IPL 2010 Final - So called Technical Analysis

35 balls 70 runs… it was possible. When Sachin gifted a sitter to Vijay at long off, it did not seem possible for Mumbai anymore, the crowd knew it. Chennai had moved the game to their favor by a big margin. Some similarity that seems like a coincidence or a curse: Sachin is left to fight the demons single handedly yet another time, despite putting a great effort, his team losses and a new comer named Jakati picks up his wicket like Angelo Mathews , Sohail Tanveer or Umar Gul did as new comers in the past. Tiwary paid attention to every word that Sachin had to say as he walked in, then just before the second delivery the beep of 15 minutes played in the back of his mind(or it at least seemed so) and like Ghajini Aamir/Suriya, he forgot all that was said and gave Raina(of all people) a tough catch practice. Raina does not drop any even in the middle of the night, thank God he is not Newton, he would have caught the apple before it hit his head and we would still be wondering why the cricket ball that’s hit towards the sky comes back down. Calit Mod-e would have tweeted on what percentage of share each factor holds for the cricket ball to come back to the earth and the sweet equity disclosure would have led to the firing of Vashi Farhoor from Nasa on account of diabetes that resulted from the sweetness which he ignored to record in his findings. Duminy, Rayadu, Tiwary, Nayar were all batmen (it’s not a spelling mistake) gone wrong, the bat did not do the talking and they could not save their Gotham City, Mumbai.

Fernando was kind, Abhishek was compassionate and no… this is not a love story…both waited for each other, you dont trust me do you, ITS NOT A LOVE STORY and the ball waited for none. Raina’s drop was like the US capturing Osama and releasing him on ID 4 on account of good conduct. Zaheer I guess is a man of fire, no he’s not a smoker who carries a lighter everywhere. He said if you folks drop when I bowl, I’ll drop when you bowl too. He went begging to the ground with the ball refusing to oblige to his plea, how cruel cricket is at times, it stripped him off his…. Okay let’s say “tough man image”, to be decent. And made the second standard kid who caught the chalk his teacher threw at him proud.

28 from 8 looked possible against any team other than Chennai, before Pollard got out it seemed possible against any team. But after that, if only Sukesh Imbani’s cell phone did not show network busy….. He would have called Dhoni and offered a fair deal (Mr.Money Rathnam could have made a block buster based on the life of a young cricketer who says, Baapu kehtha tha… cricket muth khelo, laykin mainay khela ek khel…). I guess Imbani is going to sue his younger brother on account of continuous abuse from the customer care, whose answers resemble an IVR, press 1 to hangup or 0 to get frustrated. And for not reactivating his account despite making his payments three times for the same bill to make sure they did not deactivate his services. In the mean time Oneal Imbani in his recent press release says that it was not personal vendetta and he was trying to reach his elder brother to let him know that he better take his puppy along with him and see if at least that network followed him inside the packed stadium .

The last ball of the 19th over saw extreme reactions from both the captains. Dhoni in the middle of all the action smiled and pointed his finger towards the sky as if he knew the answer to the question that his Head Master Sachin had asked. As Hayden took a stunning catch to dismiss Pollard, Sachin sat biting his nails inside one of the rooms (and not in the dugout) in anticipation of his name being called on the list of students who failed to clear the annual examinations at The IPL this year.

Why does Vijay play as if he was a statue waist down, why does raina get two chances and Sachin not get even one, Malinga’s bowling lacked the color, he should have dyed his hair… especially his yorker looked plain for the batsmen. . . go on find a million reasons. Chennai Super Kings WIN and that’s all that matters!

The Lion with a Bat

When the winners lose or the losers win it evokes emotions never witnessed before. Everyone is bond to it and there is so much debate over who is better than whom and predictions fill the air and we inhale it more than oxygen. Our everyday life is divided between before and after the event, between anticipation and retrospection. We are hit by the impact of what seems like a cricketing circus where each day we witness new tricks that are unveiled by the pros and the wannabes. Gimmicks and off the field drama provide enough fodder for the gossips and the infield prowess entertains the billions of fans in India and non residing Indians across the globe.

The hilt got longer, the man looks stronger and when he is out to slaughter the short ones over the top the extra swing projects the white leather into the infinite skies with a lot more ease or so it seems to me at least. He is so much in love with what he does and it’s evident when he is in the middle, on the boundary or even in the dugout. His presence equates explosive action and a knockout punch awaits the opposition which he is ready to unleash any time. The Australian Giant!

One man from an average background with not many feathers attached to his wings made his way to the centre with lots of hope and a very big heart that is hungry all the time. His will precedes his ability, his instinct supersedes talent and his grit & determination surpasses the insecurities that arise from within someone who has little to offer. When it was time to fly with the others who had a lot more feathers attached to their wings this man put all his energy into staying on course. When the others unleashed their frills and went on a swirl he just did what he had to and kept things simple through his own unorthodox approach. His book had one rule – get busy with the target and not with the strings attached to it. The Indian Mr.Cool, Captain.

Years of twisting have not weakened his wrists, the fire in his eyes shine bright as always and each move is executed with a sage like devotion. The worse the condition gets, the harder he tries and his ability to push against the odds and collect himself after getting hit hard is humungous. The Sultan of Spin from Srilanka.

It’s raining sixes when he is on the job.” Little to lose, everything to win”, is the hat he wears and his skill does help. The baggage seems to be getting bigger with the weight of responsibilities multiplying by the minute. He tries to hit and then tries to not get hit. In his home ground if it rained you can hear people say, “Rainaaaa (an expression used to ask if it was raining)????”

With some firepower in the form of youngsters and an arc angel named “ Morkel” that super kings forge their way through the battle field that has warriors like Sachin, Sehwag, Ganguly or Y Pathan and terminators like Warne, Malinga, Kumble or Harbhajan who do not make life easy in the middle. Will the mongoose win? Can Dhoni stand tall as captain and use his unorthodox means to stay on course to sail past the finish line? Will the fire burn the opposition and spin its way to success, will it rain when it’s needed the most and will the Aussi turned Madarasi kiss the infinite skies as much as he would want to? Will the “Super Kings” engrave their names on the Trophy this year? In two and a half weeks time we’ll know. Now then let me get back to the anticipation mode for the next game, let me figure out who’s wearing the orange cap, let me impatiently wait for cricinfo’s updates and also follow the batman who tweets at night about his team(that he owns) and his suppressed and not so suppressed reactions.

Have fun and let’s enjoy some big hitting, let the one who deserves to be the winner win!

- Renald