Chak de! Indian cricket looks to a bright future
Rajdeep Sardesai | CNN-IBN | Posted Sep 24, 2007 at 07:34 | Updated Sep 24, 2007 at 08:10
After what’s been quite a remarkable week for Indian cricket at the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa, it’s now India versus Pakistan in what really is the dream final.
CNN-IBN looks back at what’s been a fascinating journey for world cricket and for Indian cricket. We also try and understand what Twenty20 now means for the future of this game.
Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, Rajdeep Sardesai, accompanied by CNN-IBN’s Sports Editor Gaurav Kalra, former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns, Mukul Kesavan, one of India’s finest cricket writers, former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Ayaz Memon, a man who has covered cricket extensively, came together to relive the defining moments of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20.
The turnaround
The week began with Indian cricket seemingly in shambles, with Rahul Dravid having given up the captaincy. But it has also been a week that’s ended with Indian cricket now looking towards a bright future.
Five days ago, India lost to the New Zealanders, and suddenly, they are in the finals of the Twenty20 championships. Was it really thought that India and Pakistan would actually make it to the finals?
"Both of them have the players who can light up. And given a free license, the Indian players could really see what they were capable of. Introducing some new life in the team with the new captain, and senior players like Dhoni and Yuvraj standing up, makes a big difference," says Chris Cairns, one of the greatest all-rounders in the game.
"I think the South Africa match was incredible. I didn’t believe they would get anywhere in this tournament. I thought the defeat against New Zealand was power for the cause. I didn’t give them a chance frankly. But I’m pretty much a convert now," adds Mukul Kesavan, who recently brought out his book, Men in White.
"One thing they achieved was that they broke patterns, and played fearlessly. But what was really unfamiliar was that when in England, India had a pattern of Sachin and Sourav piling up the runs early on, and if they didn’t, India would lose. This was the big lesson in Indian cricket. Five different batsmen have scored five half-centuries in this tournament. A lot of wickets have been taken by different bowlers," CNN-IBN Sports Editor Gaurav Kalra says.
Former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth saw the same thing in the 1983 World Cup, and it seems that history has repeated itself. No one gave India a ghost of a chance, lots of players contributed.
"That nobody expected it from them, went in India’s favour. We have a positive captain, who believes in himself. We had a young captain in Kapil Dev that time who believed in himself and played with a positive attitude and led from the front. The same thing is happening today. What I like about Dhoni is that he is a very calm guy. Even in a tense situation against Australia, he was very calm," Srikkanth says.
And again, a team that no one gave a chance has suddenly made it into the finals. What explains the turnaround?
"I think absence of fear is the big thing here, because there is fear of failure which dogs people who have been around for too long. You have got mighty reputations to protect. Some of the players are very experienced. But they don’t have that much fear of losing their reputation. You don’t have anything to lose when you have made it to the final," Ayaz Memon says.
So how much of difference does absence of fear make? "Twenty20 cricket forces you to do it. Sometimes when you are in a 50-over game or in a Test match, you have a lot more time when you can be a lot more scared or timid to try and do it. But in Twenty20, you can’t. You have to go out there and you have to do it," Cairns says.
The Indian captain, MS Dhoni, who hails from Jharkhand, comes across as someone who has everything to gain and nothing to lose, and keeps on saying ‘let’s enjoy the game’. It has changed from the past.
"Dhoni is the perfect candidate for the sociological archetype, the small-town boy coming good. But I also think he is unique. The first thing an Indian cricketer learns is to put the blame on the other, but Dhoni doesn’t seem to want to blame anyone. There’s a kind of grownup-ness which is very unique in Indian cricket," Kesavan says of the new Indian captain.
"Sometimes they have played to the reputations with the guys they have played with. You almost get a sense that there’s a Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, the awesome records that they have in international cricket. Someone like Yuvraj who has been made the vice-captain is suddenly making an impact with the bat and dominating bowling attacks because he knows that there’s no one else," Kalra says.
"However, let’s not compare Twenty20 cricket with Test cricket or One-Day cricket," cautions Cairns. "It’s a different beast. We are enjoying it, but you can’t compare it with the real game."
The new face of Indian cricket: Yuvraj Singh
The new face of the Indian team, Yuvraj Singh has a lot to do with it. "He is just timing them," Cairns says emphatically. "Watch out Pakistan," he adds, perhaps indicating the side he will be rooting for in the final.
"It has also to do with the pent up energy that he has been carrying. A guy of his talent kept out of the Test team, he should have been a regular fixture, but for something or the other, partly for some fault of his own. He was a very strong contender for the captaincy as well, but was overlooked. But his role keeps him free to being a match winner," Memon says.
"He has become the finisher for the Indian team. Not just during this series, but for the last 2-3 years, he has done his job to perfection. He has won so many matches single-handedly for India," Srikkanth says, adding testimony to the coming of age of Yuvraj Singh.
Has Generation Next really come of age?
The great thing about the Twenty20 World Championships have been the infectious joy on the young, new faces of Indian cricket. It almost seems that this is what cricket is now going to be all about.
"One of the reasons why Indians play cricket and love it so much is that five-day cricket was the only form in which reasonably unfit people could do reasonably well. But it's not going to happen now," says Kesavan, on what has turned out to be a paradigm shift in the traditions of the game.
Even the Indian team seems to be a lot fitter with its members in its 20s. "Absolutely. But I must make a point here on cricketing skills. The bowling skills have come into play here. The bowler has to outguess the batsman; the batsman has the bat in hand and is going to give the charge because there are only 20 overs. The fielding has to improve; it has to become spectacular. As a spectacle, really, I think Bollywood has a rival," Memon says.
Srikkanth, the former India captain for one is perhaps going to rue the fact that he didn't play cricket in the 21st century. "Yes. But then, you have a fantastic bunch of youngsters in the team. All we need is a good all-rounder who can hit the ball, bowl, field, do whatever he wants. If only India can find a decent all-rounder, we will be a fantastic side," he explains.
"It's a fascinating game," agrees Cairns. "And this is why India and Pakistan have done so well, because the youth knows no boundary."
But while batsmen have relatively made the game look easy, the bowlers have not quite been able to do so, but have achieved tremendous success nonetheless. So is bowling the tougher job at hand because the bowler has only four overs, or is it batting because they have the license to kill?
"I think swing makes a good Twenty20 bowler, because of the ability to get players out. RP Singh has shown that those deliveries he has bowled, which are so like Wasim Akram. And also Sreesanth against Australia with the delivery to get Gilchrist out was a magical ball. So, if the bowlers are able to move the ball makes a good difference," Cairns says.
Breaking the sociological barrier
India's rise in Twenty20 has also been about players coming out from places which aren't known to produce cricketers in large numers-Sreesanth from Kerala, Piyush Chawla from a small town in UP, RP Singh from Rae Bareilly-is there something to it? Rohit Sharma also comes from the suburbs of Mumbai.
"It does tell you something. These are faces that come from places you haven't heard of in the cricketing map," Kesavan says.
The final chapter
It's a script even Salim Javed couldn't have written better-after 26 games, India and Pakistan play the final. But will it be the battle between India's batsmen and Pakistan's bowlers?
"It's a mouth-watering prospect. But for me, the two performers of the tournament has been Umar Gul, who is going to be up against Yuvraj and Dhoni. Whoever wins that battle could potentially win the game. But the sleeping giant in the tournament could turn out to be Virender Sehwag. He could create that start where India could just launch from and do anything from there," Cairns predicts.
Will the final be about playing fearless cricket? Srikkanth, for one, has been part of such a final at Lord's in 1983.
"I don't think we should put pressure on ourselves. What we need is a good start because they are going to bank on Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul. If we can take the bowling apart earlier on, I think we have done our job," Srikkanth says.
Ayaz Memon says it will be about handling the weight of pressure and expectations. "The game has changed from 20-25 years. Whichever team holds its nerve is going to win. It's such a frenetically paced game, that one bad over is the deciding factor in a match. And of handling pressure, that's where Dhoni's role is going to be very crucial in the match."
Two fascinating cricketers, in the process, will also be squaring off in the game-Shahid Afridi and Yuvraj Singh-possessing similar capabilities.
"This is a World Cup. We have never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup. We are bound to win," says Kesavan, as he draws on historical facts.
Both teams were out of the first round of the limited overs World Cup earlier this year. "We should put things into perspective here. After the abysmal World Cup-it was nothing more that that-as a past cricketer, I was let down. This World Cup has been exciting, and it's great to see a massive battle between India and Pakistan.
The defining moments
The Twenty20 World Cup has all been about achievements on the field, and some have gone on to define the shortest version of the game.
"The six sixes moment. You didn't think it would happen," Kalra says.
"The second ball that Yuvraj effortlessly played for six against Australia. To add to that, the last time India played a major final against Pakistan was at the 1985 Benson and Hedges World Series, and what happened then was Pakistan became very uptight against us. That's going to be the key thing-not being uptight against them," Srikkanth says.
Memon, sharing Srikkanth's optimism, says: "The most defining moment has been Sreesanth getting rid of Matthew Hayden, which probably got us into the final. And the way he reacted was one of the most memorable moments of this tournament."
"The moment for me was a happy Dhoni strolling out after beating Australia. You could see him intensely happy, but also bonelessly relaxed. That just about summed it up for me, the adrenalin rush that keeps going, and Dhoni at the helm," Kesavan says.
Cairns, as he would, preferred to put it into perspective. "During the 50-over World Cup, everything was about off the field that was written in the media. This World Cup has been all about on-field. And that's what cricket is all about. It was great to see things written about guys hitting the ball, bowling the ball and fielding the ball."
We were all skeptical about Twenty20 cricket when this World Cup started. But most of us, by now, have become converts.
AuthorTopic: Ind vs Pak.. A DREAM WC final.. Tailgate party, Team Selection and Comments (Read 1560 times)
February 24, 2006, 07:12:13 AM