5 reasons why India have been doing well in ICC tournaments

There has been a lot of increase in the amount of cricket being played in recent years. With the 50-over World Cup and the ICC Champions trophy, the addition of the 20-over World Cup has made sure that we have an ICC tournament almost every year. We have already had 5 T20 World Cups, all won by different nations.One trend that has been seen very clearly is India’s good performance whenever an ICC tournament presents itself. They miraculously won the inaugural T20 tournament in 2007 following the fiasco in the 50-over tournament earlier the same year. They came close to repeating the feat in 2014, but were beaten by Sri Lanka in the final.They won the 2011 50-over World Cup at home, and next came the 2013 Champions Trophy in England in which they emerged champions as well. Their performance in the ongoing World Cup in Australia has also been excellent, where they have started off their campaign with four successive wins, completing a streak of 8 wins in the World Cup format, equalling the record set in 2003.The current batch may well break it this time, considering the next opponents are Ireland. The Men in Blue have lost just three games and drawn one in the last four ICC events. As far as winning trophies go, they have won two of them, and were runners-up in a third.

#1 A young side

India have grown to selecting a fairly young side over the years. Even the side that won the 2007 inaugural T20 Cup in South Africa had been tipped to be far too young and inexperienced. But they went ahead and proved themselves. It seems that a younger combination is working for the Indians.

Since then, it has been a fairly youthful selection that the selectors have gone ahead with. This time also, the only senior player in the team is Dhoni, and that too by a fair margin. This cannot have been an unconscious policy by the board.

Another thing that a young side is able to achieve is to bring intensity to the field of play. Running in between wickets has been faster, the ground fielding has improved, and the general level of activity seen on the field is more.

One cannot underestimate what a younger mindset is better at doing – taking risks, bringing in innovation into play – it is rewarding in more cases than not. The adage ‘Fortune favours the brave’ has luckily worked true for the Indian team

#2 Captain Cool

India’s most successful captain has obviously been a huge factor in India’s good performances. He is no doubt one of the best in the world with the bat today, but his role as captain is regarded as one which has really uplifted Indian cricket.

He is one of the coolest customers you will see on a cricket pitch. Never will you see him charged up when winning, or dejected when losing. That is one very important quality that a skipper should have. From the moment he was made captain in 2007, Indian cricket has looked ready to progress to the next level.

He is able to assess every situation, never making it more or less than what it is. While batting, he does not hesitate to come up the order if he sees fit, like he did in the World Cup final of 2011. When fielding, his rotation of bowlers and the fields he sets for them are pretty interesting to watch as a follower of the game.

For example, the leg-slip that he sets for spin bowling, especially for Ashwin, is a tactic that has proved to be successful quite a number of times, more so in making the batsmen think differently. Dhoni is not afraid to take gambles while shuffling his bowling options too. His decision of giving the ball to Joginder Sharma in the last over at the 2007 final was nothing less than a risky bet that paid off.

You will seldom see him celebrating when the team wins. He walked off the field after winning all the ICC trophies that he did, just like they were just another normal game each.

But he is the first one to take responsibility for a loss. He is one who doesn’t like the limelight (although he is put into it) but wants to act as a guardian running the show, a watchful onlooker who will make changes if he feels are necessary. He has this unbelievable ability to absorb pressure, from all around him.

Limited over cricket does require you to hold your nerve to be able to play at the best of your ability, which explains why he has been so successful at the ICC events as captain and also why CSK is the most successful team at the IPL and the Champions League.

#3 Massive improvement in fielding

The Indian side hasnever been associated with good fielding. This isprobably because fielding was traditionallynever one of the aspects that received much attention fromplayers and training staff. The trend to make fielding a match-winning aspectwas started by the South Africans (Jonty Rhodes being the pioneer) and followed up by the Australians.

For India, it was only in the middle of the last decade that the Yuvrajs and the Kaifs started to show what good fielding could do to a game. The understanding that good fielding does hold its important place in the scheme of things, has led to a very visible change in the way Indians have fielded thereon. Several times for India, catches have indeed won matches.

India now has feared names like Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, who are good with their intensity and aggresion on the field. Suresh Raina is Indias finest fielder and is surely one of the best in the world too.

#4 Indian Premier League

It can be noticed that a lot ofnew talent playing international cricket now, have risen from the high-pressure IPL. Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohit Sharma, both important features of the Indian bowling today, were spotted in the IPL. Axar Patel, who is part of the 15-strong squad, was also a find of the last season, wherein he performed brilliantly for the KXIP.

Even countries overseas have included players in their sides who shone first in the IPL Steven Smiths sterling performances for Pune Warriors was the biggest step towards him being an integral part of the current Australia set-up.

Domestic players, having had the opportunity to brush shoulders with the best international cricketers in the IPL, are ready for the big stage by the time they are called upon to perform at the highest stage of international cricket.

#5 Continued practice of limited-overs cricket

Indian players play a lot more limited overs cricket as compared to players of other countries. There are international tours going on almost all the time save for the 2-month window in April and June, which is taken up by the IPL, and the window just a few months after by the Champions League T20.

The whole bench strength of Indian cricket participates in the IPL.

With so much limited overs cricket being added to the cricket calendar every year, the players are tuned to such kind of contests. The pressure of having limited balls to score runs is second nature to Indian batsmen.

It remains to be seen if India can carry on their success at ICC tournaments into the Test Championship, a planned replacement for the Champions Trophy.