T20 finale today: It’s a triumph of south Asian cricket

The contest between two cricket giants of the world in the finale of the 20/20 cricket tournament in the capital city of Bangladesh today (Sunday) is a triumph of south Asian cricket since both the teams are from this region.
Whoever wins the much-awaited finale, will invariably be a south Asian side while the runners-'up will as well be a regional one.
Indeed, it has been a commendable feat of the regional cricket as these two south Asian teams have elbowed out the formidable teams -- like those of Australia, England, south Africa and last but not the least, the reigning champions, the West Indies in the line-up to the final. We take our hats off to the finalists of today's match -- India and Sri Lanka -- for their splendid record in reaching those positions, especially the former, which remained unbeaten so far in the tournament, thus being only such a side in this tournament.
We congratulate in advance the winners of the final match and also our felicitations to the losers for the simple reason that they, too, have come across a long way. In any case, the final matches are always between the sides which have hardly much difference and it is a bit of luck as well that decides the eventual outcome of one team as the victorious ultimately. This is more so in cricket -- a game of some glorious uncertainty.
It is heartening to note that Bangladesh has hosted such a world tournament of great enthusiasm that has evoked a great deal of delight all over the cricket world. Many people from different countries thronged Bangladesh on the occasion and the matches were played also outside the capital like the venues in Chittagong and Sylhet. In the process, all these Bangladesh cities have become more familiar with the outside world and this is also a feather in the cap of the host country. It will not be out of place to mention that the organising such an event involves a gigantic exercise and the host country has accomplished this great task adroitly, despite its manifold limitations.
That the Bangladesh side cut a sorry figure in the tournament as it went without any worthwhile victory is, of course, a sordid tale. The "Tigers" -- as the countrymen fondly call them -- disappointed the nation through their poor performance, although they had managed to get a berth in the tournament by beating the minnows who all struggled for a place in the tournament.
When it came to the real test, Bangladesh cut a sorry figure which was, however, not entirely unexpected, leaving aside the emotional aspect of it. It did so quite miserably.
There has to be a self-introspection and a post-mortem exercise to find out what really went wrong with a side that was otherwise not anticipated to perform so badly. True, none expected the hosts to reach the zenith, but what they had shown was certainly not in the estimation. This is will borne out by the defeat that the Bangladesh side had to savour when it played against Hong Kong.
Some other well-known teams also played quite disappointingly. But that is not our headache. However, we definitely praise some other nations which are not known to possess cricket prowess to reckon with, but did quite well in the tournament, at times beating the much better sides.
At the end, we are anxiously awaiting to watch the finale of the 20/20 world cricket this evening as countless people both at home and abroad would remain glued to the televisions sets while a much smaller number of fortunate ones would watch the encounter in the ground.
Whatever may be the outcome of the match, all cricket-lovers expect it to be a thrilling and exiting one, befitting the finale of the 20/20 cricket tournament, regardless of the fact who wins or loses. The bottom line is that the cup remains in south Asia this time while the runners-'up too will also be from this region. This is a no mean achievement of the south Asian regional cricket.
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