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Journalism of Courage
TAUNTON, MAY 25: India have left themselves a fairly straightforward task if they are to win the 1999 World Cup. They have to win seven matches straight — the two remaining games in the league stage against Sri Lanka tomorrow and England on Saturday, three games in the Super Six stage, the semi-final, and the final. Simple, huh? The smallest stumble and it could be Goodbye Blighty, Hello Air-India. Goodbye hope, hello odium.
Of course, there are a couple of small and convoluted escape hatches, lidded with `ifs’. If India beat Sri Lanka and lose to England but Kenya beat Sri Lanka etc. It is also possible to drop a game in the Super Six stage and still reach the semi-final.
But such caveats and calculations are the refuge of weak minds. The direct option is win, win, win, win, win, win, win. Not since the halcyon days of 1985-86, when the Indian teams of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev won the Benson and Hedges Trophy in Australia with five straight wins and then went to Sharjah and won three gamesstraight, has there been such a winning sequence.
The immediate task is to beat Sri Lanka on the morrow at this county ground in Somerset bedazzled in the past by the magnificent exploits of Ian Botham and Viv Richards. 8500 fans, mostly Indians, will be shouting themselves hoarse, not to speak of the millions glued to their television sets back home. In effect, this is a sudden death game. The side that loses will be looking at their shopping list and booking tickets home. Sachin Tendulkar has enough reasons to come good even without the legacy of Richards and Botham, who had one of the stands named after him last year.
The maestro, who exhausted the superlatives of Indian reporters while dispatching a mediocre Kenya attack for 140 on Wednesday, will bat again at No 4, coach Anshuman Gaekwad told reporters after the team went through net practice this morning. “Ramesh is an opener who is making runs and Saurav is keen to open. Sachin can easily bat lower down,” Gaekwad said, rejecting the notion thatplaying India’s premier batsman at No 4 is a defensive move.
The thinking in the Indian camp is Ramesh is best served opening because he is not a big hitter after the field spreads. Ganguly, too, can find gaps easily in the first fifteen. The versatile Tendulkar can adjust to any situation.
Gaekwad also indicated that the team management would not hesitate to send Tendulkar at No 3 if the openers had consumed too many overs for too few. The teams brains trust did not announce the 12 for the game tomorrow because of several niggling injuries to players. Kumble and Prasad are expected to return to the eleven and Mohanty may stay at the expense of Agarkar.
Kumble’s return means Chopra goes out despite a decent showing against Kenya, although the plethora of left-handers in the Sri Lanka line up may tempt India to retain him. Keeper Mongia is also in some doubt with a finger injury but he is expected to recover in time for the game. Otherwise there is the intriguing prospect of Dravid keeping wickets andplace for an extra bowler or batsman.
Lanka have been deadmeat for India — and just about everyone else — in recent times but their win against Zimbabwe has revived them. An essentially two-man bowling attack of Vaas and Muralitharan, they have been lifted by the renewed vigour of the wayward Wickramasinghe, who bowled impressively against South Africa and Zimbabwe. But their batting has gone down the tubes. Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva and Ranatunga cannot find runs for love or money, but there is talk that the familiar Indian attack will reinvigorate them.
The short boundary on one side of the wicket should see Jayasuriya’s eyes light up. But surely Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Jadeja would have noted that too.
