These stars should twinkle when it matters

By Vijay Lokapally

NEW DELHI, OCT. 29. ``Pressure helps you to play better,'' says Sir Garfield Sobers in the classic work on sports psychology written by Rudy Webster and titled, `Winning Ways.'

At another point in the same book, Australian great Dennis Lillee, speaking on self-confidence, says ``the newspapers and television have created a myth about me and have built up my ability much higher than it really is.''

Confidence, Sobers added, came from ability. Consistency, we were told, was a trademark of champions and mental skills were most important.

How does one judge this Indian team which clearly lacks the above mentioned qualities that separate champions from the pretenders.

Going by statistics, you get the impression of the team being on a high. After all, making nine appearances in finals, though not consecutive, as has been widely projected, ought to count as a grand feat. But, please look at the other teams in the fray and also please take a look at some other tournaments where India did not make the final round.

Sobers was right when he said pressure helped him play better. It holds true in the case of many great cricketers who shone when the stage was big. The list is quite long. The current Indian team just does not possess cricketers with the calibre of delivering under pressure.

What the modest Lillee said about his actual ability may not be true, but the example is apt when we look at this Indian selection, which has an aura of being a formidable side, much in contrast to the results achieved in the last ten years or so.

The media has no doubt created a myth about the potential of this Indian side and certainly built up its ability much higher than it really is.

Let us look at the nine finals that India reached. Of the nine, five have come in the sub-continent, two in Nairobi in conditions very similar to home and one each in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

It began in 1999

The sequence began in 1999 when India reached the final of the Pepsi Challenge Series at home and lost the final to Pakistan with Sri Lanka being the third side. The final was an anti-climax at Bangalore with India crashing in the match that mattered. The same year, India, a depleted England and Pakistan were involved at Sharjah. India duly reached the final but was thrashed, being bowled out for a paltry 125. Again failing in the match that mattered.

On three occasions, the third team in the fray was Zimbabwe - in Singapore Challenge (1999); Champions Trophy in Sharjah in 1999 and the Coca Cola Cup in Zimbabwe (2001). Hence, reaching the final was no great achievement even though winning it would have been.

In the LG Cup in Nairobi, the opponents were Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa. There was such hype about making it to the title round, but again India fumbled in the match that counted.

The next time India played in Nairobi was in the ICC knockout tournament, with the ghost of match-fixing scandal haunting the team. In the preceding tournament, the Asia Cup, India had failed to make it to the final.

The ICC tournament saw the team play some good cricket and discover young performers, but it still failed to cross the final hurdle, losing to an inspired New Zealand which was guided by an injured Chris Cairns.

Soon after this show came the disaster in Sharjah where India was shot out for 54 in the final against Sri Lanka. The result stands out as the worst all-time performance by a team in the final of a limited overs tournament.

On the last tour of Zimbabwe, India expectedly made the final but surrendered to a West Indian team which had just one player of experience and repute in Carl Hooper. The latest in the sequence - the abject surrender to South Africa at Durban - is too fresh.

Statistics thus establishes India as an average side capable of dictating terms to teams like Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh. Even a struggling New Zealand comes off stronger against India.

India is known to consistently lose to big teams and the failure of the big guns to continue their good form from the league phase and take the team to the title, has been a glaring weakness. The pressure gets to the team no doubt and the lack of confidence reflects poorly on the abilities of the players.

It is a shame that India continues to depend on individual performers in a team game, though the individuals themselves do not live up to the expectations in the matches that matter. And it is a greater shame that the team loses to Kenya, leading to suspicion, despite the presence of icons in the squad, giving disgruntled characters like Pat Symcox a whip to lash at Indian cricket.

More than those defeats in the final, the suspicion surrounding India's loss to Kenya in the recent tri-series has hurt the image of the team and spread gloom amidst its supporters.

``It's an important game for us,'' Sourav Ganguly had remarked on the eve of the last league match against Kenya. That assessment reflects the true strength, confidence and calibre of this side. No wonder they keep losing the finals.

Maybe the stars need to preserve their hunger and shine in the big matches, allowing the lesser lights to excel against the likes of Kenya!

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Opening day's play called off
Next     : BCCI asks ECB to release final squad