You have to begin twenty-eight years ago when talking about India and World Cup in the same breath. When Kapil Dev and his bunch of merry men upset the West Indies’ applecart on a fine Lord’s afternoon in 1983, the world of cricket changed forever. Sample this: in two editions of the tournament prior in 1975 and 1979, no one expected them to achieve anything stellar. Neither the players themselves paid much attention to the shorter format of the game, nor could the BCCI be bothered. ODI cricket was not a priority – plain and simple!
Consider the six times this tournament has been played since; the one word that comes to your mind about the Indian team and its billion strong supporters’ community is expectation. Being crowned champion is considered a certainty before the tournament even begins and much judgment is passed on superb players lest they fail. And failed they have, if one can put it out in such cruel manner, for India hasn’t managed a repeat crowning moment since. The closest they came was in 2003 under Sourav Ganguly, when they lost in the finals to a rampaging Ricky Ponting ton. They made the semi-finals twice when the World Cup came to the sub-continent, in 1987 and 1996, falling prey to complacency and an under-prepared pitch respectively. In Australia-New Zealand in 1992 and in England in 1999, the task was much beyond their means. And let’s not even talk about what happened in 2007!
It is only understandable when the carnival comes to the sub-continent for a third time, that India will once again be rank favourites for the crown. The difference this year though emanates from their superb showing in the past couple of years, if not more. Ever since that T20 victory in South Africa under MS Dhoni, under the tutelage of Gary Kirsten, the Men in Blue have been on a steady upward curve. It has reflected more in the Test rankings than the ODI ones, primarily because their batting is lent more solidity with the experience of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman still available. Their last prolific one-day win was in Australia in early 2008, winning the CB Series against Australia and Sri Lanka, and since then, their limited-overs fortunes have only been of academic note.
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