Politics meets cricket at fine leg
VIJAY DEO JHA
RANCHI
It was a semi final World Cup match between the sub-continent’s two arch rivals India and Pakistan, watched and commented on like a proxy war.
India crumbled on Wednesday afternoon but what rued and raged people and politicians back to the home town of Team India captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he crumbled like crunchy popcorn: 25 runs wasting 42 balls and precious 62 precious minutes.

Politicians of the state were the avid watcher of this semi-final offering value judgment and commentary over what went wrong with India. Former BJP State President and MLA Raghuwar Das could not resist from inserting the element of nationalism in what he commented over India-Pakistan match.

“Watching cricket with sportsman spirit is a different thing. But when India plays against Pakistan, national sentiment overpowers all. I belong to the same category of cricket watchers,” Das said after India ended with 260 of scores.

Das had cancelled all his schedules to watch the semi final. Asked to comment over Indian batsmen poor performance against punch of Pakistan he said: “They have taken poor batting ethics, if not proper form. Except Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag to some extent, they delivered a dud against promised humdinger.”

Das was not so much of praise for Dhoni. “No improvement upon the past performance. In fact in all the World Cup matches of this series India have played, Dhoni has shown that he had exhausted his quota of common sense in cricket. See SK Raina, he is more impressive than Dhoni.

Raina exploded into his ferocious self, slashing and pummeling the ball all round the park which had gone, in moments, from hushed foreboding to riotous revelry.

Dhoni was clearly under pressure after India returned to portentous habit of piling wickets instead of piling runs. Dhoni lumbered back to the pavilion, with his bat that wielded no magic: much against the expectation of his fans and followers in Ranchi who turned from prayer to penance to wish him success.

It was amazing to note that all those politicians who watched this tense match had fine understanding of the cricket as though politics met cricket at the fine leg.

“Only Virendra Sahwag could match the style of Sachin and the rest disappointed us especially middle order batsmen. I do not know as to what goes wrong with India against Pakistan,” senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Kishore said.

Kishore commented over the batting medley of India team by saying that Indians have the tendency of the Mughals to begin with and then suddenly morph into the later Mughals — bunch of hopeless fellows, delinquent squanderers of accumulated riches.

Minister of the Disaster Management Department, Raja Peter, had returned to his home early to watch but had not anticipated a disaster of India team.

“Only three batsmen delivered according to their potential, Sachin, Sehwag and Raina. From Pakistani side Sahid Afridi at least kept his promise stop Sachin from hitting century. But Dhoni dampened my spirit,” he said.

But then Peter suddenly spoke in the fashion of an expert. “Why to blame batsmen alone for the ruin of the team. Last day it rained in Mohali. Moist pitch supports bowlers.” Peter has been ministering the department meant to control draught in Jharkhand; struggling quite desperately. If he blamed rain for ruin of India in Mohali, he in the past equally blamed no rain for the rue of the people of this state.


By the time this report was filed Pakistan were hitting away furiously till the last man standing and Indians were repairing their jangled nerve. Avid watchers had much to cheer about when India beat the Pakistani aggression with a convincing 29 run win even as Dhoni’s home crowd burst into loud cheers and wild celebrations.

Looking for some juicy bytes, electronic media thronged in large numbers outside the Indian skipper’s residence. Now over to Mumbai.