Can India Retain the ICC World Cup trophy?

When India would take on Pakistan, a day after the day of love, India’s fate in the entire tournament would be known.

A win will definitely give a mental boost to the aspiration of the whole team. Whether this young team has the audacity to defend the title would be evident on the very first match itself. An India-Pakistan clash at the World Cup is a big ticket match in itself and fans of both the countries would be glued to the TV screens, come Sunday. The fact that India never lost a World Cup match against Pakistan makes it an even interesting tie. The last time when the two countries met at the World Cup was in the 2011 edition’s semi-final at Mohali. Although it was almost a close match, my favourite India-Pakistan clash has to be the one in 2003 in Centurion, where Tendulkar hit a classy 98, one of his memorable World Cup knocks.

The team which played in the 2011 edition was a very balanced one with a number of senior players along with some talented youngsters. When you have a team with the likes of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh along with bowlers like Zaheer Khan, Nehra, Harbhajan Singh and youngsters like Kohli under the captaincy of Dhoni, you expect with every might that the team was the one to win the World Cup. Every Indian believed right from the start that India had the team to win the World Cup, which eventually was the ultimate result. Fast forward 4 years. This time it is a very different and tricky World Cup. While the last edition was played in favourable home conditions, the conditions in this edition are totally against the Indian team. Believe it or not, statistically India has a very minimal chance of retaining the World Cup. Unless you are a die-hard fan of the Indian cricket team, you will definitely agree with me. I mean, the just-concluded tour Down Under was a complete disaster where India failed to win a single match. No offense intended, anyone!

But then again, the world is full of surprises. Here, I would be very optimistic. Just like all of you, even I will pray that India wins the World Cup. Even though Dhoni would be very much under pressure, I will definitely be behind him and the entire team. There will be many people criticizing Dhoni and the team for their recent poor performances but I will be backing him and would be supporting with all my might. Like every Indian, I still believe that India will retain the ICC World Cup. Just like Ganguly, when he led a shattered Indian team into the 2003 World Cup, where conditions weren’t favourable for the Indians and almost winning it, I would be hoping Dhoni achieving the same. According to me, the 2003 World Cup was the best I had witnessed by any means. That India couldn’t win it was a different story but the performances were actually memorable. That Ganguly’s knock against Kenya in the semis, Nehra’s deadly spell against England and that Tendulkar-innings against Pakistan: nostalgia strikes me indeed. So, let this World Cup too fill our memory with such unforgettable events and also, hope that India actually retains the trophy against all odds.

Come on, India! Let’s cricket, this time!