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Journalism of Courage
The city woke up early from last nights disappointment,to the usual hustle and bustle of Monday morning. No host nation had ever won the World T20,and Sri Lanka hadnt bucked the trend. But for the West Indies,it was one long,never-ending night. None of the present squad members were even born when WI last won a World Cup in 1979,and they were only too eager to savour their success in a Caribbean-style party.
This world T20 was important to the West Indies for a lot of reasons for their youth to still rally round the West Indies,to bring money back into the game and most importantly to redeem their lost prestige.
But this edition will always be remembered for providing a fair contest between bat and ball,with the bowlers calling the shots for a change. The final on Sunday night was a great example of this.
Ajantha Mendiss spell made it look simple for Sri Lanka before Marlon Samuels came up with a whirlwind 78 from 56 balls,but the bowlers caught up soon to restrict WI to just 137. And then it was the turn of the West Indies to deliver with the ball,triggering a dramatic collapse after the hosts had looked in control.
Out of the 27 games and 26 outcomes,bowlers claimed 11 Man of the Match awards. This included every kind fast bowlers,mystery spinners,left-arm and right-arm,leg and off breaks and quite a few of the awards went to batsmen who,like Mahela Jayawardene in the first semifinal,guided their team through difficult situations,against top-class bowling.
Many highs
There was just one 200-plus total and just one century two if you include Luke Wrights 99 not out against Afghanistan in the entire tournament. Sri Lanka showed that a score of 139 could be defended and Ajantha Mendis,with his 6 for 8 against Zimbabwe in the first game,provided an early indication of the tournaments deviation from tradition.
Eight times teams were bowled out inside their quota of overs and the dot balls forced on the batsmen exceeded expectations. Mendis bowled the maximum 73,or the rough equivalent of twelve maiden overs out of the 24 he delivered in the tournament. His team mate Nuwan Kulasekera bowled 72 dots while Sunil Narine ended with 70.
In some way,the tournament also seemed to narrow the gulf between Test and T20 cricket.
Most games required batsmen to survive and show their skills to negotiate seam as well as spin,and there was little reward for the stand-and-deliver bashing typically associated with T20.
Bowlers check in
The pitches may not have been conducive to tall scores but to imagine that spectators will only thrill to a constant rain of sixes and fours is a myopic view. Low-scoring humdingers can generate the same excitement in the stands,as well as ample suspense and drama.
As a nation,Sri Lanka has predominantly given patronage to batsmen and spin bowlers,but once again,the World T20 proved an exception. The bounce and carry on the pitches took a lot of people by surprise,and seven of the top 10 wicket-takers were fast bowlers.
To begin with,Hambantota,Pallekelle and Colombo lent a lot of help to the fast bowlers,and teams like Australia,England and South Africa used the short ball and pace to cut through the opposition almost unheard of in the Island.
The batters too came into the party with a few thunderous knocks,courtesy Brendon McCullum,Chris Gayle,Shane Watson and Virat Kohli before the slow bowlers provided a twist to the tale towards the end.
In the end,everyone had their piece of cake,and together they proved to the audience,which poured in towards the important stages,that T20 is far more entertaining and unpredictable if everyone gets a fair chance towards impacting the result.
