A job well done; many more to go!!!
By: Venkatachalam. A. Krishnan
This was published in CRICKETNEXT.COM on the 24th of February, 2003 - The day after India's win over Namibia.
http://www.cricketnext.com/yoursay/krishnan/krishnan4.htm
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`PIETERMARITZBURG'
Pronouncing this tongue-twister of a name would have been more difficult to the Indian cricketers than going through their Pool-A match against the minnows Namibians in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. They put up a fantastic display in all areas of the game thereby ending up winning comprehensively.
It was a no-contest all the way and the Indians had a few positives emerging from the win. The first and foremost should be the return to run-scoring-ways of the captain Saurav Ganguly.
Ganguly has struggled for form for the past few months and he showed a lot of promise on course to his unbeaten hundred. This must have instilled a lot of confidence in him and it was evident in the way he led the side against a team which had given a scare to the Englishmen in their previous match.
Every Indian fan was waiting for this moment. For India to do well Ganguly must be confident and only a captain who is leading by example can command respect and demand performances from his team-mates. Let us hope he carries on in the same vein in the matches to come.
That it was Sachin Tendulkar who really laid the foundation is almost overshadowed by this great turnaround by his captain. Tendulkar added another record or two while compiling a workmanlike hundred-and-a-half. He is almost back to his best and this takes the pressure off the others who can bat around him. He is clearly enjoying his return to the opening slot and when he is in song no bowler can be a threat to him.
A win is a win against any opposition and the Indians were almost ruthless in their performance. They now have two important matches ahead of them against England and Pakistan. They can go through to the next stage with one more win. But they should go for wins in both the matches as it will brighten their prospects of reaching the semifinals as they will be entering the super-six stage with an additional four points in their kitty.
If the Australians top Pool-A and go into the super-six stage with the maximum-possible 12 points - which they will in all likelihood - they will be in a position to manipulate things and almost choose their opponents in the semifinal stage. This will be possible as they will get to play the last league match of the super-six stage (1st Position of Pool- A Vs 2nd Positioin of Pool-B on March 15, 2003).
The Indians should be wary of this possibility and they should go all out and pick up as many points as possible on their way into the next stage. It is not going to be easy as the next two opponents are no minnows like Namibia. The Englishmen have their tails up at the moment having had an emphatic win against the mercurial Pakistanis. And the Pakistanis would also go all out to defeat the Indians on March 1.
The fact that Ganguly and his men appear to have found the missing `CLUE' they have been talking about, does augur well for the prospects of the team in this all-important tournament. They have gathered vital momentum and they should not let this slip. It is much more important than pronouncing tongue-twisters like `PIETERMARITZBURG' !!!
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