It was a month to remember. A lot of sports events were lined up live every evening. The England-Sri Lanka cricket series, the India-West Indies cricket Test series, the Soccer World Cup and the Wimbledon.
England were easily outplayed by SriLanka in the one dayers. Sri Lanka looked like a transformed unit under the new high-performing captain Mahela Jayawardena. He along with Sanath Jayasuria tore apart the England bowling. England missed half their full strength team - or even more. Despite that, the SL players really played out of their skin and the result said it. The return of Sanath is an ominous sign for the bowlers around the globe as the Cricket World Cup comes closer (6-7 months away).
Next the Ind-WI series. After edging India in the close and tight one day matches, WI just could not raise the level of their games in the tests. India lost out on fielding in the ODIs but they were back to their best during the tests. India looked like winning all the four matches which is a tribute to their game, really. India never had - and even doesn't have - a killer bowler who can run through lower orders - which is why, as expected, India could not finish off WI on a couple of occassions. But for the rainy day, India would have gone home 2-0 which was what they deserved. Kumble and Dravid stood out with talisman efforts but it was a team performance with most of the players chipping in at important moments.
World Cup Football. ITALY the champs. Brazil the villains. Zizou the double role - Hero + Villain! It was a great great show really. For the whole month viewers across the globe were a party to the superb entertainment that the players provided. For me, Zinedine Zidane was the best player, even after his shocking head butting incident. That incident will be discussed more that his missed header and the genius penalty. Really, the penalty that he hit was a magical masterpiece. It took a lot of courage to do that in a World Cup Final. And that too against the goalkeeper Buffon! It was the moment to remember for me out of all the matches in this cup. I watched most of the matches of the last few rounds and had a great time throughout the month.
The most exciting times came during the men's final of the Wimbledon. Roger Federer vs. Rafal Nadal. What a match! Roger was the favourite and he proved why he is the king on grass. It was a pure classic. The way Roger kept hitting the backhand slice and reducing the speed on the ball - The way Nadal kept blasting away but could not chase the winners that seemed to come from nowhere. Federer, as usual, tired him down and in a few flashes of brilliance, won the important points. Thats his speciality. He is, for me, the best tennis player I have seen play. And he deserved all the Four Wimbledons.
So all and all, an unforgettable month of Sports!
Cheers,
- Tosh
