da dobrowin： The Indians are on a roll
Partab Ramchand09-Jul-2002The Indians are on a roll. Not since the triumphant campaign in theWorld Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985 where they wonall five matches – has an Indian side looked so commanding inperformance. The batting and bowling have accomplished their task inunison, the fielding standards have touched a high, and Sourav Gangulyhas scored a point or two in tactical matters. An assured place in thefinal of the competition at only the halfway mark of initial rounds isevidence of the professionalism displayed by this Indian team.
As I said in an earlier column, the only danger is that so many timesIndia have peaked too early and raised great expectations, only tofalter at the last hurdle. But somehow I cannot see it happening thistime. The batting was always expected to be the trump card, but sooften the famed Indian stars have not performed to potential.
Two victories over Sri Lanka, one over England and a no-result game in which it is possible to argue that India were in much the strongerposition is the record notched up by a side that was listed thirdbest in a field of three by the bookies. This again raises comparisonswith the showing in the WCC, in which India, after just having lostbadly at home to England in both the Test series and the one-dayers,were rated as no-hopers.It is not just the victories, but the manner in which they have beenregistered, as well as the tactical thinking and planning that hasobviously gone into the approach that has attracted considerableattention. In a Test match, playing seven batsmen and four bowlers isconsidered a defensive option. With that sort of line-up, the outlookwould tend towards a draw and not a win; it’s more a let’s-play-itsafe approach.But in one-day cricket, it is possible to go in with eight batsmen(three of whom can also turn their arm over) and three bowlers andstill keep winning. The Indians have proved it amply in recent times.They are playing to their strengths and continue to emerge victorious.The strategy is that a huge score can cover up for any weakness in thebowling and fielding. In this, the Indians have brought back memoriesof the Sri Lankan World Cup-winning squad of 1996; that side also hadseven batsmen (two of whom could turn their arm over) and fourbowlers.In truth, however, it must be said that the bowling – the weaker ofthe two main departments – has been a revelation. In more helpfulconditions than they are used to at home, the trio of seamers hasproved that they are second to none. The bowling of Zaheer Khan andAjit Agarkar in the slog overs in the first game against England andAshish Nehra’s spell against Sri Lanka on Saturday are prime examplesof the excellent work done by the medium-pacers.Ganguly was always expected to do well in English conditions, and itis good that he is bowling more than usual. There remained the problemof Anil Kumble, but the ace spinner, after two rather uninspiringperformances, brought his vast experience into view at Edgbaston onSaturday. The result is a very complete bowling line-up, and with thekind of depth available in the batting, it must be said that India arelooking good and must now be favourites to beat England in the finalat Lord’s on July 13.As I said in an earlier column, the only danger is that so many timesIndia have peaked too early and raised great expectations, only tofalter at the last hurdle. But somehow I cannot see it happening thistime. The batting was always expected to be the trump card, but sooften the famed Indian stars have not performed to potential. Foronce, during this tournament, they have lived up to their loftyreputation.The advantage of having so many batsmen is that even if three of themfail, the strategy still works if the others can come good – as theIndians have proved in the NatWest series. What’s more, the batsmenhave erased to a great extent the theory that the Indians are poorchasers. All the victories have been achieved playing second, and it’snot exactly been easy. There have been pressure-cooker situations, andeach time the batsmen have come up trumps.If the batting has performed to expectations and the bowlers haverisen to the occasion, the fielding has been outstanding. Theinclusion of so many youngsters has seen a greater sense of urgency inthe field, and their spirit has rubbed off on the seniors too. So muchso that Ganguly, never an excellent fieldsman, is now eager not to beleft behind. Easily outstanding has been Yuvraj, and his joie de vivrein the field has obviously been infectious.At the moment, everything seems to be going right for the Indians including the controversial decision to play Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper in place of the specialist Ajay Ratra. But they would do wellto keep themselves focused on the task ahead. They are still twomatches to go before the final, and the Indians must maintain themomentum and show some killer instinct. At the moment, they areplaying like champions, and come July 13, they should see to it thatthey emerge champions.