by daniel
12. March 2011 15:13
Today this up and down World Cup, with its even spread of predictable thrashings and unpredictable melodrama, serves up the most eagerly anticipated match of the tournament.
It’s a game that could well be a dress rehearsal for the final on 2nd April as hosts and favourites India take on the best balanced side in the world, South Africa. And while it’s true that neither country will be knocked out by losing, a potentially unfavourable draw in the quarter finals could await the defeated party.
India have performed curiously thus far. Flashes of brain melting genius from the batsmen, especially Virender Sehwag who’s new back foot straight drive, or “strive” as it will soon be known, defies the most basic laws of what is possible on a cricket field, have been accompanied by prosaic mediocrity from the back up bowlers. Confidence throughout the batting line up is high as witnessed by their cavalier, entertaining and nearly brilliant demolition of the Dutch on Wednesday. The promotion of Yousuf Pathan was a clear indicator of a deservedly arrogant swagger, and had Gambhir and Kohli not limply got themselves out we would be comparing India’s dismissive strut favourably beside England’s tortuous and attritional approach to the minnows.
But so far no one has tested them with the ball. Bangladesh, England, Ireland and the Netherlands have all flung down easy pickings. It will not be so easy today, despite the cruel absence of Imran Tahir, for in Steyn and Morkel the Saffas possess reliable and seriously rapid seam bowlers. In addition the bounce Morkel can extract will “discomfort” Sehwag who may call for a runner even earlier than usual. So watch out for his favoured tactic of running out His Most Divine Majesty and Lord of All He Surveys (aka Sachin Tendulkar) within the first five overs, thus freeing up a surrogate for the tiresome business of boringly plodding up and down between those two horizontal white lines 22 yards apart
In addition to the quicks, Robin Peterson and the presumably restored Johan Botha give variety in the spin department whilst Kallis’ golden arm can strike at any moment. But whilst I’m doing my best to talk up the South Africans, I can’t help but think the absence of Tahir has brought them back into the chasing pack. He was the final piece of the jigsaw and supplied an unpredictability to their approach that hasn’t been seen since Hansie Cronje was inexplicably drawn to that leather jacket.
So how about the teams’ respective weaknesses? South Africa have a fabulous top four in Smith, Amla, Kallis and De Villiers. All are top batters and each can play the innings around which the others can build a formidable total. But from 5 down there are serious problems. England, despite being hamstrung by Strauss’s determination to bowl Yardy and Pietersen for 17 overs still ripped out the Saffas’ last 7 wickets for 41 runs. Duminy is yet to fire and without the big-hitting Albie Morkel they have no one who can regularly clear the boundary. Look at Pakistan with Afridi and Razzaq. New Zealand have Franklin, McCullum and Oram. And with sides eyeing up 280-300 as a good score there is more pressure than ever on the lower middle order.
But against that is India’s frankly pitiful bowling attack once you take the matchless genius of Zaheer Khan out of the equation. Currently Dhoni is basing his entire strategy on when and how much he can use Zaheer who is for me the bowler of the tournament.
Indians debate this matter endlessly; Ashwin over Chawla, Sreesanth over Nehra/Patel. But there are no easy answers. Harbhajan is performing solidly without looking like taking a wicket while the variably flighted nonsense of Yuvraj is proving to be India’s most potent secondary threat, and that is a big problem because one day the batting may fail. It nearly did against the Dutch, and to win the cup it can’t afford to slip up once we get to the knock out stages.
World Cups are usually won by bowlers; Holding and Roberts, Waqar and Wasim, Mcgrath and Warne, Mcgrath and Warne again, and again. Steyn and Morkel fit the bill, as do Murali and Malinga, but maybe just for once it will be the batsmen. Sehwag and Tendulkar? For India’s sake I hope so.