India favourites in knock-out final

India are on a roll. A team coming into the final of a tournament after defeating reigning World Cup champions Australia and defending champions South Africa in the previous two matches are the natural favourites to win the ICC Knock-out cricket cup on Sunday.

And India not only beat them, but did it in style. Which makes them the strong favourites to win the final against New Zealand.

Coming into the tournament after a rather unsavoury episode of match-fixing allegations put the team in complete disarray, and the game itself in disrepute, it has been a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of the Indian team.

They have played like tigers, outsmarting their opponents in every department of the game. Their batting, bowling, fielding have seen a vast improvement when compared to their performances Down Under, the home series against South Africa, the triangular tournament in Sharjah or in Asia Cup at Dhaka.

But the most noticeable, and welcome, aspect has been their positive attitude, the hunger to win and the willingness to fight for it till the end.

For a team which is notorious for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, this squad has simply refused to wilt under pressure and shown tremendous temperament in crunch situations.

True, it has only been three games till now and they are yet to face a real cliffhanger. But there have been tight situations which demanded that the players keep their cool, and they have come out trumps.

For example when Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid got out in quick succession in the quarter-final against Australia, a by-now-familiar middle-order collapse looked imminent. But Punjab youngster Yuvraj Singh, playing his first knock, put up a heroic performance, and in the company of Vinod Kambli and Robin Singh not only got India out of trouble but saw to it that a match-winning total was in place.

Or when Brett Lee and Steve Waugh threatened to take the match away from India with some big stroke-play in the slog overs, instead of choking, speedster Zaheer Khan, playing only his second match, fired a yorker to send Waugh back to the pavilion to turn the match back in India's favour.

Incidentally, Yuvraj and Zaheer, the finds of this tournament, have been a tremendous influence on the team. Their youthful exuberance and energy has transformed the entire team and suddenly you have Indians running, diving, throwing themselves at every opportunity.

Vijay Dahiya has also shown tremendous promise behind the wickets though he did not have enough opportunity to prove his credentials as a batsman. In Friday's semi-final against South Africa, he had four victims and his stumping of Shaun Pollock was simply brilliant.

Not to speak of the trio of Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid, who have more or less done the job expected of them. Kambli has looked good though he has yet to come up with a big knock.

And the bowlers, led by the ever-dependable Anil Kumble, have performed admirably well and have been able to contain the opposition and defend the totals put up by the batsmen.

So, on paper at least, it looks like a cakewalk for the Indians. The ultimate redemption after they had virtually been written off. But, complacency is the last thing they need going in the final. For New Zealand are no mean customers. The way they sent Pakistan packing in the semi-finals, when the chips were down for them, is but only an indication of the strength and character they possess.

Ganguly felt the team has the making of a good unit though he admitted it could do with one or two additions in the line-up.

"We need to fill a couple of slots, may be a batsman and another pace bowler in the squad," said the Indian captain.

India might have to do without Robin Singh in the final as the gutsy allrounder has dislocated a finger in his left hand and is doubtful for the game.

If Ganguly's mindset is any indication, he will again ignore left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi and opt for Tamil Nadu's S Sriram, who is not only a useful left-arm bowler and batsman but pretty handy in the field.

New Zealand have been underdogs who have come good, though they did look scratchy in their two matches against Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

The two men vital in these wins were bowlers, off-spinner Paul Wiseman and left-arm seamer Shayne O'Connor. How these bowlers stand up to the assault of the Indian batsmen remains to be seen.

Shaun Pollock, Friday's beaten captain, rated New Zealand's chances as good but didn't forget to add a rider.

"New Zealand, of course, can back themselves against India in the final but in order to do so, they will have to get past the three top Indian batsmen."

Pollock said it will not be easy for the Kiwis to get past Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid though if they do manage to do so, they could do well against a suspect lower half of Indian team. The irony about these two finalists is neither boasts of a very good bowling attack. Yet they have come through, for which a great deal of credit must go to the pitch.

The pitch for the final is the middle of the five in the square and it has not been used. Pollock felt if the Kiwi bowlers could swing the ball on the new pitch, they could have an advantage as it poses problems for the batsmen.

New Zealand have some excellent batsmen to take advantage of the good batting conditions. Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle, Roger Twose and Craig McMillan are batsmen in form. Indian bowlers would find it difficult to get past them.

India can only hope their batsmen will bat better and New Zealand bowlers bowl worse than theirs.

Twose has now hit his fifth consecutive fifty, and by the law of averages is due for failure. The same law of averages would suggest the little Indian maestro Tendulkar would have a big knock on Sunday.

Tendulkar has just one hundred to his name this year and his captain is hoping he will come good in the final. "I wanted runs from him against South Africa. Now I hope he has been saving it for the final."

Mail Cricket Editor