On the eve of world cup T20 final

I thought I would post one more recipe tonight. However, one of my friends pointed out to me that of the 3 topics I have covered in my post – Cricket, food, 67% of my posts related to food. Well being a numbers guy that he is from my college days, I did not expect anything more from him. However, that lead to a change in my thought. In this day and age, I cannot ignore the feedback from my viewers- so here goes the article on cricket.

I guess my observations on this might be a little old but as usual, I have 3 things to write about
1) England’s exit from WT20 and why on earth do people think England is still learning
2) My reaction to Cricinfo’s article on T20 final being a Triumph on Human spirit
3) Why my expectations are low for the India WI ODI

Engalnd’s exit from WT20: When England lost their match against WI and lost the spot in semi finals, in the post match interview, Naseer Hussain asked Collingwood if he was proud of his bowlers. That was the first statement / comment Naseer Hussain had made and almost lead Collingwood into a positive spin. I know Naseer is British and it is natural for him to support England. I also know that England beat India in the earlier match but I do not think I would have asked Collingwood the same question. A more natural and unbiased question would have been – How does Collingwood feel about the exit. All through the match, several commentators thought and said England is quickly learning more and more about the format!!! Andrew Miller even wrote an article in Cricinfo about England’s Honourable exit. Now, in their Super Eight’s England won only one match against India and lost against South Africa and West Indies. In the Group matches they lost against Ireland. Now thinking about that way – Ireland are also learning from the format. They have made huge progress in the world cup. I think it is fair to say that Ireland is learning but it is absolutely unfair to say England is learning. By this time, they should have well gone past beyond the learning curve. To me, England did well to beat India but I think they are well past the learning curve. It would be gracious of Collingwood and other English men to accept that they are still an inconsistent team. Oh well – these are just views of a whining Indian.

T20 final a Triumph of Human spirit? In my previous article – one wish for world T20 – I had wished Pakistan should not win the world cup. However, since then my views have changed a bit and the one article responsible for change is again an article by Andrew Miller and you can read it here. I will have to agree for the sake of humanity that a win for Pakistan will be a well deserved celebration for their country. The headlines for Pakistan are anything but encouraging and it seems like people of the country need a cause for celebration. Will Pakistani’s come out on the streets like Indian’s in 2007 if Pakistan win tomorrow? That is to be seen but I wish them well. I will not be yelling for Pakistan as I just cannot but will not be disappointed if they win. My bet though is on Sri Lanka. Not because of their form but I truly think they have bought innovation into the game – be it the slow bouncer by Malinga, the “Dilscoop” by Dilshan or the bowling by Murali and Mendis. The final will be a final of Innovation , Determination, Passion and team cricket vs Determination, Passion and team spirit. By this time tomorrow we will know if innovation can trump everything else in the long run.

My expectations for India’s ODI series in WI: Last but not the least, my expectations for India win in WI ODI series is very low. I think we have a very young team and a lot of members of this team have not visited WI. We deserved a longer break and I am skeptical about our performance as a team. Dhoni can deny the fatigue from overplaying but that is a fact. If we were to win again 3 things have to happen 1) we have to start seeing the team spirit 2) Dhnoi’s own form with batting has to change 3) we have raise our standards for fielding and create chances out of nothing (as if that is new)