M A I N   N E W S

The script could’ve been different
Jaideep Ghosh
Tribune News Service

Mumbai, April 3
The story of the World Cup final could have been different. There were little twists and turns in the game where the script could have changed. One never knows, but the equations of cricket can be extremely dodgy.

Take the toss for example. Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara claims he called ‘heads’ the first time and Dhoni heard ‘tails’. So when the coin landed heads up, the Indian skipper thought he had won the toss, but the Sri Lankan insisted he had. ICC Match Referee Jeff Crowe, whose only job in the match was to hear the call, missed it. So toss again.

Had India won the toss, they’d have batted first. What Zaheer Khan can do, so can Lasith Malinga. So it would be interesting to see India bat.

Then maybe we wouldn’t have seen a silky innings like Mahela Jayawardene’s. Absolute champagne stuff.

The Indian innings began disastrously. Virender Sehwag went second ball, Sachin Tendulkar went cheaply. But Sangakkara then took his dive bomber Lasith Malinga off. If Slinger Malinga had been let loose for another three-odd overs, India could well have lost a couple more wickets, and that would be it.

Then Nuwan Kulasekara dropped the cup, giving Gautam Gambhir a life at 30. The batsman went on to score 97, not to mention the partnership runs with Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni has realised all his dreams, but still pines for more. He has plans to create a team for the future and muster more young talent. His own form is back and luck stays intact. Perfect combination for championship stuff.

Kohli is destined for big things. He will lead India one day. Yuvraj Singh is back, and India is immensely pleased that he is. He gave the solidity which got India the quarter-final win against Australia, which has given the team more joy than even the win over Pakistan.

Zaheer Khan did what he does best, making inroads at every crucial juncture to be joint top wicket-taker with Shahid Afridi. Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel were near-perfect in the semi-final, while Harbhajan Singh, without being unplayable, did enough to keep things under control. R. Ashwin made the most of his opportunities while Piyush Chawla didn’t. S. Sreesanth should now focus on the coming IPL. His Team India days are once more under a microscope.

So it wasn’t all good news. But no one really cares and rightly so. The larger picture is that India are world champions. For now, it is time to celebrate.