Cricket World Cup 2011 - India is the World Champion!

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genius
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by genius »

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

Hail the seven batsmen!

this was a wide open WC where we were not "undisputed favourties" and had weaknesses to hide. Team india hid the weaknesses or overcame the weaknesses with our mighty 7 man lineup , over three crucial matches against strong oponents to carve out a terrific victory.

The turnaround was the inclusion of raina at no 7 , some more decent performnace from the bowlers before the disastrous powerplay and the young fielders.the good luck on the day was reflected by the fact that the ball often found kohli and not munaf!

now for more lethal bowlers and no rubbish fielders please!

I had a instinct that the no 7 batsman may break or break the campaign! how true it came to be!

A fantastic chase under great pressure after mahela came with up nothing less than a magnificient,highly intelligent knock.

All it required to prove the superiority of the indian batting lineup was some of the senior players come to the party with kohli playing support. and they rose to the occasion as i hoped! the bowlers again sucked at the end throwing away all good work !

and yes it would have been disappointing not to win after putting in a mammoth effort to slay australia and the great wins in the past few years.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by Kumar »

Prashant wrote: By the way - were any of you watching the toss? Did Sanga really cheat & get a re-toss or is the BBC making that up? Match started at 4 AM my time, so I woke up just in time for the first ball & missed the toss.
http://blogs.cricket.yahoo.com/posts/20 ... mment-7685
The folks at ESPN-Star then cleared up ambience sound and boosted the audio; the result apparently showed that Sangakkara did say ‘heads’ though his voice was muted.
Btw, Commentators also alluded to it... Was sreesanth inclusion a case of good luck charm? But I guess you can't fault Dhoni's logic.. He had Yuvraj and Bhajji bowling 20 overs and Ashwin is another offspinner and he probably felt that with Raina, Kohli and Tendulkar, he had slow bowlers he could turn to...
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by prasen9 »

Kumar wrote:Was sreesanth inclusion a case of good luck charm? But I guess you can't fault Dhoni's logic.. He had Yuvraj and Bhajji bowling 20 overs and Ashwin is another offspinner and he probably felt that with Raina, Kohli and Tendulkar, he had slow bowlers he could turn to...
Of course you can, Ashwin is much more of a wicket-taker than Raina, Kohli, Tendulkar, and Sreesanth. He covered his folly with the bat. I must say that I was disappointed at the old guys failing again in the final. Sachin, Sehwag and to some extent Zaheer. They are not closers. I was thinking who would be the Laxman of this team. It turned out to be Gambhir and Dhoni with an assist from Kohli. The fearless attitude of the younger lot (including the middle-aged) players makes for a new Indian team.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by Atithee »

Absolutely! It is about shedding the old mentality. This forum is proof that I have been advocating the youth policy for so many years not because they are necessarily better players; rather, it is because of the newfound assertive/arrogant attitude that today's India's youth has. They truly believe that India is a super-power and show it. The old guys just cannot do that no matter how hard they try.

This forum is also proof that I did not believe India would win the WC. I am happy to be proven wrong. I am happy that it was Gambhir and Dhoni who carried us and not the old guard. But the old guard deserves it as much as the next generation does.

I have not cried tears of joy in a long time and even gave up watching the once in a four year at a minimum opportunity after we lost Sehwag and Tendulkar to let my superstition trump the reality. And what a trump card I hold! I hope I get to use it again and again in all sports and other arenas of India's forward march.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by prasen9 »

Atithee, but, you need seven solid bats to contribute at some time or the other over the tournament. I may be weird but Sehwag and Tendulkar are not closers. I do not see them as super-stars but instead worker bees (whatever that means, maybe I got the analogies mixed up). They build the foundation but others have to complete it. I doubt if you replace Sehwag and Tendulkar with Pathan and Jadeja that this team would have made it across Australia or even Pakistan. Now, I hope Pathan and Jadeja develop to take up the spots of these two. And, don't even talk about Rohit Sharma. I hate it when people are given things on a silver platter; they do not learn how to work hard. Did you see how determined Dhoni was in this innings? He barely acknowledged his 50. He was tired too but he knew that he had to stay focused. Dhoni had to work hard to reach where he has in his life. He was a ticket collector in Kharagpur. Heck, maybe he even checked my ticket at one point, who knows :-) Kharagpur remembers it ticket collector So young by all means if you have another Kohli, but, let us not create more prima donas who think it is their birthright to be in the team. Those people do not succeed under pressure. The mental aspect of the game is quite important for big events. Let Rohit learn to value his wicket in ODIs. He is getting better though.

Ok, maybe Gambhir, Sehwag, Kohli, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Raina, Jadeja/Pathan would make a solid lineup too in India. If we are talking of replacing Zaheer, forget it. Ishant is the only good junior as of now and someone should figure out how to get him to add pace and improve his consistency. And keep this Sreesanth guy for tests. If India has to create a dynasty, they need some good pace-bowlers to emerge soon. Oh, and Raina to figure out how to play the short ball outside the sub-continent. Or get Sharad Pawar to bring all the WCs to India :-)
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by arjun2761 »

I don't know about all World Cups but at least 1 out of every 2 or perhaps 2 out of 3 should be held in India given that the monetary clout of Indian cricket probably outweighs the rest combined.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by prasen9 »

The T20 WCs are as follows: 2012 Sri Lanka, 2014 Bangladesh. So Raina will be fine :-) But, we play Australia in 2015. So Raina will be fine again :-) ... He will learn to play the short ball by then :-) 2019 is in England. The sub-continent should bid for the next one. Forget WI/RSA. The Kashmiris will be angry on me now for picking on our beloved ex-captain, Raina, I guess.

Somewhere deep in the bowels of some thread on this forum, I had selected Gambhir as one of the top three openers who played for India along with Sehwag and Gavaskar in tests. Most people did not have him in their top two XIs. Gambhir will be one of India's great batsmen. How good he will become may vary. But, I have always liked his intense character. Now only if he learnt to run better ...

I think Sangakkara erred by including Randiv instead of Mendis. India would have handled both but maybe Mendis may have gotten a wicket or two and made the chase more interesting.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - India is the World Champion!

Post by prasen9 »

And this is hilarious. Some model said that she will strip if India wins to gain cheap publicity. Now she says that she will do it if "BCCI gives her the permission". BCCI is such a control freak that it is controlling if people will wear clothes. Board for Control of Clothes in India :-) The BJP's women's wing immediately said that it will lodge a protest since it is against Indian culture for women to even strip in their bathroom. The lady could easily do a "Ashwathama hata ..." and add a rider. Which is pretty much what she is trying to do now. But, she says she is "going nude ... for a therapeutic purpose". Therapeutic indeed. Good for her to gain some cheap publicity and get the BJP's moral brigade all fired up over nothing :-) Show
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by sameerph »

prasen9 wrote:I think Sangakkara erred by including Randiv instead of Mendis. India would have handled both but maybe Mendis may have gotten a wicket or two and made the chase more interesting.
True, Mendis had been going at almost 3 runs per over so far in the world cup & was the most economical in this world cup. To drop him just on the premise that India will play him better was a losing mentality by Srilankans. I think even Murali was not fully fit & was played mainly as this was to be his last match. If Mendis & Herath were in place of Murali & Randiv ( or in place of one of the two ordinary seamers) it could have been a different chase.

But, we are not complaining. We also made a blunder playing erratic Shree Santh in place of Ashwin. I liked the way Dhoni acknowledged his mistakes in the post match interview as he also did after match against Pakistan. Yesterday he put up his hand when it was most needed after being out of form for the entire world cup.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - India is the World Champion!

Post by prasen9 »

Herath, I am sure, would have been equally innocuous, but some random balls from Mendis may have caused Kohli/Yuvraj/Raina trouble.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - India is the World Champion!

Post by ssp »

The pitch was one of the best in the tournament. A low, slow turner would have made the target very difficult.

We conceded about 20 too many at the end and Sreesanth's selection was madness, but Dhoni coming in at 5 worked out brilliantly. What a time for him & Gambhir to play their best innings in the WC.

When Tendulkar fell, I was fearing the worst, but Gambhir & Kohli got us back into the contest with a bit of luck and intelligent batting. Dhoni was just fantastic. So calm, ran between the wickets really well and played the big shots just when required. The run rate never got out of control and towards the end, it was an easy win.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - India is the World Champion!

Post by sameerph »

True, the pitch was perfect for the final. No undue advantage to either the team batting first or second. So, toss did not prove as vital as was thought eariler.
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - India is the World Champion!

Post by kujo »

glad to see that the pitch behaved and toss (controversial also, due to the second attempt of it) didn't play as much of a role as everyone expected....

where else, but here in the WC final, that the mike is not immediately pointed towards caller's mouth so that the entire stadium can hear his call?! Come to think of it, I guess this was never done in any of the previous WC matches as well. simple common sense needs to be applied sometimes...
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - in the sub-continent

Post by genius »

prasen9 wrote: Sachin, Sehwag
The new ball was dangerous on that surface . you can always get that unplayable delivery with the new ball and these are natural middle order players we are talking about.they didn't get out because of tentativeness or anything,just awkward deliveries from an unorthodox bowler who was in his best element.not much to complain there
This forum is proof that I have been advocating the youth policy for so many years not because they are necessarily better players;


you are missing the real points as usual.

what "youth"? did any under 25 year old set the world on fire?

gambhir and dhoni are nearing 30's.gambhir came in at the end of 2003 WC and dhoni in early 2005(he was already 24 then). :mrgreen:

They were able to soak the pressure because all the skills and other things they learnt all these years became second nature to them .years of practise is what we are talking about.

players without that years of practise would not be able to do it .hence kohli was not a matchwiner in either of the KO games.at best he could assist the seniors.

how fortunate that yuvraj and dhoni were at the end. to finish it, all the years of learning and experience counted.
ppl without that experience and advanced skills would collapse under the pressure.

This was a highly talented batting line upwith enuf experience. that was the real key..
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Re: Cricket World Cup 2011 - India is the World Champion!

Post by PKBasu »

I was at the Wankhede for the 2011 World Cup final, at the Tendulkar stand with a magnificent panoramic view of the pitch and ground from just behind the region between wicket-keeper and first slip. My cup of joy runneth over, the chest is bursting with indescribable elation, and I will write my eye-witness account soon. The memory of the white ball soaring above the stands into the black sky before disappearing --camouflaged by the crowd -- over the boundary to bring us the World Cup will stay with me forever. As will the fabulous opening spell of 4-3-1-1 from Zaheer, fully redeeming himself for what he did to us with that 15-run first over at the Wanderers 2003 (where I had a poorer seat, in the cover region, first row).

I had to rejig flights after a sleepless night on the streets of Mumbai enjoying the celebrations of a grateful nation. I had dinner at 2am with my stranger-neighbour from the Tendulkar stand (who had flown in London for the final alone, on just his second trip to the land of his parents, something that surely warranted a dinner treat at the 24-hour Frangipani restaurant at the Trident/Oberoi), with the restaurant absolutely chockablock with spectators overflowing from the Wankhede, clad uniformly in lighter shades of blue (there was one person we ran across in darker blue, and expressed our condolences to him: the Sri Lankans did contribute to an absolutely spectacular final). While waiting 45 minutes for the restaurant table to free up, we ran into Ian Botham -- who told me this game was very good for cricket, especially ODI cricket, and a truly fabulous final. Later I met Tom Moody, who I reminded of his role in the 1999 final (that I watched at Lord's); he says he isn't coaching anyone in the IPL, and said (in response to my query whether he is available to coach India) that "India doesn't need a coach, anymore, do they?" We mustn't forget Gary Kirsten, who ended his stint as India coach by taking them to the pinnacle of the game. What a contrast to that destructive man, Greg Chappell, who (thankfully) is now an Aussie selector, busily trying to destroy Aus cricket (witness, for instance, his ridiculous treatment of Mike Hussey).

Narendra Modi has announced Gujarat's Eklavya Award to "Munaf-bhai and Yusuf-bhai". National Integration is greatly advanced by the great game of cricket!

Now, surely, you know why I am an Optimi-realist about Indian cricket. I did say three years ago that Sachin's career would be crowned with the World Cup final triumph on April 2nd 2011, and it is an ineffable joy to find that prediction coming true. I repeated it on an hour-long cricket talk-show that I participated in on Zee Business-TV between 1pm and 2pm yesterday. Unfortunately, I missed the toss, and the first wicket (Viru's fabulous slip catch to take out Tharanga) as a result, but doing that chat-show was a lot of fun too! I managed to remind viewers of some of the other memories (apart from Mohinder's final wicket, and Kapil's catch to dismiss Richards, which are played over and over again on Indian TV) -- such as Kirti Azad and Mohinder bowling 24 consecutive overs for 57 runs and 3 wickets to strangle England in the SF, Balwinder's curve-ball to take out Greenidge in the final, and above all the terrific 89 by Yashpal and 3 wickets each for Binny and Shastri that enabled India to beat West Indies in the first game of the 1983 World Cup. I said on TV that the Wankhede game will create new memories that will stay indelibly imprinted on our minds forever afterwards, because a cricket match always has unique moments especially if it is a World Cup final. And what memories yesterday's match created! In 9 of 11 previous finals, the team batting first won. SL's score of 274 gave India a target that had never been achieved in any previous World Cup final. No matter, India still did it with more than an over to spare. Zaheer, Yuvi (with ball especially, and with bat), Bhajji, Gambhir, Kohli and especially Dhoni, Mr Special Dhoni, made the triumph possible. Ah, what utterly indescribable joy! I said Jai Hind to every Indian in uniform I came across in Mumbai in the subsequent five hours, and the broad smiles that it brought to every single face made it special indeed. WELL DONE INDIA!!! JAI HIND!
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