SURELY the better team won the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka was not just the better team on the day of the final, but was the most consistent of all the participating units throughout the tournament. In that sense, it was in the fitness of things that the home side came out as the new champions, replacing Pakistan.
The Sri Lankan score appeared to be modest when the innings came to an end, and in view of the strong Indian batting lineup, there was little hope for the Sri Lankans. The way and the pace at which the modern game is played, overcoming anything under five an over is not a big deal, regardless of wicket, weather or playing conditions.
Looking back, perhaps this is exactly what worked against the Indians, making them take it lightly, and believe that the major task was already done, and that someone would do it by himself. And suddenly they found that no one had been able to do it and there was on one left in the hut.
No matter what the Indians had in mind, it required a lot of guts on the part of the Sri Lankans to put up a fight in the field, and still believe that they had the ability to turn the tables on the strong and impressive Indian batting lineup. This is never an easy task. It takes a lot of guts for an individual to push aside the obvious and the ominous, and work against the tide with belief and conviction. When it comes to a team game like cricket, each and every individual in the side has to share that belief and execute the game plan. As I said, it is never an easy task.
During the Asia Cup, India never really appeared the side that it has been in recent times. There were injuries to key players in the camp and that in itself has the potential to cause disruptions. But what added to the team’s problems, I think, was the number of times I saw drooping shoulders and sulking heads on the field. The intensity and the desire to win was somehow missing.
After a couple of good seasons, it was rather disappointing to watch the Indian side beginning the new season on the wrong foot. India and England are two sides that have made major strides in international cricket — both in terms of Tests and ODIs — in the last few seasons. World cricket needs such sides to sustain the intensity of global competition.
As for Pakistan, there is little point discussing the team. The coach, the captain, the honorary chief executive, the paid chairman and any individual who could either face television cameras or had enough words to sustain a conversation with some reporter has gone on record saying how satisfied they all are with the team’s performance.
If the team feels nothing wrong in not being able to defend its title, not even making it to the final, losing against Sri Lanka in the most humiliating fashion, and bungling a sneak opportunity against India, no one can have a quarrel with it. If the can get so very satisfied by beating the likes of Hong Kong and Bangladesh, there is little that can be done about it. The PCB and the team management are clearly setting low standards for the team.
Talking about positives is good, but such pep talk is generally limited to the dressing room where it helps to encourage the players to come back from difficult situations and to wriggle out of tight spots. But extending it to the public domain is clearly an effort on the part of the PCB and the team management to deceive the masses. It is a futile effort, and the egg is very much on the face of the PCB management.
SURELY the better team won the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka was not just the better team on the day of the final, but was the most consistent of all the participating units throughout the tournament. In that sense, it was in the fitness of things that the home side came out as the new champions, replacing Pakistan.
