Center Shocked!: Fakr hai!

I got an SMS early yesterday morning that read:

Sydney 1992 fakr hai...

Bangalore 1996 fakr hai...

Old Traffod 1999 fakr hai...

Centurion 2003 fakr hai...

Johannesburg 2007 fakr hai...

They have asked us many questions on a Friday, repeated it on a Tuesday, and like always, we'll reply on a WEDNESDAY.

I was much amused as it brought a smile to my lips and made my day! Indo-Pak matches are always fiercely fought ones and have always been a highlight of the cricketing action in the sub-continent. A lot of hype and hula is build up on the run-up to the match and the whole of nations tuned on to their idiot boxes. Yesterday's match was no different. The ever present Sachin fan Sudhir Kumar Choudhary was in his usual best and his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhry Abdul Jalil a.k.a Chacha Cricket was also there to cheer their sides. Interestingly even the load-shedding in the hostel area was rescheduled from 1130hrs for 3 hours instead of the usual 1200hrs-1500hrs!

Walking in to bat after winning the toss was a wise decision made by M.S.Dhoni, which Sehwag later proved by his quickfire runs.He made a mockery of Umar Gul's bowling as he sprayed the ball around. As a Sachin fan I was deeply disappointed as he gave so many chances to the opposition. Such a great player shouldn't give such options for the opposition to make inroads. The review taken was a good move, but I felt Sachin was itchy in the crease which the Pakistanis failed to capitalize on. The others were not that impressive save Raina. Nawab Riaz was the man of the day with his five wicket haul. He was impressive. I felt the target was achievable. But Pakistan faltered. They started off very well but lost steam somewhere in between. The bowling attack seemed unexpectedly well and the fielding impressive. Yuvraj was impressive with the bowling, only in the end was he belted by U.Akmal. Nehra and Munaf held their nerves and Bhajji found his purple patch. Although the Pakistan lineup looked formidable they lacked the consistency and failed at the time when most required. Misbah was left as the lone man to fight as he kept running of partners. The team that held its nerve won!

The usual thing that was missing form the Indo-Pak matches was the aggression and the heated exchanged of words; the verbal volley. Afridi and Sachin had some friendly moments so did Saeed Ajmal against Bhajji. Bhajji once again proved to be immature trying to charge down the track after the intimidation. I missed Shoaib the most. I wanted him to be torn apart by Sachin, a repeat of 2003. He will have lots of time post retirement to contemplate on his folly of bowling to a legend like a school boy on that fateful day. The event was star studded as lots of celebrities came to watch. I particular feel that the Paki Prime Minister was kind enough to come and personally escort the team home. And BTW I guess it was held in Mohali so that they could cross the border directly from there instead of splurging on the flight tickets! xD