World Cup 2015 - India Have Arrived

India's lead up into the World Cup was atrocious.

The defending champions couldn't win a single game in Australia with key batsmen misfiring, their bowling & fielding were both the absolute pits, and captain Dhoni looked as bored as ever. An easy team to write off as title favorites given this form, particularly when up against the trio of Australia-New Zealand-South Africa who seemed to have all facets of the game under control.

But in the wise words of Bill Lawry "... all of a sudden it's all happening!"

Thrashing Pakistan was no surprise...

If there is one match India will always get up for, it's the opportunity to add to the 5-0 World Cup tally of beating Pakistan every time. At times it has been regarded as more important than winning the cup itself!

The surprising element was just how calmly they went about it.  There was no Sehwag whacking Gul half volleys, Tendulkar carving Shoaib Akhtar for dinner, or Prasad destroying Sohail's stumps. This time it was all patience and precision, patiently building a foundation until the 35th over and smoothly accelerating towards the psychological 300 benchmark.

Then with the help of scoreboard pressure, India found an extra bit of mojo plucked out of nowhere with ball in hand. Even more remarkably they turned in a fielding effort that wasn't it's usual lazy standard, India were able to record a professional display to get their world cup up and running.  

But Thrashing South Africa?

Where did this come from! India did not lose any of that India-Pakistan intensity, and that too against a team widely regarded as title favorites.

Dhawan and Kohli saw off the new ball threat without losing their heads (again), and this time it was the best in the world with a Steyn-Philander-Morkel pace battery.  They made sure a strong 300 total was secured rather than aiming for a more subcontinental score of 350.  But the real surprise again was how India bowled tightly with genuine pace, how they held their catches and fielded like demons.

They even executed run-outs! Blasphemy.

They turned the World Cup favourites into chumps, they out South Africa'd South Africa.
Suddenly pool A has a new boss.

Booya!

So What Does This Mean?

We now have a fourth player for the ultimate prize, the blue bandwagon is up and running. If India keep that level of high quality cricket up, they could very well go back to back here.

The already widely open World Cup has another reason to be excited, the defending champs aren't about to let the tight Kung Fu grip on their trophy be pried off anytime soon. This is particularly important with Pakistan, England and the West Indies playing like... themselves.

Bring it on Team Blue!

World Cup 2011 - The Blue Era Begins

And so after three consecutive world cups, and over ten years of uncontested dominance, we have a new team crowned winners. I have made it no secret that I am no fan of this Indian team, but its time for a quiet admission on my part through clenched teeth. India deserve to be crowned champions. 

It also invited bad puns. © Associated Press

India had their usual misfields, but Sri Lanka had more. India had poor backup bowlers, but Sri Lanka's were worse. The first innings was a scramble around the brilliant Jayawardene. The run chase, barring the first few overs, was precise, restrained and quality batting. One can harp on about dropped catches, injuries and leaving Mendis out (some even dare to say that Sangakkara cheated at the toss), but it came down to a very simple fact, the better team won.


Are They The Best In The World?
Yes, despite their flaws. While they were sloppy throughout, you cannot argue with results, their only loss was narrowly to South Africa. The ease in which they got over the final, with who was without doubt the number two team really highlights this. As much as I hunted for excuses for the Sri Lankan's losing, there were none.

It of course helped that this all took place on dead home pitches, and they probably will struggle more outside of the subcontinent. But that is no reason to begrudge them, every series or world cup is held at some venue, and a home side will have an advantage. Its part of the game.


Are They Better Than The Australian Empire?
Absolutely not. Not even close actually. The Australians were magnificent, they would field eleven top class players with no apparent weakness in any department. Think six Tendulkars, three Zaheers, a Sangakkara and a Murali, who all field like Raina and Dilshan. Scary wasn't it. They could have fielded a second eleven and beat most world teams, such was their depth.

India and Sri Lanka emerged on top because the Aussie fortress collapsed (well, retired), not the other way around. I honestly believe that the Indian team of 2003 is equal, if not stronger than this one, and we all saw what happened to them.

Ouch. © Neil Lane

There is a long way to go before any team is as good as these guys were.

Why We Thank India's Victory
They bring in the numbers, of that there is no doubt. They were excellent hosts of this tournament, and the event was a big success. With the Indians backing it up, at least we can be rest assured that the fifty over game is in safe hands. They didn't "IPL" the game thankfully and left it in its own, mostly original and glorious form.

India is also one to embrace other teams I feel. Out of sheer numbers, smaller teams such as Ireland will get their supporters, particularly with a few of them featuring in the IPL already, along their first Dutch player to join them this year. All cricket lovers cannot deny that a strong Indian fan base and their passion is great for the sport.

Why We Regret India's Victory
The overindulgence has already begun. The amount of money that gets poured into the game is truly astounding, with each player receiving a 1 crore bonus ($200,000 USD roughly). It doesn't sound like much, but 1 crore in India is more than what the average man will ever see in his lifetime. Worse still given that half the team were average, if not poor throughout the tournament. They simply do not know when to stop, especially with money. The BCCI are already powerful, with having more control over cricket than the ICC itself, this victory means more power.

Too much power is never good.

The hero worship is almost laughingly bad, with patriotic film songs booming throughout the game as if India was welcoming a victorious army on independence day. All that was left really was Aamir Khan to jump out onto the pitch and win the match Lagaan style with "Mere Desh Ki Dharti" running in the background (to the non-Indian readers, something like Queen's "We Are The Champions").

And you need to be in, or have been to India to see just how far the endorsements go, with cricket players all over clothing labels, Pepsi ads, hair gel, even this monstrosity from Nike:

Get used to it folks, cricket will indeed bleed blue for the coming years.

World Cup 2011 - The Awful Television Ads

We Indians are a flamboyant bunch, it often shows with our exuberance, over-indulgence and color. Bollywood cinema is a prime example of this, unapologetically mindless, but great fun. It does not stop there, the passion is in full flow in our advertising, some of the best commercials I have seen come from India. Some of the most abysmal too.  I thought it would be amusing to look up some of the ads for the world cup. Presented from best to worst:

Pakistani Cricket Team in Airport - Pepsi

Sanity Score - 8/10

This is quite a good one. Nice and simple without laying on the cheese.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sanity Score - 7/10
Cute. Taking hero worship a little far though.

Harbhajan Singh - Pepsi

Sanity Score - 6/10

Amusing idea, taking particular cricketing skills, in this case the doosra (aka googly, wrong'un) and giving it a bit of a twist (no pun intended). Silly but I like it.

Keven Pietersen - Pepsi

Sanity Score - 4/10

The concept is not just exclusive to the Indian players either, Pietersen showing off his 'switch hit'. Notice how both the previous and this ad featured confused New Zealanders? I'm not a fan of overseas players and dodgy hindi though.

Billy Bowden - Pepsi

Sanity Score - 2/10

Ok, this is getting stupid now.

Dhoni and Friends - Pepsi
Sanity Score - 0/10
Oh. Dear. GOD.

If thats the first time you saw that, I apologize for ruining your life.