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NEWS Cricket World Cup 2007>How good is the Indian team for the World Cup 19th Feb 2007 23.22 IST By Manish Kumar The biggest cricket extravaganza unfolds in less than a month’s time in the West Indies as Rahul Dravid leads a squad in which as many as nine players are survivors from the 2003 edition – that saw India finishing as runners-up. But nonetheless, Dravid leads a strong team, which many feel has it in it to lift the title that has eluded India since 1983.
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar needs 268 runs and one century from his fifth World Cup to become the first batsman in the event’s history to score 2000 runs and five centuries. In 1996, he became the first batsman to hit 500 runs in a single tournament when he made 523 runs at 87.16. In 2003, he went still better, totalling 673 runs at 61.18. And he has proved in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka that he is in roaring form. Sachin has most runs (1,732 at an average of 59.72) in World Cup Cricket history and scored 673 runs in 2003 World Cup, which is the highest by any player in a single Cricket World Cup, which saw being adjudged Player Of The Tournament in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. The story of Sourav Ganguly is what dream comebacks are made of. Not long ago out of the team, the former captain has returned in some style and was the highest run getter in the just concluded series against the West Indies. His 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton in 1999 is the second-highest score in a World Cup innings. 110 of those runs came off boundaries (7x6, 17x4) – a record for an Indian in the World Cup. His 23 sixes in two Worlds Cup is the maximum in the event. Ganguly is the second fastest player to reach 10,000 ODI runs and the fastest to reach multiples of 7,000, 8,000, and 9,000 ODI runs. Virender Shewag may not be in the best form of his life, but is the only opening batsman to hit the first ball of an innings for a six in the World Cup. Sehwag did this against Australia in the 2003 World Cup, when he hit 82 in the team’s lost cause. This is also his highest from 11 World Cup matches and the whole world knows that when he gets going, he can turn the match on its head. He had a largely disappointing tournament in 2003, scoring 299 runs at an average of 27, but he top scored for India with 82 in the loss against Australia in the final. Yuvraj Singh , a brilliant fielder and a reliable batsman, has not done much of note in the only World Cup he played in South Africa in 2003. He did record a stunning bowling feat, taking 4/6 against Namibia at Pietermaritzburg. But Yuvraj has come of age as a batsman since then and returned to form in the last match against Sri Lanka at Visakhapatnam. Hardly any other batsman has made a more shattering impact on the cricket world than Mahendra Dhoni . With 62 sixes from 57 ODI knocks, Dhoni averages 1.08 an innings, the highest among batsmen who have hit at least 50 sixes. His strike rate of 98.79 is the second best in the team after Robin Uthappa, who has played only seven matches. On October 31, 2005 Dhoni scored unbeaten 183 runs of just 145 balls, during which he hit ten sixes – the most by an Indian in an Innings, and the second highest in ODI cricket. He broke Adam Gilchrist 's record of 172 for the highest score made by a wicket keeper. Dhoni has an average of 44.95, giving him the ninth highest average in the history of ODI cricket. Among contemporaries, only Michael Hussey and Kevin Pietersen average more. Robin Uthappa is a hard-hitting opening batsman and likes to go for his shots right from the start and is not afraid to hit the ball in the air – which is reflected in his strike rate of over 100. It is for the first time after the 1987 World Cup that India are fielding two wicket-keepers in Dhoni and Dinesh Kaarthick . The latter is likely to play as a batsman and with good reason, for his recent show with the bat has been impressive. Anil Kumble was the highest wicket-taker in the 1996 World Cup with 15 wickets at an average of 18.77. In the last two editions of the tournament, though, Kumble could claim only 13. Kumble has taken 14 catches in the World Cup, the most for India. Kumble is currently the highest wicket-taker for India in one-day internationals and Test matches, having taken over 500 Test wickets and 300 ODI wickets. Zaheer Khan is the second Indian bowler after Roger Binny to take 18 wickets in a single edition of the World Cup. Zaheer achieved this feat in South Africa four years ago. That year, he also got his 100th ODI wicket, the fastest for India at the time. Zaheer finished the 2003 World cup as 4th highest wicket taker – 18 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 20 runs per wicket. Irfan Pathan reached the milestone of 100 ODI wickets from just 59 matches, the fastest for an Indian. Out of Pathan’s 115 wickets, 80 have come in Indian wins. He is only the sixth Indian to accomplish the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in ODIs. Ajit Agarkar does not possess a great record in the two editions of the event he has played in. In 1999, he grabbed just three wickets from the three matches he played, four years later, he did not see action, but he was the pick of the bowlers in the one day series during India's tour of West Indies in 2006. Harbhajan Singh has taken 11 wickets in 10 World Cup matches, the best performance by an Indian off-spinner in the event. S. Venkataraghavan, who led India in the first two World Cups, went wicket-less in all the matches he played. Back after an ankle injury, Munaf Patel has been included in the squad mainly because of the speed he is capable of generating. He has the ability to trouble the best in the business with his reverse swing and yorker. The best ODI figures of S Sreesanth are 6/55 that came against England at Indore last year, making him the second bowler in the team after Kumble to take six wickets in an innings. By and large, it will be the form and determination of Sachin, Ganguly, Dravid and Kumble, that will inspire Sehwag, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Yuvraj and Zaheer to deliver their best and ensure that India remains in the frame till the very end and hopefully lift the title that has eluded India since 1983. Also View In-Depth Coverage: Cricket World Cup 2007 Team Page: India Team Page: West Indies | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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