India won the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia. Indian team snatched
the victory from Australia in two consecutive one-day finals. The super
power of cricket collapsed with their super ego. Every Indian team member
fought to finish under the dynamic leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the
die hard captain and icon of millions of Indian fans. Dhoni Dhamaka unfolded
with controlled aggression in Australian grounds and inspired his team
members to perform. Indian media painted Dhoni as instinctive. In fact, he
is not only instinctive but a shrewd strategist of the game who executes his
plan till the last ball. Dhoni is undoubtedly a good leader who seldom comes under pressure from media criticism. Dhoni had full faith on Yuvraj when he was going through bad patches. Yuvraj returned to form and won matches for India again.
When Yuvraj was in his best form he was not picked up for test
side. This is the reason why he lost his form and took time to recover from
the shock of exclusion. Cricket is more a psychological game. When young
players are in good form and shaping up some non-playing selectors drop them
without any convincing reason.
Dhoni's team signals the arrival of a new kind of cricket
breed which combine brain power and cricket skill to beat
the mightiest team like Australia in series of matches. India
could have won the Test series had there been good umpiring.
India emerged as the champion because the selection has become
more inclusive. A small town player is naturally more imaginative
and creative than the players brought up in metro cities amid
concrete jungles. The raw energy of Dhoni and Uthappa comes
from the natural food they eat, the natural environment around
them and the freedom they enjoyed from childhood. Look at
Shreesanth. He is the most entertaining cricketer on the field.
He plays as if he is fighting a war. His positive spirit,
diehard attitude and killer instinct add spices to the game.
This seldom happens to players in big metros as their cricket
schedule is programmed from a very tender age which restricts
their imagination to grow freely. Australian team has everything
in their armour. Talented batsmen like Gilchrist, Hayden,
Ponting, Symonds, Clarke who can demolish any type of bowling.
Their bowlers Johnson, Lee and Bracken can rip through any
batting line up in the world. Austalian fielding is the best
in the world which is blend of techniques and athleticism.
They were beaten because Indians were more imaginative and
creative on the field. Look how Rohit Sharma scored his boundaries
in third man area by simply adding to the rising deliveries
of Johnson. This had left Johnson clueless. Rohit took the
risk and mastered the shot of hitting the ball over first
sleep region. Dhoni and Uthappa executed unorthodox shots
to upset Australian fielding. So also the great Tendulkar
with his paddle sweeps and pull shot through mid on are innovations
which took Australia in surprise.
The master was easily finding gaps as if he is playing computer
game. Our bowlers did their jobs well in swinging both ways
without deviating from wicket. Praveen Kumar became the trump
card in the two finals as he made the ball swing both ways
with change of pace to confuse the ever aggressive Australians.
The way in which Ishant, Parveen Kumar, Chawla, Harbhajan
bowled it seemed India had started its preparation well in
advance for the World Cup. When Indian team at their best
form, the selectors must show their form and should not plan
to disturb the present combination. A change of captainship
will only harm Indian cricket. Dhoni team has brought laurels
to India and has increased the happiness level of millions
of patriotic Indians, who find an opportunity to identify
themselves in the nation's glory. India's cricket victory
will encourage other games which are in the Olympic. The Indian
sports officials must cash in on the enthusiasm generated
from cricket victory and develop other sport in order to target
at least ten medals in the next Olympic game.
Sudhansu R Das
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