The Hindu : Ponting, Ganguly have established their primacy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 22, 2003

Sport

Sport - World Cup

Ponting, Ganguly have established their primacy

By G. Viswanath

Sourav Ganguly, shaking hands with Ricky Ponting after India's morale-shattering defeat to Australia in the Group stage, would very much like to pay back the compliments on Sunday. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan

Johannesburg March 21. India, having entered its second World Cup final, will have to beat the odds to upset the defending champion, Australia, on Sunday at `The Wanderers'.

The players, having muffled the remonstrations at home and rebuffed the antagonists, have played bright and marvellous cricket, showed abundant skills and enjoyed the hero worship they richly deserve. They will step on a patch of the veldt for the title bout with their mien intact and thousands cheering and rooting for them.

Sourav Ganguly, who will be leading India for the 100th time in a one-day International on Sunday, has turned out to be a worthy leader, not smug and calm and composed. He has put his wherewithal to optimum use and steered the team to a step from the pinnacle.

Winning the World Cup is the ultimate dream for a modern cricketer, more so for a captain, and Ganguly is sufficiently enough motivated to turn the final into his own last frontier and go for the title. On Thursday at Kingsmead, Ganguly, displaying flair and panache and true to the cricketing adage, played a `captain's knock'. He has made it a `cup of joy' for the Tricolour-waving Indians.

First time World Cup captains Ricky Ponting and Ganguly have been able to establish their primacy in the ten matches that they have played here. Ponting goes into the final with a perfect 10 record, while Ganguly, with nine wins, will be hoping to dash his counterpart's hopes in the second meeting between the two teams. In the first match at the Centurion, Ponting and his `dinkums' had pole-axed India to take the pendant.

There have been many who have belittled the competition and wailed about the format and quality dished out in this month and a half long tournament, which has been modified to suit the times. Neither Ponting nor Ganguly are complaining in the least.

Australia and India have much at stake in world cricket and both have good enough reasons to lay their hands on the Cup.

Ponting will be looking forward to Australia retaining the title until the next event in the Caribbean Islands. He is in charge of a team that's been a challenge for all ever since Allan Border's side won the Reliance Cup in Kolkata. Steve Waugh won the `Carnival of Cricket' in England and Ponting would like to be in this elite company.

Australia's progress to the final has been stunning. Even after losing the services of Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie, two world-class bowlers and match winners, the team has bullied opponents and subdued them.

Without doubt, Australia man of many parts has been Brett Lee. His hostile bowling has shaken batsmen like a leaf, shot holes through defences and spread-eagled the stumps. India's first task would be to blunt his pace and deny Australia any breakthroughs. Glenn McGrath, who has been rather quiet, has managed to keep rival openers on their guard.

The two-time winner has not been without its share of problems. Matthew Hayden has not been in the best of form and people are inclined to believe that he is a man caught in the `fatigue syndrome' after two years of great success.

Australia has leaned heavily on Andrew Symonds, who has played three match-winning knocks. He packs a punch behind his shots as was seen in the semifinal against Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth. Symonds did not go for his second century in one-day Internationals but played for the team and remained unconquered at 91.

An American baseball coach has given a new dimension to the Australian fielding. The men in `gold, yellow and green' are the best fielding side in the world, though the BCCI President, Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya have made us believe that India is as good as any on the field.

The Chicago-born Mike Young has introduced new concepts, one of which is flicking the ball inside the centre square and towards the both the ends. Glimpses of this were seen in the semifinal. The intention is to confuse the batsmen as revealed by a senior Australian journalist.

No team has won the title three times and the Indians would be attempting to stop the Aussies in their tracks. There is hope because the Indian bowlers have won many matches which has seen India's World Cup win record move to 31 from 54 matches. Javagal Srinath (44 wickets from 33 matches), Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra deserve praise.

Nehra surpassed himself against England at Kingsmead and has looked sharp. John Wright, who has worked on his bowling, must be a happy man. Nehra has shown the ability to run through a side and that's a good sign.

Srinath has made his critics eat humble pie. Zaheer Khan has hit the deck and developed the knack of trapping batsmen leg before.

Sachin Tendulkar with 669 runs in ten innings has provided the answer to why he prefers to open the innings. Months before the start of the World Cup former BCCI President Raj Singh Dungarpur and many commentators of the game have felt that Tendulkar owes it to Indian cricket.

Sourav Ganguly has offered tremendous support and his three centuries have put him alongside Australia's Mark Waugh who made as many (a World Cup record) in the 1996 event.

Ganguly and Tendulkar, who has so far won eight `Man of the Match' awards in four World Cups, have been the main pillars and should one of them make one more big contribution, the title could be within India's grasp.

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