Bow to His Kohliness........article by Chinaman_f

[zinatf]

Once again our talented member chinaman_f publishes a delightful article on espn cricinfo

India v Pakistan, Asia Cup, Mirpur

Bow to His Kohliness
Bunking classes to watch India-Pakistan? Hell yeah

Fahmim Ferdous
March 19, 2012



It was India versus Pakistan, in Dhaka. That kind of a thing happens literally once in 12 years, and my absolute sweetheart of a friend got hold of two of the most sought-after tickets of the year, through her dad's contacts. I felt the match was more important than my electrical engineering lectures, and to my surprise, I found two of my favourite lecturers from the university in the same gallery as me.

Team supported
Pakistan, because their win would allow Bangladesh a slightly easier equation to reach the finals. Though, I would have supported Pakistan regardless.

Key performer
Virat Kohli. The man, bursting with confidence from a dream run, was a class apart. To me he resembled a mountaineer - focussed, gritty, and determined to keep going no matter what the circumstance. The strength of his mind outdid his muscles by a fair margin, which was something, given the muscle-power on display. In the end, he did justice to his name, getting too "Virat" (Hindi/Bangla for "big") for Pakistan.

One thing I'd have changed
Wahab Riaz's lunch menu. Or the DVD he watched the night before. Or maybe the alignment of his bowling shoulder a little bit to the left, so that all those deliveries down the leg side would have been on line. Hard to believe it was the same guy who took a five-for the last time these two sides met.

Face-off you relished
Saeed Ajmal v Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin looked like his old self against the seamers, timing everything exquisitely. But against Ajmal he stumbled, more than once, and was eventually outfoxed by his doosra.

Wow moment
Suresh Raina pulled off a Paul Collingwood-ish blinder at cover to send a dangerous-looking Younis Khan back. If he loses his touch with the bat, Raina can certainly audition for the position of "Seeker" in any Quidditch team.

Close encounter
Praveen Kumar fielded near where we were sitting, and he got heckled for his name, which when translated to Bangla means "elderly bachelor".

Close encounter II
I met the Indian supporter who claims to be Sachin's biggest fan, and backs it up with his action. His face and torso were painted perfectly in the India colours, and "Sachin" was written on his back. He was blowing a conch shell and wielding a huge Indian tricolour flag. He is such a common sight at India's games worldwide, and it was good to have him at our gallery.

Shot of the day
Tendulkar's upper-cut off Aizaz Cheema in the fifth over was like a maestro doing a quick encore of one of his oldest, most famous classic sonatas. It was a moment to reminisce on a bad day - that I have seen Tendulkar hit a bowler for six over the keeper's head will surely cheer me up no matter how low I may be feeling!

Crowd meter
Despite it being the first weekday, the stands were packed long before offices closed. The atmosphere was festive, upbeat and dynamic. Pakistan were narrow favourites, especially because a victory for them would pretty much shut India out of the final, and open it up for Bangladesh. The loudest cheers, very predictably, went up for the two most loved characters of the game in this part of the world - Tendulkar and Shahid Afridi.

Accessories
With too many restrictions on what we could take into the stadium premises, all we managed was my friend's little camera, whose lens covered just us and the wide-angle shots of the grounds.

Overall
It was a high-scoring encounter, had three centuries, and a stunner of a catch. Not much more to expect from an ODI. The atmosphere in the stands was scintillating and the weather just about perfect. Can't complain, unless you're a hardcore Pakistan supporter. Then again, the players have themselves to blame for the defeat.

Marks out of 10
The game would get an 8.5 from me, the deductions being for Pakistan's listless bowling and fielding efforts, and the overall toothless-ness of the Indian bowling attack.

Fahmim Ferdous is an electrical engineering student-cum-wannabe sports reporter-cum-news presenter and radio jockey-cum-bicycling enthusiast, who is living a good life. There was a time he idolised Brad Hogg, but now he wants to be the next Harsha Bhogle. His biggest regret in life is never getting to watch Shane Warne live on field.

[chinaman_f]

thank you so very much Zinat but shouldn't this be more appropriate in Just Cricket? 'Cause it's not strictly related to Bangladesh Cricket. Dunno, mods could tell better. But thanks a ton

[zinatf]

well...depends on the mods now where to shift this thread.....I've done my job....tumi patta na dile ki hobe miya...amra to thiki khoj rakhi....

[Navo]

^ Great article Chinaman_f. Liked the part about auditioning as a Seeker. Going to go watch a highlight of that again!

[Jadukor]

Great stuff chinaman_f. Awesome title btw

[BANFAN]

Happy to see your article chinaman.... Thanks for the write up... Very nice read...

Ohhh... Liked the title...

[Naimul_Hd]

nice one fahmim.

[Rifat H]

Nice article !!

[akabir77]

Nice article.

[playmaker]

wonder what is this thread doing in this section??

no discussion about kohli here, afterall this bd cric section and to add to that this guy scored a half century against us!!

[Night_wolf]

Originally Posted by chinaman_f
thank you so very much Zinat but shouldn't this be more appropriate in Just Cricket? 'Cause it's not strictly related to Bangladesh Cricket. Dunno, mods could tell better. But thanks a ton

ager moto post korona keno?..busy naki exam niye?

[MohammedC]

Good one fahmim

[roman]

Good read. Want to see you more in BC

[Zeeshan]

Great read bro.

[AsifTheManRahman]

The guy is IMMENSELY talented and I'm sure extremely hard-working too. Has led the U-19 team to glory in the past and I'm sure will lead India soon.

[Navo]

Kintu Asif bhai, or to matha ektu beshi gorom? O ki bhabchei, khub shohojei bujha jai. Dhoni's captaincy isn't always great but he rarely looks flustered - a quality you often need to lead a side, particularly a side with as much pressure on it as India

[zsayeed]

Now you know how important was Razzak's dismissal of Kohli on March 16th.

[Dilscoop]

Nice C_f! How many is that? 3rd?
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If someone from Bangladesh scored 180 runs, and chased down 300+ scores twice within a month, I wouldn't care about the temperature of his head. He is not a leader by a "tag," but he did lead the team to victory.

And he didn't show finger to the "fans." He showed it to the Aus fans who were abusing him. I'm not saying it was the right thing to do. As a pro, he has to learn how to not get involved like that. But he isn't the first one to show the fingers to the fans. Many other athletes have done it.

[zsayeed]

Originally Posted by Dilscoop
Nice C_f!

And if someone from Bangladesh scored 183, and chased down 300+ scores twice with in a month, I wouldn't care about the temperature of his head.

And he didn't show finger to the "fans." He showed it to the Aus fans who were abusing him. I'm not saying it was the right thing to do. As a pro, he has to learn how to not get involved like that. But he isn't the first one to show the fingers to the fans. Many other athletes have done it.

Aah there' the rub
Point made.

And that proves what exactly?

Long Live Machiavelli

[Dilscoop]

And many more!

Hell, even Shakib showed it, to his own "fans." So?

[zsayeed]

And then he goes off on the other teammates and umpires as well. c.f: Kohli Reprimanded

[Dilscoop]

Proves that it's no biggie. Get over it? It's ok being a o-shanto chele? Not everyone has to be a Cool head Dhoni or Sachin? IDK what were trying to prove by his jesters?

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Originally Posted by zsayeed
And then he goes off on the other teammates and umpires as well. c.f: Kohli Reprimanded

That's a dumb law itself. He stood his ground big whoop. Stop treating INT cricketers like school kids. That is nothing compared to what baseball umpires and players do.

[Ajfar]

More big things to come from Kholi. If he keeps this up he maybe next in line to replace Dhoni instead of Gambhir, which will be a bad idea I think. I think he will make a good captain later on down the line.

Good read Fahmim bhai.

[zsayeed]

Originally Posted by Dilscoop
Proves that it's no biggie. Get over it? It's ok being a o-shanto chele? Not everyone has to be a Cool head Dhoni or Sachin? IDK what were trying to prove by his jesters?

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That's a dumb law itself. He stood his ground big whoop. Stop treating INT cricketers like school kids. That is nothing compared to what baseball umpires and players do.

Now the Law is dumb?
I am stating he is no leader material. To lead need to have a cool head.
And 'Big Whoop' is not an argument.

[riankhan]

Well written Chinaman, enjoyed it