CENTURION, 15 February 2003 — In a World Cup which has seen some topsy-turvy results, the Australian team’s brilliant performance in their first match against Pakistan will only reinforce their status as the favorites to win the cup once again.
Playing a mercurial side like Pakistan in the opening encounter would be a daunting task for anybody, but the Aussies made light of the challenge after some initial hiccups. That should be a worry for the Indians as they take on the world champions in what could well prove to be the turning point for Indian cricket. If they beat the Australians, then their confidence will be sky-high and if complacency doesn’t come in then they could beat anybody after that. The big question of course is whether the famed Indian batting will click. They have obviously lost a lot of confidence after their New Zealand outing and that could be seen in the way an ordinary attack like the one Holland had gave them trouble. All the batsmen including Tendulkar were very tentative, and but for a late flourish from Yuvraj and Mongia, India would have struggled to get to 200.
The skipper’s form has not improved, but he has the ability to come good and in his case it would well be the next innings that he plays. The surprises of the tournament have been from the first game itself where the West Indies, inspired by Brian Lara beat the hosts South Africa and then Sri Lanka beat New Zealand. That was not all as Canada won their first World Cup game beating the Test nation Bangladesh and then New Zealand came back strongly to beat the West indies.
Some thoughtless cricket by the West Indies allowed the Kiwis to get a foot in the door. The Windies, perhaps trying to emulate India, are going in with seven frontline batsmen, but unlike India who have the advantage of Dravid playing a dual role as a wicketkeeper and thus being able to play four regular bowlers, the Windies play with three. Hooper then finds that one of them gets clobbered and is not able to use that bowler’s full quota and has to use his non-regular bowlers who in their final overs go for plenty. That the West Indies’ last over was bowled by a spinner just tells how the pace attack has slid down the ladder.
The battle to qualify for the Super Six stage is building up quite nicely and while it was thought that the group in which India is was a tougher group, the way surprises have been sprung in the other group has made the tournament really interesting.
West Indies have done that by beating fancied South Africa, and if India can do that to Australia, then they will take a giant step towards the next stage. They have generally done well against the Aussies away from Australia, where the extra bounce has undone their batsmen. Unfortunately, South African pitches are quite similar to the Australian ones. If the Indian batsmen can play with the flair that they possess, allied with application and determination, then they can do it! (Professional Management Group)
