Sachin Tendulkar crafted a classy century against England in a match where the pendulum swung wildly from one end to the other. This article begins a series of weekly highlights of the ICC World Cup 2011.
India Versus England
Expectations were sky high from last Sunday's match that featured two of the cricket world's leading teams. Media reports described frenzied fans who queued up overnight to watch their favorite players in action. So much so that the limited number of tickets available to the general public (after the majority were given to corporate bigwigs) invited the wrath of disappointed fans and subsequent clashes with the police.
The match lived up to expectations from the start. Sachin Tendulkar's classy century set the stage for a big total of 338. He was aided by two half centuries, one from Gautam Gambhir. The crowd went berserk after the little master struck a series of fours and sixes. India had a real chance at a win.
But the real fireworks were about to begin. England's captain Andrew Straus overtook and overshadowed Sachin's knock and England at one stage cruised over 280 for the loss of only two wickets. Just when it seemed they had the match comfortably wrapped up, Zaheer Khan got rid of two consecutive batsmen and the English middle order toppled like ninepins. With 29 runs required off the last two overs from the tailend, it appeared all was lost.
Now comes the high drama. Three sixes were struck in those last two overs, as the tailenders displayed a dogged determination to fight until the last ball was bowled. England needed two to win off the last ball, and could manage only a single. It was a fitting finish to a tied match that many felt neither side deserved to lose.
Cricket is after all, a team effort, and however heroic the antics of big hitters like Sachin Tendulkar, it takes a collective contribution for it to come together.
Pakistan Versus SriLanka
Pakistan put up an all round performance. It batted sensibly to put up a reasonably good total. The only thing that almost cost it the match was its fielding that bordered on the abysmal. It was only due to some superb bowling, led by captain Shahid Afridi, that contained the Srilankan batsmen to ensure a narrow win on Srilanka's home turf.
Midweek, Ireland beat England and pulled off the first major upset in the 2011 World Cup. The next weekend of March 5-6 will feature more high profile matches.
Tina Chaudhuri - I am a freelance writer based in the US. My topics of interest include movies, travel, food, and creative writing/fiction. An avid ...
Join the Conversation