Luck by Chance

So, this month and last were cricket world cup months. Followed it anxiously through. Wasted a lot of time. Maybe the shock from India’s loss to New Zealand precipitated my recent viral fever. Who knows? India were going to make it to the last four stage - that was a given. But it had seemed a bonus, in the end, when South Africa, the eternal losers, beat Australia in the last league match, and India comfortably beat SL to top the table at the end of the qualifiers. New Zealand who had lost their last few looked like easy opponents - and it was good India would not face England or Australia in the semis.

Since India was going to qualify anyway, the growing anxiety was that Pakistan may qualify. Didn’t want the tension of another India-Pak match. That’s the coward, the weak-heart, the lily-liver in me speaking. England beat India, but that was ok, since it made it near-impossible for Pak to qualify, unless NZ screwed up big (or did very well) vs. England in their final match. Then watched NZ lose to England alright (which was also needed to keep Pak out), but I had to keep track of the England innings (they looked like they may get to 400 - but ended up at 305) and then saw NZ struggle to get to 186. I supported NZ every run, which made the NRR requirement on Pak even harder. This was not all, then I had to watch the Pak-Bangla game - Pak won it alright - but poor blokes they had to win it by an almighty 300 runs or something to nudge NZ. I watched this all, flogging a dead horse, shooting bullets into a carcass. Spitting at a hanging. Shame on me.

So with all this scraping that Eng and NZ had to go through it was ironic that it was an Eng-NZ final. India lost a two-day semifinal. If it was not sterling raining all the time in sterling England it would not have happened. NZ started on a dry pitch, with dry air, and no rain preceding, made their runs, and then it had to rain. No fair.

The Indian team was gracious throughout the tournament, though it seemed weird to not playing Shami and Kuldeep as often as Bhuvi and Chahal - there are some rumors of factions. Hope that’s not the case. At least outwardly, the captain is composed and so are all the players.

The press was all over how brilliant NZ was. They only made it to the last four by the skin of their...  and now they are suddenly such a great side. And in the semis, if there was no moisture in the air - no way India could not have chased 240. 

It felt good that England beat Australia to pulp in the other semis. So, the 2nd-best team from the league stage were also not in the finals. Good. Indian frog syndrome. But also  pointing to the vagaries of the game. Especially in sterling England. Due to the vagaries of the conditions.

Anyhoo. The final was Epic apparently.  Tied at the end of the match. Tied at the super over. Then England won on more boundaries scored. Meeh. What a joke. The England tie included an overthrow that Ben Stokes, an England batsman who was born in NZ (ha), nudged to third man boundary. This world cup was not won through dominance the Australia way - it was won by chance. And sterling English weather was a big part of ‘chance’.

But will the press call it out? No. England are champions. They are kissing their others, and lifting the trophy and giving interviews.

In the end I like the outcome quite a bit. NZ didn’t win the final - because they didn’t deserve to be in it, the way they beat India pretty much playing on different grounds. And England somehoo managed to win. Certainly not the stuff of legends. They deserve that for their bad weather - and scheduling one semifinal in the wettest parts of the country. 

Hmmm. So what am I complaining about?