The Devastating Truth

I was waiting to watch you play, to see your smile, to cheer as you scored those beautiful boundaries and sixes, to watch you live at least once in my life time, to fulfill my greatest dream, to jump, scream and bleed blue as you bring glory to the nation, but the wish goes unfulfilled. You are not playing the Pakistan series.

I am not ashamed to say that tears were pouring out of my eyes when I read the media release stating your retirement. I have grown up watching you play, I have grown up defending you, I have grown up reading about you, I have grown up fighting for you and believing in you when nobody else did, I have grown up watching your best innings on loop, I have grown up praying for you, I have grown up trusting blindly that you can not retire and that it cannot be possible. Because I believed that you would never stop, that you would play on forever.

There are a lot of people out there who didn’t like you, who didn’t trust you and who made it look like you were playing only for yourself, but I assure you that I have always believed in you, I have always knew that you did what was best for the team, for India.

I hated the fact that every news channel, while discussing the issue of your retirement, showed images and videos of your downfall, your missed chances, your failures. If there is one person who deserves a good farewell, it is you and I am sorry that these people could not understand that basic fact.

I can not believe the fact that I will no longer watch you in blue, cruising India towards victory. It is so natural to imagine you in the playing eleven, as easy as breathing that the thought that you will no longer be there to support the youngsters, to help them in their thirst for victory is very difficult to digest.

I know that you have played for long, I know that you need this time off, both physically and psychologically and that it is rather selfish on my part to expect you to keep playing but I cannot help the fact that there is a hollowness in me, so heavy and at the same time so empty that it has left me speechless.

I started watching cricket when you smashed Akthar all over the ground in the 2003 world cup. There is no looking back from then. Every series, every match has been special and I can’t believe that you won’t be a part of all that anymore.

I know that I will see you in white, still playing, still grinning, still making history but the ODI squad will definitely miss you but more than all that, the world of cricket will miss its God, its creator, its Guru.

Aishwarya Kumar

Jubilant Despite the Loss

The morning dawned murky and annoying. My mind was elsewhere. My friends were on the field while I had to sit at home and watch the match on the idiot box. There was a great longing in me but there was also happiness for my friends. Nothing comes my way easy and I have always had to strive and struggle even for the simplest of things. So I ain’t complaining.

From 17 without loss to 24 for 5, the Indian top order collapsed, leaving all of us shocked beyond words. I wanted a Sehwag blitzkrieg, I wanted a Kohli showdown but never once did I expect the top order to tumble down. Least of all, I didn’t expect the Indian Captain to bring about the change in the score card. Just when I thought that the game was done for, Dhoni walked out to the middle with a determined expression on his face. The phrases “from then there was no looking back” “it was a smasher of an innings” definitely do not hold good because this innings was way more than all of that. This was an innings which was spread across for more than forty overs and this was an innings which required every sweat of his, every ounce of his energy. The fact that he gave his everything to give India a chance to fight was worth watching. There was nothing left of him, the cramps were taking a toll of him but there he was, pushing the singles to doubles and never once letting go of the chance to get an additional run.

With Raina and Ashwin, he slowly built up the Indian innings. Fifty turned to hundred and hundred to one hundred and fifty. There were ten overs left and the Indian fans oozed hope and support.

The Indian innings came to an end after a hundred which is worth remembering in a long time because this was a century which saw the beauty of commitment, which saw the wonderfulness of patience, which saw the magnificence of a leader, which saw the radiance of a true performer.

These words are not out of the fact that he was successful today. I have and always had great respect for Dhoni but I disliked the fact that people never saw the dip in his form in the past two years. He has done a lot for Indian cricket; there is no doubt about that. My only qualm was that he was standing up to his potential.

If there is one other thing that I am proud of after today, it would definitely have to be the Indian seam bowlers. When Bhuvaneswar Kumar breached Mohammad Hafeez’s defense in the first ball of the first over of the Pakistan innings, I was left speechless. There was swing, there was movement and there was amazing dynamics.

Ishant Sharma hit the deck hard and Ashoke Dinda proved that he was a worthy addition to the Indian bowling line up. The ball swung and created a lot of trouble for the Pakistani batsmen but they were smart enough to learn from the Indian mistake and that was to see the new ball through. Once that was done, I knew for certain that the game was theirs. The ball came onto the bat nicely after that and all they had to do was stick to the 4 run an over strategy which was what they did. Nasir Jamshed played a brilliant knock which almost overshadowed the Indian Captain’s innings. He stayed throughout the Pakistan innings and took the game away from India.

When Dhoni was announced the Man of the Match, there was pride in his eyes and I knew then that he was looking at more than this particular match. The top order failed miserably, no doubt about that but there is nothing major to worry about that because when they click, they can be lethal. One worrying factor about the Indian team was the seam line up and today proved that we have gems whom we can be proud of.

From,

Not an analyst, but a fan.

Aishwarya Kumar. 

Indians Lacked Flare

Virat kohli's blitzkrieg, Dhoni's sudden charisma, Raina's persistent batting, Yuvraj's resilient bowling are the only four good things that can be taken out of the 2nd T20 between India and England. The rest of the Indian team need a good punch in the stomach to awaken them.

The fielding was breathtakingly annoying, the bowling was amazingly lousy apart from Yuvraj's sole effort to save the match from slipping away and the batting could definitely have been better.

Awana definitely would be cursing himself and if I am not wrong having a sleepless night remembering the dropped catch which might easily have toppled the charts. Michel Lumb's grimace turned into a grin when he realized the second lease of life that he was given and he sure made good use of it. He made sure that he stayed till a reasonable period of time, setting up the stage for the rest of the batsmen to take over.



Eoin Morgan gave the Indian's a nightmare, what with his breathtaking looks and his easy fours and sixes. The finishing six was so beautiful that I forgot who I was supporting for one whole minute, just enjoying the beauty of the shot.

Is it only me or is Yuvraj looking even more handsome now a days? Okay, I think I am straying away from the topic. It was a delight to watch him spin the ball the way he did. When he lured Lumb out of the crease and deceived him, I was speechless. Yuvraj was at the peak of his bowling form and I was glad. The LBW was equally beautiful and the glint in his eyes after picking up the third wicket spoke wonders.



One nightmare that I was unfortunate enough to watch today was the dismal fielding by India. Even Kohli and Raina disappointed. The throws were wild and the pick ups were dreadful.

Indian pacers lacked the flare and gave too much of length and space and the English batsmen made full use of it, sweeping and pulling the balls away to the boundary.

Overall, this was most definitely not a good game of cricket. But credit has to be given to the England team for the athleticism on the field and their gritty performance with the bat which saw them through in the end.

Six wickets in two matches is huge and huger still is the Man of the Series. Let the Charismatic performance continue!

Aishwarya Kumar.