Pathan and Tiwary script a famous win
India's victory in the fourth one dayer played at Bangalore was spectacular to say the least. Though Yusuf Pathan was the star, India could not have won without the those crucial contributions from Sourabh Tiwary and Rohit Sharma. Parthiv Patel too made a contribution but one must also admit that he got those runs when the team was going steady. Credit in particular should be given to Sourabh Tiwary because he was playing in only his second game and had he fallen early it would have been impossible for Yusuf Pathan to take India home with the likes of Ashwin, Zaheer, Nehra and Praveen Kumar. Another area in which the 20 year old Tiwary needs to be credited is that he did not lose his patience when he was struggled to get runs and at one point of time he had scored 18 in 31 deliveries, though he eventually finished with 37 of 39 deliveries.
Yusuf Pathan has a game similar to that of Sehwag as both of them believe in playing a patient game and backing themselves to hit the ball out of the park as and when a opportunity presents itself. However is not fair to compare the two because Sehwag has already attained legendary status and is one of those all time greats of the game while Yusuf Pathan is still yet to make a mark in international cricket. While Yusuf Pathan managed to win a match which was almost lost there were a couple of things which went in his favour.
Firstly the mindset of teams work in Pathans favour. Though it was Gambhir who captained the team, the regular captain M S Dhoni was instrumental in making players believe in themselves and believe the match is never lost till the final run is scored by the opponents or the final wicket is taken by the opponents and that has been one reason why Team India has scripted some magnificent victories in all formats of the game under his captaincy. The heroics of Sachin, Laxman and Ishant Sharma in the recent past in test matches is well known to the entire cricketing world and Pathans blitz was a extension of that self belief which players of Team India carry with them.
Secondly what went in favour of Yusuf Pathan is the fact that New Zealand are on a losing streak having lost 7 successive games on the trot prior to the Bangalore one dayer. What would have been at the back of Pathans mind was that 4 of those losses have come against Bangladesh and he knew for a fact that his aggressive approach in itself is more than enough to flatten the negative Kiwis and that is what exactly happend as New Zealand never believed they can win a match.
Yusuf Pathans brilliance with the bat has been well covered by the media because it is one of the best innings ever without a shadow of doubt but where media seems to have erred is in pushing for a World Cup berth for him. It is impossible for the likes of Yusuf Pathan, Virat Kolhi or for that matter a even more talented Rohit Sharma to find a berth in the World Cup team as the team is already jam packed with the best batsmen in the world in the peak of their form. Let us have a look at the famed batting line up for one dayers which starts with the dangerous duo of Sachin and Sehwag, followed by Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni and Suresh Raina in which the only player who comes close to being replaced is Suresh Raina. The fact that Gautam Gambhir a regular opener is not certain to open the innings in itself speaks of the batting might India have at their disposal.
The series between India and New Zealand has been a mismatch because Indians have literally over powered New Zealand even without the likes of Sachin, Sehwag and Dhoni who have rested. However one must credit to stand in captain Gautam Gambhir for starting his captaincy with 4 successive wins.
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