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It's time to be counted or get discounted
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World Cup 2011 -
World Cup 2011
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Thursday, 24 March 2011 13:07 |
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Contributed by Yogesh Gandhi
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(4172 views) |
If you are living in Amdavad, all the roads ways will be leading to Motera today. Who knows the roads will be already jam packed, the dollops of Dhoklas would be polished off by now, and for the ones who wear their hearts on the sleeves, they will be coloured in their finest blue and will be geared to pump up the air with their exuberance! Trust me, it is going to be loud inside Motera as Gujjus are one community that is passionate to the hilt and quite vocal about their passion at the same time. The more entrepreneurial of the lot may look to do brisk business outside the Sardar Vallabhbhai Stadium, but well that’s a different story.
The India- Australia quarter final is like being served the best dessert well before you are done with the rest of the meal. But who is complaining? Only the faint hearted would wish to take on the mightiest at the final frontier.
Any team who has the hunger and ambition to end up top of the summit, will not bother about whom they meet when, ultimately it’s about overcoming all the odds that come your way. India and Australia have had a mixed bag of a tournament and this game will be exactly what the Doctor ordered (sorry Ravi, I stole your line!) to shake both the teams up.
Indians have traditionally come up with their best game when they have been pushed against the wall. The game against their nearest rivals in near future will undoubtedly bring out the best. This offers an opportunity to steal that vital edge over the Aussies- that edge being the ability to come out on top under pressure. Exactly eight years back, Aussies won a battle of minds and wiped India’s dreams away in South Africa after they pressed the pedal from the word go, never allowing Indians a foot in the door.
Can India do the same to them today? We definitely have the firepower upfront. What will matter is how our second rung of batsmen and bowlers fare against the team that is low on form, but can never be discounted for their ability to fight. Trust me, you can never plan for a Sachin or a Sehwag, but Aussies will have their plans ready for the rest, as these are the guys who have failed to capitalise on the brisk starts given by the opening duo. Zaheer and Bhajji have the ability to fight back, what about rest of the bowlers? Can their put their hands up and be counted?
It is this second rung that will decide the fate of the game. One way to look at this game is “Do or Die”, as there is no coming back from here. The other way is to look at this as a “Make or Break” situation for the reputation as a player. For the ones who perform under this situation will make a reputation that no-one can refute, or break it forever by wilting under the pressure. Remember what those 80 odd runs did to Yuvraj Singh as a player in Nairobi? Combine the two and you get a recipe for succeeding in today’s game- a solid all round performance with sheen of brilliance from individual players.
On the game plan front, to the surprise of many, I will like to state that the Aussie pace attack will be India’s best chance to step on the accelerator. Indian batsmen thrive when the ball comes on the bat and we can really put them under pressure if we handle them like we handled the SA pace attack. Till the 40th over that is ;). Bowlers can take a leaf out of the Zimbabweans who really tied the likes of Watson and Haddin down with quality spin bowling upfront. Mantra is, tighten the noose till the cookie crumbles.
I remember a line from Sholay- Loha garam hai maar do hathoda. On the skill front, Aussies have never looked so inadequate, as a captain Ponting has never been so edgy, and as a team no Australian team has looked so vulnerable.
Dhoni and boys, line-up for the national anthem. Today you take the first step towards your glory.
!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."
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