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The super sixes

AFTER INITIAL HICCUPS (a dodgy win against Holland and a crushing defeat by Australia), the Indian cricket team has roundly beaten the rest of its opponents in the preliminary round of the World Cup. The turnaround of the team, which had looked awkward and irresolute only days ago, has been heart-warming. Of particular significance were the emphatic victory over England and the equally convincing win over Pakistan on Saturday, in what was billed as the match of the tournament. As a result of this late surge, India has made it comfortably into the super six category. What's more, on the basis of its performance, the odds for a place in the semi-finals must seem now like they are stacked in its favour. This, of course, is how it should be. If you discount the recent one-day series against New Zealand (which was played on extremely tricky, if not almost sub-standard, pitches), the Indian cricket team has enjoyed a wonderful run in the shorter version of the game over the last one year.

By performing the way it did in the last few World Cup matches, the Indian team has demonstrated two things. First, that for a variety of reasons, the New Zealand tour was an aberration and not a suitable yardstick to assess either India's strength or potential — a fact completely overlooked by some pessimistic cricket pundits and others afflicted by a sad and weary cynicism. Second, the Indian cricketers have shown up those frenzied and hysterical cricket fans, who staged a chain of angry protests and demonstrations all over the country following the defeat against Australia, for what they really are: a bunch of irrational and disagreeable fanatics. It is ironic that the men who staged mock cremations of the cricketers and who smeared their pictures with cowdung are probably the very same who danced in the streets with joy as India took down Zimbabwe, England and Pakistan to enter the super sixes. It is truly a shame that the victory over Pakistan was marred by violence and rioting between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat. The incidents are a reminder of the fierce and dangerous passions that cricket evokes in the subcontinent, particularly when India plays Pakistan at cricket.

As in all other World Cups, this one too has had its share of surprises. If the performance of Kenya has exceeded all expectations, that of South Africa has fallen far short of them. The only team that has measured fully up to its truly awesome reputation has been Australia, which has been magnificent and which must rank as the runaway favourite on the basis of its performance. As for India, its performance has revolved considerably around Sachin Tendulkar's return to batting form — a return that seems marked by a radical change in approach and one that seems characteristic of his early fluid and free-hitting ways. The Indian bowling, a department in which the country is relatively weak and imbalanced, has held up well too. Javagal Srinath's measured and controlled opening spells have been invaluable and Ashish Nehra has probably surprised even himself by extracting impressive speed and movement, best illustrated by his feisty six-wicket spell that simply flattened England.

Captain Saurav Ganguly's continuing lack of form is a real worry and, as the crushing loss against Australia showed, formidable though it is, the Indian batting line-up is still suspect against top-class bowling on a lively track. But Ganguly must now fancy his chances of shepherding his side into the last four. Having finished seond in its preliminary grouping, India starts with a points advantage over a couple of other teams which fared relatively less well in the early rounds. Two weeks ago, not many people would have backed India to have got itself into such a position. In doing so, the Indian team has overcome the harsh criticism it drew for its early performances by doing exactly what it is mandated to — play good cricket and in a manner that is in keeping with its true potential.

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