TEAMing with Champions

At the time of writing this article the Indian team would be probably comfortably ensconced in their hotel in Hamilton....... The whole cricketing world is waiting eagerly to see whether India can actually take their forms in the shorter form of the game to the five day version. Even though on paper the teams are not matched at all but green turfs and India's dismal record evens up things ever so slightly..

The last one dayer exposed our team's weaknesses against the swinging deliveries. And if the New Zealanders stop their warm hospitality then tomorrow could be a hostile day for us. But then if NZ wins the toss and decides to bat then Zaheer and Ishant are themselves capable of routing NZ's in a session or two. Not to forget Bhajji who would be eager to fox the Kiwis not only with his doosra's and teesra's but also the new maa..ki's and behen..kis he would have added to his repertoire

If we are batting and Sehwag manages to bat for about 20-30 overs..it might just take the Kiwi's breath away for not just the day but maybe the series..And if he and Gambhir can actually stay till lunch then we all know only one team would be having their lunch..:)

If Sachin can overcome his injury and add another century or double to his overflowing account, it would be money well spent for the spectators in the ground and a good trade off for people in India who get up at 3 to watch the match.

If Dravid scores a Dravidesque century then he would have answered a lot of unnecessary questions which "We the Unforgiving People"....(sorry Barkha) have asked him in the last year. It would also tell the Kiwis that they need to climb the WALL to actually think of beating the Indians.

At this point of time I am actually thinking I have already counted so many match winners in the team. That's not enough...Yes because Yuvraj in any situation can murder a bowling attack and Kiwis would be hoping that he doesn't carry his dream form into the series. Yuvraj could be just dealing in 6s keeping in mind the size of the grounds..

And that brings me to the one man who I have consciously kept in the end...Its not an insult to him but its like the icing on the pudding..Whether you say luck, skill, charisma, leadership skills..MS Dhoni has everything in plenty..And if he gets his act together the Indian team could well climb to the #1 spot by the end of the series. What ever we say India just keeps winning under the guy and nobody can deny that. Ok he has a great team but then Ponting lost the ashes in 2005 when he had Mcgrath and Warne. So there is definitely some magic which Dhoni comes up with everytime we are in a spot of bother...

Lets hope Dhoni never runs out of his magic potion.........Cheers !!