Sunil Gavaskar: India could end wait for ICC silverware on November 19

Some sporting nations, when things don’t go their way, won’t accept that their opponents were better than them. Instead, they will blame everything other than their lack of ability on the occasion for their loss.

Going steady: As the tournament reached the halfway mark, India is comfortably at the top of the points table having won all the five matches it has played. It has been an all-round performance with both the batting specialists and bowlers doing their jobs to perfection. | Photo Credit: AP

Over the years, one thing that has been seen in Indian sports is that whenever there is an unexpected loss, the blame game is about selection, lack of facilities, and sometimes luck, too. Yes, Indian teams have played in different climes and conditions and have accepted that those will be different, sometimes radically, from those they get at home. So, while internally there will be remarks or even complaints about it, this will not be made as an excuse for their performance, which is below expectations. It won’t be in the public domain.

There are some others who call themselves sporting nations, but when things don’t go their way, they won’t accept that their opponents were better than them. Instead, they will blame everything other than their lack of ability on the occasion for their loss. So, it could be the ground conditions, it could be the weather, it could be the umpiring or refereeing, and in recent times, the absence of their supporters at the ground. International competitions do separate the men from the boys, the pretenders from the performers, but in cricket, they also expose the crybabies. No prizes for guessing who wins this gold medal hands down.

As the tournament reaches the halfway mark, the hosts, India, are comfortably at the top of the points table, having won all five matches they have played. Theirs has been a true all-around performance, with both the batting specialists and bowlers doing their jobs almost to perfection. The fielding has also been of a very high standard, and that has added an even sharper edge to the bowling. The relaxed style of captaincy of Rohit Sharma and his sense of humour seem to keep the players in a happy space, even if he occasionally reprimands them. He himself is showing the way with the bat by taking the attacking route straightaway and putting pressure on the opposition bowlers. In doing so, he is sacrificing his chances of scoring a century, but he is getting the team off to such a flying start that those coming later are getting a nice platform to score big. If he can curb his risk-taking even a bit as he gets past the half-century, he will score more hundreds and yet not lose out on his strike rate, which is incredible anyway. Very rarely does the bowler get him out, as he himself gets out, trying to dominate the bowler.

The other stalwart in the Indian batting line-up, Virat Kohli, too, is playing at another supreme level altogether. His hunger for hundreds is insatiable, and that makes the Indians chase any score the opposition has put up. Kohli’s wicket has to be earned by the bowler, and that’s why it’s the most prized wicket in the world in all formats of the game. At the time of writing, he is on 48 centuries in the ODI format, and it won’t be a surprise if he celebrates his 35th birthday with his 50th century.

With Jasprit Bumrah in fine fettle, the Indian attack is looking really sharp, and with Shami making a comeback with a five-wicket haul, the new ball attack is indeed looking dangerous. The spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja is combining well, taking wickets in the middle overs, and not allowing a partnership to flourish.

There is still a long way to go, of course, but the way the Indian team has travelled the road so far does give encouragement that the long wait for ICC silverware could end on November 19.