Cricket and its Coverage

The cricket played between the world XI and the Aussies was not as it was expected. The dismal performance of the world XI spelled the end of the World XI concept. No player in the world XI gave a good performance. Muralitharan did show his brilliance in the second innings of the six day test match( ironically the test was wrapped within four days). Rohit Brijnath has written very good coverage of the test match in the The Hindu. I liked the way he put Muralitharan's efforts in words:

Few moments in sport are as precious as when an athlete embraces perfection even for a fleeting instant, and Murali to Katich for four balls defined it. It was not an over bowled, but composed.

Murali let the ball go, Katich twitched; the ball landed, Katich prodded uncertainly; the ball turned and leapt, Katich looked distraught. Solace of a kind for the Australian was found in a shared embarrassment, for twice Mark Boucher was conned, too, once on a stumping chance, batsman and 'keeper hitting and clutching air respectively. Cricketing death was inevitable, only its method was in question; a ball later that, too, was settled when Katich edged a catch back to the bowler.

Being a ardent fan of the Lankan spinner, the writeup made my day.