India hope to prove choke’s a joke

India's string of losses in finals has become the longest running soap in cricket. But even a long-running soap has to end sometime, somepla...

India’s string of losses in finals has become the longest running soap in cricket. But even a long-running soap has to end sometime, someplace, and no better setting than the Gaddafi Stadium under lights.

For that, though, the Indian cricket team will have to fight not only their rivals but also their minds. The second battle is already under way, as vice-captain Rahul Dravid indicated today. As the C-word cropped up, he sought to focus on the quality of opposition they faced in most finals. ‘‘Most have been against Australia. They are the best team in the world and they have beaten most teams, not only us. So you need to assess this when you talk about our results’’, Dravid said.

This has been the biggest failing in the last few years of Indian teams, as they go in too keyed up for the event and end up overdoing a few things. Turn back the clock a year and you can see Zaheer Khan in the World Cup; more recently, Irfan and Balaji in the VB Series finals losing their cool and the momentum.

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Dravid agreed with this assessment but said the problem is not in the attitude. ‘‘We always seem to be playing under potential in finals and that has been the biggest failing more than anything else.’’

The team, he said, is ready and under no pressure because of their poor track record. ‘‘It’s not a final in the real sense. A five-match series with sides being 2-2, so we will be looking at it that way. We are therefore looking at just winning the series and nothing else.’’

One potential problem is the bowling — which can win the match for India or lose it. Dravid sympathised with the bowlers but made it clear few others would. ‘‘We cannot go on saying the bowling is inexperienced. No one will take that argument for a long time’’, he said, matter-of-fact.

The second battle for the Indians is, of course, against their opponents. Pakistan’s coach Javed Miandad and skipper Inzamam-ul Haq have assured an improved performance, with Miandad saying that he can only ‘advise’’ them.

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The hosts will probably effect a few changes, most importantly bringing in opener Taufeeq Umer for all-rounder Shahid Afridi. So far Afridi has been a mixture of hit and miss, resulting in a collapse for the hosts.

Yousuf Youhana, batting at No 3, comes under the most pressure because of this and the home team wants to avoid that. Ask Youhana that and he will just offer a smile, but he knows that a good start will help him settle down nicely on another batting paradise in this series.