SPORTS

A tasty, testy fare
Cricket will grab attention — as usual. India may be runaway favourites to win the World Cup but England, South Africa and even Sri Lanka can give us a run for our money
Jaideep Ghosh

This year will be definitive in terms of 50-overs cricket. The World Cup comes to the region where the game goes beyond just relevant, into a world of near-insanity. This is also the world, which makes money for the International Cricket Council (ICC). If it could have its way, it’d most probably hold all World Cups in India. As Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi said recently, during the Raj Singh Dungarpur Memorial Lecture in New Delhi, "If the ICC is the voice of cricket, the BCCI is the invoice". Never were more true words spoken and with the World Cup promising to bring millions in revenue, both would be looking forward to this, as would fans. But holding the World Cup, and winning it, are two different things. Since 1983, which actually kick-started cricket more as a business than a game in India, India have largely flattered to deceive. It took the Indian team 20 years to make its way back into the final in South Africa, where it was soundly thrashed by Australia.

These two decades also saw two other editions of the tournament being played at home, in 1987 and 1996. Both saw India being stopped at the semi-final stage, as opposed to the hoopla about how they would run away with the trophy. So here we are again, hosting the Cup, along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Too bad that Pakistan will miss out on the action, but some things are beyond control, and these include their cricket team.

This time, too, India are supposed to be runaway favourites, an impression made even more convincing as they thrashed New Zealand, not a mean ODI side, 5-0 with a second-string team. But once again, this tag also brings in added pressures, as people, media, broadcasters and sponsors, all want the Indian team to succeed, and not all of them for any patriotic fervour. But it won’t be easy. Home conditions do not sit well with India over a long term. Add to that the first match against Bangladesh (the same side that sent them packing in the last edition) followed by the first home game at Eden Gardens in Kolkata against England makes it a testy, and tasty, introduction. But the format would ensure that they advance, as do all other top teams. Speaking of others, Australia do not look likely to defend their crown. England, on the other hand, seem to be coming along just fine, and a Twenty20 World Cup title is surely a big boost. South Africa can win any World Cup, so long as they can beat their own demons. But the side to watch shall be Sri Lanka. They thrive on home conditions and are practically unbeatable there. Rarely would they come out of their comfort zone, possibly just for the last couple of games. By then, it will be anyone’s contest. The Cup would also be the swansong for some Indian cricketers (or at least, it should be). One feather missing from this entire lot’s collective cap is this one. We hope they win, just for the sheer joy of winning the biggest trophy of them all and not for statistics and records.

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