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India’s defeat at the hands of West Indies in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup is being called a ‘shock’ in sporting terms. But in the context of T20 cricket, it’s not much of a surprise. There are several reasons for this. First, there’s the matter of the rankings — if India are ranked No. 1 in the T20 format, West Indies aren’t far behind at No. 2, merely three points adrift of India on the ranking table. Second, it is a fact that among the major teams (Test-playing nations), T20 rankings don’t matter much. Any team can beat any other team on a given day. That's the nature of this format — a couple of smashing performances, a bit of good fortune, a dropped catch or a no-ball can prove decisive. It’s the most fickle format of cricket.
But it must be said, too, that the West Indian cricketers of this generation are perfect for T20 cricket - they are free-spirited, fun-loving, muscular men who are capable of smashing the ball beyond the boundary almost at will. West Indies won the World T20 title in 2012 and finished runners-up in 2014. They, though, don’t seem to be very keen about more serious cricket — days’ cricket — in which the batsmen need to put their heads down, fight for their wicket in conditions that change drastically from hour to hour and day to day. West Indies, thus, are ranked No. 8 in Tests (above Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) and No. 9 in One-day Internationals (above Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe).
The T20 format arouses the greatest passion among the fans; the sight of the ball ending up in the stands with great regularity is extremely thrilling, but some people lose sight of the fact that this is the most uncertain format of the sport — you can’t look for certainties (like a win) in it. West Indies pummelled the ball better than India yesterday, and luck favoured them on many occasions. We must accept that, wish West Indies well for the finals and move on. This is not the format of cricket that should be taken to heart.
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