The Little Master's Big Cup

If ever there was a chance for Sachin and his team to win the World Cup this is it. After a month in the tournament with chopping and changing of the team composition, Dhoni has found the right mix of guys for the big knockout games. Taking advantage of his experience in big tournaments, Dhoni knew that having momentum at the start of the big tournaments is a thing of the past. Nowadays, it’s about peaking at the right time for teams. The team composition for the World Cup, was the most important for a captain. He has to make sure that the selectors are on the same page and he gets the best team.
Dhoni has been able to keep the selectors with him versus captains in the past.

India – Pakistan is undoubtedly the final before the finals. It’s a battle of nerves and that’s the one thing that Dhoni and his boys have proved that they have the heart for the big games. They have been consistently winning nail biting finishes. With their new found gusto.

This is a major difference between the Saurav Ganguly’s WC team of 2003 and Dhoni’s boys of WC 2011.
Sourav Ganguly’s team in 2003 were a lot more like the men of 1983 — there completely by default, they start winning and then start believing that they can go the whole distance. Dhoni and his boys have come here with the intention to win it, right from the warm-up matches.

The will to win, is the defining difference between Dhoni’s team and those of the past. They have done it in T20 World cup and they want to do it for the country and for their favorite Brand ambassador of Indian cricket “Sachin Tendulkar”. If ever there was a fitting end to Sachin’s ODI career, then this surely is it.

The man has been single handedly getting the Indian team stand up from the dead in hundred’s of matches where India was staring at the brink of defeat. It’s a shame for critics who say that statistics reveal that he has not been a match winner even when he has scored a century. They have forgotten that cricket is a team game and one player cannot win the match.

But even in the light of all criticism and praise, Sachin Tendulkar has shown what a master he is at his game. He has not once been affected by either detractors or supporters and has all through these years, since 1989, focused on playing his game. And that is perhaps what draws the difference between him and every other player, right through the history of the game.

And it is perhaps why even his opponents on the team would perhaps not mind if Sachin goes about scoring his 100th century at Mohali, against arch-rivals Pakistan. It would be a kind of poetic justice. And one that will be much appreciated by all.
Will a World Cup win, India’s second, draw the curtains on Sachin’s career? Will he voluntarily let himself go on that high note? He shouldn’t! Not when he is playing like this. Because today he is playing better than ever before. If one didn’t know better, they’d think that he can still play the next World Cup, wherever it is held. Sachin Tendulkar exudes that confidence. His game is at the peak.

Perhaps the finest tribute to the Little Master has been paid by one of his greatest on-field enemies, Ricky Ponting. After Australia’s World Cup exit after 11 years and 11 months, he talked about finding a Tendulkar-like rebirth in the game for him. But that is where the difference lies. Tendulkar doesn’t wish for a rebirth, he just makes it.
For the great man, and for his countrymen, Dhoni and Co have a match to win. To first get the ego in place, and then win the final hurdle! Amen!