India mustn’t peak too soon

There have been many fabulous matches in the history of one-day cricket. Some marked by great batting, others by lethal bowling spells. Matches remembered for stunning victories, earth-shattering upsets or even riveting ties, where the honours were shared. Matches that showcased captivating leadership or great teamwork or even flashes of individual brilliance.

Sunday’s World Cup game between India and South Africa was not such a match. We saw the transformation of a cricket team right before our eyes. A metamorphosis so beautiful that it felt as though someone had sprinkled magic dust over Team India!

However, the tournament is a long one, though with these two initial wins, India looks to be in pole position as far as Group B is concerned. As things stand, if they beat the West Indies and also see off the group minnows (which is definitely not going to be a walk-over) there is a possibility of meeting either England or Bangladesh in the quarterfinals.

Then, if they cross that threshold, almost surely they will be facing a seriously strong contender. Good teams regroup and bounce back and the way the event is throwing up surprise performances, complacency is an evil Team India must seriously guard against. The middle and lower order have not really done well in the two matches so far mostly because they haven’t played too many overs – but the day may not be far when they have to stand up and deliver.

Good teams who win big championships peak at the right time. Team India has to ensure that every match is transformational, every player is ready to push himself to the limit match after match.

What did Sunday’s comprehensive victory over South Africa show us in this regard? The average score for a team batting first on this pitch is 280 plus a few. So India’s total of 307 was not its biggest achievement. The magic lay somewhere else.

After winning the toss and batting first, the Indian openers were quite circumspect in the initial 8-10 overs. One of the best opening bowling duos on this planet, Steyn and Philander were steaming in on all cylinders and the Indians were quiet.

And then Shikhar Dhawan decided to take matters into his own hands once again. Such was his dominance that his partner Virat Kohli, who is in great form himself, realised that he needed to step back for a bit and quietly played second-fiddle.

Virat Kohli was dismissed against the run of play and South Africa probably thought they were being given a chance to get back in the match with a few more tight overs and hopefully quick wickets. In stepped a small man called Ajinkya Rahane. And that is when we saw the second transformational innings.

Allowing Dhawan to continue his free-flowing attack on whatever South Africa threw at him, Rahane played a classic knock of nibble and snap. When Steyn tried to browbeat him with extra pace during the Batting Powerplay, Rahane clobbered him as he and Dhawan together added 125 runs in only 16.3 overs. The little man showed that size had nothing to do with it!

Teaming up
When South Africa came in to bat – the match was still far from over. The top six was not bereft of batting geniuses – De Kock, Amla, AB, Du Plessis, Miller and Duminy were all dangerous and explosive on any given day. But Mohd Shami, the smiling assassin, had other ideas. India’s opening weapon has truly come a long way since the disastrous early days of the Australian Tour. The bowlers were charged up and in control, the captain looked busy and happy, the fielders were chirping and backing up every delivery – and the smiles were getting infectious.

The MCG looked like the Coliseum, that iconic symbol of gladiatorial combat – a cauldron of noise and cheer from an army of Blue who egged on their team stroke by stroke, ball by ball. Around 85-90% of the 90,000 odd spectators were Indian fans and they had the time of their life as they enjoyed a beautiful game of cricket.

As Captain Dhoni led his team to another special victory, one can only hope that the sprinkling of the magic dust continues with every game. As the juggernaut moves on. Inexorably.

By: Rathindra Basu