Sunday should be fun

Rejoice! It does not get any better than this. India have slipped into Johannesburg for their rendezvous with Australia so effortlessly that you could be forgiven for thinking it was just a question of finding a good travel agent. Tomorrow, when Saurav Ganguly and his men take the field, the contrast with India’s last, and till now only, appearance at a World Cup final could not be starker. Then, as they duelled with the best team of the time, Kapil’s Devils were 66-1 dark, dark horses, elongating their lucky streak with individual flair. Their hopes rested on bits-and-pieces players to knock Clive Lloyd’s men off the pedestal. In the end, they uncorked the bubbly — but even as it marked India’s shift of primary allegiance from hockey to cricket, the campaign remained the stuff of fairytale.

Tomorrow will be a different day. Yes, once again the India XI will face off against the best team of the time. But this time around, they arrive as serious contenders for modern cricket’s greatest honour. Their appearance on the big stage marks another cusp in Indian cricket. A few months ago, Mike Brearley, former England captain who made up for his limited cricketing skills with perceptive analysis and strategy, defined what “being Indian” implied. For him, he said, it pointed to “India’s allegedly characteristic and defining tendency to show flair and brilliance but lack the capacity drive home an advantage”. So, all too often there would be the dazzle of a Gavaskar, Kapil, Azharuddin or Tendulkar — with a supporting cast surviving on a hope and a promise. In 1983 our cricketers glimpsed the possibility of supremacy. In the twelvemonth just past, they have taken a leap forward: they are convinced of their supremacy. They have set their bar higher: They appear to believe they must drive home the advantage, for history doesn’t remember also-rans.

An India-Australia final was always a dream for pundits and fans. And as the tournament progressed, it seemed apt, they proved to be the only deserving contenders. Other cricketing giants are surveying the ruin after fragmenting under the slightest of pressure. Footloose minnows have taken their laps of honour on the way home. On Sunday, the contest is bound to be keen. It should be fun.