India notched up yet another win. Yet another chase. And yet again, the captain played a great innings.
But who was there at the end? Yea, the same Mohammad Kaif who was totally out of form for a long long time. He stayed till the end and ensured the win. And that is what brings the thought to my head that this India one day team smells so much like the Aussie team. Aussie out-of-form batsmen somehow choose the best times to strike form – match-winning innings, quick burst of wickets at the top of the innings, masterful spell in the middle, etc.
Kaif has been really short of runs of late. He was low on confidence and a lot of people, me included, were asking why is he still in the XI? He chose the moment right to come back to form – India needing a win to start the series strong, and even though they did not seem to be in trouble really, they still needed to have someone like him be there and keep one end held up, specially after Dravid departed.
In any case, the juggernaut rolls on. Knock on wood.
Romit's Stream 
Another contrasting form is of Dravid’s. The guy never stops, runs after runs.. Just like Ponting (or better).
@samir: yes, of course. more parallels with Aussies … there is a guy who will never stop scoring (Ponting/Dravid), there is a guy who is a champion finisher (Bevan/Yuvi), there is a guy who will always give you a breakthrough at the top (McGrath/Pathan), no matter what the confidence is high (India of now/Aussies), etc. Now, if only we can do it consistently till 2007 summer š
u serious abt kaif’s form..i would say he played pathetically..he was trifle lucky.. my god giving a maiden in a powerplay is criminal.. i never saw the middle of his bat striking the ball.. the guy seemed clueless as to how to hit boundaries… i just hope he remembers how to bat when he comes down the crease next time..
If it stays till WC2007, well and good. Else lets enjoy the moment! If Kaif had not batted as well, would we have lost? Maybe not. Raina was still to come and there were Agarkar, etc. And that is what happened when he was not in form in India, recently. He was in the team, was failing, but others were making the runs and getting India home. But its good that he returned to form. The confidence is really high. The team must be believing, at this time.. “any score can be chased”!
@harry: I must say that I did not see the match, so I cannot comment much on how he played. But you know, all you need to get back in form is a good score at the end of the day. Just like a good innings cut short by a great catch or a freakish runout ends up being a low score at the end of the day, a big score with knicks and misses is still a big score , bottomline. @spm: yes, let us enjoy the moment! š
Strange isnt’ it ? Some time back we were considered as chokers and here we are now, chasing them scores with much ease (knock on the wood) š
@rajesh: yes, and it was not too long ago that we were called chokers. Oh well. Let’s see how long this lasts š
Well, the streak ended.. finally! The pressure is off. Some of that old choking came back. The wickets of Raina, Harbahajan, Powar were part of what we would see in earlier days when we would be chasing. And yet it was a very close game, which in the end, we almost won. Still cannot believe how Yuvraj did not connect that last ball! But the pressure is certainly on Kaif and Sehwag, still. They do not seem to be getting it at all. How long will the team management keep supporting them? At one time, Yuvraj and Kaif were at the same level, kind of.. and now, Yuvraj has moved way ahead in terms of responsibility, maturity, consistency, reliability.. almost like the Kambli – Sachin comparison!
@spm: i did not see the details, but looks like yuvraj got out on strike, needing 2 off 3???? That’s terrible!