Sir — India’s resounding victory over Pakistan in the cricket World Cup was inevitable (“Rohit and rain take it beyond Pakistan”, June 17). The two teams were so unevenly matched that India’s victory was expected.
India were the better side in every aspect of the game. The Indian openers made sure that Pakistan were not able to capitalize on the advantage of winning the toss. Rohit Sharma put the game beyond Pakistan’s reach with yet another magnificent century.
Pakistan were never really up to the task of chasing such a stiff target against a formidable Indian attack. Bigger challenges lie ahead of India but the team is a favourite to win the trophy.
Abhiroop Sarkar
Birbhum
Sir — India has now won every match that they have played against Pakistan at the World Cup. A splendid knock of 140 by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s knock of 77 made India’s task easier. Incidentally, 336 is the highest ever total posted by India against Pakistan at the World Cup. One hopes that India will go on to win the Cup.
N.R. Ramachandran
Chennai
Sir — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and K.L. Rahul helped India put up a mammoth total against Pakistan at Manchester. Kohli also completed 11,000 runs in one-day international cricket in this match. Rahul, too, deserves praise: he opened the innings, scored a half-century and, along with Sharma, helped build a firm foundation for India.
Then it was the turn of the Indian bowlers to do their trick. Even Vijay Shankar chipped in, accounting for Imam-ul-Haq with his first ball. Pakistan was beaten in every department of the game by India.
Vinay Mahadevan
Chennai
Mandrake is no more
Sir — The death of the magician, ‘Mandrake’ — this was Chanchal Lahiri’s stage name — shows that the line between magic and stunts remains blurry. Lahiri drowned in the Hooghly while performing a daring act. Dangerous stunts — lowering a performer in a river with his hands tied — must be executed by trained artists. Did Lahiri have the necessary training? Magicians should avoid risky performances for the sake of commercial success.
Durgadas Acharya
Calcutta
Parting shot
Sir — In “A turbulent future” (June 13), Swapan Dasgupta mentions that in the 2006 assembly elections the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress “teamed up with the Congress”. In 2006, the TMC had an electoral understanding with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The TMC contested 257 seats, the BJP 29 and the Congress 262 seats.
Maidul Islam
Calcutta