Adil Najam
UPDATE:
India won the TwentyTwenty final in a thriller, after setting Pakistan 158 to win and then bowling Pakistan out (with three balls to spare) for 152. IK Pathan from India was names Man of the Match for very tidy bowling (3/16 from 4 overs) while Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi was named Man of the Series.
ORIGINAL POST:
I have resisted writing about the Twenty20 Cricket Tournament in South Africa till now. But now I can resist no more. All is set for a thriller final game against India.
What more could one ask for… well, actually, one could ask for Pakistan’s TwentyTwenty winning streak to continue into the Final game against India in Johannesburg on Monday!
Pakistan is on a roll. And this is no fluke. The victories against Australia and Sri Lanka were brilliant and breezing past New Zealand in the semi-final today proved that this is not just a lucky streak.
The young team under a young captain and a new coach seems to have finally found its stride. And it is about time…
Much of our cricket coverage this last year has been depressing. Umpire controversies, a disastrous World Cup Exit, death of a coach, players misbehaving, and more. So, this good news is very welcome. It is all the more welcome because other news these days is much less than welcome.
India, too, has had a spectacular T20 tournament. In fact, the most memorable moments of the tournament till now were the 6 sixes in an over by Yuvraj against England.
That the game between India and Pakistan in the T20 tournament had ended in a tie will make the anticipation about the final even more nail-biting.
Neither team goes in as favorites. Both go in on a roll. Its should be one great game!
Its an old Pakistani habit to show others how big of a Muslim one is by making such comments as those of Shoaib Malik’s.
ChristianPak, don’t know if you are aware, your comment and ATP has been quoted on the Times of India website, regarding Shoaib’s comments.
Shehzad Ahmed Mir
I dont think India’s attack is timid. Why do you say so?
How is RP singh compared to Sohail Tanveer? RP ahead…Tanvir has talent though..
Umar Gul to Sreesanth?…In tests Sree possibly ahead, in limited over stuff Gul ahead.
Asif to Pathan? Asif as of now..as Pathan has been out for 1 year, but its not permanent. Pathan bowled better in final.
Harbhajan to Afridi? Bhajji is normally bad, Afridi okay..they were both good, Afridi had edge..but not by much..
So all in all Pakistani bowling was better than india’s but not by much and not necessarily in all conditions.
I thought 157 was a good score..If teams chase 157 in 20 overs they have to bat really well..and I thought Indians were confident too…ofcourse it was a chaseable total. It wasnt 218..daunting.
India’s fielding and catching was marginally better than Pakistans and so was the captaincy…all in all worth the 5 run diff India won by.
India seemed to be destined to win…..(I mean winning the bowl out was a indication that Pakistans stars werent as well aligned as India’s right now…..just the way Australians won in 99 after starting badly….destiny).
Blame it on the stars Pakistan. Misbah did all he could, not his failure…he is a hero.
Im an indian. Couldnt see the action on TV as Im travelling. I got good coverage for about Rs 3500 (indian rupees..about 90 USD) on willow tv…only problem faced was the repeated buffering after about 15-20 mins of streaming ! (I did have broadband and still faced this…so for eg..I heard the 6th six being hit..but saw it 10 mins later)..what a shame !!!…saw some messages asking for links so thot will share my 2 cents.
Sorry about Pak losing. I replayed the game and despite knowing the result was on the edge of the seat.
Hope Pak wins next time this comes around !!! Didnt like the comments made by Malik..thanking only muslims !! Even I supported your team albeit not in the one;s against India. Maybe, he meant it to say that it would have been a Eid gift….
Anyhow, that faux pas aside it doesnt take anything away from the great game that it was. However, Im worried that the way the players are now being treated now..with all the media coverage etc and money…they would fear losing next time.(as they would know the attention will be had only if they win)..and forgetting that the key to winning was ‘no fear’ cricket.
I guess we south asians will never get it…we are animals of extreme…Its important to celebrate…but it shoudnt be out of proportion….
Maybe, this will give Pak edge in next series/game.
Bye for now
New
While I am happy that India won, I want to congratulate the Pakistani young cricket team for a great performance in the final and throughout the tournament. Please do not be hard on your players, especially the youngster Misbah. They did a great job. Misbah was consistenly solid with his bat. He is going to be great player for Pak in the years to come. The game easily could have gone either way.
One thing I was disturbed with was with Malik’s distateful comments bringing religion into cricket. As a Indian Muslim, I feel insulted by his insinutation that he speaks for me. I think it is time for the ‘Maliks’ to conentrate on their country and stop pretending that they represent all the Muslims of the world.
I apologize for a few of the comments from Indians using bad language and petty thoughts. Mods can you please edit these out. I think the spirit of the picture of the girl with the two flags on her face should be maintained please. Most Pakistani comments have been very gracious in this very honorable defeat and I think most Indian comments have also been gracious. Let us not the few trying to score cheap political points mess things up please.