a big fan of yours even though I have hardly ever commented. But that is because the number of comments in your blog just overwhelms me…:)
A muslim friend of mine was with me when the paki captain said those “and all muslim in world” bull shit, his first reaction was “what the F” which I am sure was more or less the reaction of a lot many Indian muslims. Thanks for pointing it out in such a humorous fashion!!!
In the end who cares.. all that matters is WE WON!!!!!
At the beginning of the tournament, you had written in your post under the title “Twenty Twenty vision” that this was one of the weakest Indian team to be sent to an International showcase event. On 11.9.2007, I chose to differ with you when I wrote that the team had a balanced look and had a good chance of winning the cup. I am glad that I said so. Please don’t misunderstand me - I don’t want to take a dig on you. All I want to say is that cricket is a team game, and not a medley of individualistic brilliance. If every member of the team comes forward to contribute his might without putting any conditions, the inadequacies of the lesser endowed players can be covered up. That is how, this bunch of fringe players could become the World Beaters while the more accomplished players have repeatedly failed to deliver. I do agree that luck played a big part in this triumph, as some may say “Allah Meherban to Gadha Pehelvan”. But let’s keep this analysis for some other day. This is the time to Rejoice.
By the way, this post of yours is not exactly at par with your 1983 post. The 1983 post was like re-experiencing the history. It had recall value. So this time around I was expecting another “THE DAY WE WON THE OTHER CUP”. But this current post does not recount the thrills and spills of the game. Instead you have opted to tease the opposing teams. One is expected to display sportsmanship and be slightly more charitable towards the vanquished. And your take on Shoaib Malik for his apology to all the Muslims of the world is an open invitation to Hujur, Khujur, Har Har Bom Bom, Shaan, Tarzan, WTF, et al to hijack this cricketing post with their anti-Islam and Pro-Islam tirades.
I understand that the joyous feeling has yet to sink in. But I am just dying to read your review on the actual match. You are an absolute treat, Sir. Kindly oblige.
We are the World Champions. Congratulations to ALL.
Tapasvini
I thought Shoaib Malik’s intemperate Muslims all over the world comment would be forgotten in all the euphoria and Indo-Pak bhai bhai talk. Glad that you took it seriously enough to hand a rap in the knuckles.
I dunno why the Pakis have the obsession of bringing the Muslim/Islamic angle to every game.. Shoaib well played but you can definitely do without your fuckall ball talks.
OMG. Your post was amazing. It well and truly summed up everything I felt about the game although I am not an avid cricketer (please don’t hate me :P) but yes, pointlessly pulling things like religion into a field like sports is not only stupid but just plain detrimental. Religion is one thing and Sports quite another.
But I love your posts about the different teams, esp. the one on England. Lol. Take that Freddy !!!
“But I am just dying to read your review on the actual match”
- especially since I missed the entire Indian innings as I got caught in the darned traffic.
Tapasvini
Whatever Shoaib Malik said doesn’t really come as a big shock to me, especially after considering the average level of education and quality of upbringing of the majority of Paki players.
Gone are the days of educated players (like Imran Khan, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram to name a few) from decent backgrounds and with good upbringing.
Now young minds in Pakistan are nurtured in Madrasas where they are taught to refer to their country as ‘The Islamic Republic of Pakistan’. The lessons from the ‘Imam’s , bullying of the Extremest groups and unlimited funding of oil, money as well as provocations from the ‘shelikh’s have ensured that every person in Pakistan looks at ‘Kaafir’s with sheer contempt.
However, the point is, in spite of all the hue and cry, they can clearly see they are lagging behind India in technology, economy, import-export, industry - just about everything. They seek consolation by making themselves believe that despite India’s rapid progress in various fields, the Muslims in India still cheer for Pakistan.
Well, it is undeniable that to a large extent they are right in thinking so. Many of the Indian Muslims DO cheer for Pakistan from their hearts and more often than not they do it quite in the open. In many Indian cities crackers are burnt and Paki flag is hoisted is Pakistan beats India. (Some places like RT Nagar, Shivajinagar in North Bangalore and Park Cirus in Kokata are a few examples).
But, having said that, what the Pakis miss to notice is, despite all that, we Indians are tolerating these things for the past 60 years and accepting everything sportingly.
Imagine Pakistani Hindus (however few of them are still there) cheering for India in Pakistan!!! The thought itself makes me horrified.
Above all, heartiest congratulations to Dhoni and his boys. Guys, you really deserved it !!!
hehe. u write well.
@Aditi:
“I guess the straight male eye will not really comprehend SRK’s sexuality…”
Yeah, I guess it takes a really twisted female eye to do so, that way he was looking yesterday.
@GB:
Sorry to rain a little bit on the parade, but this was NOT the official World Cup of 20-20. The official version will be held, as far as I know, end of next year in England. However it was fun all the same. But we are not the official World Champions.
I have a feeling that by next year, when the official version comes along, Australia will respect it enough to win it.
Also, let the overt, crowd pleasing aggression not hide the fact the Sreesanth is a pretty ordinary bowler most of the time, as shown by his strike and economy rates. I tend to agree with Ponting when he wrote that Sree got away with some pretty ordinary stuff. When he does bowl well, he bowls brilliantly, as he shows intermittently, but it is difficult to depend on him or predict his behavior. A captain cannot afford to always be on tenterhooks wrt the temperament of his bowler, and Sreesanth will have to tone the ax-murderer type histrionics down.
At least Agarkar is always consistent. He will always try to give as many runs to the opposition as possible. If they get out sometimes it’s not his fault!
The danger inherent in this excellent win, is this:
The public, and the BCCI, seem to confuse between different forms of cricket very easily (as evinced in a couple of comments on this forum as well). Immidiately we have someone commenting how “sad” it was that some members of this team would have to “make way for the Big 3″. This is a juvenile, emotional reading of the situation. There is absolutely no guarantee that a 20-20 players will do well in the ODIs, or tests. Jettisoning proven performers in favor of the flavors of the month is foolishness.
That is why we have to keep our sanity amidst all the OTT celebrations. Remember:
1. This was a 20-20 tournament, nothing more.
2. There are some players who will probably not fit any other, more testing, format e.g. Joginder, Yusuf Pathan
3. Yuvraj still does not have a place in the test team, and he should not. He is not Indian cricket’s savior yet.
4. Dhoni’s batting, since becoming captain has been distinctly ordinary, barring one instance. Someone should remind him what his USP is. All that talk of a “mature head oh his shoulders” should not get to him.
5. Dinesh Karthik still can hold catches only when he is positioned behind the stumps (keeper, slips etc.) He drops everything else.
6. Sreesanth will do himself injury one of these days. He looks like the type who would take a gun into a dressing room one day, shoot a few people before putting the barrel in his own mouth and pulling the trigger. He needs psychiatric help, fast!
20-20 is over. Now let’s concentrate on the upcoming ODI series, where people actually have to think, and then the Aus tour, where they actually have to have cricketing nous (never thought I’d actually use that word - no thanks to you Prem Panicker) to play.
Finally, please join me in retiring / banning the phrase “Chak De India” immediately. It has become the fastest, most irritating cliche for the inarticulate. Shall we all agree not to use it again on this forum?
Thank you.
I was waiting for our article since yesterday. You are too good. I love you (in a strictly platonic sense, of course)
I rarely comment here, though I am a regular reader but I am really thrilled at India’s performance throughout the tournament. So “Chak de India”
(Sorry Shan, but I guess I am not articulate enough to ban this phrase and I love saying it…)
@Shan
First of all, this is the official world 20-20 championship, the one happpening in england in 2009 is also the same. If you check the ICC website, nowhere it says anything different. Also, I cant think of a reason as to why you were trying to make a point out of this. Even if it is believed that what you are saying is true, back-to-back victories against Eng, SA (the two exponents of 20-20), Aussies and Pakistan make it a world cup for me & most others, except for cynics like you I guess.
I believe the rest of your comments are as stupid as the quote by shoaib mallik about “muslims around the world”. I really cant understand it, when we were thrown out of the world cup everyone was unanimous in criticizing the indian team be it the media, bloggers everyone. Why cant we be so generous in our praise for them? Has any indian team won any major tournament after 1985. No right… so it is justified that we savour the moment and celebrate it. All the analysis can come later.
it was a gr8 match… i’m not a cricket fan and i for the first time saw a match till the end…
ode to pakistani team they were fabulous…. we were well good!
i hope we dont sing this victory for next twenty five years….
lets have some more gr8 matches…
ah! one more thing Misbah-ul-Haq made a fan for life (no maybe thats a too huge commitment)… i’ll surely follow his game… he was too good…. a real shark…..
Screw even if it’s cliche. CHAK DE INDIA!!!
@ Tapasivini
“At the beginning of the tournament, you had written in your post under the title “Twenty Twenty vision” that this was one of the weakest Indian team to be sent to an International showcase event. On 11.9.2007, I chose to differ with you when I wrote that the team had a balanced look and had a good chance of winning the cup. I am glad that I said so. Please don’t misunderstand me - I don’t want to take a dig on you”
What was that? A disguised ‘I told you so’ sweetened with an apologetic tone? It was not at all clear, ex ante, that the Indian team had a balanced look. If you happened to glance through any of the pre-tournament analysis, Sri Lanka, South Africa (& Australia) were considered the most balanced teams. It’s clear, only in hindsight that India played very well as a unit. Now if only hindsight becomes foresight
@ Shan
Well, that was a purist’s perspective that you have presented and I do agree with you on a lot of points you have made. But the emotional momentum this win had created may come in handy for us… on the other hand, the increased burden of expectations may prevent us from playing as fearlessly in the forthcoming series.
@GB
Can you pls come up with a post on analysis of the three formats of the game, what strategies could work, relative importance of fielding, bowling and batting, should India specialize any of the three formats, does it make sense to specialize, etc etc.
Thanks for explaining to me why Sri Lanka lost so badly. Your explanation will stop me from blaming poor Jayasuriya.
Anyhow…Chak de India…as my damn housemates were screaming all night
Misbah..thank you for helping me retain some face…and Mr. Malik…this Catholic Sri Lankan…is prolly one of Pakistan’s biggest fans…so please…get a bloody translator man…
Those who missed the match can watch a full replay by playing this link in Media Player:
rtsp://69.1.89.66/Final_ 2409_wc2020_Replay
Nice one greatbong.
This Twenty20 series has had many golden moments:
1) Yuvraj’s 6×6 off Broad.
2) Sreesanth punching the ground like Donkey Kong after taking Hayden’s wicket.3) Harbhajan’s york and nod to Dhoni against Australia.
4) Rohit Sharma’s brilliant run-out of Kemp.
5) Hilarious bowl-out with Pakistan.
@Shan: Don’t be a party pooper. The Indian team is flawed, but somehow they kept their shit together and won this cup. They deserved it. THEY DESERVED IT.
We beat England
We beat South Africa.
We beat Australia.
We almost lost to Pakistan. But we won.
All in all, this was not a cricket match. This was in true Paki style - QAYAMAT.
Great post GB, and from a purely cricketing point of view -OF ALL THE SHOTS IN CRICKET WHY ON EARTH DID THAT DUDE HAVE TO TRY THAT ONE
like the bermuda triangle and Attillas retreat a mystery for the ages
Anyway hope paki bloggers will shut up for the next few months at least
Hey!!! Snape was on the side of the Light all along! He has been redeemed in the final book!
Great post, though! The world-wide Muslim comment had struck me too, but then it was washed away in the tide of euphoria.
Dear Arnab,
With regards to your comments on team Australia … you have missed a lot … Ricky Pontings column in Times of India on the day after the semifinal deserves the worst loser award. Comments include “Australia travelled the most amongst other teams having to move from Durban to Jo’burg to Cape town” ” Sreesanth’s figures seem much better than what he actually bowled”.
Wonderful post nonetheless
I am now Shan’s fan. I doff my hat. And yes, please retire that phase and while at it the song too. It has come to represent banality and a celebration of mediocrity.
GB,as i don’t feel like using cliches,i will just say “dhanyawaad” !!!
I was at Connaught Place,New Delhi when Dhoni n co. did it and what ensued after the victory were the most joyous n unadulterated celebrations i have seen in my lifetime …
the few things i remember are getting embraced n congratulated by people i don’t know, offered sweets n ethanol in assorted concentrations/colors/flavors(!!) by people i’ve never met.and of course shouting,leaping n doing impromptu jigs with hordes of people while crackers burst and threw sparks which seemed to compete with the brilliance of the elation around. With tricolors fluttering around in a multitude of hands,on 2 wheelers,autos n cars the atmosphere couldn’t get more electrifying and will definitely remain etched in my memory for life.but the greatest sight was the look of sheer joy in everyone’s eyes .And yes,this victory did a lot to erase some of the cynicism from people like me who have followed Indian Cricket throughout their lives.
Congrats !!!
p.s. as 4 Malik’s bullshit ,lets fk reality for some time and let the intelligentsia/”secularists”/”progressives”/the friendship brigade led by able homegrown “intellectuals” like Mahesh/Pooja Bhatt read “between” the lines and tell people how’s this statement just another logical result of the “dhokha” committed by the indians/and all people of this world who don’t subscribe to the “original religion of love”.
“I have no idea what the song means or rather what the nimbua refers to”
Naughty naughty..
What a win! Feels proud to be an indian, but we must never forget that tests are the real thing. Dhoni (Captain Cool) should be handed the test captaincy, but my suggestion woulb be that he should recuse himself from wicket-keeping duties, hand over the big gloves to the able Dinesh Kaarthick, and confine himself to strategising and blasting the living daylights out of all bowlers.Captaincy, wicket-keeping, and batting will be a huge burden for anybody, and i doubt if Dhoni would be able to withstand it in the long run. As for Shoaib Malik, “chhodo na yaar”; why let some stupid comment spoil such a day of euphoria?
Well as an Indian Muslim, my point of view about the “Muslim support” crap is well said here - http://indianmuslims.in/hame-aapa-jee-jaan-nahi-chahiye/
This was an awesome win;
the pathan brothers exemplify what our muslim brothers in india are - patriots, winners
CHACK DE INDIA; CHAK DE FATTE
awesome game; shoaib malik and pakistanis can go back to sucking minadad’s cock;
they should consider this victory India’s ramadan gift to pakistan
and our equals in everything
To the eternal menstruating cunts with fungal infection - Shan and Ivaturi
Fuck you mother fuckers;
INDIA HAS WON; WE ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS
Shan says, “This was a 20-20 tournament, nothing more.”
You are mistaken. Twenty20 is the future of cricket. The first casualty will be ODIs, Tests will fade away a little later. This is the highest level of the game, and not a place for even the much vaunted “Aussie fitness” (who actually belong to the bottom drawer of fit Aussie sportsters - after Footy/League/Union).
Fatafati
@ tapasvini:
‘And your take on Shoaib Malik for his apology to all the Muslims of the world is an open invitation to Hujur, Khujur, Har Har Bom Bom, Shaan, Tarzan, WTF, et al to hijack this cricketing post with their anti-Islam and Pro-Islam tirades.’
see even the indian-muslims who cheer for pakistan are good because… just kidding..
look. i know its really stupid to respond to those who abuse islam because it just spoils the comment threat for everyone but you have to remember that the holocaust happened because germans who disagreed with it didnt speak out.
my sincere apologizes to those people who come here to get their mind off stuff.
@ on ‘Chak de’:
i saw Chak de India very late and thanks to ESPN-Star and its tie up with Yash Raj, the song will always be associated with the glorious images of India beating England in Tests in my head.
Even im beginning to get irritated with it but around the 16th-17th over, the DJ was playing Chak De and the whole stadium was singing along with it. It made my hair stand on edge.
According to a former Pakistani Wicket-keeper india won the match because of Chak De .. so.. i dont think this word is going to disappear from the lexicon of patriotism very soon. It’s going to be like the ‘Range De Basanti’ effect.
@ Shan
I think our friend –Vinay (of 1.36 pm comment fame) must have been conceived on the night of 83-world cup victory- in the throes of jingoistic passion
I don’t know enough about cricket to state that Dhoni is a great captain and that this team is the sort of team that will consistently perform at all levels of the game. But I do know that I will relish those few hours of anguish, nervousness and finally ecstasy when Sreesanth took the last catch, for a very long time. The feeling of queasiness at being limited to 157, shrieks of delight at ever Pakistani wicket falling, groan at every 6 or 4 hit off of our bowling and finally experiencing the bliss that engulfed the entire nation, thanks to the hands of that crazy kid.
But all of the joy cannot overshadow a news piece as disturbing as this.
http://www.cricketnext.com/news/dhonis-parents-yet-to-come-to-terms/27140-13.html>
It is sad that often the masses who will deify cricketers will not hesitate in destroying them. If verbal abuse was not enough, in addition that that, the disgruntled fan will physically accost, burn effigies and damage property.
I sincerely hope, that moments of pleasure and joy that the entire country felt after such an amazing contest and duly deserved win, are remembered even when the team does not perform as well. It is quite one thing to critique and criticize performance and but quite another to burn effigies and inflict damage.
May we be a country of passionate cricket supporters who know how to handle defeat as well as we know how to celebrate victory.
Hey, who’s calling Sreesanth a psycho, He is a real talented guy with an intelligent head on his shoulders and another great sporting star that Kerala has produced. His sheer presence and strong spirit instilled a new born courage in the Indian team, I think his presence made a huge diffirence
The dummy is married to a girl from Andhra Pradesh. Obviously he thinks that means every muslim in the whole world is on his side. Despite the cricketing talent, the Paki cricketers seem to get dumber and dumber, kya karen.
Anyway, wifey is supposedly a Vice Principal - she’s obviously the brains in the family. ha ha.
It needs balls of titanium to play a debutant in the finals of a World Cup and then send him to open the innings. Mind you, he is not an opener. It also takes a lot of guts to throw the ball to Joginder to bowl the last over, not once but twice. Hats off, Dhoni. And yes, congratulations on a well deserved victory.
@ Those who are upset by “all Muslim” comment.
Arre bhai…why are ppl getting upset with Malik’s “all Muslims of the world” comment.
He was just being a good Muslim and appealing to the omnipresent call of the Ummah.
“I will smash your face, you wait”. i think he said “I will smash your face, you TEE DOUBLE-U AYE TEE”
Kishor bhau .. where are thou ?
Sreesanth is being called a psycho .. aaarrrgghhhhh.
Nice enthusiasm from GB and everybody (eat lots of mishti).
About time they won something.
Is Sreesanth the Indian Shoaib ?
The kids… stole the cup from Uncles Hayden, Gilchrist and Ponting and came running home with all the chocolate and ice cream on their cute faces…
And for one night.. one billion people in the world became kids and shouted and screamed and danced…
Well may be not one billion…may be a few did not enjoy that much…
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEO20070924184855&Page=O&Headline=Cricket fans attacked by assailants&Title=Thiruvananthapuram&Topic=0
but who cares about those really sad few…
..we won.. and we bit Pakistan.. and even if we were lucky.. we will take this… as in past .. on more occasions than not “they” have been lucky…
No intention to offend… just a small remark… “bara maaja aaye” - you wanted to tell “badha” or “bada”… i know in benagli there’s no difference between two ‘R’s.. but just looks odd to non-bong readers…thanks. the post is nice.
“Dear Shoaib Malik. Firstly you are a very good captain and your English is better than your predecessor’s. But dude, you seriously need to understand that the Pakistani team does not represent all the Muslims of the world, as you so sagaciously pointed out in your presentation speech.”
Amen.
And a 140 million of them *here* respectfully would disagree, then kick your butt!
If you saw the Pathan household and neighbourhood cheering…. as mad as the Sharma (Rohit, not Jogi) house in Mumbai!
Excellent review and I guess a long awaited win made the whole nation euphoric. But I must admit, that your response to the Shoaib Malik’s moronic speech was just superb. I wish more and more people had your line of thinking. I feel that is what our attitude as a nation should always be.
@ Shan: Is it necessary someone with a different opinion from GB, you and others are twisted? If twisted female mind loves SRK so be it…SRK ke liye sala kuch bhi karega!
@ Last Commentator: There are two different ‘r’s in Bengali also. While expressing in English most of us are handicapped by lack of alphabets, and not really any of us can use diacritical marks to write online. However, lot of people do use the Harvard Kyoto transliteration to write Devnagiri words. So D in upper case is ‘BaDa’….and in lower case is d as ‘dukan’… I know these things really don’t matter but just the info
What happened to the PCB rule that players would speak only in Urdu. They can use the otherwise useless Rameez Raja as a translator …
Shoaid Malik did make a generalization, and doing so made a mistake. However, he is not entirely wrong - there are people who are in India but when India defeats Pakistan they are hurt and get violent. See this -
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=e044046a-5875-4167-8b29-2c92f4d52e6e&&Headline=Celebrations turn violent, 20 hurt
Great Post!
Great Post GB….
Really compliments the great Victory by our team.
You must Find Kishore.. This comment place really misses him..
In all of the Pak innings loved the Misbah-ul-haq gem..
But in the end as ‘Karna’ he lost his mind and did what he didnt wanted to..
T20 is here to stay now…
Till now celebrating after ‘iftari’ everyday…
Thanks,
Tarzan
Guys,
Have a look at the indo Pak war going on here:
http://blogs.cricinfo.com/meninwhite/archives/2007/09/scenes_from_a_final.php
I really believe people have gone so nuts that they have forgotten to celebrate thiss rare event and ranting about muslims and all bullshit. Shoib has been stupid and unfortunate. Clearly it was not his day. So lets cut him a slack..
Lets enjoy…
and overall yes as usual a great bong piece… Drank drank drank and still not sure whether i am celebrating it to the right extent or not…Our very own watford ( a pakistani den) had become a new india on monday night…all pubs and bars full with indians..and brits also enjoying in the same spirit…This was almost similar to seeing Italians celebrating after their 2006 wc win…I am really proud to support such a team who has fetched we all indians such a glory…
Chak De…
I hope the young bloods, “keyboard kricketers” of India don’t make asses of tehmselves on cricinfo. Pakistani commentators like Kamran Abbasi, have stayed far above the din of mania, just as veterans like Gavaskar, Akram, Intikhab Alam, or Kapil have. The game and championship are over. Now let’s get on with our lives.
And in case someone thinks that Shoaib Malik talked like that because of religious influences within the team, stop for a moment and think of our own Yusuf and Irfan Pathan - brothers whose father has been a muezzin, a naazim, and have lived inside a masjid all their lives. In the Indian Armed forces you have religious leaders of several faiths, shastris, pastors, maulvis, bhikhus, and granthis. It’s not a question of where you are from.
We Won - that’s true. but how much is this winning attributed to luck is probably a good question. Many “what ifs” are interesting to be pondered for e.g. what if India had to bat second, what if Joginder Sharma was faster bowler (the shot in the last ball could have been a six if the delivery had pace), what if Pakistan had won “bowl out” in the earlier match.
Can India repeat this against Aussies?
Hey!…
Fantabulous… every word is wisely used and impacts deeply…
keep writing..
cheers! …
GB, I guess ‘nimbua’ perhaps refers to the saint ?r? Nimb?rk?ch?rya — known for his Vaishnava theology of Dvaitadvaita version of vedanta. ‘Gol’ referes to the fact that Sri Nimbarka is believed to be the incarnation of Vishnu’s Sudarshana Chakra. Indeed Nimbarka’s highest regard for the Gopis’ self-surrendering style of devotion/bhakti is attempted - albeit tad bluntly - by the actress in the album.
AWESOME victory and Nicely captured in your blog… i am writing this on the day, the team is coming back to a heroic welcome… but somehow, it is really hard to digest that the same people, same governments did nothing to salute the performance of the hockey team that won a tournament just a couple of weeks back…
NDTV was showing a live telecast of the whole procession as if there was no other news happening in the country (don’t know about the other channels, may be they too did)… i wonder if there was even a formal reception for the hockey players…. the attitude of people towards the victorious cricket and hockey teams is so contrasting that i wonder what motivates the hockey guys to carry on…
i am in no way trying to take away the performance of the cricket team or trying to ruin the good feeling prevalent in your blog and comments, but these were the feelings i had when i saw the tv today morning and one cannot but ignore the step-motherly attitude that we show to hockey….
hope you will write something about it as well…
no thanks for yuvi?
Bhojpuri Spice Girls! Awesome! Jhakaas!