It was a day when the world stood and watched; well at least, a humble minority of 10 – 20 countries that believe in cricket. Kevin smacked the fastest century in world cups to snatch the proverbial victory from the jaws of defeat. It was a stunning effort because past upsets have been mostly when test playing nations failed in their batting. This was a first where, an associate nation score 328 to win a match. And win it did in style, with 5 balls to spare. In doing so, Ireland becomes the proud holder of the highest chase in any World Cup match and that is one record worth having.
After the initial celebration of the underdog defying odds to come out as victors, I had couple of more things to feel good about, irrespective of whether anyone else had taken note of it or not. If Ireland could chase 328 against England, England can surely chase 338 against India, without India’s bowling being terribly bad. Surely, Indian bowlers have been panned and today’s match would redeem them partially, if not completely. No one talked about a great batting pitch, that refuses to wear just like the Irish spirit! No one talked about a ground, where hitting sixes is well within the reach of Geoffrey Boycott, if not his grand-mum. Now they will and now they should.
On a different note, a huge controversy has been kicked up on why Bowden’s crooked finger chose to stay down. Dhoni has been on the receiving end this time from the ICC. David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd went to the extent of saying, “shoot less ads, and read the laws of cricket”. Even a non-supporter of Dhoni could smell the smoke. Dhoni though suffered because of his choice of words and not intentions. He was never one to doubt umpires. Remember when the whole world wanted technology, he wanted umpires. He only said adult-err-ation. Logically what he says makes sense. If the ball hits the middle of middle stump, and the umpire doesn’t trust the technology, how can we really adopt it? Surely Bowden made it sound like Dubious Redundant System. So on a day, when the Irish couldn’t bathe in their beers, because B’lore’s pubs, ironically close down at 11, (sad considering this city was known for late night parties, pubs and dance floors) Indians would enjoy a few quite sips of their favourite drink, cheering the green team!
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
