West Indies v Australia — Quick flicks of the day
Gang Gangnam
Towering over dullness
West Indies’s victory must have surprised many. But the process in which the win came was worth applauding. Batting on a surface that was painstakingly slow, 210 was a total that any team on any day would have been proud of. The beginning wasn’t a blitzkreig, Gayle took a long time to settle down. Till the 15th over, it looked West Indies would only crawl to a ‘respectable total’, little was known of the storm brewing inside Gayle’s mind.
Beginning of the storm
Chris Gayle started uncharacteristically slow in a match that he was expected to set ablaze. But he pressed the accelerator and what a time to do it!
Watson had almost gotten him out on two occasions in the same over, but off the last ball, Gayle heaved his arms and we saw the ball sail over the long-off. He never looked back from then on.
Gayle wins, Watson loses
It was supposed to be a even contest, slightly tilted in favour of Shane Watson.
Watson, the highest scorer of the tournament, with 11 wickets already in his kitty, looked disturbed for some unknown reason. His four overs went for 35 runs and he returned to pavilion with only seven off the nine balls faced.
Finally for Bailey
In the post-match interview with Sanjay Manjrekar, George Bailey looked more relieved than disappointed. After all, the Aussie captain has finally made a respectable score. His 69 off 29 balls failed to conjure any miracle for Australia, but it might just buy some more time at the helm for him.
Gang Gangnam
Gayle’s now famous Gangnam style dance got a new flavour when the whole West Indies team came together on the field to celebrate their victory and danced to Gangnam style!
Sweet confusion
Kieron Pollard was talking to Wisden India’s editor, Dileep Premachandran, after the match was over. Pollard had contributed a fine 38 off 15 balls complimenting Gayle’s hurricane. He was evidently happy and also confused.
As Dileep writes in his Sunday Guardian column, “This evening, I spoke to Kieron Pollard, whose 15-ball 38 was the perfect complement to Chris Gayle’s incredible hitting on Friday night. ‘When was the last time we won a World Cup?’ he asked me, unsure of whether it was 1975 or ’79.”
The columnist later concedes, “The answer was irrelevant really.” And we all agree.