BATTLE OF FINE MARGINS

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE HOST COUNTRY HAS WON THE PREVIOUS THREE CUPS. CAN WE DREAM OF ANOTHER INCANDESCENT NIGHT ON NOV. 19, THE DAY OF THE FINAL?

- Rajdeep Sardesai

Dhoni finishes it off in style...India wins the World Cup....” That was Ravi Shastri’s booming voice resonating across TV sceens in the country as India lifted the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai. Twelve years later, the 50-overs World Cup is back on Indian soil, only this time the expectations are even higher than the six that lit up the Mumbai skyline. The relentless multi-media machine is already asking with breathless excitement: who will play the role of a Dhoni-style grand finisher and take India to the summit once again?

How distinct is this boundless ambition and hype from the first time, when India travelled for the inaugural World Cup in England in 1975? Or indeed before India completed the ultimate underdog triumph in 1983? The ’75 World Cup is best remembered for Sunil Gavaskar’s bizarre innings of 36 runs in 60 overs. India’s greatest Test opener and a run machine, Gavaskar’s inexplicable run crawl is a reminder of just how clueless Indian cricketers were about the shorter format in the early years. Fast forward to 1983 when another Indian legend, Kapil Dev, transformed what seemed like a complete mismatch against the all-conquering West Indies into the most replayed moment in Indian sport (captured now forever in Hindi cinema in Kabir Khan’s film, ’83). Dev’s effervescence, on and off the field, instilled self-belief in India’s limited-overs skills and allowed Indian cricket fans to live a dream like no other.