India v West Indies – Group A
“We are cheering for Pakistan as they play a day game. We will know where we stand when we go out. Hopefully Pakistan will win.” declared the Indian captain here in the pre-match conference ahead of India’s last match against the West Indies in Johannesburg. The Indians know that even a huge win against the West Indies, which is almost mandatory considering the run-rate factor; will not guarantee them the semi-final spot. A lot depends on Pakistan’s game against the Aussies. On India’s part, they should be looking to field first so that should the Aussies lose to Pakistan, the Indian batters will have an exact target to get into the semis; having said that Aussies don’t often lose 50-over big games! History has taught them to find different ways to win. On current form and with their seasoned spin arsenal, Pakistan is the one team who can beat the transitional Australian team. Last night, the Kiwis kept their heads and left no scope for drama as they beat England putting the Sri Lankan aspirations firmly to rest. India will be hoping Wednesday brings a different outcome for them. Among all this West Indies have the perfect opportunity to become the party poopers for India!
The present scenario has led to a lot of friendly back-handed banter between the arch rivals. Skipper Dhoni, however, is an unenviable position as it must be very odd for an Indian captain to depend on a Pakistani team to go through a big ICC tournament having lost to them in the group stage. But this scenario is partially unfortunate as the wash-out in the Australia game complicated matters for India. Skipper Younis Khan has all the reasons to be smirking inside yet he was refreshingly friendly and charitable to India in his comments before the match. However, being a shrewd cricketer he knows he can’t discount the Aussies by a long shot. “I wish for India to play in the final against us but we will not worry about that in our game tomorrow. We’ll be trying our best. My wish is to win against the top teams, like South Africa, Australia and India. There is nothing in my mind about losing to Australia, and whether India will be out. It is only about what I can do for my country”. He said. Meanwhile the game provides the perfect opportunity for the young West Indians to leave their mark on the tournament by knocking out India- one of the top teams in World ODI cricket. To conclude, it’s a Pandora’s box for the Indians today. Best case: They might be flattened by an unfancied West Indies side ending a disastrous campaign or they might make it to the champions’ trophy semi-finals which will surely guarantee exhilarating cricket for Indian fans the world over. Whatever be the outcome, Play 6UP, Use your cricket knowledge and make sure YOU WIN!
Prateek Kapil
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