Hindsight is 20:20
A World Cup win is a World Cup win, so it doesn't really matter if it's a 50 over match or a 20 over match. It is not that everday you dethrone the world champions, chok the chokers, beat the Old Blighty at their own game and last but in no way the least, beat Pakistan in a World Cup final.
I am sure the Pakistan team and their fans must be thinking this when then last world cup ended: It is ok that we lost to Ireland and that we are out of the World Cup, however, the positive side is, this time around we were lucky not to get beaten by the Indian team in yet another World Cip defeat.
May be they spoke or thought about it too soon, the jinx follows the Pakistan team whenever they play against India in any World Cup matches. They might just render the services of Dr. Robert Langdon to solve this mystery.
The big three clearly did not anticpate India reaching the Super 8, leave aloen winning the cup. This win is for the people who did not believe India had it in them to clinch the T20 Champions title, incidently includes me too. This one's for the Dravids, the Tendulkar's and the Ganguly's. I can dare to say that of all the positives it has unearthed for the Indian team, this win has certainly taken the wind out of Rahul Dravid's resignation as the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team. In hindsight, being the sweet timer of the cricket ball that Rahul Dravid is, he couldn't have timed his resignation to more perfection. BCCI wasted no time in making making MS Dhoni the new captain of the Indian ODI team, thus investing confidence in Dhoni which showed in his calm demenour on the field, his sound decisions on the ground and his brutal batting on the pitch. So you might as well want to consider sendind a 'thank you' card to Dravid and to Tendulkar and Ganguly.
Let's spare a moment for the ones who were left behind to lick their injuries, the ones who opted to stay out and the ones who were never in contention for the T20 World Cup Team.
The two names that come to my mind instantly who were left behind to lick their injuries are Bengal's fiery batsman Manoj Tiwari and UP's rookie left-hander Suresh Raina, dubbed as the "a complete package" by ex-indian coach Greg Chappel. Poor Manoj Tiwari picked up a freak injury in a fielding practice in England and was clearly the most unluckiest to miss the bus. Suresh Raina has other things to worry about, after being declared not-fit for the T20 WC, he missed out on the test series against South Africa A tour of India. He's keeping his fingers crossed to get into the team for the one-dayers against the same team and ready to prove his fitness. This just might be his chance to redeem himself for the seven onedayers against the Kangaroos.
The ones who asked to drop themselves from the T20 Wc are the big three and Zaheer Khan. After a ultra-successful Test series against the Old Blighty, Zaheer Khan opted out of T20 WC, thinking it is just another cup in the offing. I believe he was dropped on the grounds of fitness and 'attitude' issues a few years ago. He might as well want to check the attitude meter again, and rue that he missed being a part of the team that won the cup. He failed to give importance to the cup, the format and eventually the future of one-day cricket.
The one who was never in contention for the T20 World Cup Team is a guy whose form has clearly eluded him in recent years. It is none other then Md.Kaif. Currently he is capatining the A side against the South Afria A. He was in the T20 probables, but in the final 15. He is not going great guns against the Proteas either.
Cricket is a funny game, it can make a God out of a Joe Bloggs and Misbah (read: hero) to zero in minutes. Piyush Chawla had the number of Pitersen on more than one occasion in the one-dayers against England. He was bowling like a dream, however, he was warming the benches and cooling the heels throughout the tournament. He has a great future ahead of him and he can take solace from the fact that he would be in the T20 team sooner or later. But not being picked even for a single game must have certainly hurt him. All the others 14 members got to play some or the other game. Talking of Joe Bloggs turning into might demi-gods, i can renstate the case of a certain Dinesh Karthick. What an unblieveable test series he's had and what a horrible run he was having with the bat in the T20 World Cup! He took a breath-taking catch to dismiss the dangerous Smith, but failed with bat in his hand. He would have loved to be in the playing eleven that won the cup.
This World Cup might also have ended the career of Ajit Agarkar. He did little of note in this crash-boom-crash format, either with the ball or bat. When the Champions returned home, they got a overwhelming welcome from the crowds, however, Ajit was not too excited. He just sat there on the bus, expressionless, no hands waving, no dancing with the team. He probably knows whats coming soon. Yet another unfulfilled promise goes by.
