Thumping performance

It may have started off pretty controversially for Team India, but it culminated on a thumping note for them. The Surya Kumar Yadav men did not let the Pakistan boycott saga - that was triggered by a BCCI-dictated ICC replacing Bangladesh with Scotland in ICC T20 World Cup and that threatened to plunge the high-profile tournament into a crisis never before witnessed by the game of gentlemen - take its toll on their performance. They retained the world title and took their tally to three - each a first.

In the final fight at Ahmedabad this past Sunday, Team India hammered an otherwise buoyant Black Caps by a wide margin of 96 runs, stamping their supremacy in the world of cricket. The score of 250-plus - well 255 for 5 to be precise - that the Men in Blue amassed against the Mitchell Santner men was not the first time they surpassed the milestone in the tournament. In the semi-final too, their score of 253 for 7 proved too much for England, one of the hot favourites for the world title. And in a challenging Super Eights game against the zealous Zimbabweans, the eventual champions had mustered in excess of 250 - 256 for 4 to be exact. The only low moment in Team India's quest for the glory came in their first Super Eights game against South Africa which they lost by 76 runs.

Eight victories in nine games speak of the absolute dominance of a team that is brimful of stars - batsmen, bowlers and fielders - perfectly suited to the ultra-aggressive style of cricket that the T20 format demands. It's pretty pertinent to mention here the misery that Team Pakistan suffered in the tournament. Still living in the mediaeval ages of cricket, the team needs to undergo a complete overall, as minor tweaks have failed to do the needful. The Men in Green need a root-and-branch transformation so as to come to terms with the modern-day requirements of the game.