Yesterday and today have displayed cricket at its finest - some people just don't get how a game played over 5 days can be terrific, and how a smaller 1-day version can also be breathtaking at the same time. The bottom line is that the game is fundamentally great - it just requires two evenly matched teams giving their best on the field to make for a wonderful spectacle.
I cannot describe SA's successful chase of 434 aptly - it was just crazy. I was thanking SA for letting Ponting score 164, thereby reducing the painful World Cup 2003 memory for Indian fans, but what Gibbs did was outrageous. Some will criticize this run-a-thon as being too batsmen-centric, but don't tell me this was not exciting. Cricket needs to find a balance between bat and ball, but what happened at the Wanderers did cricket great good - no doubt about that.
At the other end of the spectrum was India's wonderful win against England in Mohali. A rain-affected match that everyone expected to end as a draw sprung to life thanks to India's young and old - Munaf Patel and Kumble. India's wagging tail and England's collapse in the 2nd innings left India with few to get, which they did. What was especially pleasing about this victory was that it was achieved not on a dust bowl under oppressive heat and inhospitable conditions. Mohali is one of India's best venues, the weather was more English than Indian, and the pitch had enough for the pacemen to get it to rear and bounce, for batsmen to play their shots and for spinners to get turn and bounce. As David Gower said, it perhaps was as close as one can get to the perfect Test Match pitch - that's what makes this victory special.
Will this win make the Indian authorities realise that India does not necessarily disintegrate on a pitch with some pace and bounce?
434 successfully chased! Still can't stop shaking my head!
No comments:
Post a Comment