I got it wrong. Many did. Hardly anyone backed India to perform well in the World Cup. Nearly three months in Australia without a win even in a tour game made us believe this team had next to no chance of defending its World Cup title. Quarter-finals at best, was the consensus.
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Five matches into the World Cup, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s boys have proven their critics wrong, many times over. The first match against Pakistan was big. India had never lost to their rivals in a World Cup clash but it seemed that streak would come to end this time.
But a sparkling century from Virat Kohli, a total of 300 and an outstanding burst from India’s fast bowlers set up a 76-run win that sparked the team into life.
An emphatic 130-run victory over the mighty South Africans was followed by a comfortable win over the UAE. The West Indies did trouble India a bit but the men in blue didn’t wilt under pressure. And a crushing eight-wicket triumph over Ireland yesterday made it five out of five for India, stretching their winning run in World Cup games to nine.
So what has changed between November 24, the day India’s Australia tour started, and now? To start with, the pitches Down Under have favoured the India team considerably. All five venues where India played their matches offered fast bowlers just enough help and, more interestingly, allowed the spinners to try out all variations in their armoury.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have extracted more than enough turn and bounce with the ball stopping on the batsmen. That’s Australian and New Zealand wickets we are talking about, not the Kotla in Delhi.
India last 9 World Cup matches (most recent first): W W W W W W W W W. #CWC15 #IndvIre #Ind #Ire
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 10, 2015
Batting in limited overs cricket has never been a problem for India. Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Ajinkya Rahane scoring runs at will came as no surprise. But what did stand out was the impact the quicks – Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma – had.
Shami especially has bowled with a lot of pace and control, which must have taken even the Indians by surprise. That has allowed the likes of Yadav and Sharma to do their job quietly.
And to top it, the fielding has been extraordinary with every member of the side putting in 100 per cent in the field, including the fast bowlers.
But the biggest factor in India’s successful run in this World Cup is simple – they know how to do well on the big stage. Just like Sri Lanka turn up at almost every ICC event and reach the semi-final stage or further, India do well at World Cups.
They won the 2007 World T20, lifted the 2011 World Cup title, clinched the 2013 Champions Trophy and reached the final of the 2014 World T20. Some teams simply deliver when it matters, while an outstanding side like South Africa somehow implodes every time an ICC event is held.
This Indian team has enjoyed success at the big tournaments and knows when to turn up the heat to make maximum impact. The batsmen are scoring enough runs, the bowlers are picking up wickets – all 10 in every match – and the fielding has been electric.
We shouldn’t be so surprised at their success after all. Whatever happens from now on, the Indians have shown that they have the talent and temperament to succeed against the best. And that has been their biggest achievement in this World Cup so far.
