A quartet of India's golden generation of cricketers will aim
for glory in West Indies in what is expected to be their last World
Cup.
The game's ultimate prize is still missing from the trophy cabinets
of stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and
Anil Kumble.
Leg-spinner Kumble (36), India's most successful bowler, skipper
Dravid and fellow batsmen Ganguly (both 34) and Tendulkar (33) have
displayed their class for more than a decade and the next edition
in 2011 could be a bridge too far.
Tendulkar, who will play in his fifth World Cup, holds the records
for most one-day runs (14,783), hundreds (41) and caps (381).
Ganguly and Dravid are also among only six players to aggregate
more than 10,000 one-day runs.
On pitches expected to help batsmen, India can hope to make amends
after champions Australia thrashed the 1983 champions by 125 runs
in the 2003 final in South Africa.
However, India face questions over their fielding, the poor form of
explosive batsman Virender Sehwag and 22-year-old seamer Irfan
Pathan and the team's slump before they won the recent home series
against West Indies and Sri Lanka on batting tracks.
Sehwag has managed one fifty in 13 innings since May last year.
Chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has urged the instinctive player to
show focus and preserve his wicket.
Pathan was emerging as coach Greg Chappell's trump card with
batting heroics up the order to help India claim a record 17
successive wins chasing a target in 2006.
However, his bowling form has deserted him since the West Indies
tour in May-July and the management, in an unprecedented move, sent
him home from South Africa late last year asking him to regain his
form in domestic tournaments.
However, he played just one game in the twin one-day series at home
complaining of shoulder strain.
Key middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh has only just returned after
he tore knee ligaments in October while Ajit Agakar, the most
capped seamer in the side, has a history of breaking down.
The team management could also face a dilemma over Kumble - who has
rarely played one-dayers since 2003 - with off-spinner Harbhajan
Singh holding the edge if only one specialist spinner is fielded
for key games.
However, India can breathe easy over two comeback men.
Former skipper Ganguly and left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan have looked
in fine touch since making strong comebacks late in 2006 after
being sacked last February over form and fitness.
A window of opportunity has also opened following Australia's
sudden form dip following defeats to England and New Zealand.
Dravid has urged his players to show consistency and feels his team
are capable repeating their 2003 run when they overcame a sluggish
start to reach the final.
Millions of fickle Indian fans will hope their sporting idols would
finally end their 24-year wait for success.
Squad: Rahul Dravid, Ajit Agarkar, Mahendra
Dhoni, Saurav Ganguly, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble,
Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj
Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Robin
Uthappa.
World Cup record:
1975 - first round
1979 - first round
1983 - champions
1987 - semifinalists
1992 - first round
1996 - semifinalists
1999 - super six (second round)
2003 - runners-up.
Overall playing record: Played: 643, Won: 303,
Lost: 310, Tied: 3, No result: 27.
Highest innings total: 376-2 v New Zealand, Hyderabad 1999.
Lowest innings total: 54 v Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 2000.
Most appearances: 381 - Sachin Tendulkar.
Highest individual score: 186ª - Sachin Tendulkar.
Leading run-scorer: 14,783 - Sachin Tendulkar.
Best bowling: 6-12 - Anil Kumble v West Indies, 1993.
Leading wicket-taker: 334 - Anil Kumble.
Highest partnership: 331 (2nd) - Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar
v New Zealand, Hyderabad, 1999.
Most catches by a fieldsman: 156 - Mohammad Azharuddin.
Most dismissals: 197 - Rahul Dravid.
