India favourites in knock-out final
India are on a roll. A team coming into the final of a tournament after defeating reigning World
Cup champions Australia and defending champions South Africa
in the previous two matches are the natural favourites to win
the ICC Knock-out cricket cup on Sunday.
And India not only beat them, but did it in style. Which
makes them the strong favourites to win the final against New
Zealand.
Coming into the tournament after a rather unsavoury episode of match-fixing allegations put the team in complete disarray, and the game itself in disrepute, it has been a
remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of the Indian team.
They have played like tigers, outsmarting their opponents
in every department of the game. Their batting, bowling,
fielding have seen a vast improvement when compared to their
performances Down Under, the home series against South Africa,
the triangular tournament in Sharjah or in Asia Cup at Dhaka.
But the most noticeable, and welcome, aspect has been
their positive attitude, the hunger to win and the willingness
to fight for it till the end.
For a team which is notorious for snatching defeat from
the jaws of victory, this squad has simply refused to wilt
under pressure and shown tremendous temperament in crunch
situations.
True, it has only been three games till now and they are
yet to face a real cliffhanger. But there have been tight
situations which demanded that the players keep their cool,
and they have come out trumps.
For example when Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and
Rahul Dravid got out in quick succession in the quarter-final
against Australia, a by-now-familiar middle-order collapse
looked imminent. But Punjab youngster Yuvraj Singh, playing his first
knock, put up a heroic performance, and in the company of Vinod
Kambli and Robin Singh not only got India out of trouble but
saw to it that a match-winning total was in place.
Or when Brett Lee and Steve Waugh threatened to take the
match away from India with some big stroke-play in the slog
overs, instead of choking, speedster Zaheer Khan, playing only
his second match, fired a yorker to send Waugh back to the
pavilion to turn the match back in India's favour.
Incidentally, Yuvraj and Zaheer, the finds of this
tournament, have been a tremendous influence on the team. Their
youthful exuberance and energy has transformed the entire team
and suddenly you have Indians running, diving, throwing
themselves at every opportunity.
Vijay Dahiya has also shown tremendous promise behind the
wickets though he did not have enough opportunity to prove his
credentials as a batsman. In Friday's semi-final against
South Africa, he had four victims and his stumping of Shaun
Pollock was simply brilliant.
Not to speak of the trio of Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid,
who have more or less done the job expected of them. Kambli
has looked good though he has yet to come up with a big knock.
And the bowlers, led by the ever-dependable Anil Kumble,
have performed admirably well and have been able to contain
the opposition and defend the totals put up by the batsmen.
So, on paper at least, it looks like a cakewalk for the
Indians. The ultimate redemption after they had virtually been
written off. But, complacency is the last thing they need going
in the final. For New Zealand are no mean customers.
The way they sent Pakistan packing in the semi-finals, when
the chips were down for them, is but only an indication of the
strength and character they possess.
Ganguly felt the team has the making of a good unit though
he admitted it could do with one or two additions in the
line-up.
"We need to fill a couple of slots, may be a batsman and
another pace bowler in the squad," said the Indian captain.
India might have to do without Robin Singh in the final as
the gutsy allrounder has dislocated a finger in his left hand
and is doubtful for the game.
If Ganguly's mindset is any indication, he will again ignore left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi and opt for Tamil Nadu's S
Sriram, who is not only a useful left-arm bowler and batsman
but pretty handy in the field.
New Zealand have been underdogs who have come
good, though they did look scratchy in their two matches
against Zimbabwe and Pakistan.
The two men vital in these wins were bowlers, off-spinner
Paul Wiseman and left-arm seamer Shayne O'Connor. How these
bowlers stand up to the assault of the Indian batsmen remains
to be seen.
Shaun Pollock, Friday's beaten captain, rated New
Zealand's chances as good but didn't forget to add a rider.
"New Zealand, of course, can back themselves against India
in the final but in order to do so, they will have to get
past the three top Indian batsmen."
Pollock said it will not be easy for the Kiwis to get
past Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid though if they do manage to
do so, they could do well against a suspect lower half of
Indian team. The irony about these two finalists is neither boasts of a
very good bowling attack. Yet they have come through, for which a
great deal of credit must go to the pitch.
The pitch for the final is the middle of the five in the
square and it has not been used. Pollock felt if the Kiwi
bowlers could swing the ball on the new pitch, they could have
an advantage as it poses problems for the batsmen.
New Zealand have some excellent batsmen to take advantage
of the good batting conditions. Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle,
Roger Twose and Craig McMillan are batsmen in form. Indian
bowlers would find it difficult to get past them.
India can only hope their batsmen will bat better and New
Zealand bowlers bowl worse than theirs.
Twose has now hit his fifth consecutive fifty, and by the law
of averages is due for failure. The same law of averages
would suggest the little Indian maestro Tendulkar would have a
big knock on Sunday.
Tendulkar has just one hundred to his name this year and
his captain is hoping he will come good in the final. "I
wanted runs from him against South Africa. Now I hope he has
been saving it for the final."
Mail Cricket Editor