India Vs SriLanka One Day Cricket Match at Perth

India Records Victory after Some Nervous Moments

Victory Is Sweet, Whichever Way It Comes

The eagerly expected India – Sri Lanka cricket one day match at Perth has gone India’s way. But one cannot say that India registered an outstanding victory. There were some nervous moments in the end. India lost six wickets and its main batsmen were all back in the pavilion. It was left to the off spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin to wield his bat in an unconventional manner to hit the required runs for his team. But victory, whether it came through an impressive display or otherwise, is victory nevertheless and that is what matters in cricket matches. The colour of the cat does not matter as long as it catches the mice, so goes the saying. It is true in cricket.

Had Sri Lanka Scored 25 Runs More, India Would Have Lost

Had Sri Lankan main batsman added twenty to thirty runs extra, India would have been put to difficulty in chasing the target. But Sri Lanka gave India a target of only 234 to win, which was not very difficult score given the fact that India are the current World Champions in One Day brand of cricket. Sri Lankan batsmen did not perform their duties except Dinesh Chandimal, who scored a half century to boost his teammates’ confidence. But there were no other inspiring performances worth mentioning.

Virender Sehwag Will Play a Big Innings in This Tour

But at least in the bowling department, one expected Lasith Malinga to open with a big bang. He did bag the prize wicket of Virender Sehwag early on. Sehwag is such a batsman that if left alone, he could whack the opposition to craters. Of course Sehwag is not in his true form in the current Australian tour. Nevertheless, Malinga did a fine job for his team by dismissing Sehwag. But I have my intuition telling me that Virender Sehwag is going to play a powerful and big innings during the current one day series. I always trust my intuition and hope it will happen sooner than later.

It Is Better Not To Talk About That Elusive Century!

Consolidation for India was done by Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli is in good nick in the current Australian tour though in the beginning he was shaky in the first two tests. He is the only Indian who has scored a century in the current tour against the Aussies. When I talk about century, I should say that now-a-days, nobody talks about that elusive century which Sachin is eager to achieve. For more than nine months, Sachin has been disappointing his fans and himself by missing the most coveted century. In a way, it is good that people are forgetting about that century because it can relieve Sachin’s tensions to a great extent and enable him to concentrate on scoring runs. In business there is a saying that if you chase money, money will elude you, but if you chase quality, money will chase you. This is true regarding any sphere of activity. In cricket, if Sachin chases that elusive century, it will elude him. But if he chases runs and victories for his team, that century will come to him automatically.

Ashwin Disproved Me

Yesterday I wrote that Ravichandran Ashwin has not done anything so far in the tour to prove himself. But today he has reversed that trend. Ashwin bagged three wickets by giving away 32 runs. He scored a valuable 30 not out to clinch the match for India. Ashwin was awarded the man-of-the-match award, which he richly deserves. I expected that the bouncy Perth pitch will favour Lasith Malinga, who could torment Indian batsmen with his unconventional bowling action. But that was not to be. Either the curator had not done his duty properly or Malinga was taking his own time to come into his true form. The truth will come out when Australia takes on Sri Lanka in the same ground day after tomorrow.