A match to remember…
Not every time we get to see the remaining portion of the match played the next day. And one such match was Ind Vs Nz semis, one of the many dramatic, old-fashioned cricket matches one could ever ask for.
NZ when they started off I had this peculiar feeling ‘why are they batting so slow?’ Never knew I’d realise why the next day.
India was chasing… and Rohit was in terrific form. I could remember saying this to myself, “one more 100, and one hurdle less.” Maybe I was too greedy.
Henry to Rohit—Rohit’s 4th ball, the ball nipped away slightly, and Rohit instinctively followed the ball, edging it to the keeper. The happy cheers of the Indian fans turned into eery silence all of a sudden, as they witnessed a sad Rohit walking away with his head hung down.
I knew it was okay,
because the King’s on his way.
Virat Kohli with his usual persona arrived at the crease. I knew Kohli hadn’t had the impact that he usually has; highly because Rohit was in a sublime form and that altered Kohli’s role to that of a finisher-type.
The Fourth ball he faced, the ball swung back in from the middle making Virat miss it by an inch, and thud…the bowler cried for an LBW appeal and with no time wasted, the umpire raised his finger. It was a shock back-to-back. How many times have Rohit and Virat gone out for a single digit in the same match? Very rare. It was happening again. I could see him walking away, and the scoreboard showed 5-2. I sighed. Both No.1 and no.2 batsmen were gone in a row.
The next over, the very first ball, KL, who scored a century previously, fell too in a similar fashion like that of Rohit’s and followed Virat Kohli. The score read 5-3, scaring me.
Both Pant and Dk were at the crease in no time.
Dk, I feel is one of the underrated players among the Indian team.
How the whole Indian team would have wanted him to perform, likewise, I badly wanted him to perform too, just because to shatter those condescending eyes constantly looking down on him, undermining him. And regarding the 22 year old Pant, there’s this aura, aura of negativity, that’s always embracing him for quite some time.
Batting after a long time at not so his usual place, WC semis, pressure, tough track, etc, could have been among the so many reasons that led to DK’s downfall, but to be precise, the blinder that Jimmy Neesham took was equally to be blamed. Dk was confident, his body language was very different, maybe he knew his chances in the team in the future were slim, and I could see he had this, ‘nothing to lose’ attitude. He tried his best. Yet, he couldn’t make it. Unfortunately, he was dismissed. Too. Little did we know that we would see him for the last time until now.
With both Pant and a lucky DK fetching a boundary, the score rose to only 24 with 4 wickets already gone in quick succession within a span of 10 overs.
Alright, the big fish, MS has to come now. He was designated to bat at 5. With DK coming in, every slot simply shifted down. Big day, big player. MS has to do it.
No, not yet. A slim figure stepped out of the pavilion. It was Hardik Pandya. This move of shifting MS down is a much-debated topic in India even today.
I really like Hardik. He is special. He is inconsistent, agreed. But, he is unique. He can play both those swashbuckling innings, and also a slow-paced innings. I had hope.
The next 10 overs didn’t produce any wicket, yet had nervy moments now and then. Both Hardik and Pant had a partnership of 47 before Pant perished. Pant strike rate kept fluctuating in the 60s before finally dropping less than 60 causing him to play a rash shot that cost his wicket. On the other hand, Hardik started off very well. He was scoring at the strike rate of 73 which was good at that stage but soon he went into a shell, maybe because he succumbed to pressure. He only managed to score 7 runs in the next 22 balls at a strike rate of 31. He too perished trying to break the shackles. Everything now rested upon MS’s shoulders. Everyone believed he was the last hope but there came the magic through Sir Jadeja.
Jadeja walked in and played like he was playing on a different pitch, a different planet, or whatever metaphor one could use. He stepped out and smashed the bowlers for sixers for fun. When every other batter struggled to score at a brisk rate, Jaddu batted around the strike rate of 130 and reached his 50 in a jiffy. Who could not remember Jaddu’s sword celebration and Rohit’s gesture from the dressing room, saying, “you’re strong!”?
Last 5 overs, 52 runs needed.
At one end, Dhoni was playing his usual taking-it-deep game while letting Jaddu play freely from the other end.
Jaddu was striking it clean until that point where he edges one to the boundary. Every sixer he hit were through the line. But this time, he tries to slog across over mid-on, and unfortunately, the ball skied straight up to the top only to be caught by the fielder. Jadeja must have felt heartbroken like every other Indian fan out there. The saviour was gone. He departed after making his all-time best ODI knock of 77(59).
The rest was up to MS.
2 overs, 31 was needed. Very much gettable of Dhoni’s calibre.
The waiting game was finally over for MS. He has to start hitting now, and he does.
First ball, a wide length ball, Dhoni easily frees his arms to cut hard over backward point. I beamed forward to the edge of my seat, my eyes wanting to see the ball travelling across the ropes. For a second every Indian fan might have had their hearts in their mouth as the fielder on the boundary line looked interested for a while, jumped up to get hold of the sailing ball, but failed. It was a six nevertheless the very first ball of the penultimate over. Fans started jumping, our faces boring a huge smile and hope that we could win it after all.
The third ball, MS tries to pull off a slower ball, misses but managed to glove it to the short fine leg. We all know how good MS is between the wickets, but not good enough for Guptil that day. Guptil just had one stump to aim at, yet in one full motion, hits the stumps and the celebration aftermath told MS was in deep trouble.
The longest wait for all Indian fans was this moment.
“Out” showed the big screen, as MS Dhoni walked off with guilt on his face.
One could see a dejected Rohit and Virat on the big screen, a scene any Indian fan couldn’t digest. Cricket is a game of few inches, they always say, which was so true that day which cost us the ticket to the finals and with it the dream to win the world cup. Another 4 years to wait, to repeat the whole process, and try yet again…
The Cricket Story 