Hollow Victory

The FIFA World Cup for me has turned out to be a forgettable affair. Am neither a football buff nor a major Premier League fan. But I have my favourites just like everyone else. And somehow all the teams I support tend to lose. So I get back to what I do best- Cribbing.

With India winning in the Caribbean and the wonderful FIFA World Cup going on along with Wimbledon, we are having an overdose of sport. Yet none of these much touted sporting spectacles had anything much to offer. Somehow they've turned out to be duds - atleast for me.

The Caribbean was finally conquered by the men in blue. The first victory was achieved way back in 1971 that marked the rise of India and one of India's premier batsman Sunil Gavaskar to the annals of greatness. The second has taken a long time coming and so must seem sweet to the Indian team. A depleted Indian team, (I cannot dream of an India without Sachin) faced a young, inexperienced, inconsistent West Indies team - A bare shadow of the former super power that it was, and achieved a facile victory. So the ensuing hype regarding the superb batting of Dravid or Kumble's wickets seems a bit ungainly. India won on a pitch which was a bowler's paradise. The batsmen might be heroes, but the bowlers are the ones who determine the result of a test match. And India just didn't have the firepower to take twenty wickets on a good wicket. Yet we won and convincingly too. What if the Indian team was playing on a flat wicket ? Can we bat fast, score 500, put pressure on the opposition, attack , attack and make them bat again ? Thats the Aussie way and the right one too. Talking about Aussies, doesnt it seem surprising that Greg saheb started as a coach with the World Cup in mind and our dismal performance in the one dayers in the West Indies has gone unnoticed. Like Ganguly's centuries against Zimbabwe and Kenya, the final result counts, the rest is forgotten. And yet the hollow victory rings truer and farther.

Amelie Mauresmo won the Wimbledon title. The Amazing Amazon won a match because she made less unforced errors as compared to Henin Hardenne. The Belgian was playing way below par and showed sparks of brilliance but failed to dazzle. In a match of unforced errors she was guilty of sharing the larger part of the pie. Two topseeds were fighting to let the other fail. And hence another hollow victory achieved.

The Portugal side won against England which missed two of its key players. Even after Rooney was sent off the Brits attacked and tormented the Portuguese to no end. The famed English midfield did do a good job only to be let down by the fumbling Crouch. Crouch - what a name for a man so tall. The lack of a good striker hurt the Brits sorely. And all because Christiano cheated. Watch this.