For a moment, I had a gentle smile on my face. This good friend of my mine often exchange heated debates over Cricket with me and he normally supports teams playing against India, be it Australia or Zimbabwe. He plays good level Cricket but his problem is in understanding the game. I admit that I get little emotional when someone downplays Sachin or India, but I must be honest, it is totally natural. For one, I am a ‘good’ supporter of our team (emphasis: support) and second, Sachin is simply the best Cricket has ever seen.

The game is such a treat to its fans that it is totally unbelievable that for a good part of 8 long hours, it can keep your brain, eyes, nose and mouth blocked to it, not an easy thing to accomplish by any standards.

So the curry had its full blown flavor today while the kangaroo, well had slowed down. The Australians were little depleted and a wise opponent shall cash it and they did, not only wisely but with complete dominance and a strong fortitude. For a moment I thought having Jadeja instead of Kohli might be a bad idea, but keeping the conditions into consideration, it was indeed a wise move. There are two ways to hold a flag, with one hand holding the flag post or two hands grabbing the ends. The flag is our team and the pole is Sachin for me. For many years and for many a matches, he had been the post, alone and firm and the team waved happily with his support. Now that the post is on its culminating point, two hands or team-work is needed to up-hold the flag and they did. This win is a total team effort, but big credits to Dhoni, he have the best captain brain and he used it to its potential today.

I am sometimes surprised as to how in the world Praveen Kumar can generate that kind of swing, simple straight, seam up right and gentle flow, his bowling was very accurate with little or no width to offer. However the man who stole the show was Ashish Nehra, his nip deliveries were fast, quick and hard to read. He have a great smile, the smile of a winner and he came to terms with his strength today, a bad ball greeted with smile and  a wicket accepted in humble.

Dhoni’s batting reminds me of the great battle between Duryodhan and Bheem of Mahabharat. He holds his bat like mace and hits it hard. But don’t be mistaken with these words as he is most clever batsmen around who knows what to do when and where, more often than anyone.

My take

India – 4.5 stars
Australia – 2.5 stars

Curry Stars: Gambhir, Dhoni, Raina, Ashish Nehra
Kangaroo Stars: Hussey

3rd ODI preview:
Its even-stevens now and teams will mostly stick to their best combination. Kotla in Delhi is not a cool customer, the wicket is on the slower side with variable or low bounce. Of all the matches played out their during the Champions League, probably only Sehwag was able to play in that ground (his home of course). Spin will play its part, but quick bowling on stumps line can get you good LBWs. Delhi famous for its fog and due will play its part. Its good to win the toss.