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Clash of champions
With eight leading teams in the fray, the
much-awaited Champions Trophy, beginning today at Mohali, promises to be a cracker
of a tournament. Gopal Sharma looks at the fitness and form, strengths and weaknesses of the participating nations even as he holds that India has a fair chance of going all the way.
India
made an early exit
from the DLF Cup tri-series tournament at Kuala Lumpur where
they could register a single victory over West Indies and went
down once to Australia. Prior to this, India dished out an
equally dismal show going down 1-4 to West Indies. These results
are anything but satisfactory as Team India prepares to launch
its campaign in the biennial Champions Trophy or "Mini
World Cup" that starts with the opening qualifying match
between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Mohali today.
Given the current form, twice
World Cup winners Australia look set to "rectify" the
"anomaly" (They have never been able to lay hands on
the Champions Trophy since its inception in 1998). Despite the
absence of the dangerous Adam Gilchrist, inclusion of Glenn
McGrath after a long lay-off and out-of-touch Ricky Ponting in
Kuala Lumpur, Australia proved that they are the most formidable
opponents at the moment. Performance of rookie seamer Mitchell
Johnson, Michael Hussey, Stuart Clark (against India) and Brad
Haddin makes one wonder at the Aussie system which keeps on
churning out quality cricketers good enough to stand and deliver
at the highest level of the game. In the match against India,
the left-handed Johnson scalped Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid,
Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan in the space of a couple of overs
to convince his supporters that more would be heard of Johnson
in the days to come. Great fast bowler Dennis Lillee dubbed
Johnson "once-in-a-generation bowler", while Wasim
Akram, the greatest left-arm seamer of his time, said Johnson
was an impressive prospect.
Successful comeback by Shoaib
Akhtar, increasing stature of skipper Younis Khan and form of
Mohammad Yousuf, have made Pakistan a better side. The recent
remarks by Shoaib that Australians — after they had won the
DLF Cup after decimating West Indies in the final — are
beatable cannot be dismissed as an empty boast. Seamer Mohammed
Asif is a wily customer capable of troubling the best with his
accuracy and swing and the consistency shown by peerless Abdul
Razzaq means that Pakistan has a bowling attack capable of
taking care of the best of the batting line-ups in the world.
Shahid Afridi and Razzaq batting down the order are capable of
changing the course of game within no time with their
power-packed strokes.
The emergence of a couple of
youngsters in the Sri Lankan team like Upul Tharanga, Ferveez
Maharoof and Lasith Malinga coupled with the experienced Sanath
Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, domineering Muthiah
Muralitharan and the ever-reliable Chaminda Vaas and their
excellent fielding make Sri Lanka, joint winner in 2002, as good
a team as any other in the business.
New Zealand, the 2000 edition
winners, are an extremely combative one-day side. With batsmen
like Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Lou Vincent, all-rounders
Jacob Oram and Scott Styris and bowler like tearaway Shane Bond
and Daniel Vettori, the Kiwis have the wherewithal to disturb
the applecart of any team. As Lee or Shoaib, Bond is the only
contemporary fast bowler capable of generating pace in excess of
150 kmph and has won so many games for the Kiwis singlehandedly.
Presence of bludgeoning Chris
Gayle, skipper Brian Lara, Sarvan and Chanderpaul means the
defending champions lack none of the firepower to enliven any
contest. Though, the twice World Cup champions would be required
to go through the qualifying matches, which should be a
formality as going by the current strengths of the teams
contests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh should not be more than
a stroll in the park for the Lara-led team.
England may not have enjoyed
much of success during the recent past in one-dayers, but any
team taking them lightly would do so at their own peril. The
return of skipper Andrew Flintoff after an injury-induced
lay-off may prove to be the spark England need to lift their
game. Flintoff’s recent experience of playing in India and
impressive individual performance as a skipper would come in
handy for the burly all-rounder. In Steve Harmison, they have a
seamer comparable with the best in the business. South
Africa-born Kevin Pietersen can be as destructive as Tendulkar
or Lara. The hard-core professionals that Englishmen are, their
quest for winning the maiden title would egg them on to do
better and go all out for victory.
Unfortunately, India still has
to grapple with a couple of pressing issues which need to be
sorted out at the earliest. Whereas all other teams have a
settled look and are fielding the best possible combination,
Team India is still in the process of changing and chopping.
The regularity with which Irfan
Pathan is being made to bat higher up the batting order
sometimes even ahead of Sehwag or Dhoni is becoming monotonous.
Things have come to such a pass that one wonders whether Pathan
is a bowler who can bat or a batsman who can bowl. The Baroda
seamer does not look half as good a bowler as he was when he
broke into the Indian squad a couple of seasons ago. In fact,
Pathan, in view of the ambiguity regarding his specific role in
the team, looks like the biggest dilemma facing the Indian
cricket establishment.
There is no scepticism
regarding technical finesse, reliability and success of Rahul
Dravid as a batsman. The ultimate batting technician that he is
in contemporary cricket, the Karnataka batsman has done wonders
for the team. Ever since he was appointed skipper, he has begun
to bat with more aggression and control. But he is best suited
to the middle order and the move to promote him as an opener has
the potential to backfire. Team India has been served well by
Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar as openers. The duo have
been the most potent force behind innumerable victories. Sehwag
has a proven record as an opener and it is this slot where he
looks most comfortable. His recent loss of form notwithstanding,
the Delhi batsman still has an enviable reputation at the
international stage. The team will be served better if he is
able to sort out his vulnerability while facing in-swing
deliveries sooner than later and restored as an opener. Sachin
Tendulkar striking his vintage form should be as reassuring to
his innumerable fans as it is to Dravid and Greg Chappell.
Bowling to hard-hitting Dhoni on the docile and familiar Indian
pitches should be challenge to bowlers.
The silver lining, however, is
the emergence of a new set of pacemen like Munaf Patel, S
Sreesanth and R.P. Singh who have the capability and hunger to
excel at the highest level. Performing admirably against varied
opponents and under varying conditions, the young trio has held
firm and played a vital role in the success achieved by the
country. Regaining of form by the wiry Mumbai seamer Ajit
Agarkar is no less heartening. With new-found control and
accuracy, Agarkar looks the best Indian seamer on form.
Not long before, India struck a
purple patch. Making mincemeat of every opposition that came its
way and recorded 18 victories out of 24 matches played in the
subcontinent. It was in this period when Dhoni, though briefly,
got the top ODI ranking. Conditions will be similar in the
month-long tournament. The joint winners of the trophy with Sri
Lanka in 2002 in Colombo, the familiar home conditions should
spur the hosts and galvanise them into a well-oiled machinery
capable of reaching greater heights. If the strong Indian
batting line-up — bolstered by the fruitful return of Sachin
Tendulkar — gels well, and the bowlers maintain the same line
and length as they did in Kuala Lumpur, India should be able to
start the hectic season on a rousing note.
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