It is a nice laidback Sunday and I was told by my father that one of the leading newspapers in India is carrying a feature on the World Cup. The main focus of that feature was India and Sachin Tendulkar. That is when I realized that with 20 days to go, the talk and excitement among the Indian fans and the media is going to increase exponentially.
No other cricket team carries the expectations of a billion people. What makes it even more special is that the World Cup is going to be held in this cricket crazy nation. Indian players feel the support of a billion people even when they play World Cups away from home. I can only imagine what it must be at home.
Every Indian fan remembers the disappointment of the last World Cup. To be honest, the Indian team wasn’t there physically or mentally. The squad wasn’t the fittest and all the chopping and changing in the two years coming into the tournament had taken its toll on the players. This time however, Indian fans do not have to worry about this. The core of the team has remained the same since Gary Kirsten has taken over the reins as coach and he has managed to get the players to improve their fitness and fielding. In hindsight I would say, the nadir of the 2007 World Cup has helped Indian cricket to keep pace with the other teams in world cricket.
The squad that Krishnamachari Shrikant and his team of selectors have picked was anybody’s guess. There were no major surprised and that just goes to show the team built by MS Dhoni and Gary Kirsten. The team for the World Cup is:
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wicket-keeper)
2. Virender Sehwag
3. Gautam Gambhir
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Virat Kohli
7. Suresh Raina
8. Yusuf Pathan
9. Praveen Kumar
10. Harbhajan Singh
11. Ravichandran Ashwin
12. Zaheer Khan
13. Ashish Nehra
14. Munaf Patel
15. Piyush Chawla
The only surprise for me in this squad was the inclusion of Piyush Chawla. To be honest, India is not going to play more than one spinner as the part timers will be used as the fifth bowling option. Yuvraj and Pathan will have to bowl in the middle overs to support Harbhajan Singh. Instead of Piyush Chawla, India should have taken Parthiv Patel as he would provide an able back up wicket keeping option and has looked very good with the bat off late.
Out of the fifteen, twelve select themselves in the team. There was competiton between Sreesanth and Munaf but the latter won the race due to his match winning spell at Johannesburg. Ashwin’s performance against New Zealand helped him pip Ojha for the second spinner’s spot. For the fifteenth spot there was competition between a spinner and a batsman but the selectors opted for the extra spinner.
Six of these players were a part of the World Cup final of 2003 and they definitely know a thing or two about making it to all important clash. Even today Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Zaheer and Nehra form the core of the team and know their roles well going into the tournament. These six will be joined by Dhoni, Gambhir and Kohli in the playing eleven. Mahendra Singh Dhoni then has to make a choice between Raina and Pathan for the seventh batsman. I would go with Pathan as he is a better bowler and was really sensational with the bat off late. Dhoni also has to choose between Munaf and Praveen. Praveen has been very good over the last two years but Munaf has been good in South Africa. If the team management looks to play both of them, then I think Ashish Nehra may have to sit out. For a change, it is good to see that India do not have many problems selecting the eleven.
STRENGTHS:
1. The Strong Batting Line-up: The batting looks really good with Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Kohli. Raina or Pathan will play as the seventh batsman. Although, Yuvraj and Dhoni haven’t been in the best of form, at home they can really turn it on.
2. Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh: Zaheer Khan has been India’s best bowler for a long time now. He bowls very well at the start and at the end when the batsmen are looking to go after the bowling. Harbhajan Singh has been in good form in South Africa. He has picked up wickets in the middle overs and has also checked the scoring rate. If India are to do well in the tournament, these two have to continue their good work from the Rainbow nation.
3. Home advantage: The fact that the Tournament is at home, the India team will feel that it is their best chance as they know the conditions well and are a formidable unit on their own turf.
WEAKNESSES:
1. The Bowling can be inconsistent at times. On their day, the Indian attack can really take it to the opposition but at times they get tapped. The other bowlers have to provide able support to Zaheer and Harbhajan to get wickets and check the scoring rate.
2. Slow starters at the World Cup: History tells us that India aren’t the best when it comes to starting the World Cup. In 1999, they lost their first two games against South Africa and Zimbabwe from a position they could have won. In 2003 they got past the Netherlands unconvincingly and were hammered buy Australia in the second game and nobody will forget the last World Cup. Indian fans will hope that their team breaks this trend and starts the Cup confidently.
WARM UP FIXTURES:
1. Versus Australia at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. On February 13 at 02:30 PM IST.
2. Versus New Zealand at M.A.Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. On February 16 at 02:30 PM IST.
GROUP FIXTURES:
1. Versus Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh. On February 19 at 02:30 PM Bangladesh time (02:00 PM IST).
2. Versus England, venue to be announced as it was to be held at Eden Gardens. On February 27 at 02:30 PM IST.
3. Versus Ireland at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. On March 6 at 02:30 PM IST.
4. Versus Netherlands at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. On March 9 at 02:30 PM IST.
5. Versus South Africa at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Jamtha, Nagpur. On March 12 at 02:30 PM IST.
6. Versus West Indies at M.A.Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. On March 20 at 02:30 PM IST.
RECORD IN PREVIOUS WORLD CUPS:
1975: Did not qualify for the semi finals.
1979: Did not qualify for the semi finals.
1983: Champions. Beat West Indies in the final.
1987: Semi Finalists. Lost to England in the semi finals.
1992: Did not qualify for the semi finals.
1996: Semi Finalists. Lost to Sri Lanka in the semi finals.
1999: Eliminated in the Super sixes.
2003: Runners-up. Lost to Australia in the final.
2007: Eliminated in the first round
MOST RUNS: Sachin Tendulkar. 1796 runs in 36 matches at an average of 57.93.
MOST WICKETS: Javagal Srinath. 44 wickets in 34 matches at an average of 27.81
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