Kohli could be player of the tournament
Suresh Menon
This is no time to be politically correct. Teams like Bangladesh are not yet ready to win the World Cup. To string together consistent victories over a six-week period is difficult. But what they do have is enormous nuisance value. They can cause the occasional upset when the batting suddenly comes together, the bowling clicks and fielding startles. Bangladesh have once beaten Australia in an ODI. In the 2007 World Cup, they ended India's dream .They have an excellent chance to get into the quarterfinals here if they can keep the West Indies at bay. Their stadium-filling fans deserve that reward. But they were up against a charged Indian team which has been smarting from their defeat four years ago.
There are seven survivors from that eleven and everyone looked determined to replace that terrible memory with another happier, more dominating one. India set out in pursuit of 400 runs. It was not enough to merely win. They had to lay the bogey to rest once and for all. Virender Sehwag was subdued in the first half of his innings, and suddenly all those who believed that he would make a double century if he batted the full 50 overs, began to look uncertain.
In his recent autobiography, Matthew Hayden has written how in 2005, the Australians began to feel that England might win the Ashes when there were early signs that their players were looking out for each other rather than retreating selfishly into themselves. This Indian performance was not so much about personal glory (although there were two centuries) as about making a point as a team. That is a good augury.
Sehwag's indifference to approaching landmarks is part of his legend. He was once happy to remain unbeaten on 99 in the first session of a Test match. Here Virat Kohli didn't look in any hurry to get to his personal landmark, leaving it till the last over and not refusing singles to keep strike. This is a healthy sign. He might well emerge as the player of the tournament. There is a combination of self-confidence and creative batsmanship that suggests this. But one nightmare persists - the running between wickets. Sachin Tendulkar looked to be fighting a personal battle against the team that caused him one of his greatest disappointments when his innings was cut short. It was his call, but Sehwag was guilty of an old Indian habit, ball-watching.
News Posted: 20 February, 2011
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