Cricket replies to Terror

Well, it has been four long days since my last post. Actually, I didn't get time to do so. And here I am, with the latest post.

"England played really well, but India played better...."

These were the words of a sports critic just after India won the first test against England in Chennai by 6 wickets.

This match, once touted as one-sided affair when England bowled India out at 241 in the first innings chasing England's 316. This match will now be remembered for not just one single reason, but many, namely centuries by Andrew Strauss in both the innings, Paul Collingwood's century, Graeme Swann's brilliant bowling, India's fightback, Virender Sehwag's firebrand half century (it was this 83-run knock that changed the course of the game), not to forget, Gautam Gambhir's stand of 66 runs, Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 41st Test Century (a brilliant one, just when India needed it) and last but not the least Yuvraj Singh, scoring 85* without which it would've been difficult to chase this mammoth target.

This was Cricket's reply to terrorism and that too, a tough one. This match was a tribute to those who suffered in the Mumbai terror act.

It was the fourth innings that changed the face of the game, which once was in England's grip. All in all, it was undoubtedly one of the most exciting test match in the history. It was a brilliant test match that had the thrills of T-20. With the way the fortunes turned the side, a dialogue of a SRK-movie strikes in my mind....

"Haar ke bhi jeetne waale ko BAAZIGAR kehte hain...."

This was a match, where both the teams had won, Cricket had won, and the loser was 'Terrorism'.

With his 103*, the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who hails from the very city that was devastated by terror just a few days ago, has silenced his critics. Who says that Sachin is not a match winner? Isn't this a match winning knock? 'Sizzling Sachin'.... 'Terrific Tendulkar'.... The most suited adjectives for the man of the day.

On the other side, even Yuvraj Singh proved his mettle by scoring 85* and justified his selection in the Indian test side.

The English team, no doubt, has won millions of hearts by coming back to India for the good of the game. Not just this, visiting India, playing here, playing here very well and donating their match fees to the victims is a wonderful gesture by the English team.

Among these wonderful performances, there's still a concern for India - Rahul Dravid. His miserable run with the bat continued as he was dismissed in the first ten minutes of the day’s play by Andrew Flintoff. Dravid has now been dismissed for single digit scores in his last four Test innings and ever since he quit captaincy last year, he has scored 881 runs at an average of 28.41. I think its high time now. If he does not wants a shameful end for his career, he should announce his retirement himself and play the last few innings with class.

Overall, this was a match to remember. With the hope that India continues the winning streak, I'd like to end this post.