INDIA AVENGE WC DEBACLE

Revenge is sweet. That’s what most of the Indian cricket fans would be thinking. The wounds of the world cup drubbing at the hands of the Bangla tigers was still afresh and some of it would have healed yesterday. When India thrashed Bangladesh with a comprehensive victory, Pakistanis would have been relieved as this loss provides them the gate pass for the final show down against India on Saturday.

The Indian youths were upto the mark yet again on a good batting pitch. Making the Bangladesh tremble with accuracy and perseverance was Praveen Kumar, the emerging hero. He came up with yet another miserly spell and at one stage had given away just 8 runs off 7 overs. Have we found a replacement for Srinath? Time will tell.

Once again Bangladesh was in trouble with their openers doing nothing except to frighten the rest of the batsmen, making the pitch look like hell. Credit has to go to Praveen and Rp though. Chawla once again impressed with some sharp bowling. Ashraful the usually aggressive batsman was made to till hard for runs and as long as he was out there, it was a test match going on. Hasan managed to put in a decent show to save the blushes for the home team. But soon the Tigers ran out of gas.

Well the Indian chase was short and quick. The dashing duo of Gambhir and Viru were on song yet again. These two do play well together complementing each other and matching each other shot for shot. Gambhir is a much improved batsman mixing dare devil stuff along with some sharp singles and looks to be the light at the end of the tunnel for India, his 5th ODI hundred coming in quick time. Once Viru departed, Gauti began to open up and Rohit and Yuvi did their bit to match him. That meant an early end at the office.

The Indians are well set to claim the Kitply cup without much trouble. The youths are gelling well even in the absence of the seniors. Sachin Tendulkar would be a welcome addition to this sharp unit.

PAKISTAN HUMBLED AT bANGLADESH

DISMAL. That just about puts Pakistan’s performance on Tuesday in a nut shell. There was only one team which played to potential and it obviously was not Pakistan. Not for a single moment, was Pakistan in the game. It’s a day when everything went wrong for our neighbors. From the first ball, it was a quiet and confident Indian team that left a mark in the Sher E Bangla stadium.

It was a total surrender by Pakistan. Batting first, the Indian openers Viru and Gambhir continued from where they left in the IPL. The duo looked fit and in form. Sharp singles stole the tooth away from the in form Pakistan Pacers Gul and Tanvir. They were helped on their way by some lackluster fielding by the Pakistanis. Three dropped catches in the first ten overs, Younis Khan being the main culprit, along with some sluggish fielding meant that India was already in the driver’s seat – a position that they didn’t relinquish till the end. Gambhir and Viru rode their luck and provided India a blistering start. Their good work was continued by the others. Yuvi accelerated towards the end and that meant India crossed 300. Sachin’s absence wasn’t felt and that is saying a lot.

Chasing a mammoth target, Pakistan crumbled like a pack of cards. Praveen Kumar managed another stand out performance with the ball while Ishant continued his magnificent run. Akmal and misbah flourished for a while before they fell prey to the thirst for quick runs. Akmal seemed to be stuck in the T20 mode, throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the ball. But his charge was short lived and there ended the flimsy Pakistani fight back. Chawla made merry while Malik was left ruing the missed opportunities. India was the better fielding side and that’s a pleasant change. The Youth brigade toppled the experienced Pakistani line up.

If Pakistan doesn’t step up its game by a few notches, then there is only one team which is gonna lift the cup and that ain’t Pakistan. (With the Indian team in this form, Bangladesh shouldn’t even be a competition)