GLOBAL MEET OF THE INDIAN DIASPORA

The Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is presented a book titled" Raj Kapoor Speaks" by a delegation led by the Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Shri Vinod Khanna and Ms. Ritu Nanda in New Delhi on December 14, 2002 (Saturday).

India in new look cricket

M.K. Dharma Raja *

The glittering sixty two thousand – dollar World Cricket Trophy displayed in New Delhi last month is the symbol of the new variety of instant competition in the game popularized during the past three decades. Unveiling of the Trophy on the eve of the Indian team’s tour of New Zealand also indicates the transformation of the cricket scene over the years in India as in the other cricket-playing nations. Fourteen nations including India will battle it out for the coveted title of "World Champion – 2003" in the tournament to be staged in South Africa next February.

The current tour of the Indian squad comes as the final preparation for the February competition. The composition of the team also illustrates the shift from the earlier affluent sections to the less privileged players like Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singha and Sanjay Bangar or Mohammad Kaif. They have emerged to the fore from the backyards of the suburbs. This is in sharp contrast to cricket played as a pastime of princes, the rich and those patronized by royalty in the days gone by.

Highly attractive earnings from endorsement fees together with handsome prize money as well as huge match fees have all made it more than worthwhile for players to remain in the game almost throughout the year. The cricket establishment itself is flush with funds from the game’s sponsorship by corporate financing. Commercial hoardings and prominent display of brand-logos on the colourful apparel of players dominate the cricket scene. Money, in fact, is now the name of the game.

It was the electronic media tycoon Kerry Packer who brought about the radical transformation in the game from its elitist moorings of the leisurely and ‘majestic’ pace of the conventional 5-day tests. He changed the face of the game by inducing the best among cricketers of several countries to take part in one-day internationals by offering them the carrot of hefty payments. Commercial sponsorship through TV channels brought these international matches into the drawing rooms of millions of homes across the continents. The razzle-dazzle of high-voltage flood-lit matches replete with a variety of colourful innovations changed the face of the game. Spectator appeal was the buzz word in the instant brand of cricket.

Special rules and regulations of field restrictions in the first fifteen overs, limiting to ten, the number of overs to be sent down by each bowler and a series of altogether different application of wide and no-ball rules combined to make it an exciting hit-and-run battle of bat and ball. Umpires from neutral nations came into the arena of both the Tests and the one-dayers under the new dispensation. The techniques of replay made the role of the Third Umpire crucial when consulted for decision by field-umpires. Overseeing the game in all its aspects is the all-powerful Match Referee selected from the panel of veteran ex-Test cricketers. And sitting on top of the pyramidcal structure is the ICC with its escalating money-power. Meanwhile, the number of the cricket fraternity of nations has now increased to fourteen. This in turn has led to more cricket exchanges among the member-nations.

India first made waves in World Cricket in 1983 when "Kapil’s devils" as they were hailed, snatched the Championship Trophy. The Indian team under Kapil Dev shocked the mighty West Indies in the final romping home to a thrilling triumph. Cricket scribes described the outcome as a "rag-to-riches story" of the unfancied Indians "turning the world of cricket upside down on to head". A new set of younger players has now taken over from "Kapil’s devils" redefining the motivations for excellence in the highly competitive game.

The formula of "horses for the course" governs the choice of players for the one-day variety of the game. The stress is on the batting side’s ability to step up the score at a fast rate, keeping the scoreboard moving all the time. The aim is to accelerate the run-rate to the maximum. Conversely, bowlers on their part are required to restrict the run-rate of the opponents. All-rounders with skill to excel in this brand of cricket are considered to be more useful to the one-day squads. That also must have been the reason that weighed with the Australian selectors in dropping their successful Test captain from the team of probables picked for the coming World Cup Tournament.

The Indian team under Saurav Ganguly were on a winning spree during the past season. First, on the England tour earlier in the year they registered their biggest win abroad defeating the hosts by an innings and 46 runs in the Headingley Test. All the three top batsmen, Tendulkar, Dravid and the captain himself came up with century knocks in a mammoth total of 628 runs. The pick among the younger players was Virender Sehwag who came up with a scintillating century hit up at a blistering pace. India squared up the four match-Test series with the next two being drawn washed away by rain. Dravid scored a brilliant double century playing a gem of an innings of 217 runs in the next abandoned Test at the Oval. The final test at Lord’s, also similarly abandoned, saw Ajit Agarkar in the role of an all-rounder, remaining not out with 109 runs. India then went on to claim the NATWEST Trophy defeating England in the one-day internationals.

Next came the ICC Champions Trophy contests in Sri Lanka through which India maintained their winning record. The Opening match against Zimbabwe was an exciting duel with India losing their first five top batsmen for only 87 runs, Mohammad Kaif with Vice-Captain Dravid then retrieved the innings. Kaif coming at number six remained unbeaten with 111 runs. Dravid made 71. Zimbabwe replied with 274. In the second match, India scored an emphatic eight-wicket victory against England. After dismissing England for 269 runs India raced to 260 for only 2 wickets. Virender Sehwag in a whirlwind knock scored 126 off 104 balls. Saurav Ganguly was not out with 107. India outplayed the fancied South Africa in the Trophy semi-final limiting them to 251 runs in reply to 261. Sehwag again played the stellar role notching up 59 runs and bagging 3 wickets. He was declared "Man of the Match" for the second time in the series. India had their grip over the final against Sri Lanka who had stunned Australia, vanquishing them in their group semi-final. Rain again prevented the final being completed twice over. India and Sri Lanka shared the Champions Trophy.

The West Indies played three Tests and seven one-dayers during their recently-concluded visit to India. Ganguly again led the hosts to triumph in the Tests but lost the one-dayers in an exciting sequence. The test series against the Caribbean’s produced a few milestones and records. In the first Test at Mumbai India coasted to victory by an innings and 112 runs. It was India’s first-ever innings win over the West Indies. A seven-wicket haul by spin wizard Harbhajan Singh and a whirlwind knock of 147 by Sehwag brought an early end to the match. Dravid, the other centurion in Mumbai, became the first Indian batsman to score four hundreds in a row. His previous hundreds were scored at the last three Tests in England.

India wrapped up the series in Chennai with the second Test again ending early in a eight-wicket win by the hosts. The West Indies batsmen Chanderpaul and Samuels scoring a century each in the third and final Test at Kolkata helped the visitors pile up a huge score in their first innings. The Indian response was a 214 run partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S.Laxman after an initial Indian batting collapse. Tendulkar hit up 176 his 31st Test century. Laxman was not our with 154.

Batting maestro Tendulkar and India’s ace strike bowler paceman Zaheer Khan, both nursing injuries, were not available for the zig-zag one-dayers which followed. And skipper Ganguly also was absent from the last two matches. The two were level at 3-3 before their seventh duel. The visitors, however, pulled it off when India suffered a collapse in the fight against massive total in the seventh encounter.

Skipper Ganguly was cautiously optimistic about the prospects of the Indian team’s New Zealand tour now under way. Their 47-day programme in ‘Kiwi’ land includes two Tests and seven one-day internationals. The ODI’s are to be played after the Tests. They, in fact, represent the final build-up for the World Cup contests.

The two friendly fixtures before the first Test due to be played at Wellington from the 12th of this month were more or less limb-losseners for the tourists. The first at Christchurch was the unique format "Super Max" comprising two innings of 10 overs by ech side. Ganguly and Dravid did not take part in the match notable for a breezy 72 runs knock by Tendulkar.(PIB Features)

* Freelance Sports Writer