The World Cup Story-8 India: The New Titans

Behold the New World Champions: Team India

(This is the final article of the series of 8 articles and the series ends here)

I know all of you must be wondering what has left for me to write about Team India. Still I have penned down some major highlights of their journey during this World Cup. Playing with the blessings and prayers of billions of Indians, the Men in Blue did not let these petitions go in vain. If I start by stats then Indians are the ones responsible for breaking and making many records in this World Cup. Starting form the first match till the last one they had made new records and broken existing ones. Not just batting, bowling or fielding it’s the team’s stupendous performance in all departments where everyone rose to the occasion that had got them this triumph. Starting as the favourites they lived up to the expectation except on a few occasions. Gary Kirsten motivated each and every Indian player to an extent that they didn’t succumb to pressure be it any difficult situation. Dhoni’s captaincy was outstanding as always. For Sachin, words are less to describe the “God of Cricket”. Yuvraj, Zaheer and Gambhir and every player rose to the occasion when the situation demanded.

Starting from their match against Bangladesh they scored the highest total of this World Cup. With Sehwag scoring rapidly with a strike rate of more than 100, the day was bound to belong to him, smashing 5 sixes and 14 boundaries to tell the world loud and clear about the threat he can pose against any bowling attack on any day. Virat Kohli lived up to his reputation on the day very well making 100 of 63 balls with 2 sixes and 8 odd boundaries. But the point of concern was India’s bowling department, for it was their undisciplined bowling which gave the Bangla batsmen rays of hope while chasing. Thanks to Sreesanth for his phenomenal figures of 53 off wicket less 5 overs, the day belonged to India.

The match against England was a very tough contest. It was a match between two weak bowling attacks. Indians were playing with Chawla and Patel, both of whom were yet to find their rhythm in the World Cup, while England were lacking the expertise of Broad and Anderson was clueless on how to bowl on sub continental pitches. So the Indians made merry of their attack first up with Sachin scoring a marvelously crafted century and every member of the middle order contributing. In reply, Andrew Strauss led from the front to smash 158 off 145 balls to take away any chance of victory from India. The middle order crumbled and some power hitting by lower order helped them tie the match.

India’s next match against Ireland was also a close one, because at one stage some quick wickets of Indians and Ireland seemed well set for another win. Yet the Indians erased all such fears and made sure that an upset was not on the cards. Still Porterfield made a mark in that match through his brilliant 75. This time it was the bowling department which required some more discipline.

The match with Netherlands was again a one sided contest. Netherlands played safely and refused to offer any loose shots to through away their wickets. However, India persisted and from 99-3 the Dutch were reduced to 108-6. The first three batsmen all got starts but were not able to capitalize on it. The Dutch were able to manage a decent performance and scoring 189 giving a decent target for the Indians. India got off to flying start with Sachin and Sehwag firing at both the ends. Sachin hit 3 boundaries in one over to complete an extraordinary milestone of 2000 runs in World Cup. Pathan also fell cheaply and Kohli also seemed casual in his approach towards the match. The rest settled down of the middle order to huff and puff their way to the target, creating artificial excitement with the loss of more wickets. Thanks to Yuvraj and Dhoni who put their head down and batted till the target was reached. Although India was able to get the better of Netherlands it still did not look a convincing victory that was expected from the favourites.

Against the Proteas India seemed confident till Sachin was batting. Once the Little Master was gone, the Indian order crumbled. This was the only loss that Indians suffered this World Cup. Sachin made another century to lift the team to a commanding position with 267 on board in 40^th over. As he departed the Indians fell like nine pins, with the only two other batsmen who played responsibly were Sehwag and Gambhir. The rest of the 8 batsmen contributed just 29 runs, gifting Steyn a 5 wicket haul. In the bowling department Indians were still lacking that fire power. Questions were raised on Nehra’s last over and Munaf’s bowling figures. The South African utilized the Indian weakness very well. Though the Proteas won, it was the stupidity of the Indians which let the South Africans snatch the match from their hands.

The next team they faced was the West Indies and the victory margin was too high this time. The Indian Left Hander Yuvraj Singh scored his only century of this World Cup and was well supported by Virat Kohli at the other end. This helped them post them a good target to chase for the Caribbeans. The Windies proved that they have lost the art of chasing completely as Yuvraj and Ashwin bowled their heart out to make the life of West Indian batsmen difficult. Except Smith and Sarwan no West Indies player seemed ready for a fight. India emerged winners easily.

Next up was the defending champions Australia and the Men in Blue looked to seal a spot in the semis by knocking the Aussies out of the competition. Indians bowled superbly to restrict the Aussies to a modest total and chased it down comfortably and cured the Yellow Fever. Yuvraj, Zaheer and Ashwin bowled beautifully picking 2 wickets each and not conceding too many runs. Chasing a modest target Indians got off to a decent start and three of their batsmen scored half centuries to set the match up for India. The small cameo of Raina and the wound to Brett lee will be remembered for years. Ricky Ponting, who quit his captaincy after the loss, suffered an unpleasant farewell that will pain him for years.

The next was the mother of all battles, India up against arch rivals Pakistan in the semi finals. The atmosphere at Mohali was electrifying and both the teams played their heart out to get the supporters their money worth. This match would be remembered for the catches that Pakistan dropped, thus giving Sachin plenty of opportunities to build on his innings. The match also would be remembered for Misbah’s slow scoring rate which crippled the Pakistani chase. With a modest target to chase down, the Indian bowlers bowled tightly and never let Pakistan settle down to dream of a final berth.

The Men in Blues stormed into the finals with the desperation to win the Cup evident in their eyes. No country has lost the Cup when a batsman has made a century in the final. Teams chasing had won only 2 out of 8 times previously. Mahela Jayawardene scored a magnificent century to set it up nicely for the Lankans and yet, the Indians made sure that they shattered the record books as they chased down 274 runs, thus making it the highest successful run chase in the World Cup finals. Sri Lanka batted decently as Sangakkara and Dilshan contributed very well, with some great cameos by Perera and Kulasekara. India began the chase and with the loss of Sehwag on the 2^nd delivery of the match, there were initial scares. However, the platform was set for some outstanding performances. Gambhir put his head down and scored an innings when the team required it the most while Captain Dhoni played the knock of this World Cup by promoting himself up the order to have a tilt at the windmills. He began like a man out of touch, feeling and prodding for runs, but pounced on bad deliveries ruthlessly. Finally, the Captain sealed it with a magnificent six off Kulasekara to end the nation’s 28 year old wait for cricket’s Holy Grail.

Celebrations went on all night, for the world woke up to a new World Champion. Hail the Men in Blue!