Recently there was a poll on one of the most popular
cricket websites in the world. The question asked was a simple one.
Which team starts as favourites for the Champions Trophy? At last count,
nearly 180,000 votes had come in and one team was miles ahead with
rank-clear majority. India are the fans' favourites heading into the
tournament, with as many as 60 per cent of the votes in their kitty.
Now
there are two ways to look at it. One, the sub-continental passion is
the market that drives world cricket's economy and everything related to
it. And similarly it also drives the traffic on most of these universal
cricket websites, thereby deeming this upswing in votes to plain and
simple old-school high-pitched fandom.
The
other way, which is a bit worrying, is that the objectivity of the fans
is sometimes blinded by this unbounded passion they have for their
favourite cricketers. Going into the tournament, the Men in Blue seemed
in trouble. They had not travelled abroad for more than a year, the team
is in transition and new blood has seeped into every corner of the
squad. The batting is dependent on two batsmen, Virat Kohli and MS
Dhoni, with the in-form Dinesh Karthik chipping in. The bowling attack
continues to raise questions.
But
all of this was before a ball was bowled in anger. As soon as the
tournament started (at the time of writing), India had thumped South
Africa in the opening match at Cardiff. Sure, Graeme Smith, Jacques
Kallis and Dale Steyn were missing, but that is the Proteas' problem. MS
Dhoni's young team batted well, backed it up with consistent bowling
spells and they were just wonderful in the field, coping well with alien
conditions after a year spent playing at home.
It makes for a good start, but does that install them as favourites for the title? Maybe, maybe not!
The
first bit is to do with consistency. As the number one ranked team in
the world, it is up to the Indian team to keep doing it, hitting the
mark again and again. It will only get easier against West Indies, in
comparison to the match against South Africa, and then the Pakistan game
becomes a normal cricket match, devoid of the pressure-cooker
situation. For a young team in transition, a semi-final spot is enough
to showcase their progress towards the 2015 ODI World Cup. All of this,
though, is easier said than done.
And
it is because the second bit comes into play, the 'maybe not' part. ODI
rules today have changed to such an extent that any team whose
traditional strengths don't match up, will eventually have to strive for
consistency against the odds at all times. Herein, one is talking
specifically of two rules, with dual new-balls from both ends and the
fielding restriction of just four fielders outside the 30-yard circle.
There
are many disadvantages to the two new-balls rule. It inadvertently
takes away any plusses for the spinners. It can be argued that in the
existing world of T20 leagues, spinners have learnt to bowl with shining
white balls. Even so, bowling on sub-continental pitches which will
help you with bite is altogether a different matter than bowling in
conditions where the wickets are hard and the ball comes easily onto the
bat when bowled quicker. It is easy to slip away and go off-track.
A
team that plays three or more quick-bowlers needs to be wary of this
fact and the balance of any and every bowling attack becomes paramount.
Someone like Pakistan who have good seam bowlers for every condition,
buoyed by some world-class all-rounders who double up as spinners, with
always have the edge. And then there is Saeed Ajmal.
It
is their inconsistency with the bat that makes Pakistan vulnerable and
this is not a T20 festival wherein someone like Shahid Afridi can stamp
his authority. The horses-for-courses policy will work here, for the
batsmen need to graft and build, setting up the stage, before the latter
batsman can take advantage in the last twenty overs. The four fielders'
restriction - coupled with two hard balls in use from both ends - means
that totals in excess of 300 will be scored and chased down with some
regularity now.
It puts in odd
perspective a team like England, one that boasts of Alastair Cook, Ian
Bell and Jonathan Trott in their top-order. During their recent ODI
series against New Zealand, time and again, the English batting found it
difficult to get a move on and this despite three stoic batsmen taking
their time settling down. Not every time can you expect an Eoin Morgan
or Joss Butler to explode in the finishing overs and take you over the
finishing line!
In the end, it can
be surmised that the new set of rules have convoluted things quite a
bit. In such a scenario there is no one favourite team. There is only
the small matter of coping with the conditions and optimising your
strategy on the day. Team India did so on the opening day of the ICC
Champions Trophy 2013. Can they do it in four more matches?
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