So, finally a world championship for India! I really don't care what form of cricket now! Tired of seeing the Aussies grab it all. And what an epic final between the Indus rivals!! The Twenty20 world cup was like a perfectly executed blockbuster script. Great action (BIFF!POW!BANG! with sixes), energetic item dances (cheerleader gyrations), sensational twists in plot (Australia lost 3 games) and a riveting climax (India/Pakistan final) where the hero ultimately won (at least for us Indians!!)! India won both the encounters with Pakistan. In both the games , only one man threatened to take the game away from us - a previously unknown warrior named Misbah. In both the games, he brought the pakis into the game but failed to finish. On the second occasion, it was purely due to a quixotic shot he attempted. At that point, thanks to some very ordinary bowling from Joginder, he already had one hand on the cup and the Indians were getting ready to resign to their fate. This moment reminds me of the last ball six of Javed Miandad. Yes, the results were different. But in both the cases, they depended solely on the batsman and the 21 others were mere spectators! Maybe that is the difference between being brilliant and being almost brilliant. But apart from that moment, India was totally in control throughout the tournament. We were never fancied to become the slam bang champions of cricket. Australia, Sri Lanka and maybe even Pakistan were considered. But definitely not the land of Gavaskar and Dravid. Twenty20 is an amazing concept for marketing the game. 3 hours of this is far more exciting than 3 hours of Baseball! And i think the spate of changes effected upon the One Day game could have been introduced here instead. This form of the game definitely provides the minnows with a glimmer of hope. This doesn't require the patience, temperament, elegance or classical textbook skills that Test matches and to some extent ODIs require. Overall, it was exciting and fun. Mission accomplished - for Indians and the organizers!
