Coincidences point to India's victory

LUCKNOW: One may call them mere coincidences, but these quirky facts give more than indications why Sourav Ganguly’s Men in Blue can’t emulate the ‘Kapil’s Devils’ of 1983. It is not just an alternate sequence of a left-handed and right-handed captain who has been winning the World Cup cricket so far or the multiples of four that favour Ganguly or India’s fortunes as the next champions in the final on March 23 in Johannesburg. So if you compare the teams of the 1983 and 2003, there are many more interesting similarities that suggest the direction in which the Cup may head to. For examples, presence of a Sikh in both the teams as a lucky charm, the same number of debutantes in the teams of 1983 and 2003 and the very first loss of the tournament to Australia.It must be still fresh in the minds of Indian cricket fans how Balwinder Singh Sandhu castled West Indies opener Gordon Greenidge in the 1983 final at the Lords. If he was a lucky Sikh for Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh might be for Sourav Ganguly. Another interesting fact is that Kapil Dev’s team also had nine players who had not played the World Cup before. In the Ganguly’s gang, there are also the exact number of players who made debut in this edition of the World Cup.Kapil Dev was also made captain for the first time in 1983 trophy while that was his second World Cup after having played before in 1979. Similarly, Ganguly has been appointed the captain for the first time in 2003 edition. But he has also played in the previous cup in England in 1999 under Mohd Azharuddin.In 1983, the Cup had travelled from the West to East and if India is to become the champion again, it will move eastward. Besides, 1983 was the third year of the eighth decade and 2003 is also the third year of the first decade of the millennium.India had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Australians in a group match in the 1983 group round-robin. The Aussies had thrashed them by 162 runs. If you add 1+6+2, it comes to 9. In the ongoing championship, Sourav’s team also bowed to two-time champion Australia by nine wickets. Number nine is prominent in both results.In 2003, India has not faced Australia second time as yet. As the form of the two sides suggests, the two could clash again only in the final on March 23 and cricket pundits feel that India is the only team among the semi-finalists who could bring them down. Another coincidence in both the contests is that India had finished second in the pool behind the West Indies in 1983. And in South Africa too, they came runners-up to Australia in the group standings. Often great moments tend to present a prelude before they actually take place. Maybe, we have also stumbled on some clues to an Indian victory a little bit before!