One day Mataram!

As the Bengali opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket world cup wraps up, the focus now shifts on the actual tournament which starts tomorrow when India takes on Bangladesh.
With pride at stake and revenge on the cards, we can expect a decent beginning to India’s campaign which , to all of us , appear overwhelmingly favorites.
Team India has the arsenal and the gladiators to accomplish that. And for the first time India looks poised to win a world championship before the start of tournament. I am not counting Asian games Kabaddi medal here. :P
It is tailor made opportunity for India to win the cup unless they go the 1983 west Indies way.
This Indian side , on papers, is very similar or even better in terms of batting to Lloyd’s lions of 1983.
Sachin & sehwag are much better than Haynes & Greenidge
Yousuf pathan can hit as long as Viv Richards
Dhoni is long way ahead of Dujon in glove skills and abreast with Clive Lloyd in acumen
Yes Munaf Patel is no Andy Roberts and Sreesanth is not as good as Garner. Even Zaheer khan cant match shoulders with Michel Holding but these are the times when 10-0-55-1 bowling figure is not considered too bad and each one in the Indian line up can manage that.

With team like this, the case of complacency cannot be ruled out. If every willow holder is as good as the one to follow, it creates an aura of somebody-will-surely-do-it and by the time the last one realizes ,its already 80/6 and the curtains. Quite like Vivian Richard would have thought of when he top edged Madan Lal and Kapil Dev plucked one hell of a catch.
2011 World cup success is also very important for the survival (or revival) of the one day Cricket. If 2011 edition goes on the forgettable lines of 2007th one, its surely the end of the road for One day mataram!
There are people who, amidst all the euphoria , are questioning the very significance of cricket world cup arguing the 50-50 format, which although ICC dubs as ‘the cup that count’ practically has no takers outside the Subcontinent.
Purists admire test match while Twenty20 for the majority, the ones who hardly know cricket! Even this three year old debate will take a back seat , if India Wins the cup .
Who knows we might witness another revolution like the IPL which followed 2007 T20 world cup triumph.