Did we just lose the World Cup?

It was really sad watching Dhoni's men lose by 3 runs to England, and
lose their chance to make it to the semi finals of the World T20.

But we've got to salute our heroes for putting up such a good fight.
What? Fight? What rubbish! What kind of Indian fan would think of
putting up a good fight againt England was worth anything? We should
have put the FRIGHT into England and chased them out of their own
backyard. England are a rubbish team with no home stretch. India are
a brilliant team that oozes with possibilities.

So, how then, can we digest Gary Kirsten's statement that India were
tired after the IPL?

Anybody who plays competitive sport will know about having reserve
energy. The last time, India had plenty in reserve, being able to hit
the red-line and creating tensions for the opposition. This time,
there was the same, even better, ability, but nothing in the tank in
crucial moments. The last time, each time there was a challenge, we
rose to the occasion, throwing in a sucker punch. This time we
cowered and waited for it to blow over.

It takes a lot out of competitors, being in the field, at any time.
It is mental, it is spiritual in some sense, and it definitely plays
on the ability to handle fatigue. The body can heal and repair, but
it takes more than a certain amount of freshness to provide an
inspired burst of performance when most needed. That fuel in the
reserve tank cannot be replaced by physios, sports psychologists, or
vitamins and salt supplements. It is from the heart and mind and body
put together, in that special feeling of having the "oomph" to knock
out the opponent.

Simply taking physical rest can heal the body, changing uniforms can
change a few things mentally, and having a different team around can
bring about some new perspective. But it is very important NOT TO
PLAY competitively for a bit before a big competition. Only time away
from playing high intensity sport can replenish that reserve tank. It
isn't easy to pull out a 6 ball 36, a diving catch on the boundary
line, or a hat-trick of accomplished scalps when the reserve tank is
empty.

India were not just relatively tired as Kirsten put it mildly. Our
reserve tanks were empty after the IPL. Sportsmen are competitive and
they hate to lose. They will be just as competitive for their IPL
teams, as they will be playing in national colours. It doesn't matter
to Rohit Sharma if Raina is bowling to him or Anderson. To him, the
ball is there to be dispatched, and he will be hungry to whack it no
matter what.

When well rested and full of oomph, Dhoni can flick six a yorker,
Yuvraj can coolly thump Fidel Edwards with the easiest of bat swings,
and Zaheer can zone in on a left handed batsman six balls out of six,
and make it impossible to score. When down on the reserve energy,
Dhoni will run a single, Yuvraj will swing and miss, and Zaheer will
bowl a couple of indifferent wides before "settling down".

Lalit Modi is a pig not to see this, and is an idiot if he doesn't
know. The bast$%^ has not played any competitive sport, so he can use
phrases like, "professionals can adjust" and other such ill informed
crap to gloss over his organization's shortcomings, but the fact will
remain that the Indian fan has been treated to a frenzied IPL, a lousy
closing ceremony and an absolute shocker of a World T20.

Truth is, the fan is fatigued as well. There is no big shock
registering on us yet, simply because our reserve tanks probably ran
dry during the IPL as well. I'd never venture away from the TV during
any game I care about. This time round, I'd miss part of Chennai
Super Kings games, never really cared to watch parts of the India
England game, especially when England were batting, and I wanted to
miss the dot balls all together. What is the point of a dot ball
anyway?

In the middle of all this, the LA Lakers won the NBA championship in
the USA. My favourite team, they had plenty of oomph to push through
4-1 against Orlando, and they won at home! Now, that is a
professionally managed league, unlike the IPL which is run by a head
honcho with a lisp and no sense of sport.

I don't want any excitement for a while now. I am fatigued. I don't
really care what cricket is up next. We need TIME AWAY. Our players
need REAL REST, not the naps caught at airports. Let's ignore them
for a while and freshen up, and in the meantime, find a way to kick
out that rascal Modi. He's ruining cricket.