1983 v 2011

Which one is a greater achievement. India winning the 1983 Prudential Cup completely out of the blue or India winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup under the weight of insane pressure from a billion people magnified a 100 times; to use Shahid Afridi's magnifying glass; by the relentless Indian media.


One was a fairy tale and the other a realistic goal achieved through dedication, careful planning and deliberate processes.

In one India beat all 4 previous World Cup winners in a sequence of high pressure games played in front of expectant (read demanding) crowds and in the other India beat the most fearsome, most intimidating, most talented team at the peak of their prowess

One had a ring of naivete and innocence to it the other had a ring of self awareness and self belief.

In one, the defining knock by the captain helped the team stay afloat and in the other the defining knock by the captain sealed one of the most fluent run chases in a world cup final. Both feats will take ages to emulate.

One had Mohinder Amarnath the other had Yuvraj Singh playing more or less the same roles.

One had a team who were out to enjoy, have fun and generally just glad to be in esteemed company the other had a team struck with anxiety attacks under the pressure of expectations

In one, Ravi Shastri was on mute, in the other we weren't so lucky.

One changed Indian cricket forever the other confirmed India as a changed team.

One was achieved by the best Test team in the world the other was achieved by defeating the best Test team in the World.

Those who watched both the World Cups, will be the best judges to call this one. To say which is the greater achievement in Indian cricket.

As for me, I need a few more samples to say for sure.

Other World Cup posts...

1. India is now Dhoni
2. Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar
3. It's Dhoni's turn

It's safe to say that Yuvraj Singh came of age in this World Cup. A few months ago he was the "waterboy". Dropped from the team for poor performance and maybe poorer attitude, Yuvraj was on the outside looking in. He seemed indignant, rather than contrite. At least that what commentators and observers wanted us to believe. And given some of the reasons he made news, it wasn't hard to believe. A few weeks later he was dropped. And that seemed to be the end of another brilliant Indian talent. Yuvraj was destined to be more Vinod Kambli than Sourav Ganguly.

More ignominy followed prior to that. He was dumped as captain of the Punjab Kings in the IPL. The "Punjab-da-Puttar" wasn't even considered good enough to captain a team that was formed for him. Sangakarra took over and Yuvraj found himself dropped from the IPL team. How bad could it get?

Everyone remembers how Yuvraj burst on the international scene in the champions trophy in Nairobi. Yuvraj also started the fairytale ICC World Cup script with the remarkable chase to win the Natwest Trophy with Mohammed Kaif. While Kaif (the first Indian ice man) lost his form, Yuvraj grew stronger.

Portraits: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Just how big a name has Mahendra Singh Dhoni become.

For his opponents, he is certainly more threatening than Mogambo, Gabbar Singh and Shakaal put together.

No one has seen where Dhoni was from a few moments after he hit the six to bring home the World Cup till the time he was called on by Ravi Shastri for an interview. And then he went missing again. No one saw him lift the cup later, either

That makes him invisibler than Mr. India and more secretive than James Bond.

At the post match press conference he charmed reporters with giggles that were more genuine and had more warmth than any Miss India that went on to become Miss World.

That makes him an object of Abhishek Bacchan's affection. That's big.

His "Well Of Course...." will soon topple "Are O'Samba" as the most repeated line by Indians.

He has cricket's equivalent of "7 Khoon Maaf" by admitting that he made an error in judgement in a game with Pakistan. No Indian cricket captain (not even Azharuddin) has ever admitted to making a mistake for fear of being hanged to death.

That makes him bigger than Priyanka Chopra and Vishal Bharadwaj - both the music and film director.

His last ball six will resonate for a long time with Sri Lankans; who like Dr Dang will be vowing an echo of the echo of the six. And while Dilip Kumar's hit, was heard only as far as theaters in India; it makes Dhoni's hit which was telecast live world wide; better than Rana Vishwapratap Singh's.

MSD 3.0

At the moment, Dhoni is perhaps bigger than Amithabh Bacchan, Manmohan Singh, Basanti, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Poonam Pandey, Munna Bhai, Bal Thackrey, Jai, Shahrukh Khan, the Ambanis - Both Anil amd Mukesh along with their wives, Rajnikanth, Rakhee Savant, Karan Johar, Katrina Kaif, Circuit, President Obama - If he were Indian, Viru - No, not the opener, MF Hussain - If he were in India, Aamir Khan - Even if he were in LA begging for an Oscar for Pooplee Live, Lata Mangeshkar, Shard Pawar, the Tatas, the Scindias from Gwalior...

...perhaps even bigger than Salman Khan.

AndDareISayBiggerThanSachiinTendukar... there I said it. I hope I survive this. If I do, its all thanks to Sachin.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has, saved a Test match at Lords, won the T20 World Cup (and since then they have stopped calling it the World Cup - which makes him the only one to do it) The IPL, The Champions League, the last edition of the tri - series in Australia, has led India to number 1 in Test rankings and now he has won the 50 over World Cup.

More importantly no one has noticed he is still to win the 60 over cup.

With so much already accomplished, and assuming that he is not amongst the selfish, egoistic sports stars who  are obsessed with "calling it a day while they are still at the top"; another way to look at how big MS has become is to comprehend what else he needs to accomplish for him to keep his career graph ascending.

Sit down with the Israelis, Palestinians and President Obama and show them how to bring peace to the middle east. Solve the Kashmir issue, convince the world that global warming is just how God designed it to be, eradicate the world from all cyclones, floods, hurricanes (except the Nikhanj dude from Haryana), earthquakes and tsunamis, make cars run on water....

If MS accomplishes the cricket equivalent of the above, in the next 1-2 years. His career graph may continue its upward trend...

...Slightly

If you still haven't got enough of the man, like us; please indulge yourselves

1. India is now Dhoni
2. That's the way... Mahi Way
3. Opinions On... Mahendra Singh Dhoni

India is now Dhoni

At 30 off 29 balls, Yuvraj Singh swung and missed off Malinga. The familiar feeling of an impending implosion began taking possession of my being. Two more dot balls followed and I closed my eyes hoping that madness would not consume Yuvraj. Over the next two balls, Yuvraj took 3 calm runs. I breathed a sigh of relief. India were going to be champions. There would be no heartbreak. India knocked off the runs without a flourish until the very last shot. No mountain too high, no river too deep and no adversity too hard. India has become Dhoni. Calm, collected and cool.


Flashback to the World Cup in 1987. In the very first game against Australia, after being 206-2, India slumped to defeat by one run chasing 270. In that game, the original Ice Man, Steve Waugh, administered the narcotic. India didn't manufacture ice-men. When Gambhir went at 223, to a ditsy shot, my brain was beginning to turn into spaghetti. Time and again, India's big, bad, deep and stats-rich batting line-up had demonstrated no mental strength and belief. Right from the waning days of Gavaskar until now, India could collapse anytime.

But in this World Cup, India have chased with the perseverance of the FBI chasing the Unabomber. They have stayed in the hunt in the big games chasing runs. They have taken games to their logical conclusions, rather than try to finish them off in a flurry of shots. It has taken decades to shake off the "hit-out-or-get-out" habit.

This team has probably learned the lesson that Miandad taught India in 1986. It ain't over until it's over. Gambhir, Kohli and Yuvraj Singh have played their parts to perfection in most of the matches. Whenever the alternate script had to be enacted, they were in good form in every match. India's primary script was for Sehwag and Tendulkar to score big and take as big a bite as they could of the score they were chasing. When it didn't go that script, they settled into a "death-by-a-thousand-cuts" script that would take matches to the last few overs. Against Australia and in the finals, India have had to find plan B.

Bringing himself to the center stage in the final, Dhoni gave notice to the superstars playing in the game that this was his stage. Tendulkar, Murali, Jayawardene, Sangakarra and Sehwag are some of the biggest the sport has seen. Zaheer and Malinga have performed World Cup feats that will live in memory for a while. Jayawardene constructed a magnificent century. One of the very best ever crafted in the World cup finals. It wasn't brutal like Ponting or Gilchrist's recent efforts, but it was clinical, suave and scientific.

Conventional thinking suggested that Sehwag or Tendulkar were the only ones who could respond. But Dhoni was going to have none of that. He put himself in the middle of the biggest game of his life and charmed it, coaxed it, cajoled it and finally when it was almost his, brought out his biggest shot. There was only one occasion when he almost was run out that he lost it for a second. But he immediately, put his arm up, owned up for the situation despite it not really being his fault and continued. That's what leaders do. This was going to his. He owned it.

This is a new India. An India that believes that it can. It stays calm. It knows nothing but pressure. It has learned to accept it and get on with it. It explodes when it can and buckles down when it needs to. This India now manufactures Ice-Men by the dozen. Dhoni is India and India is now Dhoni.

See Also

• That's the way...Mahi Way
• Opinions On...Mahendra Singh Dhoni

That's the way...Mahi Way

Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have just eclipsed Arvinda D'Silva's 107* in the 1996 finals; the only century till date in a successful run chase in a World Cup finals. Arvinda's century too like Dhoni's 91 not out, came on the heels of 2 quick wickets but when those 2 wickets are Sehwag and Sachin; the pressure you have to absorb is that much more.

India are World Champions again and it was almost scary the way they scripted the most tense but strangely serene run chase I am ever likely to see. With each run that brought us closer, I asked my self what a win would do to the legend of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. I am not sure what the answer is, but perhaps we are seeing the beginnings of a cricketer that will eventually be bigger and meaner than Sachin Tendulkar. He will never have Sachin's skills. Thank God for that.

Sri Lanka seemed to have been defeated by Dhoni much before India finally beat them with a six of the last ball. After having started almost all matches with the Sehwag way, India ended a successful World Cup campaign; the Mahi way.

See Also...

• Our unsolicited and half baked, opinions on Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Portraits: Muttiah Muralitharan

In a grand total of 61 Test wins for Sri Lanka, Murali has featured in 54 of them and accounted for 41% of the wickets. Later today he would be itching to go out on a high with another world cup.

Even if both his knees are struck with age related arthritis, the guy will turn up for the finals and bowl.

He usually scripts his own farewells

See Also

• World Cup Finals - India v Sri Lanka: Does India have the legs for another scrap?
• Portraits @ Opinions

World Cup Finals - India v Sri Lanka: Does India have the legs for another scrap?

When asked if an all Asian World Cup finals, suggests a power shift in world cricket, Mahela Jayawardene said,

"We mustn't forget that this is a World Cup on the subcontinent, and obviously home conditions suit us. In fact, it would have been disappointing if Asian teams hadn't made it to the final. The World Cup will be played on a different continent the next time, and we can say the balance of power has truly shifted if two teams from the subcontinent make the final then."

A smart answer from a man who plays for a smart team led by an even smarter and sophisticated Kumar Sangakkara. India's opponents in the finals are a team perfectly capable of beating them comfortably

A preview...



Hangover
Malinga's toe busting missiles, Murali's enthusiasm, thirst for wickets and his knack of doing something special on farewells, Mendis' carom balls and then the formidable top order batting centered around the most prolific Kumar Sangakkara. What Sri Lanka have to offer can easily spoil India's party. As with the Ashes hangover; both physical and mental; sometimes no amount of intent and discipline can over come an emotional high of coming thorough a tough assignment. And India have come through 2 of the most intense one day matches in recent times.

How they got here
India's path to the finals has been most challenging, They were required to beat the defending champions and a dangerous Pakistan. What made these matches intense pressure games was that India were expected to win these games.

Sri Lanka on the other hand took the scenic route stopping along the way for English picnic lunches and some pictures with the kiwis. You could argue and essentially buy Mahendra Singh Dhoni's argument that India are more prepared for the pressure of the finals than the Lankans but if Sri Lanka get off the blocks early India just may not have any strength left to get in a position to put pressure on the Lankans.

Needless to say, Sri Lanka look to be better positioned to win the finals in my estimation.

How can India win
In the semi finals almost everything that was borderline, fell India's way. That's what it took to win against Pakistan. The win has to some extent masked India's 'yet to explode' middle order; a problem they share with the Lankans; and Sehwag's continuing struggles with the One Day format. Granted, in the scheme of things his spectacular dismantling of Umar Gul was as good as a knock out blow but against Sri Lanka he will have to do a lot more. While he can bat through 50 overs against a side like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have enough wiles to frustrate him to the point where he gets himself out.

I can see only one way we can win and that is to get ahead early and stay there; whether batting or bowling first and Virendra Sehwag needs to play a marathon innings. Our middle order is too fragile to withstand Malinga and Murali in tandem.

The captains
Captaincy-wise Mahendra Singh Dhoni will meet his match in Kumar Sangakkara. In almost every respect they are quite similar. Sangakkara is all sophistication to Dhoni's cool. Sangakkara is a better batsman, is in form and has been to a World Cup final before. To Dhoni's credit however he hasn't let his form affect his decision making as a captain, and has been to and won a T20 World Cup; as captain. And when you are assessing Mahendra Singh Dhoni you have to consider luck as his core skill. The man's so lucky even Lady luck prays that she has a day like Dhoni's

Cold stats
Numbers wise, India have en edge over Sri Lanka if you focus on matches in India but Sri Lanka have traditionally owned India in World Cup matches. And recently the 2 sides have played each other so many times that the law of large numbers suggest that both sides have a 50% chance of winning.

Ground realities

The first game between the 2 sides at the same ground involved a high scoring game. India posting 299/4 in 40 overs and Roshan Mahanama replying with the innings of his life. Eventually he was run out for 98 and Sri Lanka fell 10 runs short. 

The highest score on this ground is by a Sri Lankan

Since the ground and the stadium has been redone, it is Sri Lanka who have played here before while India will be making their debut


Bottom line
I am skeptical if India can pull off another high pressure game. The mantra should be "win big". The team may just not have enough legs for another scrap

Please see...

• Portraits @ Opinions: See us paint cricketers in shades of grey and sometimes blue
• Opinions on... : Unsolicited, half-baked opinions on unsuspecting cricketers