Meanwhile, in the U-19 WC the Indian colts managed to keep their nerves and won an exciting match. All the players have chipped in when required throughout the tournament and same was the case today as well. The coach Dav Whatmore seems to have a Midas touch as most of the teams he has coached have gone on to do well in major tournaments. It’s puzzling why the BCCI did not appoint him as the national coach when they had the chance. However, his experience has been of great benefit to the U-19 team and he has guided the youngsters really well. The BCCI has announced cash awards for the winning team, which is good, but I hope the young players do not get carried away by all this and concentrate on achieving bigger and better things.

Their seniors won against Aussies and their U-19 has won the CUP.

congratulations to ALL Indian supporters.

What a way to finish, Kaul got 2 wickets in his last 3 balls.

Bravo, imo India made history today!

yes India played well especially Tendulkar and Rohit and because of them India won.

As regards silencing his critics that he is not good when chasing runs is a fact, one good innings or a few good ones in 416 matches is not what will change the mere facts. Read what S. Rajesh of cricinfo wrote about his run chasing ability.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/340239.html

Secondly, in 9 matches so far he scored one hundred and another one was a 63 against Sri Lanka.

Having said that it doesn’t take away the sheen, the gloss and the beauty of his strokes or the title of Maestro that he got. It is his form under criticism and one should not expect Tendulkar to be playing perpetually or eternally, after all he is a human being and how long can he play?

What matters for India is, he played an innings when India wanted it most. Ponting did the same a few matches ago, he too was struggling like Tendulkar and went on to score a hundred.

The second final would be even more interested now.

The U-19 final is being played once again on a rain affected ground and with curtailed overs. SA is at advantage due to a low scoring match. But, they do not have nerves like their elders and they might crumble, may not get ALL out but may not be able to score 44 runs in 30 balls, which is what the requirement is at the moment. Although they have 5 wickets in hand but a chicken’s heartbeat to play big shots.

Lets say how it fares, I want India to win this U-19 Cup and definitely not SA.

Go India………….. Go

Not trying to get into a mutual admiration society here , but really value you views and think they are the most balanced and fair,

Well, half the job done and very well done at that, your views regarding Sachin well taken,
Sachin does not need to prove himself to anybody he went beyond that stage probably years ago and I don’t think praise or criticism bothers or effects him to any great degree, now his battle is with himself,
What he did today he has done on numerous occasions in the past but we live in a negative sort of society, People generally remember the times when he has not done so .Fair enough, But when and why do people tend to do that, Reason we want him to do that every single time,
Most emphatic point made is regarding Rohit Sharma, He stands out not that I am implying he’s more talented than Yuraj or Uthappa, everyone’s talented, everyone knows how to bat but the point is to deliver when it matters, to play the big games, that is the difference between flashes of sheer brilliance and calmness, surety and solidity, I don’t know of others but I would take calmness, surety and solidity any day,
Going ahead Ishant has hurt his Middle finger that will definitely hurt India if he does not make the second final, my advice get that middle finger repaired ASAP and let the aussies have it by the time the game gets over.
They say well begun is half done
But I say it ain’t done till it’s done.
Come on Team India let the Author of this thread be hailed as a great visionary

India dominated Australia today and Tendulkar engineered a superb run chase. His placement was impeccable and he played some outstanding shots. Batting wise this was yet another feather in his cap as he scored his first century in an ODI in Australia.

Rohit Sharma demonstrated a very positive attitude and calm temperament. He never let the Australians pacers dominate him. It was the presence of Tendulkar at the other end that gave him the confidence to play his natural game.

A very professional and spirited bowling performance was also seen from the Indian youngsters. There are definitely some gaps in the Australian batting and Indian pacers have so far been successful in exposing them.

In the end Tendulkar, the hero of today’s game, managed to prove his critics wrong who state he can’t play aggressively while chasing.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

or

a mind can only see what it is prepared to see………..

i.e., exactly what appears to be in your case, in fact you are not sure in your mind thats why you said, “but who knows?”

amit. p has said:

“going by the looks afridi doesn’t look older by any means.”

What I don’t understand is why and how people pass on judgments when they aren’t sure about what they are thinking!

With make-up Aishwariya Rai looks 25 and, without make-up she looks like 35. What is her real age? I just made up this observation to make a point, that doesn’t make much sense but I still made a point. So howzatt?

so no hope for india.

Au Contraire to your belief, I have found Sehwag very swift in the out field too, there were some shots played with tremendous force and everyone thought its going to be a definite four and Sehwag some how managed to run fast dived and stopped the ball, anyone else would have given up hope.

On one occasion he was standing at long-on, almost touching the rope and it was SA’s big hitter Justin Kemp he went on to hit a straight shot, Sehwag stood there waiting and waiting and then he jumped in the air at the right time and took a stunning one handed catch. It was definitely going over his head for a SIX. Kemp couldn’t believe it, he kept looking back a few times when he was walking towards the dressing room and finally he was able to see it on big screen that Sehwag’s landing was perfect.

And mind you, Sehwag is barely 5 ft. 8 inches tall but, his alertness and his judgment in that case was amazing. A lot of people from the Indian Community here used to call him “Mottoo” i.e., after he got married and suddenly put on weight. But, he is not Mottoo anymore.

And I dunno if you remember Shahid Afridi’s stunning catch in the covers, was it A B de Villiers or someone else in the T20 WC and in that match Afridi was MoM too, can’t remember who the batsman was, anyways when Afridi was asked to comment on that flying catch, he replied, “Oh, the catch !!!! I still can’t believe myself, how I held it.”

I don’t think neither of them have slowed down in terms of fielding but in terms of batting YES, they both have not scored as many runs as they used to. Sehwag scored a century after a long gap and Afridi is yet to score one after his Kanpur Massacre.