Ravi Shastri wrong, Harsha Bhogle right!

 Australia walked away today with the ICC World Cup today.

Before the semifinals of the tournament, Harsha Bhogle, India’s No. 1 cricket commentator, made a statement that he thought India had peaked too early. He was shot down quickly by Ravi Shastri.

Today’s final was exactly as Harsha, )and I), had predicted. 

Rohit, Virat and Rahul, played their roles. but Gil, Iyer, Jadeja and Suryakumar were exactly the disappointment that I knew would occur.

I was happy to see that even in a non-traditional cricketing state in India, Kerala, people had turned out to sit under the trees to watch the final, and this was beautifully covered by Manorama TV.

My grandfather, late K. C. Mammen Mappillai, would have been proud that when he translated the very first article I ever wrote, when I was just 9 years old (71 years ago), which he translated to Malayalam and had it published in the newspaper, has now resulted in Sanju Samson hitting the high spot in Indian Men’s Cricket, closely followed by Minnu Mani, in the Ladies game. 

Minnu Mani

Minnu is the first Kerala lady player to play for India  and was the leading wicket taker in the series against Bangladesh.

Coming back to World Cup final, the brave decision to choose to field after winning the toss was credit to Pat Cummins. 

Gil never got going. This was a clear sign  of what lay ahead. Rohit and Virat played their roles well, but Rohit as captain, should have shown some more maturity. 

The absolutely fantastic catch by Travis Head showed that the Australians were not going to roll over. 

The Australians were throwing themselves everywhere, reducing 4s to 2s and ones. 

Fielding was exceptional and as I have said earlier, it is the fielding that wins games.

With Rohit going, closely followed by Iyer, it was becoming clear that India was not going to reach the par score of 300. 

Thi brilliant catch by Travis Hesd to send off Rohit showed the mood of the Australians. They were playing TO WIN.

The procession that followed with the absolutely outstanding team work of the Australians. meant that the Indians could not put a foot in the door.

Restricting the Indians to just 240 meant the Australians did not have a dagger over their heads and they could go about their work with a precision that they are renowned for. 

No heroics were necessary and the confidence shown by Travis Head in his batting, which earned him the Player of the Match Award, was an example of cool composure.

I am sad that India lost, but I concur fully with Harsha Bhogle who said that the Indian side had not been exposed fully and, therefore, they were unprepared for a reversal of fortunes in any game.

I do not blame the Indian bowlers, as the pitch turned in character at the innings break. Even if they could bowl at their best, they were in the sights of clever Australian batting which had sufficient depth not to be rattled by a couple of reversals, exactly the opposite to the under-exposed Indian side.

In my humble opinion, Ravichandran Ashwin, who is one of the most well-read players in Indian history, should have been in this side. Not only would he have been an asset in the batting, he would have read the pitch and adjusted his bowling better than any of his colleagues

You may have on paper the best side in the world! However, knowledge was what was lacking in today's performance by India.

Cricket World Cup - Is India a Cricket Loving Nation?

 Here I am, sitting in Finland watching the opening game of the 2023 Cricket World Cup being played in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India.

Looking at a sparsely populated stadium and an opening ceremony which was totally lack lustre, for the starting point of an event of this magnitude, which takes place only once in 4 years, it is difficult to believe that Indians are cricket loving and also whether the Indian Cticket Board has any competence to host an international event of this significance.

The opening ceremony was Sachin Tendulkar walking out with two Quatari Air Hostesses to place the World Cup on a stand. 

End of opening ceremony.

Shots of the stadium which is supposed to hold 110000 people was hardly a third full!

Does that speak of a country which loves cricket or one which just loves itself and the money which may be lining the pockets of the administrators?

As I watch the cricket on one of six 20 streams available to me, the streams are breaking up every two minutes!

The match goes on but I am sorely disappointed with the Indian organisers and the Indian cricket fans  who are just partisans who love nothing but themselves.

I return to theWorld Cup which was held in 1987 and was run by my family owned company, MRF Ltd. 

It went like clockwork and there was not a single hitch. 

MRF took on the task by telling the Indian Organisers that that would not accept any interference in the organisation. It was tun totally professionally with my two cousins, Vinoo and the late Ravi Mammen, and my good friend S. Rama Ratnam, himself an ardent sports lover, putting together a team of professionals to run the event.

In 1989 I attended a International Semiconductor Conference in Delhi. When I went to the registration counter with my Professor, the lady asked my local address. I told her we were staying at the MRF Guest House in Sundernagar. On hearing this she asked for my relationship to MRF. When I told her of my roots, she did not take any money to register us and we were given pride of place at the conference, much to the amazement of my colleague! 

She told me that MRF had brought great credit to our country in the way they had organised the World Cup!

Shame today on my country.

 I am ashamed on the organisation of the present Wotld Cup, an insult to sports loving cricket fans around the world. .