All set for super eights !!

As the T20 World Cup super eights round has just begun, I realised that it is indeed the right time for me to get my fingers moving again and put something on my blog. Credit is of course due to some of my friends (Yogesh, Niraj and Prakash ---aaah! What a feeling, these three guys in fact represent three different generations of PI@NIPER) who asked me to write again.

The tournament began on an interesting note with England losing the first match (and then having to receiving a lot of flak from their media), Bangladesh knocked out (they were the ones who were eyeing a win over India, NOT Ireland) and then Australia also following Bangladesh. While Bangladesh delivers an on-off kind of performance, the Australians were not expected to make an early exit. However, to put it in simple words, the Aussies do not have the fire power now that they used to have. Their seniors have retired and the juniors simply are not good enough. Add to this, the fact that the ones who are actually good also have other serious businesses like fishing, having a drink and may be, they are planning their future with IPL.
The eight teams which have made it to super 8’s are more or less the ones which were expected to cross the first hurdle. Ireland is a surprise inclusion but I can only be delighted by this because I can now support two teams whole heartedly.
The teams can be divided into 2 groups and the one where India is now placed is indeed a bit tough. We will be playing West Indies, England and South Africa. While MS Dhoni would be busy making plans for each one of them, the most unpredictable of all these is West Indies, for sure. India will be playing them tomorrow and it won’t be an easy task to go pass them. Of course everyone knows by now what Gayle can do to the opponent’s bowlers. WI also has a good batting line-up boosting of Chanderpaul and Sarwan (people who have flourished against India, though in Test matches) and the new opener Fletcher. Bravo is an ideal all rounder and therefore the team is pretty strong overall. Their bowling however is not up to the mark and this is one area which India must look to capitalise. Also the bowling at the start of the innings needs to be very disciplined and tight because if Gayle and Fletcher get going, then things would be very hard to control.
The next team India faces is England on this Sunday and the English would be pretty fired up as well. They lost their first match to S. Africa and therefore for the second time are on the brink of elimination. Last time, when they were in a similar situation, they responded in a terrific manner when they beat Pakistan last Sunday. Hopefully, they won’t be able to repeat the heroics. The English team is a decent combination but definitely weaker to India on paper and therefore India will definitely start as favourites.
Then, India faces S.Africa on Tuesday in what would be their toughest match so far. The Proteas are one of the most balanced teams in the world right now and the match between India and S.Africa will test the Indians. It is not easy to envision but I actually cannot rule out the possibility of India in a situation like the one in Super Sixes in 2007 World Cup. India went into match knowing fully well that they need to win to make it to the semis while S. Africa just needed to play the game and lose by a not-too-huge margin. What followed was a memorable performance by the Indians and the catch which Dinesh Karthik took to remove Smith will always be there in my list of top cricket catches. India won comprehensively as Rohit Sharma marked his arrival to international cricket, RP Singh bowled a wonderful spell and India eventually shut the doors for the S. Africans.

Well, the million dollar question right now is…Who is going to win the World Cup this time? I won’t be surprised if India does it again but won’t be amazed either if India does not make it to the semis. The issue is the unpredictability associated with this format of the game and hence there is no such thing as clear favourites. However, this does not mean that this is a mere tullebaazi competition (some Pakistani great said this) nor does this mean that matches are fixed in this format (another Pakisatani great said this). The thing is being able to master this format and develop a pool of players who can perform well at this level. This would include batsmen who have a decent technique but can hit big (Yuvraj Singh- an ideal example of this), bowlers who can take wickets and bowl tight lines (Zaheer Khan among pacers and Ojha among spinners presently), a thinking and innovative captain (who else but MS Dhoni) and lastly some good fielders who back their bowlers (mmmmm..mmmmm…who would fit in here ?? Probably Yuvraj and Rohit). Fianlly, some lucky mascot like Joginder Sharma (India’s lethal bowler…..lethal to India and not to the opposition :) ) always comes handy.
To conclude, India does have all the ammunition that is needed to perform a repeat of 2007. But a couple of sub-standard performances can send India packing just as the World Champions suffered an early exit.
Stay tuned and wish India the best of everything.
Jai Ho !!!!