Let the best team win

I am a big fan of two sports – football (which is called Soccer here) and Cricket. I like to watch and follow American football but it is within the US teams/states and there is nothing great or fun about it unlike world soccer or cricket when countries bout to win the championship. While many may be able to ceaselessly write on the game of football (not soccer) or Redskins or their pathetic performances and ones hope that they will becomes the Super Bowl champions when the stars align, I have my reservations. Though cricket is not played here in the US, it is a very popular sport in the world and most other countries play it. It is very similar to baseball here. Currently, in the world of cricket, if you are among the ones who follow the news on cricket you would know that today is the finals for T20 (20-20) world cup match between Pakistan and Srilanka in Lord’s stadium, London. The match will be played at 10am EST. T20 is a match where each team is given 20 overs (each over has 6 balls to bat) to play. The idea is to stake up as much runs as possible and the team with highest runs wins. In the course of the game, you can extra runs because of no ball or wides’. You can Google ‘Cricket’ and can get a crash course on the way the game is played and what the basic rules of the game are.


Well, India was eliminated in the quarter finals but was the T20 champion last year though. There would not be any hesitation on my side, on supporting which team in the finals, if India was there, would it? Now that the match is in between the neighboring countries of India, it becomes difficult to decide on which team to support. When India is not in the finals of any series, I support for Srilanka, my next best team. When the final is in between India and Pakistan, you can imagine how the tension builds up in the course of the game. But India is not in the finals and since Srilanka is, I will support Srilanka to win the T20 series this year.


Both teams are very strong competitors and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Srilanka has the best batting trio – Mahela Jayawardene, Captain, middle order batsman; Kumar Sangakkara, wicket keeper and a dependable batsman; and Tillakaratne Dilshan, right handed all rounder. These three can make the most runs and can hold the fort. There is also the M factor – Muralitharan, strike bowler and Mendis, mystery spinner are the best bowlers, who can get the batsman of the other team out of the game. Sanath Jayasuriya is the opening batsman whose continued presence in the game will take the team to victory. He is like our old Gavaskar, who would be alive in the game and stack runs slowly and steadily. But he is good for test matches, where you get to play the balls until get out; not recommended for ODIs and 20-20. So with that said, Srilankan team is steady paced and has the potential to win this match.


Pakistan team is very unreliable. When they play, they play very well but when they don’t, it is really bad. Pakistan had lost to India last year in South Africa and is desperate for a win this time around. But this team is known for their weak points including weak starts, inability to finish off the close matches, unsteady batting and loose fielding. They need to perform steadily in this match if they want to win the trophy. Younis Khan, captain of the team; Kamran Akmal; Abdhul Razzaq, ex-ICL player, all rounder; and Shahid Afridi, another all rounder will keep up the fort on their team. Razzaq and Amir are their best bowlers.


Cricket means a lot to these South Asian countries, like India, Pakistan and Srilanka. When the South Asian countries play, people of their nation watch closely and their defeat sometimes causes riots in their countries and hometowns of their players. It is important to win these matches as it is their pride and honor. Many movies have been made just to portray how important a game of cricket is for their country. Don’t believe me, watch movies like Lagaan, Iqbaal and Victory, you will know what I mean. They show how each player plays with everything he has got, not only for himself, but for his country. They play for their country first and then to satisfy themselves.


I am a stern follower when it comes to matches that India plays. When they come to finals, I watch with close attention as to how each ball is played. When they chose to bat at the end, my heart skips beats because they have to make one run more than the other team who played earlier to win the match. I used to close my eyes; peek and watch each ball to see if they hit a four or six or got out. I sometimes used to walk away from the room, with the hope that if I don’t watch they would win. I know many would say that, if it comes to point where the viewers have to pray for a team to win, then it is already in a pathetic position in the game. But don’t follow such rituals in baseball as well? Like wearing their hats inside out, would get the team from the downs and get them to win; whatever works to get the favorite team to win.


This final T20 match is important for both Pakistan and Srilanka. It not only a teams’ match but it is a peoples’ match. It is important for their countries because of what happened in their countries in the months past. With their best players, let each team perform its best and let the best team bag the T20 cup this year.