Two massive sporting events in a week – the Rugby World Cup final and the World Series – ensure that the sporting aficionada around the globe are satisfied to the core. With the inaugural Indian Grand Prix also kicking off today, the column takes a look back at the sensation of fulfillment behind the stories of champions in Rugby, Baseball and Formula One.
However first up is a look at another bunch of promising adolescents en route to fulfillment. This piece is being scribed on fourth day of the second test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and as things stand Pakistan are closing in on a momentous triumph, owing to a strong show in the first couple of days. The first test match witnessed our side dominating the Sri Lankans, only to be thwarted by our own shortcomings.
While, the dropped catches – our inexplicable voodoo – are being etched in our cricketing folklore, another facet of play that has been castigated is the lack of aggression in our batting. The fact that the batsmen didn’t build upon the bowlers’ hard work has been unanimously scorned at. Not seizing the impetus when the onus is on them, remains a thorn in our batting lineup; however the boys have looked to rectify that.
Azhar Ali has been a solid performer recently, but having racked up his maiden test century, expect his confidence to boost and he should exhibit a buoyant brand of batting in the near future. Falling short of the elusive 100 run mark has haunted our talented batsman in the past. Nevertheless his finally crafted innings has finally seen him through. Asad Shafiq was given a torrid time – and rightly so – after his sluggish performance in the most opportune of times, but his circumspect batting in the first innings was a positive statement of intent.
And, it also certifies the boy’s mental fortitude and the will to improve. The dexterity of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, as test batsmen, has never been in doubt but their channelisation has been the main concern. Adnan Akmal has also backed his proficient glove-work with a solid display for batting, and looks like being the most responsible of the infamous Akmal brothers. It’s a testament to the management and Misbah for keeping faith in their players, and continuing to nourish their confidence – which will surely augment further as we play more test cricket against quality sides.
Vettel accomplishes the unprecedented
It’s a unanimously acknowledged fact in the sporting dominion that winning a championship is significantly less daunting than defending it the following year. However German prodigy, Sebastian Vettel trounced that scruple this season – and how!
Immediately after last season’s epoch-making triumph, Vettel set his stall out on an assault on this year’s championship. The Red Bull driver continued to train on the new Pirelli tyres, while most other drivers – the Mclaren duo notably – went on a vacation. Vettel also visited the Pirelli tyre factory – the only driver to do so – to further enhance his savoir faire regarding the rubber.
Another pre-season groundwork was his endeavour to work out the RB7 as early as possible, while focusing on the new-fangled regulations – namely DRS – in unison. When the actual action began, Vettel was quick off the blocks – unlike the previous two seasons. Having vanquished the first couple of skewed races, he continued the landslide, triumphing in five of the first six races and capitalising ruthlessly on his rivals’ inconsistency.
However highs connote the existence of lows, but when the inevitable descent did arrive, the F1 Champion ensured that it wasn’t a precipitous one. After Alonso’s morale-boosting triumph in Valencia and Webber’s palpable resurgence around the same time, the German must’ve felt the mercury rising. And, the malfunction in the Silverstone Grand Prix, gave the doubting Thomases nourishment for scepticism.
However having gone three races without a win in the summer – hardly catastrophic – Vettel riposted with a hat-trick of victories including Monza and Singapore. By dint of his third place finish in Japan, the F1 phenomenon redrafted history books by becoming the youngest two-title champion in the history of the sport, and also the youngest to win back-to-back F1 titles. It has been a staggering year for the Red Bull ace, as he looks to continue his breathtaking exhibitions at the tail-end of this season and more importantly through to the next season.
Vettel had been touted as the next big thing early on in his career – and being German he had humongous boots to fill, and massive expectations to fulfill – he hasn’t disappointed.
All-Blacks bury the demon
New Zealand’s momentous triumph last Sunday has eradicated the ghosts of World Cup malfunction for the team that has been the vanguard of World Rugby for ages, without anything tangible to show for it. In what was nearly a seamless campaign for the All-Blacks, the moment when Richie McCaw lifted the coveted William Web Ellis Cup culminated 24 years of soul-searching for a nation that worships the sport.
The final was truly an intriguing game. The French side was written off in unison, but they showed the resilience and the guts to pull out a colossal performance. France utterly dominated the game to be honest; be it possession, scrum, territory or line-out. Les Blues have been the All-Blacks’ bogey team in World Cups, with earth-shattering triumphs in 1999 and 2007 – they have had a major part in New Zealand’s lack of fulfillment over the years. And, for parts of the game they looked like writing another Kiwi capitulation tale.
New Zealand’s desperation was what saw them through in the end. With 111 tackles – in contrast to France’s 87 – the All-Blacks dug deep to grind out an epoch-making victory, when a mistake at the dying seconds could’ve easily written another chronicle of choking for the New Zealand’s Rugby archives. And, that would have been a bigger catastrophe than the Christchurch earthquake that the nation collectively mourns over. The tournament was touted as New Zealand’s time to rule – 4-yearly rhetoric – and with the home faithful basking in sanguinity, anything less than a World Cup win would’ve been a disaster. With 7 wins out of 7, the All-Backs repaid the faith resoundingly.
While New Zealand were comfortably the best team of the tournament, the side that outmaneuvered them on Sunday was a bamboozling enigma for a month and a half. The only side to make it all the way to the final after losing 2 pool matches, barely scraping past a man short welsh side, the French side also generated hue and cry when Lievremont decided to pull an unfamiliar rabbit out of the hat in the group match against the All-Blacks. Which in-team unrest being reported on a regular basis, a rejuvenated France were agonisingly close to an outlandish sporting accomplishment; missed penalties and a conversion that sailed tantalisingly wide.
Nonetheless, with a towering show in the final, France – with skipper and IRB Rugby Player of the Year, Thierry Dusautoir leading from the front – have enhanced their fan-base all over the globe.
New Zealand, however, reached Promised Land through an epic team effort, to finally give substance to their claims of being the hub of World Rugby and of being the best in the business.
Cardinals defy the odds
Game 7s are rare in World Series Baseball, but we were fortunate to have witnessed one this year, and my word what a series it was! St. Louis Cardinals wove together one of the most astounding post-season runs in the history of baseball to bag their 11th World Series title amidst the most dramatic scenes that one can think of.
In a closely contested series, it was Game 6 that towered above the rest and proved to be one of the greatest ball games of all-time. Cardinals were a hit away from elimination, twice in the game but somehow managed to cling on to win it in sensational fashion. The saviour of Game 6 David Freese was against massive in Game 7 and bagged the MVP award for the series, and justifiable so after posting huge numbers throughout the post-season. Freeser was dependably backed by the exploits of Berkman with the bat, and Molina – one of the finest catchers in the modern game. Carpenter had a huge game in the clutch as well, his 9th career post-season win.
Rangers must be utterly dejected after being in agonisingly close proximity of their maiden World Series title, having lost out at the same stage last year. The series was a tale of lost opportunities for the Rangers, who displayed their prowess throughout the week, only to fall short in the most decisive moments. Nevertheless, they are still an extremely competent squad, and with a few solid recruitments they can have a shot at the title again next year. It all depends on how they recover emotionally from the heartrending loss. Saint Louis, au contraire, will be in seventh heaven after qualifying as the wild card, and having been discarded as potential Division Series threats, let alone being prognosticated as the World Series champions.
Saint Louis’ 11th title sees them ranked 2nd on the all-time list behind Yankees’ 27 rings, and with an opulent history and an affluent baseballing foundation, you just know that they can’t be written off in any season at all. They have a great manager in Tony La Russa and a rich reservoir of ball players, to continue their surge in the seasons to come.
