Sunny days for Indian cricket

Yes, absolutely. Pakistan was just one shot away from winning the game. And full credit to them for the way they came back. Because, after they lost their seventh wicket they needed around 30 to 40 runs in the last three overs. Those sixes from Misbah-ul-Haq and later on the surprise package Sohail Tanvir hitting those two sixes turned the game around. It was evenly balanced at that stage. So, Ravi Shastri is absolutely right – till the last ball is bowled in an India-Pakistan encounter, you really cannot tell which side is going to win, because both sides are invariably well matched. And at the same time, both sides are capable of self-destruction. And that’s what happened – at the end of the day, that last shot by Misbah-ul-Haq. We will always remember the ‘last shot’ and not the glorious shots played by him earlier. That last shot – that little shovel, trying to hit the ball over his shoulder and over the top of the wicket-keeper. We have seen a lot of wickets falling in that particular position and the last wicket of the ICC World Twenty20 also fell in that position.

No, I think India fielded well. They kept the pressure on even when Imran Nazir was firing at the start. They kept their nerve. Dhoni was absolutely fantastic. His demeanor in the field was superb. He must be feeling the pressure like all captains do, but he kept his cool and it rubbed off on his teammates as well.

The outlook has always got to be that they have got the runs on the board and the opposition has to go out and chase them down. But yeah, everyone felt that they were at least 15 to 20 runs lighter. In hindsight, if they would have got 180, then everyone would have said they should have got 200. So, there really is no end to this. At the end of the day, no matter how many you have on the board, you have the chance to defend it. Especially low targets cause the problems since the team that is chasing tends to relax a little bit. So, a couple of quick wickets and tight overs and the pressure is on! That’s what happened to Pakistan.

Yes, he batted really well. He impressed me with his temperament. Many a time, he has got starts and failed to stick around but in the final against Pakistan he carried on and did a great job. His partnership with Yuvraj was very good since the latter wasn’t timing the ball very well. Gambhir took the lead role and played the role of the aggressor but didn’t lose his natural style and proved that you can play orthodox shots and still succeed in this form of the game.

Pathan bowled very well. RP Singh bowled well too – both left-armers did a fabulous job for India.

First and foremost, pick up the Gayle onslaught which got the tournament off to such a fantastic start. Then some of the sixes hit by Yuvraj and Misbah-ul-Haq. Daniel Vettori’s splendid bowling and also Craig McMillan’s big sixes. And generally the cricket played by each and every team - I think all the teams showed flashes of brilliance at some point.

I think it can go only up because it has captured the imagination of the public and even the players, which is so important. And once those out there and playing out there give it their backing then it’s easier for the game to progress.