Finally, the biggest and longest cricketing event ever has come to an end. There were 54 games played between February 9 and the final on March 23. Add to that the rest days, long hours of practice and net sessions, and the time spent in South Africa for acclimatisation — no wonder our boys looked so tired by the end of it. And no doubt, by the end of it all, they were feeling a bit homesick as well.It was quite obvious from the way Zaheer Khan started proceedings — wides and no balls galore making it a ten-ball over — giving away 15 runs. It was going to be the shape of things to come, and the beginning of the greatest thrashing the Indian team has ever received at the hands of the Australians. Till the final, our pace attack looked quite unplayable and was rated almost as highly as the Kangaroos. But they just succumbed to the pressure of the occassion. And after all, they were playing in the World Cup final for the first time, and the pressure was just unbearable. a bit too much.I thought putting the Aussies in after winning the toss was a good decision looking at the overcast conditions and the amount of juice in the wicket to start with. If only our bowlers had bowled half as well as they did in all other matches! They could have easily put the champions on the defensive.The match was all but over by lunchtime when Aussies piled up the highest total in a World Cup final and that too, for the loss of just two wickets.At the same time, I don’t think we should feel ashamed of losing to such a wonderful team, pakced with enormous talent and tremendous resolve, full of self-confidence and aggression to the point of being ruthless. And it is time I said this; yes, the Aussies are the best in the business, and they are invincible.Coming back to India, in a sense, nobody dreamt of India reaching the final after that disastrous tour of New Zealand and the hammering they received at the hands of the Aussies in their preliminary round match.My only request to the selectors is that they should not tinker with the present balance of the team unless it is absolutely essential. And a message to the public; please don’t get hysterical. Don’t expect the moon from the Indian team all the time.
