Where There's A Willow...

And a fistful of yorkers and Chinamen, India may get all the momentum it needs to win.

- Qaiser Mohammad Ali

THE onward marching sound of a mega sporting event like the World Cup are uncovered in measured degrees—dist­ ant drumbeats at first, then the swell of a pronounced brass comes into play, bef­ ore the rich vibrato of a full orchestra overwhelms us. In India, the expected rallying cries around the advent of the 2019 Cricket World Cup have been drowned in the cacoph­ony of a general election. Now that it is upon us, it’s the hour for a time ­ honoured routine and ritual—an inspection of Team India’s chances.

India’s rendezvous with global cricket competitions, more precisely, the World Cups, has been eventful. Whenever the national team has won a world title, it has come after high drama, against heavy odds, with even nature, with an unerring sense of occasion, seeing it fit to intervene. All six of India’s world titles have thrilling, suspenseful chapters preceding the final, exhilarating denouement, before captains Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni laid their hands on the silverware over the 30-year period between 1983 and 2013.