India lose

and I, for one, am glad we did.

Against England, a series which would have been ideal to blood some of the players warming the bench, we focussed too much on winning the series.

And since winning the series meant fronting up our best team, which translates to playing those guys with most caps under thier belt, we missed out on an opportunity.

And we would have done the same in the current series against Australia if we had won the game at Nagpur. And in the process, reduced Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthick and Subramanian Badrinath to ferrying drinks and warming the bench.

The last ODI at Mumbai is the first such opportunity available to us to play the bench warmers. And with the general approval of the paying public.

It will be interesting to see the choices the selectors and the team think tank make.

The Challengers

India Red	India Green	India Blue
Mohammad Kaif (captain) (UPCA)	Parthiv Patel (captain) (Gujarat)	Virender Sehwag (captain) (DDCA)
Karan Goel (Punjab)	Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra)	Ajinkya Rahane (Mumbai)
Gautam Gambhir (DDCA)	Rohit Sharma (Mumbai)	Dinesh Karthik (TNCA)
S Badrinath (TNCA)	Murali Kartik (Railway)	Suresh Raina (UPCA)
Virat Kohli (DDCA)	Manoj Tiwary (Bengal)	Neeraj Patel (Gujarat)
Ravneet Ricky (Punjab)	Yusuf Pathan (Baroda)	Arjun Yadav (Hyderabad)
Praveen Kumar (UPCA)	Abhishek Nair (Mumbai)	Joginder Sharma (Haryana)
Mahesh Rawat (w/k) (Haryana)	Niranjan Behra (Orissa)	Ramesh Powar (Mumbai)
Pragyan Ojha (Hyderabad)	Iqbal Abdullah (Mumbai)	Amit Mishra (Haryana)
Sidharth Trivedi (Gujarat)	Pankaj Singh (Rajasthan)	Yo Mahesh (TNCA)
Ishant Sharma (DDCA)	Munaf Patel [Images] (Maharashtra)	Randeb Bose (Bengal)
Penal Shah (Baroda)	Gagandeep Singh (Punjab)	Swapnil Asnodkar (Goa [Images])
Srikant Munde (Maharashtra)	Anirudh Srikant (TNCA)	Rakesh V Dhruv (Saurashtra)
Paresh Patel (Orissa)	Satyajeet Parab (Maharshtra)	Saurav Bandekar (Goa)
Coach: Lalchand Rajput	Coach: Venkatesh Prasad	Coach: Praveen Amre

Match Schedule:
Oct 25: India Red v/s India Blue
Oct 26: India Green v/s India Red
Oct 27: India Green v/s India Blue
Oct 28: Final

All in all ,not a bad selection at all.

The selectors have done well to play those India players who have not had much match practice during the current Australia tour while resting those who have been playing non-stop ( through the Twenty 20s and the 7 ODI set).

The selection also gives the India players pause between the end of the Australia series ( Oct 17) through the beginning of the Pakistan series ( Nov 6).

All in all, a job well done.

Credibility

I read this first on the Fox Sports site

IF Andrew Symonds wasn't such a gentle fellow, India's Shanthakumaran Sreesanth's nose would probably be plastered all over his leering face.

The Hindu and occasionally Christian bowler can thank all his gods that the secular Queenslander is a man of peace and tranquility.

which pretty much says everything that had to be said about the credibility of the article.

Then the Sydney Morning Herald picked on the story

Sources within the Australian team say the Indian squad member made several aggressive gestures towards the visiting batsmen during their unsuccessful run chase, most of which were ignored.

But Sreesanth's attempt to goad Symonds after his late-innings dismissal - apparently by clapping in the Australian's face, followed by a few choice words - sparked a heated confrontation, with Clark moving in to separate the warring factions. Sreesanth denied clapping in Symonds's face or goading him. He admitted he said, "Hard luck, you're going to lose" to Symonds.

Sources within the Australian team talking to an Australian journalist about their pet peeve - taken with a ladleful of salt

None of the Indian media outlets have reported on this "incident" thus far. Cricinfo had George Binoy on the ground and Anand Vasu and Sriram Veera doing the ball by ball commentary. Nothing about this "incident" has been mentioned in the ball by ball commentary or the post match reports.

Imagine my surprise then, as unnamed "Cricinfo staff" deem it a story worthy of the main page of their web site...

S Sreesanth, India's fast bowler, has denied clapping in the face of Andrew Symonds after he was dismissed in the fourth one-day match on Monday. Sreesanth, a 12th man in Chandigarh, reportedly had to be calmed down by Stuart Clark, who was also running the drinks, when Symonds was approached between the field and the entry to the dressing room.

Sreesanth has had an eventful series after targeting the Australians with his strange behaviour and he apparently continued to argue with Symonds and his team-mates after the eight-run loss. Despite not playing, Sreesanth went to Symonds as he walked off with 75 and observers said he clapped in the batsman's face.

Strange behavior indeed!!

The Irani Trophy 2007 log

4th October 2007

Manoj Tiwary and Suresh Raina set to make their return from injury

Munaf Patel, Ranadeb Bose, Ishant Sharma and Yomahesh make up RoI’s pace attack

---
5th October 2007

Mumbai seek to rule Rest of India

Strong Rest of India start favourites

Wait and watch, says Raina

Mumbai’s boy band
---
6th October 2007

Kukreja and Nayar lead Mumbai

The situation needed such an innings - Nayar

Tall and insipid
---

7th October 2007

Parthiv hundred leads ROI fightback

A mature Parthiv finds his groove
---

8th October 2007

Inspired Munaf leaves Mumbai wilting

Munaf leaves Mumbai reeling

Mumbai go into freefall

Tiwary hits century, Rest in command
---

9th October 2007

Munaf and Parthiv star in Rest of India's win

Kudos are in order for the Rest of India for their thumping win. To Munaf, for a vindication of his abilities. To Manoj Tiwary , a welcome return to form. To Parthiv, for his grit and determination. And to Md. Kaif, the best captain in the land.

For Mumbai, introspection and then back to the grind. The Ranji Trophy is round the corner. And it matters!

Beat the Evil Empire

GO TRIBE!

Today...

“I am aware of the fact that no one has played from the valley for India yet. But I don’t think I would have either. I have been performing so consistently but I haven’t got my share of chances. Aur Kitna karu?”
---
On Saturday Muzumdar, who in the last season steered Mumbai to wins in the Ranji Trophy, Premier Cup and the All Star Series Deodhar Trophy, is all set to lead his team in the Irani Cup for the first time. Moreover, Muzumdar, who played his first Irani Cup in 1994-95, and opening batsman Wasim Jaffer will join a select band who have made seven appearances in the Irani Cup.
---
"It is too early to come to conclusions. We have played only one match and everything worked well for the Aussies. But there are five more matches to be played and there is enough time for us to bounce back into the series. The Australians know that we Indians are very strong at home. I hope the series will be very entertaining,"
---
FORMER India coach Greg Chappell revealed yesterday that he has not issues with Sachin Tendulkar.
---
Sreesanth comes from Kerala, renowned for its soothing beauty and traditions. But he himself is proving to be anything but tranquil.

So what now? “The captain and the team need to talk to him. They need to tell him to control himself and to channelise his energies correctly,”

It is time the talented Indian fast bowler channelled his aggression like a responsible professional.

The only bit of counselling he needs is that to make sure his behaviour does not affect his performance. For that the need is to channelise his aggression rather than he waste it on irrelevant things like mouthing abuses at the batsman. Right now it is just antics.

“Ek aad match ka ban lag jayega to line pe aa jayega," was Dhoni's solution for getting Sreesanth's so-called aggression under control after the 84-run loss on Tuesday.
---
Still it is only one match lost as yet and there’s a lot of cricket to be played. I would suggest that the batting should be strengthened by leaving out Ramesh Powar. It will be tough on him following his splendid bowling in England, but as his landing problems showed in Bangalore, he seems to have hit a rough patch. We should depend on a strengthened batting line-up to come good and use Yuvraj, Sachin and Sourav (if he is fit) to fill in for the fifth bowler.
---
INDIAN spinner Harbhajan Singh has launched a scathing attack on the Australians, accusing the tourists of arrogance and vulgar language following Tuesday's heated one-day international in Cochin.
---
As the frenzy over the country’s victory in the recently concluded Twenty20 world cricket championship is cooling down, the Indian players may be in for trouble as a local lawyer has filed a complaint in a local court accusing them of showing disrespect and contempt to the Indian flag after winning the final match with Pakistan.
---
Darrell Hair was yesterday accused of trying to blackmail the International Cricket Council into paying him off after last year's controversial Test match between England and Pakistan at The Oval.
---
He may or may not know it - and you suspect he has no idea at all - but Shoaib Akhtar has been something of a favourite in these parts in the five years since the Spin emerged wide-eyed and blinking into the cut-throat world of weekly cricket emails
---

India v Australia Second ODI, Kochi

So India lost. And pretty convincingly too.And I spent the entire night watching the game. And have been at the workplace all day today.

None of which upsets me.

What upsets me is the complete lack of game plan when approaching the chase. Winning the toss and opting to field first would have meant that the Indians had a figure in mind as to how much they would be comfortable chasing.

And when Australia reached 306, which may have been in excess of the figure the Indians had in mind, India's approach to the run chase belied belief.

The positive start followed by the downing of shutters followed by trying to accelerate while in a defensive frame of mind followed by the the absurd passage of play where Dhoni was trying to recreate his Lord's heroics.

Exactly what was India's game plan?

And can someone explain to me the logic behind bowling Yuvraj in overs 36, 38 and ....48! Or Sreesanth bowling 9 overs of his quota? Or Ramesh Powar bowling only 5 of his alloted 10 overs?

Or Zaheer bowling over #41 when he had 4 overs to go, Sreesanth had 5 and the remaining over needed to be bowled by someone else.

And finally, this. If "aggressive cricket" by the Aussies is what it takes to keep a lid on their player behavior and their pie holes, bring it on!

The new season begins

November 2007

Sat 3 - Tue 6 Group A - Mumbai v Karnataka
Mumbai

Thu 15 - Sun 18 Group A - Tamil Nadu v Mumbai
Chennai

Fri 23 - Mon 26 Group A - Mumbai v Delhi
Mumbai

December 2007

Sat 1 - Tue 4 Group A - Mumbai v Maharashtra
Mumbai

Sun 9 - Wed 12 Group A - Rajasthan v Mumbai
Rajasthan

Mon 17 - Thu 20 Group A - Himachal Pradesh v Mumbai
Himachal Pradesh

The complete schedule - here.

Plate League schedule - here.

Meet Shashank Manohar

as introduced by Haresh Pandya.

Though known and respected as a "thorough gentleman" among cricket officials, and though he has managed to steer clear of controversies most of the time, Shashank Manohar had invited the wrath of his countrymen, including the media, for giving a green top to the Indian and the Australian teams for the third Test at Nagpur in the late 2004.

The Aussie fast bowlers, particularly Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie, made the most of VCA's magnanimity, and devastated the hapless Indian batsmen on the minefield and won the Test by a whopping margin of 342 runs.

He was accused of deliberately preparing such a wicket just to teach a lesson to his political opposition. So much so, some even pilloried him as a traitor. But he brushed aside such charges as "baseless", saying he was not dictated by anyone and had received no instructions whatsoever from the BCCI or the Indian team management. And even if they did, he would not have obeyed, he emphasized.

He revealed that he only acted according to a circular the BCCI had issued in the early 2004. It called for sporting pitches that would have enough bounce to encourage quicker bowers and also improve the strokeplay of batsmen.

Ah yes! The Nagpur test.

So here is Dileep Premachandran on the Nagpur Test

As in October 2004, India picked up seven wickets on an opening day at Nagpur, only this time there was no resplendent batting to take the game away from them, or costly wicketkeeping lapses to intensify their pain. The green-sprinkled surface prepared for that game - in many ways, the beginning of the end for Sourav Ganguly - bore no resemblance to the turgid grassless pitch on show today, though in S Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan, India had two bowlers more than capable of testing a batting line-up without Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick - 10,097 runs and 28 Test centuries between them.

And K Shriniwas Rao

The first thing that coach Greg Chappell and skipper Rahul Dravid did on reaching Nagpur this afternoon was to visit the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium. After the two took a quiet walk alongside the pitch, they exchanged glances,nodded to each other and walked back to where the rest of the team members were waiting for a net session.

‘‘It is a good Test match wicket,’’ was how Chappell described the wicket after the team’s four-hour gruelling practice session ended.

Indeed, the pitch still appears to be the same — flat and brown — as reported in The Indian Express last week after being constantly rolled and watered for the entire past week. There is a certain hardness to the track which, according to chief curator Kishore Pradhan, will remain so until the first couple of days of the match.

And Rahul Bhattacharya

Everything you need to know about the state of both the pitch and the condition of the touring party lies in Duncan Fletcher's remark that England have a "very good chance" of playing two spinners.

Should be a cracking contest

Mumbai: Mohammad Kaif will lead a 14-member Rest of India team in the five-day Irani Cup cricket match against Mumbai at Rajkot from October 6 to 10.

The teams: Rest of India: Mohd. Kaif (captain), Parthiv Patel, Akash Chopra, Cheteshwar Pujara, Manoj Tiwari, S. Badrinath, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra, V. Yomahesh, Ranadeb Bose, Arjun Yadav.

Mumbai: Amol Muzumdar (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane, Vinayak Mane, Prashant Naik, Hiken Shah, Ajit Agarkar, Vikrant Yelligatti, Iqbal Abdulla, Rajesh Verma, Dhaval Kulkarni, Avishkar Salvi, Omkar Gurav, Abhishek Nair.

Today...

There was much joy, hype, finger-pointing and attention-seeking, neither of which was unexpected, as India’s cricketers returned to Mumbai. As Kipling had hoped, we treat those two impostors, triumph and disaster, the same; with melodrama! And so people waited in the rain, in stifling humidity, in crowds with not an inch to move and they could not have been too different from the people who abused and heckled the cricketers six months ago. Maybe our much abused movies, with no subtle shades of character, with only black or white, know India better than the others!

Harsha Bhogle
--
For a violent batsman, Dhoni appears to own the calm of a wartime surgeon, writes Rohit Brijnath
---
Twenty20 attracts to a point because it’s not supposed to be taken too seriously. Losing doesn’t hurt as much and pleasure is found not only in winning. It’s like beach football, writes Rohit Brijnath.
---
MUMBAI: Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was forced on the backfoot a day after felicitating the Indian cricket team.

The NCP on Thursday tried to defend the presence of state ministers at Wankhede stadium, saying they were representing the Maharashtra government and not the party.
---
Cricket facing ultimate test: to preserve the five-day game Simon Barnes
--
Hunters become the hunted as bowling wolves are sent packing
In the third part of our series on the event that has changed how we view the game, our correspondent applauds today’s gladiators

David Fulton
---

‘Dhoni’s calm from outside, very aggressive within’

- Whoever performs is going to play... It’s not a question of being a senior or a junior, says former Team India captain Sourav LOKENDRA PRATAP SAHI
---
Shashank Manohar is BCCI President-elect
---
Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday raised the annual contract fee to top-end players by Rs. 10 lakh, formed a large pool of 33 players, creating an additional group and rewarded almost every member of the Indian team on the tour of England and South Africa.
--
Shaun Pollock is about to be dropped from the South African test cricket team - and the veteran seam bowler is not happy about it.
---

‘Another game, another Team India’ Sandeep Dwivedi

---
The BCCI may have stolen the thunder from the Indian Cricket League (ICL) by announcing its own Twenty20 league but Subhas Chandra, Chief of Essel Group bankrolling ICL, insists he is not intimidated by the BCCI.
---
Tummy trouble puts Pietersen in frame for captaincyBy Stephen Brenkley
---
Great win, but easy on the chest-thumping

World Twenty20 victors India need to beware of the gathering parasites if they are to prepare properly for the 2011 World Cup.

Dileep Premachandran
---
Rohit Sharma, the Indian middle-order batsman, has been named as the replacement for Piyush Chawla, the legspinner, in the 15-man squad for the ODI series against Australia. He will join the team in time for the second ODI in Kochi.
---
Lalchand Rajput, who was India's cricket manager during the ICC World Twenty20, was today retained for the post for the upcoming one-day series against Australia. ---
---
A good spinner needs a ten-year apprenticeship'

Nagraj Gollapudi

---
Nari Contractor, the former India captain, has been chosen for the CK Nayudu lifetime achievement award, the highest honour the Indian board can bestow on a former player. It will be presented to him in November 2007.

and finally

BANGALORE: Australian captain Ricky Ponting realised the downside of being a celebrity yesterday.

At a function organised by ING Vysya Bank, to raise money for charity through an initiative called ‘Run Ricky Run’, Ponting was caught on the wrong foot by a maniac.

It was an event to auction Ponting’s photos and a man wanted to pose with Ponting. The Aussie captain politely obliged. However, he was taken aback when the man tried to forcefully hug Ponting and kiss him on his cheek. Ponting shoved him away courteously.

The Aussies are in town

and quite frankly, I do not think anyone noticed. And this has not gone down well with the Australians.

So peeved are they that Andrew Symonds was sufficiently moved to state

"Something has been sparked inside of me, watching them carry on over the last few days," he said before tomorrow's opening game of the seven-match series in Bangalore.

"We have had a very successful side and I think watching how we celebrate and how they celebrate, I think we have been pretty humble in the way we have gone about it.

"And personally, I think they have got far too carried away with their celebrations. It has definitely sparked passion inside of us. It has certainly spiced it up as well."

Ah Roy! The last time you opened your mouth, you had this to say

"It's a frustrating game because you can be beaten by the lesser sides and they have to be good for a shorter period of time," Symonds said. "That's why he [Gilchrist] is probably finding it frustrating and I'd probably have to agree with him as well.

"We realised early on that the shorter the game is the bigger chance of the lesser sides beating the bigger sides. So I suppose it means you have to play well for your full 20 overs. Over the course of three or four overs the game can turn on its head which is why people are enjoying it so much. It doesn't become such a one-sided affair and the underdog can [come out on top]."

Spot on old chap! Especially true given that you have yet to nail down a permanent place in the Test side. What with having to be good over shorter periods of time and all.

Anyways, I digress.

Ricky Ponting, never short of an opinion on anything ( English captains being a particular favorite) had this to say

"We've got to look at the seven games we have here in India and we know what we have to do to win on the subcontinent. If anything now, a bit of the pressure will come back on the Indians."

and

"Cricket in general is about how much pressure you can apply on the opposition; that's what we try and do all the time, whether batting or bowling," he said. "That won't change in this tournament and it won't change because we've played a couple of Twenty20 games. We'll have lots of individual plans for their players and it's about us being able to execute those over 100 overs. That means they are under pressure and we're in control. That's what any type of cricket is about for the Australian team."

which, coming from an Australian captain, is surprising to say the least.

Surprising because of two counts

1. Playing in India is a high pressure situation at the best of times for the Indian team. By emphasizing on that point and downplaying the success in the World Twenty20 championship, by setting up the debate as "India has more to lose than Australia" Ponting has, intentionally or otherwise, positioned India as the top dog going into Saturday's match.

2. Australia is currently handicapped by the absence of Ponting, Hussey, Watson and Bracken ( 3 hamstrings and a baby). Of their pace attack, only Lee has bowled in India before ( during the Champions Trophy). By talking of pressure and the Australian way and execution and sundry items in between ( including India's team selection), Ponting is,imho, trying to divert the focus from the man to the reputation. Hoping that India bite.

All of which must be music to the ears of an young captain leading his side for the first time in ODIs.

PS: - This gem, from Peter Lalor, in which he uses Ponting and statesman in the same sentence and other such inanities is worth a read!.

Today..

The modifications in ODI rules, as proposed by the ICC in June 2007, could be implemented early if the Indian and Australian captains and boards agree. The rules are supposed to come in force on October 1 but the seven-ODI series between India and Australia starts on the September 29.
---
From no-hopers to world champions - all it took was two weeks for India to traverse the journey. A new captain, a young team, and lack of experience in this format were all touted as reasons why India could not win, but these were weaknesses only on paper; out on the field, each of these turned out to be strengths: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was vibrant and positive in the field, backing his hunches at key moments; the young team added oodles of energy to fielding, while the lack of experience in playing this game freed them of excess baggage and allowed them to learn quickly and formulate customised strategies which they believed would work for them: a prime example was the decision to bat first, even as most experts suggested chasing was the way to go.
---
After they had dominated vast tracts of the match, darkness suddenly appeared to be setting on India's World Twenty20 dream. Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds, two of the hardest hitters of a cricket ball ever to swagger on to a field, were making mincemeat of the bowling, and Australia needed just 60 from six overs with wickets in hand. For Mahendra Singh Dhoni it was time to take a call, one that would decide the outcome of the game either way.
---
After the disastrous, 50-over World Cup in the West Indies where the death of a coach, an absurdly stretched-out schedule, exorbitantly priced tickets, and the early exit of India and Pakistan meant that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, the ICC Twenty20 World Cup has been an administrator's dream.
---

Give Dhoni captaincy in all forms: Kapil

- A TELEGRAPH SPECIAL
- India’s World Cup-winning captain on the Twenty20 triumph LOKENDRA PRATAP SAHI
---
The morning after they lifted the inaugural ICC World Twenty20, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni told his ecstatic teammates that they should not get carried away by success.
---
The game now has something for everyone Nandita Sridhar
---
New Delhi: India’s triumph in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup may have created a hysteria but the Cricket Board had almost scuttled it when they voted against this slam-bang format in an ICC meeting.
---
Twenty20 triumph has revitalised world game By Simon Briggs
---
`I'm converted to Twenty20 Peter Roebuck
---
ICC has Twenty20 vision for America David Hopps
---
Snobbery, and Pole-Dancing Lawrence Booth
---
Youth, in conventional wisdom, is seen to be impetuous. But youth is also the fount of energy; it is the sign of the future. Ignoring youth is to embrace obsolescence. It is a welcome sign, therefore, that the new icon of Indian cricket is the youthful Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who, in his debut as India’s captain, won the first Twenty20 trophy
---
Young Indians show the way Luke Alfred
---
Nothing succeeds like success. Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led young brigade of Indian cricketers have become the 'darling' of not only cricket crazy fans but also of the institutions they represent.
---
It was a road rage of sorts and that too at midnight when Champagnes jizzed out, all in the open, on the busiest of Delhi routes. There were hundreds of the gangs of boys and groups of girls all mounted on their motors parading around the city and marching through the India Gate where people, old and young were all set to welcome and cheer to share that rare moment of achievement which the boys in the blue got for cricked fed India.
---
Minutes after Shoaib Malik’s team lost the Twenty20 World Cup final to India in Johannesburg, Pakistan’s angry cricket lovers burnt effigies of Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi to vent their anger.
---
A quick fix? How the cricket world was turned upside down

In the first of two major pieces marking the end of the cricket season, Stephen Brenkley argues that the huge success of World Twenty20 is not necessarily good news for the sport in the long term
---
The first of a four-part series looking at the World Twenty20 tournament and how it has changed the face of cricket for ever
Richard Hobson, One-Day Cricket Correspondent in Johannesburg
---
A cricket final for the ages (COLUMN) Alex Parker

Whose Team?

What are Messers Pawar, Modi, Shah and Shukla doing in the team photo?

How is it that when the team is in strife, it is not the Boards problem but when successes come along, Board dignitaries want their mugs front and center?

And what does one say to the 2 Million Dollars awarded by the Board to the team? And what about Lalit Modi and his impromptu award of a Porsche for Yuvraj Singh? Or the 1 crore announced by the Board for Yuvraj Singh?

Carpetbaggers.

Bottle

A series loss in England, with all of India's problems ( batting. bowling and fielding) coming to the fore was not the best prelude to the World Twenty20 tournament for India.

The washout against Scotland did not help matters either.

For the average Indian supporter, the portends were not good.

And then the match against Pakistan. 1 run to get with 2 balls to go. For all money, India was on its way out of the tournament unless they beat New Zealand and did so handsomely.

And then, magic!

19.5	Sreesanth to Misbah-ul-Haq, no run, short of a length outside off stump, Misbah tries to cut but gets beaten
The field comes in, tension writ on Sreesanth's face.
19.6	Sreesanth to Misbah-ul-Haq, OUT, it's a tie! Misbah can't get it away and hits it towards cover, Yuvraj runs in, picks up the ball and throws it to the non-strikers end, Sreesanth whips off the bails with Misbah well short of his crease, delirious scenes at Kingsmead

Which may have been a flash in the pan or Pakistan being Pakistan. And the bowl-out was frankly ridiculous.

And then the old Indian failings came to the fore in the game against New Zealand. 5-91 was allowed to become 190 all out. And 76-1 became 163 - 9.

Normal order was restored. Or so it seemed.

Against England, Yuvraj Singh turned it on ( or should we thank Freddie Flintoff?). 6 sixes in the 19th over was just sufficient to get India over the line ( India 218 England 200).

Things were looking up but the bowling had yet to come to the party. And India had not shown anything substantial for India's supporters ( me!) that they were the real deal.

The clash against South Africa changed that perception. India batted to a plan, did not panic when the going got tough, Rohit Sharma put his hand up with the bat and India reached a fighting score of 154.

Inspite of helpful conditions, there was always the fear that the Indian bowlers would cock this up. They did not.

And the most heartening thing was that the guys displayed big game temperament. They sensed the ebbs and flows of the game better, they played the big moments better.

The fielding was electric, ditto the bowling.

But there was still Australia.

Its been 3 days since the Australia game and I have watched the match ( and its re runs) about a dozen times now and I still cannot fathom how India stared down Australia.

And now this.

19.3	Joginder Sharma to Misbah-ul-Haq, OUT, India! It's all over here! Full and on the stumps. Misbah goes for the scoop shot over short fine-leg. That is a risky shot to play with only 6 needed from 4 balls. Straight up in the air and Sreesanth takes the catch. India have won by 5 runs in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20
	Misbah-ul-Haq c Sreesanth b Joginder Sharma 43 (51m 38b 0x4 4x6) SR: 113.15
6 needed from 4 balls now
19.2	Joginder Sharma to Misbah-ul-Haq, SIX, full-toss outside the off, that's not the place to bowl at this time. Misbah is cool as ice, lines this up and pounds the ball straight back down the ground. This is a baseball style home run. Such incredible hitting under pressure. You have to give it to Misbah
12 from 5 needed

More thoughts on the game and India's performance later.. For now, its time for the bubbly !

I've paid my dues -
Time after time -
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I've come through

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortuen and everything that goes with it
-
I thank you all -

But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I ain't gonna lose -

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

PS :- At the end of it all, somebody needs to teach the Indians how to dance.. They are horrid :).