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Journalism of Courage
It was poetic justice that the biggest boring bonanza in Sri Lanka ended in a farce. After rain intervened the two finalists shared the Trophy and the climax to ICC’s big show was a damp squib. I only hope that ICC would learn from this unfinished final and make suitable changes in the rules for the World Cup.
If the final is unfinished on account of rain, it should have been continued next day and not have replayed. There were more than 100 overs bowled in these two days with Sri Lanka batting most of the time. Since the wicket was covered properly, the match could have been completed, if continued next day, easily with almost the same conditions. The crowd was deprived of a grand finish with scintillating stroke-play from Sachin and Sehwag.
Some teams and few cricket experts might say that the conditions in Sri-Lanka were not conducive for one day cricket. It’s all rubbish. A champion side is one, which is supposed to perform well in any conditions.
Despite Sri Lanka beating Pakistan and the mighty but overconfident Australians, India looked a much better side on the strength of its batting line-up which had two Tendulkars in the eleven. Yes, Sehwag resembles Sachin in toto. He has a tremendous eye, his timing is superb and his every stroke is filled with a solid punch. His shot selection too is improving with every innings he plays.
India can boast of a great middle order in Sarauv Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman or Dinesh Mongia and the two youngsters Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif who have not only matured as perfect batsmen in crisis but also electrified the field with diving and catching. It has spurred even the seniors to do well on the field. Rahul also seems to have come to terms with his added responsibility as wicket keeper.
The only cause of concern is the fifth bowler. Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble are going great guns, so is Zaheer Khan, who is using his shoulder to bowl a perfect line and length. The part time bowlers Sehwag, Sachin or Yuvraj might have done well to complete 10 overs in Sri Lanka but they will find it difficult to bowl that economically in South Africa. Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar need lots of toning up. May be, Srinath can fulfil his wish to play the World Cup in South Africa where the tracks are hard, fast and bouncy too.
Yes, with only four months to go for the World Cup, there is no scope for experimentation. It was beyond one’s comprehension to see Dinesh Mongia partnering Sehwag in the opening slot when Sehwag and Saurav pair had clicked so well. Where was also the necessity of promoting Sachin to No. 3 when it was decided already that he would bat at No. 4 in the interest of the team to bring stability in the middle order?
Yes, sometime, the situation demands changes in the batting order but it has to be purely on temporary basis. At that level, it takes time to adjust to a new position in the line-up so suddenly even if it is batsman of a calibre like Sachin.
There is no denying the fact that our team has started peaking slowly but surely. It seems to have all the ingredients like tremendous batting line-up, aggression, do or die attitude, tenacity and steely resolve with more stress on fielding and fitness. I’m sure no team in the World Cup can afford to take India lightly. India has been missing the bus quite regularly. But how long it will go on! The victory has to favour the brave finally!
India should make good use of this forthcoming series against West Indies for practice and finalising its 14 for the World Cup. I pity the West Indies without Lara. It’s going to be cakewalk for India and whitewash for the West Indies.
