The first to get a taste of what this team is capable of will be the Netherlands, who play India today at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After the extraordinary scenes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in front of 90,293 screaming fans, things will be dialled down a few notches for the second game.
But, India will know they’ve won only one match and there’s a long way to go yet. You can take nothing for granted in this format and even within the tournament, as South Africa found out, sharing points with Zimbabwe after only three overs of the second innings was possible thanks to rain.
While the team had an optional net session on Tuesday, the day before the match was a quiet one. It was time to regroup, take a breather and be physically and mentally ready to go deeper into the tournament.
Paras Mhambrey, the bowling coach, addressed the media and clarified that there were no injury concerns in the team and there wasn’t a thought of resting any players at this juncture. He did not say as much, but perhaps the time for that would come later, once India had secured a place in the final four.
Mhambrey did concede, however, that it was helpful to have the Pakistan match out of the way at the earliest. “The discussion we always had was that every game in a tournament like this is important. Yes, we knew what hype there would be around the first game. It was always going to be a high-intensity big clash,” said Mhambrey. “But having such a game done and dusted in the first phase itself is good. Had this game (Pakistan) been the third or fourth game, it could have had an effect on other games.
“Every team has worked its way up to get here, so from now on each game is important to us. We’ll focus on whichever team we’re coming up against and take it one day at a time.” After India’s win against Pakistan, there was emotion all around, and it has been reported that Rahul Dravid, the head coach, had a word with the players, telling them to enjoy the moment and celebrate, but not get too carried away as this was only the beginning of their campaign.
Against the Netherlands, the challenge for India will be opposite to what they faced in the first match. There it was about staying in the moment, not getting swept away by the hype and outside noise that inevitably comes with India-Pakistan matches. On Thursday, the challenge will be to maintain the intensity. India will look inwards, focusing on their game rather than worrying about what the opposition is thinking. Whether they bat first or bowl first, India will look to come hard at the opposition
They may not be playing bowling as fierce as Pakistan or bowling to batsmen as skilled as Babar Azam, but India still need to bring their A-game to the park. Successful campaigns are built on putting together wins, gaining momentum and peaking at the right time.
Rohit Sharma conceded that it was on the back of the minds of the players that India had not won an International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy in nine years. If that has to change now, there can be no let-up in intensity, no looking back and India must leave nothing to chance.
