climbing the ladder

sadhuji

We have climbed the ladder in the ICCI rankings, thanks to a well planned and dedicated fight executed to near perfection against a demoralized second-string team of Sri Lanka. Our spin twins, one playing in his 100th test and the other in his 50th, resulted in us achieving the win. This is a good sign – we have to maintain this winning streak and ensure uniformity in our performances. . Due credit must go to the opposition who braved it all out despite the absence of their star fast bowler in action. If only they had shown sufficient patience, the result could have been different. Test matches are basically about tests to prove the patience, determination and stamina of the players – these are the qualities that make for greatness. Scoring a century followed by a number of single digits does not pave the way for champions, there has to be a consistency.

Our team could have easily completed the formalities much earlier. The game need not have dragged on to the fifth day. Probably they wanted to occupy the crease as long as possible to gain some valuable batting practice that might prove useful in the subsequent encounters in Pakistan. If that were the case, they should have continued till all were out. That would have allowed Harbhajan to possibly move on to the fifty mark – a milestone for him, an additional reason for him to remember the Ahmedabad outing.

All said and done, our cricket team has plenty of ground to cover till the forthcoming World Cup. It is funny that the replacement of a senior player was not given a chance to show his mettle in this match. Probably he will be a surprise element in Pakistan. Only, a niggling worry, a piece of sentiment one may say – in my opinion, the recent unwanted episodes in our cricket field has brought the gentleman’s game to disrepute. It has left a bad taste in the mouth. The blemish will remain as long as cricket remains.

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mooning over a moon journey