The first part of India’s consistent journeys in ICC tournaments is on full display in the current World Cup. Semifinalists in the 2015 and 2019 editions, the Men in Blue are well on course to be a part of the last-four stage again. The triumphs against Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh reveal a squad primed to deliver.
It is another matter, though, that winning ICC silverware has remained a mirage since 2013. Often the ecstasy generated in the initial stages culminates in agony following a defeat in the knockout phase. The latest joust against Bangladesh at Pune on Thursday revealed the tropes that India has mastered in this World Cup. The batting unit fired even if Shreyas Iyer played a poor shot.
Additionally, India choked the rivals in the middle overs. When Sunil Gavaskar’s men won the 1985 World Championship of Cricket in Australia, it was a campaign mounted on bundling out the opposition in every game while Pakistan proved to be an exception in the final, mustering 176 for nine! The latest outfit too believes in restricting opposition batters.
Spearhead Jasprit Bumrah remains the key while his support cast of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur haven’t exactly flourished. The last-named has leaked runs but his batting skills are being used as an insurance. A call needs to be made on Mohammed Shami who is too good a bowler to be overlooked.
But the prime driving force in terms of offering balance to the squad vests with Hardik Pandya. Seen in that context, Hardik’s left-ankle injury will be watched with trepidation till he clears a fitness test. There is no direct replacement available for this seam-bowling all-rounder, a slot that has largely remained vacant since Kapil Dev hung up his boots in 1994. Previously, experiments were initiated through Stuart Binny and Vijay Shankar but Hardik is the real deal.
Hardik, Ravindra Jadeja and K.L. Rahul, donning the wicket-keeping gloves with elan and batting with ease, have combined to bolster the playing eleven’s depth just before the weak tail emerges into view. The runs that skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Rahul scored against Bangladesh reflect a batting phalanx finding the right groove at home.
There could be a question on Kohli’s obsession in getting a ton, which meant towards the end he hesitated to rotate the strike. However, Rahul clarified that it was he who goaded the centurion to go for the milestone. And there is no mistaking the fact that Kohli’s knock ensured that the host won another key encounter. Fielding too has remained a quality exposition. One of Indian cricket’s enduring memories is about Kapil Dev running backwards to pouch Vivian Richards in the 1983 World Cup final at Lord’s. India never looked back since that seminal moment.
Cut to the present, four matches are done and dusted and as India flew towards the Himalayas for Sunday’s clash involving New Zealand, another challenge awaits while Hardik will be missed before he rejoins the squad in the subsequent game against England at Lucknow on Oct. 29.
