Published: Apr 06, 2011, 10:46 AM (IST)
Edited: Apr 17, 2014, 02:17 PM (IST)
By Murali Venkatesan
“Itni shiddatse maine tumhe paaneki koshish ki hai, ki har zarre ne mujhe tumse milaneki saazish ki hai” – From the movie, Om Shanti Om.
This quote from a Bollywood potboiler better represents the Indian cricket lover’s state of mind compared to the sedate original quote from the book “The Alchemist“. I am so filled with joy, that every attempt I have made to write a column on India winning the cricket World Cup seemed mushy and lame.
I am a fan of Sachin Tendulkar, always will be. It would have been a fairytale finish if he had scored his 100th ton in the finals. However, as a cricket fan, I am happy that he did not achieve that milestone and single handedly power the Indian win. I am thrilled that India won on the backs of gritty contributions by the entire team – this foretells a sustainable period of dominance by India on the world stage. To me, Tendulkar’s dive at the boundary to save one solitary run was the absolute metaphor for what he has brought to Indian cricket – team above self and humility in the midst of superstardom.
I have been steadfast in my cricketing belief that India would win the World Cup through out the tournament. When Tendulkar’s wicket fell and India were precariously balanced at 32 for two, there were several cricket-loving friends of mine who sent me messages of great angst as they suspected that they were seeing history repeat itself with India stumbling yet again. My response to them was, “This team may lose the odd match, but they will fight to the end. I am sure India will win this one.” I was even more impressed because I actually believed it and it was not simply pep talk from one fan to another.
It has already been said an umpteen times about how India broke through several barriers – first team to win on home soil, that too chasing a tall target in a high pressure contest. If South Africa’s failure against New Zealand confirmed their penchant to crumble under pressure, India’s win in this match reaffirms their character and ability to claw their way out of most situations.
The heart of this team is no doubt captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. When Virat Kohli fell to a spectacular return catch by Tillakaratne Dilshan, I was praying that Dhoni would walk-in. Sri Lanka’s game plan routinely involves choking off the runs with tight bowling, especially when a substantial stand is broken. You can expect to see their best bowlers attacking the new batsman. Between the runs drying up and the real danger of losing another wicket, the opposition often loses the plot. Dhoni’s ability to remain calm, rotate the strike, and play himself in was critical at this juncture. More important was the fact that he is a far more assured player of spin as compared to Yuvraj Singh, especially against someone of the calibre of Muttiah Muralitharan. It was fantastic to watch him combine with Gautam Gambhir to turn the tables on the Sri Lankans with the “death by a hundred cuts” strategy. The fight had gone out of the Sri Lankans well before the six he hit as an exclamation mark to proclaim the emphatic Indian win.
What impressed me even more was a portion of his reply in the post-match conference. He said, “I used to send youngsters up the order so they could get some runs under their belt. I came down the order to absorb the pressure, but the pressure consumed me many times.” The captain’s focus on developing the team, at the cost of personal performance, was the bedrock of the team’s spirited performance.
If captain Dhoni is the heart, Gambhir is the spirit of the team. He is nicknamed as “Street-fighter” by coach Gary Kirsten for a reason. This diminutive guy is tough as nails, an opening bat who is amongst the best players of spin in the world. He wore down the South African attack for an entire day with an injured hand earlier this year. Alternatively, he can switch into an attacking T20 mode on demand. Earlier in the tournament, Ian Chappell called for India to drop him. I hope Ian Chappell has the grace to own up to this major gaffe.
Yuvraj is the best metaphor for the team’s resilience. He went from being injured, out-of-form, dropped from the squad with eroded self-belief to becoming the man-of-the-series. He was scratchy in the earlier part of this tournament with the bat, but hung in there grittily, getting time in the middle and runs under his belt. With his street-smart bowling offering great results and his fielding returning to his earlier standard of excellence, his confidence improved measurably. The quarter-final against Australia was the tipping point for him with the bat. Yuvraj’s short tete-a-tete with failure will stand him in good stead in the future. I expect that some of his cockiness will ebb away and will be replaced with steely determination.
Suresh Raina and Kohli represent the seamless transition to Gen Next. Both were outstanding in the field, grabbed every chance they got with the bat, and dealt with pressure professionally. Many of the previous generation players have had to deal with the scars of defeats from the past and the attendant nagging self-doubt. The likes of Kohli have tasted success with their very first foray into the ODI World Cup. How well they keep their head on their shoulders will determine their future success. It is a boon for them to have role models like Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Dhoni to mentor and guide them. The future looks bright.
Zaheer Khan’s initial spell of 5-3-6-1 was magical. More so because he is the same guy who went for 15 runs in the first over of the 2003 World Cup final. If there was ever a case of learning from one’s mistake, Zaheer exemplified it when it mattered.
Ravichandran Ashwin has emerged as a bowler who has the mental make-up to gel well with this team. He has come off the bench and has been thrust into high-octane contests – asked to open the bowling during Powerplays at that! As a popular saying goes, “Yeh lambi race ka ghoda hai!” (A horse for the long run). I suspect that Harbhajan Singh will become a more aggressive bowler with Ashwin nipping at his heels.
It was fantastic to see coach Kirsten being carried on the shoulders of his young wards during the lap of honor. This hard-working and self-effacing man and the rest of the support staff have set the standard for cricket coaching.
From all the cricketing fans around the world, “Thank you, Gary.” I guess we will watch you weave your magic with the South African team with admiration and a tinge of envy.
The best moments for introspection are usually after a victory. Here are the areas that Indian cricket has to focus on:
Fans Reaction
One of Dhoni’s first responses during the post-match interview was that in the event of a loss, he would have had to explain why he included Shantakumaran Sreesanth or why he promoted himself ahead of the in-form Yuvraj. After the semi-finals, he responded that the same guys making a pilgrimage to his home in Ranchi had vandalized it after the early exit in 2007. I am glad he brought this up with his usual candor. This “hero-to-zero” mentality of the fans has to go if we truly desire a team that plays to its potential. The team can only guarantee performance, not the result.
On a separate point, the India-Pakistan rivalry is legendary and makes for riveting cricket. However, this is just a game of cricket – not a war or a clash of religions. Some of my friends were of the mindset, that after beating Pakistan, the World Cup was mere icing on the cake. This view was further fanned by the media with the hype about the “final before the final”. Sport is meant to mend fences and defuse tension – not to ratchet it up.
Bowling
With Harbhajan, Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ohja, and a host of other budding spinners, spin bowling is in good hands. With Zaheer probably having just a couple of good years left, the pace bowling department looks shaky. Munaf Patel’s lackadaisical fielding effort, Sreesanth’s lack of ability to control himself, and Ishaant Sharma’s extended run of poor form do not augur well. India is missing a true fast bowling all-rounder.
A resuscitated Irfan Pathan and the promising Abhimanyu Mithun need to be nurtured as these guys will lend the sort of balance the team needs to win in conditions that favor seam bowling. The IPL will allow us to gauge these and other bowlers in the pipeline. India needs to hire full-time bowling coaches – one for fast bowlers and one for spinners. I cannot think of a better duo than TA Sekhar and Anil Kumble for these positions to start with.
Batting
I would love to see Cheteshwar Pujara break into the ODI team as well. He has stood up well in the few opportunities he has been given in the test arena. He has proved himself as being a fast scorer when the situation has demanded in domestic cricket. He has been subjected to the shenanigans of the BCCI minions – much like Rahul Dravid was shutout of the ODI team in his early years.
The undeniably talented Rohit Sharma has been afforded umpteen chances, Pujara deserves at least a fraction of the chances offered to Rohit. Other batsmen to watch out for are Abhinav Mukund, Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary and Ambati Rayudu. Nurturing these batsmen and offering them chances to step-up to the next level will require that there be a rotation of batsmen, especially given India’s hectic cricket schedule.
Fielding
Indian cricket seems blithe about the fact that we are a poor fielding side. Between Raina, Kohli and Yuvraj, the team came up with an at par fielding effort in the knock-out stages and the difference that it made was there for all to see. To continue moving forward without a full time fielding coach – someone like Jonty Rhodes – would be irresponsible. Dropping players for not being fully committed fielders would ensure that even those who are not naturally gifted athletes will give their best.
I would not call India the champions of world cricket simply on the basis of their World Cup win. However, based on how they have fared in all forms of cricket over the past year and the opponents they have faced down during the course of winning this world cup – I will state emphatically that Team India is the champion of world cricket.
Life is, indeed, good.
(Murali is a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. When he gets time off from his cricketing duties, whether it be playing or watching cricket, he attends to his duties as a husband, father, and engineering new solar technology solutions)
