New Zealand vs. India – The real man of the match
New Zealand vs. India – The real man of the match
Wow, what a match it was. It was a proper exhibition of a sporting event. Guts and grits, top class performance by the top players in their field, fortunes flipping every few moments and an exhilarating & nail-biting finish. We could not have asked for more.
There were moments of smart and clever play interspersed by moments of madness. India has been on a run and seems to be getting better at handling pressure with every match across all formats. Hence, was able to handle pressure better than their opponents and minimise their follies.
New Zealand, on the other hand, has been less consistent and therefore, has had less wins under their belt and was not equally good at handling the intense pressure put on the team by this unrelenting, brilliant young Indian team. It resulted in a moment of madness which, very likely, cost Kiwis the game.
There were a number of players from both sides who did extremely well. As, India won the match, so, its players stood more of a chance at being picked for the man of the match award.
And, there were a few capable contenders. Rohit and Virat had hit classy and fluent hundreds to set up the match. Chahal and Bumrah’s spells were critical and the wickets they picked up kept India in the run despite the flying start New Zealand had got courtesy Colin Munro’s innings.
Ultimately what turned the fortunes in favour of India was the moment of madness, hara-kiri from New Zealand when the black caps could easily have gotten home and spoiled India’s home record against them.
But, how did it come by. What got into Latham when he was single-handily running away with the match. Pressure or fate? What was it?
A bit of background before we get into that.
It was T20 world cup in India in 2016, the India vs. Bangladesh match. Bangladesh was chasing India’s score and was almost all set to enter the semi-finals.
Well, I have to let you guys know that have been a die-hard cricket lover since I can remember and, like many reading this post, am one of those Indian fans who hate to see India lose and can never give up on the team no matter how steep the odds are. And, like many of you guys, when it comes to Cricket I am also very superstitious and have sat through many a matches sitting in one position or with my legs/fingers crossed. Different things work on different match days.
So, T20 India-Bangladesh match on March 23, 2016, with Bangladesh on course for an upset. How could I stand that? I was trying many different things but, none seemed to be working. My month old son was flailing his arms and legs around. Suddenly, on a spur, I picked him up and sat him on my lap facing my HP laptop screen. And voila! It seemed utterly amazing. Bangladesh, who seemed to be batting so sensibly till then, went crazy. Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar threw their wickets away. Hardik Pandya was having a terrible match with the ball up till then. All of a sudden things changed for him. He picked up two wickets gift wrapped to him by Bangladesh. The result, we all know.
The next match, T20 world cup semi final, between India and West Indies. India, who had set a target, was again seeing their opponents running away with the match. No problem. I just had to pick up my son and sit him facing the screen. But, that he wouldn’t do. The little chap was sleeping. We, my wife and myself, did all we could to wake him up. We flipped him around, shook him a little bit, even put few drops of water on his face. But, alas! He kept his eye lids firmly shut. The result, we all know.
Back to New Zealand-India match
My son is around 21 months old now and is highly energetic and active. On last Sunday, it was again a chase and New Zealand was scampering home. They looked set to seal their first series win in India. How could I bear that? With great difficulty I put him on my lap facing the screen. Put up one of his favourite songs on Youtube on my iPhone so that he would stay put. That was around the 45th over. The result, we all know.
The official man of the match duly got his award. But the real man of the match. We all know who he is.
With some luck, I’ll try to keep him in front of the screen on days when India is playing.
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