🕊Smashes, Sixes and Victories

The Oaktree Post
By Abhijit Mahida · Feb 19, 2024 

If there is one thing that Munnabhai, The Godfather, The Batman Trilogy and the Mumbai Indians team of 2019 have proved, it’s that if the first iteration was good, the second one got only better.

Consider this the second coming of The Pigeon Post, now known as The Oaktree Post.

My name is Abhijit, and let’s see what sports offered us last week:

• A lot of smashes

• A lot of sixes

• and a lot of victories.

Smashes, Drama, and Victory: India’s Badminton Triumph

What! Abhijit, where is India’s win over England? 

Calm down, I’ll get to it, but first, picture this: It’s the semi-final of an event where India has never won a medal, ever. We are the underdogs, facing Japan, and there are 5 matches to be played. After countless smashes, super comebacks and intense moments, both teams are tied at 2-2. 

Last match of the day, and it is World Rank #29 vs World Rank # 478. Who would you bet on, to win?

It is at this juncture that Anmol Kharb, the 17-year-old, scripted a comeback story for the ages, and gave the Indian women's team a seat in the final. Then she did it again, in the finals, and helped India beat Thailand, lifting the Asian Team Championship.

Of course, the entire team contributed, with some stunning wins by Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand and the ever-powerful PV Sindhu to win this championship. But this tournament surely showed everyone the might of Anmol. Fame and fandom will engulf her now and that might become a burden, but at least we got to witness the free-spirited attacks of a teenage prodigy.

434 Reasons to Celebrate

In the 3rd test of the series, India beat England by 434 runs and scripted their biggest-ever Test victory by runs. So, what should I write about -- Jadeja’s 100 or Jadeja’s 5-fer? Rohit’s century or Jaiswal’s double century? Debutant Sarfaraz scoring a 50 in each inning or another debutant, Jurel, showing glimpses of his calm temperament?

Maybe I’ll write about the opponents. England came into this Test match, determined to level up after their defeat in the previous game. Things were going well and they were poised to win at the end of Day 2. But it looked as if the morning of Day 3 wiped all English players of their skills. Their bats wobbled and their ball-tossing resembled confused tourists at a crossroads. I mean, if not for Mark Wood’s quick-fire 33, they’d have wrapped under 100. This is after India hit 450 and could have scored 200 more if not for the declaration.

While I don’t see this as the end of Bazball(as many are on Twitter), England is staring at a lot of questions now. First on the list: How do we un-forget batting basics? 🤔 

A Special Mention

Look, the sporting news cycle is very short. The victories that seem iconic in the moment are forgotten after the next defeat. And when we talk about a win coming in a sport that is not Cricket, the memory doesn’t register in the first place.

But if there is any result I’d want to remember for some time, it’s Ayhika Mukherjee beating WR1, Sun Yingsha, at the World Team Championships in Busan. The stakes were high, the event was momentous and the opponent was literally the best in the world.

And yet, this paddler from Kolkata did what she did. Watch the last 5 points she won, and start your Monday on a triumphant note.

From The Sidelines

• 🏑India beat Australia by 1 goal in the FIH Pro League (women), while the Men’s team beat Ireland by a last-minute goal by Gurjant.

• 🎾Sumit Nagal lost in the semifinal of the Bangalore Open, while Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni won the men's doubles title.

• 🏐The 3rd season of the Prime Volleyball League kickstarted in Chennai this week.

• 🤼‍♀️And Indian wrestling is back to square one. World governing body UWW lifted the provisional suspension imposed on the WFI. With that, Sanjay Singh, who is a close aide of Brij Bhushan Singh, is back as the President of WFI.

Looking Forward

• 🏏India face England for the 4th Test in Ranchi, with a chance to win the series. Starts 23rd Feb, on JioCinema/Sports18.

• ⚽The points table in the Indian Super League is heating up, with Odisha FC leading the pack. Watch matches every day at 7:30 PM on JioCinema.

• 🏏Season 2 of Women’s Premier League (WPL) starts on 23rd Feb. All matches begin at 7:30 PM, with the first one between last year’s finalists MI and DC. Streaming on JioCinema.

That’s it for this week. I hope you encounter only green lights at the traffic signal and green flags in relationships in the coming days. I’ll see you next Monday, at 9 AM.

Here’s to sports, the ultimate truth,

Abhijit Mahida.