UNPREDICTABLE it is!

“Indian bowling / fielding isn't frustrating. It’s just their way of keeping the betting scenario interesting!” – That was my Facebook status during the India – England match. Call me over-skeptical, but I am not the only one who is overtly vexed with how the World Cup is turning out to be.

The Indian team concluded both the England and Ireland matches quite interestingly. There were moments when I could literally tear my hair. 338 on the boards, Sachin’s smashing spell and I was quite confident that India is going to have a sweeping win over England; kind of forgetting my own rule – never EVER predict a game. Speculations were rife, Dhoni’s over-confidence and many divisive twists and turns later, the result was more than anyone could handle. A tie early on in the series, with such a high score was definitely a sheer entertainer – though India could have used the match–winning 2 points (instead of 1). I could almost feel my heartbeats before the last ball – a result that could favour three decisions – a win, a tie or a loss of course. Phew! 

Despite the pathetic bowling and fielding by the Indian members, Dhoni’s criticism of the ruling that went against the team bore fruit. At least something good happening on the LBW decisions! The ICC issued new guidelines on the controversial 2.5m rule of the Decision Review System (DRS) to lead to "consistency" in decision making.

Now for the match against Ireland, luck (and the toss win) was India’s saving grace. Indian players are superstitious, and at the turn of this century, with Sourav leading the team, the mass believed that the team should always bat first. I guess they are finally breaking that spell and the decision to chase against Ireland was crucial – given the all too frequently used pitch in Bangalore. Of course, Yuvi did his bit and made us proud with his 50 runs and 5 wickets. Creating a record amongst a mass of great cricketers, and first time in World Cup is definitely commendable. It’s always one player who absorbs the winning streak, gets lucky and pulls the match through.

The flip side of the match was, the team huffed and puffed to cover the chase. Too much importance was laid on Kevin O'Brien – he got lucky once, doesn’t mean he was destined to replicate his heroics from his last game! And the Indian team should have known better. It was Ireland after all; they had absolutely no reason to complicate the inning. Even England for that matter – they were not considered formidable contenders when the World Cup began. Well, as I said – UNPREDICTABLE it is!

So far, I didn’t take into account the match against Bangladesh, and they definitely are out of the charts. For the further matches – three more to go, against Netherlands, South Africa and West Indies – I wish the team all the very best! Considering their current top position in Group B, the consolation is that they have qualified for the quarters. Happy cricket watching everyone!!!