India's 1996 World Cup coach says Pak don't have the ammunition to conquer India
India's 1996 World Cup coach says Pak don't have the ammunition to conquer India
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| Sachin Tendulkar takes the aerial route against the Netherlands at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi on |
It's only natural that my mind goes back to the 1996 quarter-final between India and Pakistan at Bangalore. It was a memorable victory achieved by a bunch of skilled men, but with due respects to them, they were not as good as the current lot. We depended on a few individuals in the batting order then ufffd Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin and Vinod Kambli to an extent. We banked on our spinners to bowl out the opposition.
Now we have an awesome batting line-up and genuine variety in the bowling.u00a0 Zaheer Khan is bowling like a dream.
To say the batting is clicking is an understatement. All have got runs somewhere in the tournament and when you have specialist batters till No 7, the least one expects is three to four of them coming good.
Sure, India are a touch weak in bowling, but the awesome batting balances things out. Shahid Afridi may be bowling at his best and despite him being the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, most of our guys have had an opportunity to play and practice with Anil Kumble. So, Afridi should not pose a problem. Come to think of it, when it comes to tackling spinners on any track, we are the best.
We've also proved that we are not chokers and will not be like the South Africans in case we lose the toss and bat second. The tournament record books will show that Pakistan have beaten Sri Lanka and Australia on the way to the semi-final, but I think Sri Lanka just had an off-day and Australia are rebuilding. I won't read too much into those wins. India on the other hand, have only beaten West Indies before the quarter-finals among the big teams, but I think they took things a bit lightly.
Off-spinner R Ashwin has added much edge to this team. Harbhajan Singh's presence notwithstanding, Ashwin is the dangerman and we are not even talking of Yuvraj Singh's bowling form and our improved fielding yet.
India is rich in potential and form. Poor Pakistan have to face up to this. By the way, I am surprised that politicians have used cricket as a tool for peace.
Both neighbours could have made peace a long time ago without cricket's assistance for sure.
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