Dawn of a new Era: An
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Dawn of a new Era: An
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The COCA COLA CUP A
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Last updated :12th April '98.
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Dawn of a
new Era : an article by Adib
Come Jan 1,1998, Mohd Azhar was in for some good news. The selectors had decided to hand over the reigns of Indian cricket back to him.Azhar and co. pulled off a historical victory over arch rivals Pakistan in the Bangladesh Independence Cup Tournament . The dedider of the best of 3 finals was an absolute thriller with India chasing a mammoth 314.
Things were looking good for India. The Aussies came over for a 3 test series after a long gap. India drubbed the Aussies in the first 2 tests, before the resilence of the aussies came to the fore in the 3rd at Bangalore. But that was not before the Aussies were subjected to their worst defeat since the 2nd world war.
In the one-dayers , India continued its domination . The batsmen tore the opposition attack . Both spin and pace came equally for them. The promotion of Ganguly to the top of the batting order since the last few months has been the best thing to happen to the Indian team since a long long time. India put up huge totals and chased totals with elan. Inspite of Sachin not firing on most occasions , the Indian middle order with Jadeja in the lead has been most promising to say the least.
The young talent India has scouted has been a revelation . Hrishikesh Kanitkar's allround play earned deserved praise from all departments with Ian Chapell very forthcoming with his comments. Ajit Agarkars bowling at the end of the innings and his learning with every outing also was heartening. Rahul Sanghavi too has shaped up well in this triangular.
The Indians have kept their cool in tough situations. India pulled off remarkable wins in 2 matches one would have expected them to lose otherwise. Azhar has been leading from the front not only on in the fielding dept, but also while batting. His general approach to the game has been welcome.
All this augurs well for the future of Indian Cricket.One sincerely hopes that the young talent will be nurtured so that players like Agarkar,Kanitkar Sanghavi and others are given a fair chance to blossom fully. If this happens then Indian Cricket and the Board(BCCI) stand to benefit.
India's next assignment is the Coca Cola cup in Sharjah.India start off as favourites there and would do us proud by bringing home the Coca cola Cup. The Indians should now look to win tests abroad and rectify the claims that the Indians are tigers at home but turn in to kittens abroad. The revival of the Indo-Pak series will benefit both nations. With the World cup in England fast approaching (may 99), the Indian team should build on the nucleus of a World Champion team they have right now. Well Done Selectors . Well Done India Keep it up.
The COCA COLA
CUP :A preview
Itinerary
Sharjah Cup, Sharjah, April 1998 (Australia, India, New Zealand) ***
All matches day/night 17 Apr India v New Zealand 18 Apr Australia v New
Zealand 19 Apr Australia v India 20 Apr India v New Zealand 21 Apr Australia
v New Zealand 22 Apr Australia v India 23 Apr Rest Day 24 Apr Final
Australian
Squad
The team is:
Newzealand
Squad
New Zealand have announced their squad for the triangular tournament. Left arm spinner Daniel Vettori has been rested for the tournamnet.
The Squad:
Indian Squad
Javagal Srinath has been rested for the Coca-Cola Cup Prasad retains his place in the squad while Harvinder Singh is the only change in the team replacing D. Mohanty. Kambli is indisposed and a replacement has yet to be announced.
Players to
watch out for
Batsmen
Bowlers
Prediction
The Kiwis start of as the under-dogs in this tournament. But the Kiwis have an excellent one day side.They have the best fielding side and this may make the difference between victory and defeat.
The Indian team must avenge their loss to Australia in the Final of the Pepsi tri series.The Indians had one bad day in the tournament and that cost them the Title which they deserved .
The Aussies have shown that they are capable of producing the goods when it matters most .
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