There was plenty of excitement in the team as we journeyed to Dharamshala with the prospects of reaching the semifinals. The mood was upbeat and on the flight from Delhi to Dharamshala, I got pulled into an interesting conversation between “Mr and Mrs Cricket”. The “Mister” was of course Hussey and the “Mrs” was Muttiah Muralitharan!
It was just a one-hour flight, but time flew. The one hour seemed like five minutes. The conversation between the two covered every aspect of cricket, like their preparations, how they set targets, etc. Rixon, having watched it all, told me that I got hooked into the discussion. I told him that the conversation would make for a fantastic television show since it touched on various aspects of the game. Indeed, it was a stunning experience for me.
We reached our hotel in Dharamshala after a 45-minute ride from the airport. I was on the same floor as Dhoni and it gave me an opportunity to interact with him some more. I visited him in his room and came out realizing that he was simpler than I thought. He has started calling me “old man” and I keep telling him that age is only a number.
As the game started, I admired the setting which I thought was fantastic with snow-capped mountains in the background. It may be a small ground, but it is a jewel in the crown. There are not many grounds that are as pretty as the one in Dharamshala.
Winning the toss is always crucial I have said. We backed ourselves to field first, but the team composition had one issue.. Punjab had about half-a-dozen left-handers and that took left-arm spinner Jakati out of equation as it left us just one specialist off-spinner in Ashwin. That pushed Dhoni to have Raina bowl his full quota of four overs.
With Shaun Marsh and other catches being put down, I had this sinking feeling. The target was gettable, but you still needed to go out there and get the runs. But when Haydos and Vijay fell, it was about Raina, Badri and Dhoni getting together.
So I started counting the biggies. There were a few stunning boundaries and it helped. When Dhoni came up with those two big hits, I was jumping off the platform and running on to the field. I couldn’t find Mahi as there were better sprinters in the team! So the “Old Man” had to wait until Mahi extricated himself.
There was a lot of celebration after the game, but we knew that we had a long and arduous journey the following day. We got to the airport the next morning only to find the flight to Delhi cancelled due to bad weather. So, we had to take the bus to Chandigarh where we stayed overnight.
As I write this blog, I am in transit, waiting for the flight out of Chandigarh to Chennai. I am not sure how it’s going to be with the team. It is a tired unit, but not a sick unit. We have to catch a flight tomorrow (Wednesday) to Mumbai for the semi-finals.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama certainly saw the League table and showered his blessings on us. It will go down as a Himalayan Miracle.
Looking at the semifinals, it will be anybody’s game. Deccan Chargers put out a more feared Daredevils. It will not be easy for Mumbai Indians too as they are up against a very balanced Royal Challengers.
At the DY Patil Stadium, we have to get our composition right and it is time to get Murali back into the team. He loves the big platform. He looks like a caged tiger. On the bus ride to Chandigarh, the young Tamil Nadu players made a Mickey out of Murali who kept us all entertained.
Two more games to go and I am not for the play-off. I hope that our fans are happy and we can deliver the ultimate prize to them this weekend. That would be a nice way to round off this IPL season.
