CWC 2011 - England vs Ireland

03-Mar-2011

One of the best matches that I watched yesterday on TV!

I came home around 8.30 or so when Ireland were about 116-5. Switching channels and seeing nothing worthwhile on any other channel, I let the match go on on TV. When the over ended, I saw the histogram of over-by-over runs. The batting powerplay had just been taken around the 32nd over and the first over got them about 18 runs or so. I said to myself, let me see how things pan out. Within the next four overs, the Irish batsmen had taken about 45 runs and K O'Brien was playing like Kapil Dev might have done in 1983 at Turnbridge Wells. (I had stopped channel-surfing meanwhile. No advertisements helped, though). Kapils innings of 175*, in my opinion, was the inflexion point in the team, when the team started to believe in itself and when the players gave more than 100% everytime they came on the field. I was seeing the same fire and intensity in the two batsmen, O'Brien and Cusack (162 run partnership in just 104 balls). These two did not slog; maybe it was their day; maybe England bowlers bowled to their strengths; maybe Swann's 10 over spell was over and they didn't have any other bowler of quality yesterday; maybe many things. The fact is these two batsmen brought Ireland to the brink of believing that they could cause the biggest upset in the board-room of ICC which had already decided to prevent the associate member teams from participating in CWC 2015. The best was yet to come, when the tailenders finished the job O'Brien had done.

If Ireland had lost inspite of K O'Briens innings, we would not have made much of Ireland's fight other than to remember it for a few days. Now we are forced not to forget the innings! As K O'Brien said during the presentation ceremony of the MOM, it was a team effort. I called Sairam, my son, (who is in a hostel in Thanjavur) and tried to find out if he was watching the match. He asked, "what match? - England vs Ireland?" derisively. I said just watch, Ireland is playing the game of their life. Later when I wanted to talk to him, I think the whole hostel gang had congregated at one place to discuss! He was in no mood to talk to me.

I am sure Ireland would be celebrating; and I am sure they will not idolize KO'B unlike India when a good innings is construed by the media and agents of the player as the greatest innings ever played!

More luck to Ireland. Even though their next match is against India! I hope India does not take them lightly like England might have done through most of the match yesterday. Hardly any Indian top players went for training yesterday - three days after the England-India match. Probably they are just tired...! I am sure yesterday's match would be a wake up call for all of them and now they would be taking the team seriously and planning their strategy for Sunday's game. Sure it will be a sell-out now!!