It was a fantastic match yesterday and Aussies need to be given credit for providing such a high quality match. They were magnificent and deserved victory. As Bevan said after the match, Aussies would like to believe that they actually outplayed India in all department except for Sachin's innings...Its a big thing for their players to come here and play with such a big heart. I feel they have been very lucky that this series was exactly after the CL tourney in which NSW and Vic played very well. This means,even with all injuries, Aussies could get the players who have played in CL trophy and performed well in India.
Our fielding left a lot to be desired...On a placide pitch, most of the times its the fielding which will make the difference and unfortunately we were not able to bring our A game in this aspect yesterday. Missed chances also proved costly (especially of Marsh). As Dhoni said, it doesnt mean we could restrict Aussies to 270 but even 320 could have been different. White and Hussey played very well for Aussies in the end and they made sure that the start provided is not gone waste and they will get a very high score in the end (Was expecting it to be around 340 after Ponting's dismissal but in the end that proved the difference)
Coming to our batting, Sehwag played a cameo as usual and was infact lucky to be playing that far as Bollinger dropped a far easier chance earlier. I couldnt understand why all this hue and cry about 17k. Did we ever celebrate 16K or 15K like this? Even they were numbers only others can dream of but I dont think there were any special signifance mentioned for them. I guess everything is about the media hype. Now, they are already planning for his 30k which is not far either...Once Sehwag got out Sachin changed gears swiftly and made sure that we are in touch with the run rate always. The shot Gauti played is his normal shot and 8 out of 10 times he would have cleared that man. As we are facing this stiff target, I dont think he is to be blamed for playing that shot. Yuvi came and had a soft dismissal...Clever bowling from Watson...and Dhoni played a correct shot for the ball (short and wide outside the offstump) but unluckily for him Voges took an excellent catch and Sachin was left to repair his innings with Raina. Raina played very well though he was struggling with his timing initially. Sachin made sure that we dont lose our momentum in the middle overs and keep a close tab on the run rate.
I had to take an official call yesterday between 7:30 to 8:30 PM...When I went for the call, Sehwag had just got out and I had no hope left in this match. When I came back, Sachin was playing on 98 and Raina was giving him company and we were around 160/4 in about 26 overs...I didnt have the strength to watch the match and decided that I wouldnt watch the match till 9:30 and if Sachin is still there, I will watch the rest...Its just that I couldn't endure the tension...I prayed and made a pact with GOD that if he will allow Sachin to take us home, I am ready to face disappointment in Sunday's feature with Chelsea (Well, Apologies to all Utd fans but I had to sacrifice something which is very hard for me as the task was very difficult and as we have 26 more games in league I felt Utd could always come back while yesterday's was a once in lifetime opportunity - Thats the way I make my pact with GOD). This is not in anyway to suggest that my prayers has anything to do with how Sachin plays. I know it very well but my prayers are for my own pleasure and the pleasure I get when Sachin plays well and India wins is sort of unmatched till this point in my life (And I am sure I wouldnt be the only one). Anyway, when I switched back the TV at 9:30, Sachin was still there with Raina and now I had real hope but I was always pessimistic with the past experiences(As any rational Indian fan would be). They played very well, didnt panic even with dot balls and scored around 7-8 runs without much risk and I was looking at when we are going to take the power play...
I guess the idea was that with these two scoring around 7-8 runs in an over even without power play and as India didnt struggle with run rate, they decided not to take it as that might force them to do some big hitting (as singles would be more difficult in PP). Then it happened...On 299, when we needed 52 from 48 balls, Raina got out trying to hit one of his favorite shots...Ball bounced a little more and Manou did a good job running backwards to get under it. I could sense that it was the turning point. After watching his innings so long, I knew that Sachin was going to get out sometime before we cross the line and we needed Raina to stay there to win the match. People can call me whatever they want but realistically I always thought Sachin was not going to be there in the end. Bajji came and left immediately and then Jadeja joined Sachin and they decided to take on the PP...Jadeja played well and hogged the strike but I dont think Sachin ever wanted anything else (And for people who go on talking about he plays for personal landmark - At one stage, he was around 33 runs away from 200 while India needed around 61, so if he was particular about it, he would have asked for more strike and could have started hitting himself but there was no such intention and by allowing Jadeja to play the way he did, he told us that he wanted to take India home rather than care for a personal 200). With 3 overs to go, we wanted 19 runs and Sachin decided to go for a shot that might be deemed as risky by us but would not be by Sachin.(I think thats the difference between watching cricket for 25 or 50 years and playing it. If you are a good player, you will understand that the percentage of risk involved in a shot is purely personal while that might not apply to a person watching cricket...A paddle sweep might be a risky shot for a some players while for Sachin, thats one of his trademark shots, similarly a reverse sweep might be risky for some players but for those who have practiced it more and more, it is a high percentage shot and not a risky one) And you are confident of picking the slower ball if you are batting on 175 but may not be so confident if you have just come to crease. Unfortunately for Sachin, Mckay produced a very good slower ball and Sachin didnt have much option apart from scooping it to short fine-leg. It was all a repeat of Chennai test although the players played much better here. I am not going to talk anything more about Sachin's innings as everything has been already written but for me the biggest fact was that he fielded for 50 overs and then batted for almost 48 overs without having any discomfort and running between the wickets were sharp allthrough. This fitness level was amazing and I seriously hadnt expected it to happen again as Sachin had recently shown that he gets cramps as he nears the century...I also had a theory about his considerably lower record during the second innings. I thought this was due to the problem with fitness. After being in the field for 50 overs, I thought his concentration levels werent as good as before as he was tiring but yesterday's innings showed me that he has recovered that fitness once again.
Jadeja played very well till that point but was needlessly run out going for a non-existent single...I think he is too eager to show that his running between the wickets are good but then one thing you have to realise is that running between the wickets is more about being a good judge of a run than the speed of running. He is young and will learn his lessons. I think people are going overboard here when they are blaming him for the loss and asking for his head. He has bowled very impressively in the matches before and didnt have much opportunities with bat (As Dhoni mentioned before, it is never easy as a no:7 batsman in a ODI game). Was also surprised that some poeple were saying Bajji should be dropped. He was the most economical bowler of the entire match and on a pitch just to concede 4.4 runs an over is a tremendous achievement. Also, some people were telling that we are back to 90's and the team is 1+ 10 jokers...Please refrain from making such a harsh judgement. This team has improved leaps and bounds over the ODI team in 90s and please remember that we are still alive in the series at 3-2 without any major contribution from Sachin for our victories and have competed well in the matches we have lost(It would have been hard to believe that in 90s). PK tried hard but probably a dive could have saved him and India from the disappointment as we needed only 3 from 2 balls after that. I guess, he didnt expect the fielder to throw it to the strikers end and that was probably his undoing.
Coming to the post match presentation, I think Dhoni was correct in mentioning about the mental aspect of the game where we lost out. I have stated this before but will say again, Aussie players arent just taken from under-19 and drafted into the team. They all have played in the ultra-competitive domestic matches for years before joining the team (I guess Ponting and Clarke are the only exceptions). Look at McKay yesterday...he was so cool under the pressure. As commentator mentioned, he has played for the Vic side in many domestic finals and knows how to handle pressure while the Indian counter parts like Jadeja just came from 20-20 or under-19's without much experience in tight games and panic under pressure. We need to improve this aspect if we have to stand any chance. I think he was so disappointed with Sachin and the team that he didnt say much in the presentation ceremony (He explained a lot more in the press conference). Sachin I think was very angry about the whole thing and I think his statement that 'I care about playing for India' is probably a vieled criticism at some of the youngsters who are taking the defeat lightly(I think he might be the same player who called up Shetty after the CT and said some of the younger players doesnt care if we win or lose).
On the whole a night of heartbreak and I dont think I was disappointed like this in a long long time...
I know was a long one...Was not expecting it to be so long when I started...Anyway, thanks if you have reached till here!
PS: One good thing is that GOD didnt hear me and allow SRT to win the match for India, so I think he might not disappoint me on Sunday...Expecting a draw at SB. :)
