Fingers crossed

Pepsi's newfangled ad campaign with the punch-line "Yeh Cup kahin nahi jayega" (literally, This Cup won't go anywhere) seems to be rooting well with the Indian cricket fans . This ascribes to the enormous faith, flanked by huge expectations, that the Indian supporters for the Men-in-Blues. And rightly so. The reigning champions possess a formidable line-up and a melange of players who come up to every task with great efficacy. Each player has already played in the IPL (all have played in both 2008 and 2009 seasons) recently and almost all of them were seen in good nick, whether it be batsmen or bowlers. Moreover, the team remains almost the same as it was in the 2007 T20 World Cup, only with a minor alterations.

So, why are there latent apprehensions about India's capacity to win the World Cup? Cricket gurus, experts and aficionados are all very hush-hush about Team India's potential to become the two-time winner. The only reason is, I guess, because the Indian team has not played any of the "giants" until now. Although, cricket, especially in the T20 format, is quite an unpredictable game. MSD coming to bat one-down may have raised some eye-brows, but it showed his approach - Never take your opponent lightly. But in spite of their cautious approach to both games, the manner in which India defeated the two minnows, gave a clear message that upsets do not occur everyday. MSD coming to bat one-down may have raised some eye-brows, but it showed his approach - Never take your opponent lightly.

With the tournament just opening up now, as the teams move into the Super Eight round, Team India face an arduous task ahead of them. We have already seen Australia's demise from the tournament and MS Dhoni's men will be wary of the challenges ahead. Facing host England, West Indies and South Africa in Round II, it would demand a lot from the Blues if they have to emerge on top.

Let's keep our fingers crossed..!!