It is great news for the Indian team to play on the very first day of this Asia Cup and prove to all who is the odds-on favourite.
The Indians are currently sky high in confidence after their successful tour of Pakistan and a hard pre-tour camp in Chennai. For them to believe they are on the verge of knocking over the Aussies from their #1 spot in the world, they simply have to win this tournament easily and do it away from home.
The United Arab Emirates still has a lot of problems for it to show any improvement it has made in international cricket. It has only played in seven One-Day Internationals and managed just one win. For the UAE to improve, it must hire international coaches and implement a better system to identify young talent and be able to play in as many youth tournaments as they can muster. The UAE also must be proactive by inviting as many 'A' teams from Test-playing countries to their country to gain experience and reputation.
Let's take a look at the SWAT [strengths, weaknesses and tactics] analysis of both teams:
India
Last 10 matches played: 5 wins/5 losses
Last 10 matches played in Sri Lanka: 6 wins/2 losses/2 no-results
STRENGTHS: India has now realised how to play as a team and win tournaments overseas. Team spirit is now their main strength and everyone is getting along well. The Indians' fielding is becoming a strength, and it seems now that an Indian team actually enjoys fielding. That much was evident from their wonderful catching in Pakistan.
The bowling depth in the Indian team is getting better at this form of the game. The match-ups for each game depend on Sourav Ganguly and the selection committee and, of course, the pitch conditions. All in all, I see that this Indian bowling unit is now able to be very competitive on all pitch conditions around the world.
Obviously, the Indian batting line-up is fantastic. The fact that Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly have not played to their normal high standards over the last 10 matches is testimony to the efforts of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, and Mohammad Kaif.
WEAKNESSES: The performance of their two main batsmen, Tendulkar and Ganguly, over the last 10 matches is a little worrying. Tendulkar has only averaged 34 over the last 10 games and that is 25 per cent down on his normal average of 45. He is due to make a big score. Please don't lose heart, Tendulkar fans, because he averages over 50 in Sri Lanka in his brilliant career.
Ganguly's lack of form over the last 10 matches may raise an eyebrow among many of his fans with an average of 18 (overall average: 42). I see Ganguly's role in this team to have changed over the last 10 matches. Normally he opens or he bats at number 4. The fans must realise that this team has changed its batting line-up and now Ganguly comes in at Number 5. So now he is not getting the opportunities to make big scores the way we are normally accustomed to. Ganguly is often seen to be sacrificing his wicket by becoming a pinch-hitter at times and, therefore, his averages will come down somewhat.
TACTICS: I would like to see India bat first and give everyone a hit to acclimatize themselves to Sri Lankan conditions. Make a huge score and bury the opposition!
The UAE
They have only played 7 ODIs with 6 losses and 1 win.
I will not go through their SWAT analysis because they have had limited appearances at this level. From what I have seen of them, they have not that many strengths. The UAE players only average 19 with the bat and the team has only made over 200 twice at this level. Their bowling is also a problem where they average a huge 53 with the ball over the seven games they have played. They can field like demons, but if they do not make runs then they have no chance of hurting teams at this level!
The UAE simply needs exposure and experience by playing as many ODIs as they can. We will know after this tournament how well they are travelling in their development stage. Their performances will finally tell their cricket hierarchy what they need to do if they want to improve at this level.
