Its as good as it gets. We couldnt have dreamt for anything better. An India-Pakistan clash in the finals of a World Cup (albeit Twenty20) is every cricket fans dream match. No matter what the result is going to be on Monday, fans from both the countries have a satisfied feeling from their teams. Just a couple of months ago, both the teams were knocked out in the first round of the regular world cup. After that calamitous performance in the Carribean, both the teams went back to the drawing board and in just a matter of months came out with teams frothing with youth and fresh blood. And the icing on the cake is that both have stormed into the finals, comprehensively beating all the other teams coming their way.
Clearly both India and Pakistan have been the best performers in this tournament. India was involved in three of the most exciting matches in the past week. Yuvraj's batting has been surreal and he has single handedly motored India's batting machine in this tournament. His fastest fifty record will be impossible to break untill another mad rush of adrenalin prevails on a batsman. He has had a golden run of form so far and the crowd loved each of the balls he dispatched home from the pitch. Dhoni has been very good in his captaincy so far, his field placings and bowling changes have all worked well. The good thing of having youth in the team is that the players are all on a buzz and there is a great vibe on the ground. The same holds true for the Pakistani team. Malik has been the alter ego of Dhoni. As usual Pakistan started a tournament with an internal controversy, but the players have handled the incident maturely. The best thing to do was to send the trouble-maker away from the stage and play cricket in peace. Misbah was a great find in this tournament. Between both the teams, Pakistan is the one having some experiance in this format of the game. PCB stages these Twenty20 tournaments in Ramadhan as night games, where all the hard hitting sloggers have come from. Misbah, Afridi etc are all products of these run feasts.
Time will come to a stand still for millions of people in the sub-continent and else where, when the two teams clash for the final trophy. India have history on their side, as they have never lost to Pakistan in any world cup match so far. But as Afridi puts it, Twenty20 is a different ball game altogether. A few good balls from Asif or Gul, or a few home runs from Yuvraj can turn the tables either side. With the short boundaries at the Wanderers, we could expect some great fireworks tomorrow from Uthappa, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Misbah, Malik and Afridi. So let the music roll, lights, cheers and boom goes the cherry sailing into the sky !
Clearly both India and Pakistan have been the best performers in this tournament. India was involved in three of the most exciting matches in the past week. Yuvraj's batting has been surreal and he has single handedly motored India's batting machine in this tournament. His fastest fifty record will be impossible to break untill another mad rush of adrenalin prevails on a batsman. He has had a golden run of form so far and the crowd loved each of the balls he dispatched home from the pitch. Dhoni has been very good in his captaincy so far, his field placings and bowling changes have all worked well. The good thing of having youth in the team is that the players are all on a buzz and there is a great vibe on the ground. The same holds true for the Pakistani team. Malik has been the alter ego of Dhoni. As usual Pakistan started a tournament with an internal controversy, but the players have handled the incident maturely. The best thing to do was to send the trouble-maker away from the stage and play cricket in peace. Misbah was a great find in this tournament. Between both the teams, Pakistan is the one having some experiance in this format of the game. PCB stages these Twenty20 tournaments in Ramadhan as night games, where all the hard hitting sloggers have come from. Misbah, Afridi etc are all products of these run feasts.
Time will come to a stand still for millions of people in the sub-continent and else where, when the two teams clash for the final trophy. India have history on their side, as they have never lost to Pakistan in any world cup match so far. But as Afridi puts it, Twenty20 is a different ball game altogether. A few good balls from Asif or Gul, or a few home runs from Yuvraj can turn the tables either side. With the short boundaries at the Wanderers, we could expect some great fireworks tomorrow from Uthappa, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Misbah, Malik and Afridi. So let the music roll, lights, cheers and boom goes the cherry sailing into the sky !
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