I have had the distinct pleasure of being able to watch the Indian cricket team play some very exciting matches in the last two years. I mean who can forget the final of the Natwest series, whereby the Indian team really pulled out a victory from a very desperate situation. This cycle of great cricket by the Indian team continued in the ICC trophy. The Indians yet again turned a sure loss into victory by not giving up the game when South Africa all but sealed a victory in their chase for a marginal total set by the Indians.
Of course the streak of luck or uncanny ability to turn on the heat at the right time did indeed run out with some very poor quality of cricket form the Indians in New Zealand. A sluggish start at the world cup of course had every Indian on the planet who followed cricket at the edge of their seat grinding their teeth at the apparent inconsistency that this team displays time and again. However, the ’’men in blue’’ pulled through all the way to the finals while putting Pakistan out of their misery along the way.
The Indian team reached the final of the world cup on a very high note; after all, beating Pakistan is almost as good as winning the world cup if not better. However, the final match threw some much needed humility at the Indian team as much as it woke up relentless fans such as me. The Aussies proved to the world that they are in a league of their own.
The TVS cup, reckoned the Indians, was a good opportunity to take some much anticipated revenge. But yet again more humility was directed at the Indian cricket team and the fans alike. That is not to say that the Indian cricket team is shabby. Far from it, the Indians have got the best team in some time in my opinion. Indian batting line up is a formidable force and can make the best bowlers in the world think of a career change. However, India still has the same problems that plagued the Indian teams of the past. Apparent inability to find two consistent (fast and accurate) opening bowlers to spearhead the bowling attack.
Zaheer Kahn at times seems to be filling a void left behind by the retirement of Kapil Dev, the only dominant medium pacer that India produced who could single handedly win games for his country. Zaheer’s inconsistency though makes him anything but a contender for Kapil’s legacy. While not having a bona fide pacer like Brett Lee or Shaun Pollock, the Indian team lack a second consistent bowler to provide a one-two punch to the bowling attack. This of course leaves the Indian bowling attack susceptible to the kind of thrashing that was bestowed upon them time and again by the likes of Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting.
In a country that is known as much for its population as it is for linen, one wonders how is it not possible to develop a few fast bowlers who can wreak some havoc on the opposing teams’ batsmen. Logical reasoning and thinking leads me to believe that developing a few fast bowlers in a country that eats breaths and lives cricket should be as easy as it gets. Having said that, I would like to turn my attention to another problem that has plagued the Indian cricket teams since the beginning of time.
I hope it is not just me who manages to notice that Ganguly is not much of a runner between the wickets. Furthermore, I hope I am not alone in noticing that Ganguly tends to run singles only when he will retain strike in the next over. The point is that since the beginning of time the Indian players particularly the captains have had a tendency to run the singles for selfish reasons. Furthermore, don’t captains lead by example? Well, if Ganguly’s fielding is anything to go by then let us pray to the greater powers above that the rest of the team does not follow his lead. After all, Ricky Ponting could have been resting after cutting his finger trying to stop a lousy single in the first ODI of the VB series, but instead he returned to field almost immediately to take a stunning catch to send Tendulkar back to the pavilion.
The point is that the Indian team as good as they are with their batting have yet to find two consistent fast bowlers to supplement their apparently depleting spin attack. I must admit watching the Indian team is exciting but it will be even more enjoyable to watch them make personal sacrifices on the field to lift the country to the only spot that will be acceptable to die hard fans such as myself and that is # 1.