A thoroughly delightful finale to a tournament filled with thoroughly delightful matches. More personally, it's the first such tournament ever in which I've actually managed, for various reasons, to watch more than a couple of matches. Some impressions, nothing particularly novel or earth-shattering, but all my own:
As I indicated before, it's such a charge to see the stumps behind a batsman shattered. (Maybe it's a vestige of my one-time dream to be a fast bowler). Like the other T20 matches over the last two weeks, this one had such sights in plenty. My favourite? RP Singh's flummoxing of Kamran Akmal, over #3. Akmal nearly doubles over in flummoxion as his sticks turn into a mess, RP is pumped, the crowd goes ballistic. Wickets are the best thing about cricket, and bowled tops them all.
Thank someone it wasn't a dull one-sided match. Why is it that big finals -- Super Bowls, World Cup finals, NBA finals -- are so rarely exciting, so rarely in the balance till the final seconds? Why is it that this one bucked that trend?
The Indians and Pakistanis are not the big muscular he-men you'll find on the SA/Aus/England teams -- no Haydens, Smiths, Symonds, Flintoffs here, fine as those players are. These Indian and Pakistani players are lean, wiry, hungry in the best sense: a bowler like RP Singh gets his pace and bounce from the very whippiness in his body. (Once more, I'm agonizing over that dream I once had).
And what made the Indians and Pakistanis so compelling is the sheer spirit with which they played their matches. The calmness of Misbah-ul-Haq, the exuberance of Sreesanth; the adrenaline and skill of Umar Gul, the relaxed authority of Dhoni; the 100-watt smile on Uthappa, the animation in Afridi, the can-do determination in Joginder Sharma, you could go on. And maybe that's why, as I think back over the matches I watched India play, everybody in the team contributed at one time or another: Yuvraj's splendour to Gambhir's flair to Rohit Sharma's runout to Uthappa's runout to Yusuf Pathan's six and catch to Irfan Pathan's wickets to Harbhajan's yorker, and all over again.
And that spirit is also why the one false note seemed so ... well, false. I can understand Shoaib Malik thanking his team for the effort they gave him, because they played superbly. But I cannot understand him apologizing to Muslims around the world for losing. Are Muslims in Norway or Switzerland or Vanuatu waking up this morning weeping into their coffee because Pakistan lost? Does he expect that Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan (not forgetting Zaheer Khan and Abid Ali and Abbas Ali Baig and Wasim Jaffer and Syed Kirmani and many more) are mourning Pakistan's loss? Does he think the Pakistan team has no non-Muslim fans? Well, he forgot me and so many others who found their cricket so thrilling. Not that we want apologies anyway.
Here's something I hope perennially: that cricket -- and sport in general -- will one day be freed from the clammy clutches of both politics and religion. I also realize sadly that it is a futile hope. Shoaib, you led your team with grace and verve. Why the false note?
This final impression: given the way this Indian team has played and won, I think a certain Sachin Tendulkar might consider retirement. Not because he cannot command a place in the team, but, paradoxically, because he can. This is still a great batsman who will walk into any team in the world on his own terms: which by itself argues for him to think about walking out on his own terms. For he has nothing left to prove, and the team is in fine shape. What better time to say "Go rule the world, boys, I'm outta here!"?
And with that, I'm outta here.
***
Postscript: I would like to mention here that my good friends the Mahidharas were at the game, having emailed many of us prior to it to urge us to watch for their waves. And indeed, I caught sight of them: dressed in military fatigue trousers and Reliance Mobile bustiers, black bandannas on their heads, dancing on what looked like a stage below the stands. Go Mahidharas!
7 comments:
"And that spirit is also why the one false note seemed so ... well, false. I can understand Shoaib Malik thanking his team for the effort they gave him, because they played superbly. But I cannot understand him apologizing to Muslims around the world for losing. Are Muslims in Norway or Switzerland or Vanuatu waking up this morning weeping into their coffee because Pakistan lost? Does he expect that Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan (not forgetting Zaheer Khan and Abid Ali and Abbas Ali Baig and Wasim Jaffer and Syed Kirmani and many more) are mourning Pakistan's loss? Does he think the Pakistan team has no non-Muslim fans?"
And what of the millions of Muslims in India? Does he think they were mourning Pakistan's loss or their country's victory?
Deepa, Ramu & Rashika Mahidhara - you must've had a helluva time - we envy you...
Pardon the typo, Radhika - did not intend to call you 'Rashika'....
Dilip says:-
This final impression: given the way this Indian team has played and won, I think a certain Sachin Tendulkar might consider retirement. Not because he cannot command a place in the team, but, paradoxically, because he can. This is still a great batsman who will walk into any team in the world on his own terms: which by itself argues for him to think about walking out on his own terms. For he has nothing left to prove, and the team is in fine shape. What better time to say "Go rule the world, boys, I'm outta here!"?
I don't quite agree. I would rather have him play and go down fighting (I like the fighting spirit Saurav has shown - he could have easily retired, but he fought to make a comeback) rather than walk away when he still has a lot of cricket left in him.
I have still not quite understood the meaning of "retiring with dignity". Does it mean you walk out when you still are in the best of your game, saying "Hey, I am the grand champion, I am retiring to let the others win / others get a chance in the team"
One Question - Who retired in a better way, Sampras or Agassi?
I think it is the same situation with SRT right now..... He is Pete Sampras in 2001. I would rather make him Andre Agassi - go down fighting
Mayuresh, Who retired in a better way, Sampras or Agassi?
But that's hardly the question to ask, because both retired on their own terms. Sampras when he was still at the top of the game, and felt he had nothing to prove any more; Agassi when he too was near the top of the game, also felt he had nothing to prove, and also knew his body would not take the punishment much longer.
The real question to ask is, who retired in a better way, Sampras/Agassi or Kapil Dev?
Kapil played on long past he deserved a place in the team, solely because he wanted to get that wicket record. Doing so, he stamped on others' careers (Srinath), and utterly lost the respect of innumerable of his fans, like me. I would not want that for any great champion in any sport. That's what I mean about SRT.
I still feel Sampras retired from the game too early. His body was still fit for the game, I think he wanted to leave on a "high"
Wikipedia on Sampras' retirement:
"Although he played no tour events in the following 12 months, Sampras did not officially announce his retirement until August 2003, just prior to the U.S. Open. Sampras chose not to defend his title, but his retirement announcement was timed so that he could say farewell at a special ceremony organized for him at the open. After retirement, many regarded Sampras to be the greatest player of all time."
Timing your retirement like this, to me, somehow says he did not try in 2003.
About Kapil Dev - I think the selectors should have kicked him out. It was the selectors fault for not taking the tough decisions. They did a much better job when they kicked SCGanguly out for sometime. I would be very happy when they do it to SRT if he does not perform.
Having said that, and knowing the Indian selectors and the BCCI top brass, they would not do it to SRT as they did not do it to Kapil. That is the sad part. In such a situation, when SRT realizes that he is not contributing to the team, and is not being thrown out due to the selectors bias towards him, he may choose to exit from the Indian team and play the game at a level where he can still compete.
Ofcourse, it is a different matter in team events vs. individual events, because in individual events, it is only your game and reputation which is affected, no one else loses. IN a team game like cricket, someone else misses an opportunity because you played, that is the sad part.
It is quite a tricky situation to time your retirement announcement. I feel - so long as you have the urge to compete, you should not anounce retirement - if that even means that you are not at the top of your game and are kicked out of the highest level. If SRT plays for Mumbai in Ranji after he has been thrown out of the Indian team, I would take it as the man who still wants to play the game. He would be a man who loves the game and not the records.
I thought that Tendulkar finally conquered his demons and overall played quite well in the England series. it is possible that the presence of legendary seniors may be inhibiting the juniors. Perhaps some sort of rotation is the solution.
Couple of comments: While religion in sport is hopefully an aberration in sport in India (indeed in the owrld, i dont think it matters that many NBA team have muslims, christians, conevreted people with converted names etc), POLITICS will never go away in India. Infact, Politics happens in any organisation and happens in my office as well.
I'm not yet decided on whether politics - by its true dictionary definition applied to other aspects - is good or bad, but am sure that as long as PEOPLE run anything there will be politics.
Even if BCCI were run by the greatest of cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, or Saurav Ganguly & Rahul Dravid, (first set are two guys who are supposed to think and philosophize differently, & second set are people who though they think differently are supposed to be great friends) there would be politics.
About retirement, I am postulating that its not a bad thing for people (read selectors) to decide that one is not the best for the team's strategy (don't read as throw one out). Indeed, it is a supposed collective decision by a group who have the mandate to decide who should be on in the team for the best interest of the team and sport. Therefore, if we the public understand that we wouldn't deride anyone's exclusion.
Of course, the media has only this to write and people only this to talk about.
Sachin should want to play till he feels so. Sachin should be selected only till the selectoirs feels so. Public should respect sachin irrespective of whether he is selected or not.
WHATEVER happened to respecting one another???
-Santanu
P.S. A glorious exit and story was Steve Waugh's. Does anyone remember that?
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