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Simply not good enough
Indian's abysmal record in finals has got everything to do with inconsistency, writes Sharad Kohli.
Much has been made of India's losing record in finals. The tag of "chokers" has followed Sourav Ganguly and company for the best part of the last three years. Statistics can never tell the whole story. They can even lie in some cases, but a look at some recent figures gives the 'lie' to the 'chokers' allegation.
It is not as if India's cricketers have rolled over opponents in these limited-over jamborees only to fail in the deciding match -- this, in fact, is a copyright of the South Africans. The proclivity to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is very much a Protean one. Rather than stumbling badly with the finishing line in sight, India have just not been good enough in most of the tournaments they have played in the recent past.
Yes, the Indians may have lacked the mental edge or self-belief to beat the redoubtable Australians -- their nemesis in many a final. But losing to the very same team in the decider that has defeated them in the league hardly constitutes 'choking'. A look at India's performances since 2002 will show that the team's abysmal record in finals has got everything to do with inconsistency. That year, in fact, saw India win a rare final, against England at Lord's in the NatWest triseries.
For a while, Ganguly and chums were able to maintain a consistent streak in one-dayers. They went unconquered in the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka -- beating South Africa in a semi-final which their opponents spectacularly contrived to lose. And, after a decidedly sticky start, they swept all before them in a memorable run at the World Cup in South Africa. The only time they were "caught on the hop" was against the Kangaroos -- in the league and final, both emphatic reversals which proved Australia’s superiority.
The adventure on the veldt, however, was India's zenith, and they have since struggled to string together a decent set of performances. The TVS Cup in India in 2003-04, which also featured New Zealand and Australia, saw the hosts veer giddily between the effulgent and the grim -- were these really the same fellows playing, one may have queried bemusedly. Australia defeated India twice in the league and, unsurprisingly, in the final too.
The tour to Australia could have been a coming-of-age one for most of these players. India had the Test series within reach but having taken the lead, they could not fully take advantage of a depleted Australia. In the triseries that followed, India lost to Ricky Ponting's men on three occasions in the league and then resoundingly in both finals. (see box)
Last season was a pretty forgettable one and it seems little had changed when the Indians, under stopgap skipper Rahul Dravid, floundered in the recent tri-series in Sri Lanka, losing all three matches they played in the tournament against the hosts -- twice in the league and once in the final. Had Lanka lost in the final, we could have said they choked. The Indian loss was expected, in keeping with their one-day rating of seventh.
Now to the real chokers. South Africa's record, at least until Shaun Pollock's bunch exited in wretched circumstances from their own World Cup in 2003 -- undone by poor maths -- was commendably consistent but these chaps failed when questions were asked of them under pressure. In the 1996 World Cup in the sub-continent, Hansie Cronje's men were strong favourites along with the Australians but, having romped through the league games, they badly came a cropper in the quarterfinal against West Indies.
Later that year, during the Titan Cup in India, they had little problem seeing off the challenge of both the hosts and Australia but were left groping for answers in the final against India. In the 1997-98 triseries in Australia, South Africa had seven wins from eight matches in the league stage and edged past Australia in the first final. Again, they faltered with victory in sight.
But probably the most enduring image of the South Africans as chokers is that of Lance Klusener and Allan Donald, in the 1999 World Cup, stranded at one end, a run away from making the final: It was almost as if the scent of victory proved too overpowering. The South Africans were once again fancied to lift the trophy and, aside from a bewildering loss to the Zimbabweans, they sailed through the league matches without much discomfort.
But when it came to the crunch, against Steve Waugh's Australia in the Super Six stage, those wins counted for nothing. With Australia staring at defeat, Waugh picked the right time to remind Hansie Cronje of his team's brittle mental make-up. That defeat and the subsequent tie are uncomfortable reminders of South Africa's capacity to self-destruct.
India's cricketers have confounded as much as they have enthralled, and they have been called all sorts of things, not all of them complimentary. But they're not chokers. It has been poor cricket right through most of the tournaments rather than questionable temperament in the final. It is as simple as that.
