EXPERT COMMENT – The biggest cricket show on earth got underway on Saturday in Dhaka. Sitting in Sri Lanka, I could feel the butterflies in the stomach of both the Indian and Bangladesh camps. Nothing can be better than this. I hear Ashish Nehra is struggling with fitness, but that should not be of any concern to the Indian team management. They have enough ammunition to pick their first XI and this is the hallmark of a team that is No. 1 in the world.
India will start as favourites but having lost against Bangladesh in 2007 World Cup, Dhoni’s boys have to be careful against all minnows. The mood in the Indian camp will be high after their emphatic wins in the ICC Cricket World Cup warm-up games against Australia and New Zealand. The batsmen got runs and the spinners came to the party. Warm-up games are important. You try and improve the team combination in these matches.
By now, Dhoni would know his first XI. Plus, the players must be getting the feel of the ICC CWC starting. According to me, teams would have realized that you don’t need six pure batsmen in the XI. Five batsmen and two or three good all-rounders are good enough. And, here India have a large pool to choose from.
Players have to play their roles. A Sehwag must not shun his natural strokeplay and a Yuvraj must not curb his aggression. Yes, Yuvraj is running hot and cold, but believe me, he is just an innings away from striking a purple patch. I hope Dhoni will persist with him. I would imagine this would be Tendulkar’s last Cup appearance. A genius like him comes once in a lifetime and Tendulkar will certainly like to leave on a high.
He was a little scratchy in the warm-up game against New Zealand but he will surely have good run in the tournament. All he has to do is bat 40 overs. India have really been playing good cricket. I was the first one to say that India are favourites to win the tournament. It’s going to be a long event and I see no reason why they are not going to make it to the quarterfinals.
From then on, it’s always going to be a combination of good play and a bit of luck. I only hope India doesn’t peak too early!
(Courtesy ESPN)
