A good game indeed

Yes, I am talking about yesterday's Twenty20 match between India and Australia. Given the recent history of Indian performance in one-day world cup, Indians were definitely not in the favorites for this Twenty20 world cup series. But the young wagon of India has done everything to reach the finals under the ever-improving leadership of M.S.Dhoni, the Captain of Indian Team. With the full support from the young and energetic team, MS is carving a good record on this new horizon of Cricket.

Yesterday's match was not just a game of bat and ball, but it was of mind as well. The game was definitely rich in terms of Twenty20 cricket, huge sixes and sudden wickets, but it was also full at the mental level. Kangaroos are known for their professionalism and their "jigar" to pull the match even in last few balls. At the same time, Indian are known for loosing the battle even when it appears like a easy win. But yesterday was different. After not-so-good start by the openers, YV and MS really built up a good figure of 188 which looked defendable against Australia. Actually, 200 would have been much safer, but 188 was not bad either.

Later RP, Sreesanth and Bhajji did their job very well. Viru and Jogi turned out to be much costlier. Around 13-14th over, the body language of Indian players started changing. They were not succeeding in breaking the partnership between Hayden and Symonds and the team suddenly started behaving as if they can't win anymore. There was no "josh" in their gestures, no aggressive. Many of them started appearing losers. And suddenly Srisanth got a break through. This followed by a few nice overs from Irfan and RP and the final over by Jogindar. It was completely unbelievable that MS handed over the ball to Jogi even after his dismal failure in first spell. But the Jogi passed the pressure successfully and gained the much needed victory for India to enter the finals.

Few things to be noticed about the Indian team.

This team has a complete new face. Many of the players are completely new. Many of the old timers such as Sachin, Rahul, Sourav and Kumble are not there in the team. So the team definitely lacked the experience as compared to the rivals, who had the rich experience of Matthew Hayden, Gilchrist and Brett Lee. But still Indians overpowered the kangaroos.

We, Indian team, definitely lacked in fielding. there were many misses dishing out unwanted runs to the Australians.

A big drawback that was observed in the lack of aggressiveness and tacts to keep the pressure on opponents. We failed miserably except for Srisanth and YV. If you observe, each ball from Sreesanth was followed by his fiery look at the batsman, as if threatening him not to touch the ball or leave the crease. Another one was after taking the wicket, the his reaction was awesome. Some may categorize it as "Maazz", but to me, it was much required, specifically for the Australians who are known for their arrogance. Similar thing can be observed when UV took a catch in the last overs. He was actually spitting out all of his frustration and pressure and in essence adding it to the opponents stack. On the contrary, Irfan was reacting just like a cute little boy who has just learned to take a wicket. Come on guys, it is a high time we learn about the body language and it's role in this battle of cricket. Cricket is no more just a game of bat and ball, it is very much a game of mind. This team has all the required skills and energy to go around the world, but should be supported with the mental power. If we master that art, I am sure, Indians will the rulers of the cricket world!!

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