Undoubtedly, this is the best and thrilling WC ever !
Thrilling matches, great upsets, great batting performances, bowling performances and great catches catapult this WC as the greatest ever !
Now the whole cricketing world is now going to witness the mother of all battles at Mohali at 0230 PM sharp today !
Yesterday's Mohali SF was a super thrilling match. The fate of the match was decided in the 100th over. Fortunes fluctuated in a high pressure game. Ever since Umal Gul was hit for a four by Sehwag in the third ball of the first over , till Misbah's dismissal in the 100th over, it was a game of dire vicissitudes. It was Advantage India when Sehwag hit Gul for five fours in one over and then it was Advantage Pakistan, when Wahab Riaz ripped through the batting order. When it comes to a Pak India duel, it will always be fiercely fought, as both are more or less equal, powerful teams. It was rightly defined as the Mother of all battles. Then when Raina snatched the initiative from Pak, it was Advantage India ! 260 was not a bad score on that pitch. Gavaskar opined that chasing 260 is difficult under the lights, given Pak's ability to chase. They are chokers, as they have not handled WC pressure so far ( They have lost all 5 WC matches to India ). Again, when Pak were 100/2, it was Advantage Pak, as they neeed only 161 to win, with 8 wickets in hand. Then the pendulum swung, as Yuvraj clean bowled Shefiq and got rid of the dangerous Younus Khan. Still Pak had Afridi, Razzak and Umar Akmal and no expert could write them off. Umar showed glimpses of his genius by lofting Yuvraj for two sixes. Then Bajji clean bowled Umar Akmal and Munaf clean bolwled Razzak. Again Misbah was playing a solid innings and when Afridi joined him, the match was balanced as Afridi is a game changer. Then Bajji induced Afridi to loft one into the hands of Sehwag and then it was Advantage India. Misbah started hitting, but then it was too late. Angry Pak fans blamed Misbah for the malady and in the 100th over, the fate of the game was decided and Ind triumphed by 29 runs !
India's match against Aus was also a thriller and one of the greatest games ever. At 187/5, it was Advantage Australia, when an out of form Raina came to partner Yuvraj. Then they took the score to 261/5, in an unbroken 74 run partnership. India's match against Eng was a thriller, a tie, whose fate was decided at the 600th ball !
Thrillers and upsets generate great interest. The ICC had saved the 50 over format ! Now it is the turn of the ICC to redeem Test Cricket. Since T20 is here to stay as IPL and other matches and since ODI has been redeemed, it is our aim to redeem Test cricket ! This Game of Grand Vicissitudes should be more popular !
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