India destined for World Cup glory

The count down to the final of ICC World Cup 2003 has started after six weeks of hectic cricket. With only the final left to be played, India are strongly fancied to take the World Cup home.

Sourav Ganguly Photo © Reuters

The general perception is that Australia deserve to win the final. Yes, Australia have played some excellent cricket in this World Cup, but one cannot forget the way India have fought back after their dismal performance against the Aussies at Centurion five weeks ago. Their transformation has been remarkable, and purely on the basis of springing back from that debacle, I think the Indians deserve to win the World Cup. Not too many teams in the world have the ability to comeback from such a situation.

The remarkable comeback was made possible thanks to the leadership on and off field of Sourav Ganguly. Indian fans were really down after the defeat at Aussie hands and their reaction back home could have completely demoralised any team. The way Ganguly handled the situation with complete confidence and determination speaks volumes for his faith in his team. The players too responded by backing their captain, and they were cool and calm in their approach. The millions of fans back home and worldwide, who were disappointed after the defeat against the Aussies, were made to realise that it was too early to have written their team off after only the second game.

Rashid Latif Photo © CricInfo

At the fall of each wicket, the idea of all the eleven players huddling in the middle with hands on the shoulders of each other is more evident proof of the positive body language of the captain and team. Because of this each and every fielder is motivated to perform well and this attitude has improved the fielding remarkably. They have saved many runs and have turned half-chances into dismissals of important batsmen. The result is eight consecutive wins, including victories against top one-day cricket teams like Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England.

After the Centurion defeat, without wasting much time, the Indian team management made the necessary adjustment in the opening department of the batting line-up. The strategy they came up with was to open with Sehwag and Tendulkar through this World Cup, while the middle order was left flexible to be adjusted according to the situation in the game.

Ganguly has almost perfectly applied the important principle of consistency in the use of team resources. The way he has combined the efforts of the three able frontline pace bowlers, the one leading spinner, with the other part-time bowlers has been virtually faultless.

It will be quite unfair if the efforts and sound analysis of coach John Wright are not mentioned. Wright has been the backbone of this outstanding resurgence of Indian team. The recent match against Kiwis was very important to keep the Indian winning streak going and also to boost the self-esteem of players, since Indians recently lost five-two to New Zealand. The strategy of fielding first against New Zealand was an excellent example of the coach and captain putting their heads together and working things out.

Wright's recent interview just before the semi-final sums up what a coach needs to say, especially before important games. "We still have a long way to go and, as is the case against any opposition and in any circumstance, we have to achieve our game plans and play well," he said. "If we do that the result will take care of itself."

Wright has played a key role in the transformation of Tendulkar's form in this World Cup. After scoring just 36 against Australia, Tendulkar has gone on to play the most crucial and memorable cricket of his career. His 98 against Pakistan and 97 against Sri Lanka can be rated better than any century he has scored before. Sachin totally surprised Pakistan with the onslaught against Shoaib Akhtar and the two Ws. He is on course to be the Best Player of the Tournament and definitely deserves this distinction. It is his positive approach and almost six hundred runs in just nine games, which has helped India to achieve all these superb wins.

Sachin's positive approach will be the key to negate the efforts of McGrath, Lee and Bichel. India will have to rely on their other batsmen too - Sourav, Dravid, Yuvraj, Kaif and Sehwag have all chipped in with useful scores. Especially Dravid's fifties against Pakistan and New Zealand helped the slightly turbulent ship to reach a safe haven. His innings reminded me of the fighting abilities shown by Javed Miandad in the 1992 World Cup for Pakistan.

Merely batsmen and fielders cannot win cricket matches; one needs good bowlers as well. There has been criticism about the Indians not playing one extra bowler, either Agarkar or Kumble. The superlative performance of the three pacers Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Nehra have made up for all such criticism. They have stuck to an excellent line and length, and have made batsmen earn the runs. Bowling of Srinath and Zaheer Khan was one of the reasons for Pakistan's defeat, and Nehra single-handedly destroyed the English batting line-up at Durban. Harbhajan Singh too has been effective and efficient.

I can clearly hear the "Go India Go" slogans of Indian fans at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, back home and worldwide. What has still to be written into the history books is a win against Australia. Yes, India deserve to achieve that win and lift the prestigious ICC World Cup of 2003.

Rashid Latif is the captain of Pakistan cricket team
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