In my view, India Vs.Australia has already overtaken the craze and palpitations seen in India Vs.Pakistan matches. And as a cricket lover, it is not difficult to fathom beyond the obvious reasons. In the world of ever-evolving fortunes in cricket, it was India which changed the rules of the game and pushed for many of the stuff that gets higher and higher TRPs. Yes, it was Kerry Packer who made modern cricket more exciting with Pyjamas, aerial overviews and fabulous commentaries but nothing once India was drawn into these series and started showing form with better consistency since those dark years between 1987 - 2000 when inconsistency and confabulations defined Indian Cricket, India rose like a meteor and over-shadowed every other country in sponsorships, in TRPs, and everything else that we know of in cricket.
The momentum that was with West Indies, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka and sometimes Pakistan moved away to India over the years - India pushed for reforms in umpiring leading to a more error-free umpiring especially when it comes to LBW or Run-out decisions. India pushed for more consistent pitches - and you can see that in Australia in this world cup as we saw even the minnows adding 250 plus runs and the stats point towards closer to 275 plus runs or so in each innings. This was unheard of on Australian pitches even an year or so before when wickets tumbled fast and the batsmen looked into dark tunnels. Obviously, Superpower India with billions of dollars riding on the advertisers' bucks must have prevailed over the ICC to make batsman-friendly pitches. India also pushed hard with a relentless presence in experimenting different versions and the effect is what you see in IPL matches today which created another war-chest for the ever-bulging reserves of the BCCI - considered one of the richest sports bodies in the world. Not just that, Jagmohan Dalmiya, considered the machiavelli of modern cricket, has been the treasurer of the BCCI when India lifted the World Cup in 1983 and is now back at the helm, but he resurrected the fortunes of ICC - Cricket's apex body in the three years he headed it. India has systematically built equity and enormous influence in world cricket through multi-pronged efforts - Indian Cricket becoming more consistent, Indian Cricket Body becoming a force to reckon with in international tours and voting decisions that impact cricket, Indian Cricket turning up top-notch superstars with wider appeal and fighting regularity from Gavaskar and Kapil Dev to Sachin and Dhoni and even Indian Cricket writers and commentators and not forget, Indian Cricket Fans. All these forces have helped India to call the shots in cricket - with money, muscle and a benign superpower image, better than what Australia aspires to.
Looking at the craze for cricket in India, it is only going to grow much to the chagrin of the minority who think Indian Cricket is hurting other sports in India. But we will rest that debate for another day - and continue with the original point. India has clearly tested Australia in ways that make it a contest among equals. India's GDP is about $2 Trillion, Australia - $1.55 Trillion. India has almost $340 Billion forex reserves, Australia less than $60 Billion. India, in demographic terms, is estimated to populate an Australia every year according to one of the most colorful expressions I heard for long. India has shown the way that cricket domination should come not from sledging and mindless ridicule of the opposition but from playing good cricket with as much gentlemanly manners as possible. But Indian Cricket evolved to become sterner and tough on the field - where losing is not an easily digestible option. Since 2001, India has made it on Australian tours almost every year and has become sun-burned in Australian Cricket Fan's mind too. We don't know how many billionaires are in Australia but Indian billionaires are growing and so are India's millionaires and the middle-classes - this year, Indian fans outnumber Australians in today's semifinal clash, more Indians have travelled to Australia-New Zealand to routinely watch the matches.
Indian Cricket has shown remarkable resilience over the last 100 years since the time Sir Ranjit Singhji represented India via England. For me, India playing Australia used to be a nightmare in early days when things were a lot more unpredictable. But all that has passed: India plays better cricket and with mental toughness when playing Australia. So I expect a goood match and a worthy adversatorial fight. If India wins this, it will be an icing on the cake to a dream run in this world cup seldom exhibited by any cricket team in world cup tournaments (like New Zealand). As I said losing is not an option Indians think of. I remember an old quote about a legend called W.G.Grace in one of Sir Neville Cardus, cricket's famous writer's famous essays about the master batsman. When W.G.Grace gets bowled out by a bowler, he walks upto the bowler and asks him to bowl again and adds: "Dear bowler, the spectators have come to see me bat not to see you bowl." In many words, Australia will sense that as Sydney ground becomes a blue-ocean with Indian fans blazing trumphets and shrieks. I guess India has a lot going for it and will come out trumps. All the Best India!
