Is This Indian Team a Complete Unit?

1983: The West Indies under Clive Lloyd's captaincy was the team to beat. An almost complete team. They lost in the final to an unfancied Indian team, who were 50-1 outsiders before the tournament.

1987: India were defending champions and big favourites, considering the tournament was being played in India and Pakistan. They lost in the semi-finals to England.

1992: Martin Crowe's New Zealand were huge favourites. Almost a complete unit in all departments. They lost in the semis to eventual champions, Imran Khan's Pakistan.

For many these might just be statistics, but for the astute fan, it's a trend that MS Dhoni's Team India should be wary of. After all, there's no room for error in the knockout stages. So far, the Men in Blue have won all 5 of their matches in this edition of the World Cup. They are of course hands down favourites versus Zimbabwe, which means they will finish with 6 wins in 6 league games. But will that be enough for this team to be called the perfect unit, going by current form? Is this team the No.1 favourite to win the title on March 29? Or are there areas the team can improve in? According to NDTV World Cup expert and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, "If this team had somebody who was even 10% of what Kapil Dev was, as an all-rounder, then this team would be complete. Even if they had someone like a Ravi Shastri or Mohinder Amarnath or Madan Lal, this team would have been a tremendous team and a team hard to beat, not necessarily in a World Cup but in limited overs cricket."('Dhoni's Team Lacking a Kapil Dev')

The all-rounder who will in all probability be in the Playing XI till India's last match of the tournament (barring injury) is Ravindra Jadeja. Stuart Binny is on the bench, but no captain likes to tinker with a winning combination. India's thumping 8 wicket win vs Ireland on Tuesday meant Jadeja didn't get a chance to bat. NDTV World Cup expert and former India cricketer VVS Laxman, in fact said, "I was a little disappointed that Raina and Jadeja didn't get an opportunity to bat. Virat Kohli is in good nick, Ajinkya Rahane is in good nick, but Raina and especially Jadeja don't have runs under their belt. How much ever they do net practice, how much ever they work hard in practice sessions, spending time in the middle and even getting a 30 or 40 in a match would have been a huge confidence booster for them." Dhoni will not be too worried about this. For him, these will be minor chinks in the armour. After all, if he was very worried about Raina's and Jadeja's form, he might just have pushed them up the order versus Ireland.(Dhawan Ton Sinks Ireland)

The skipper though will know that there's no such thing as an invincible cricket team. True, the 1948 Australian team, captained by Sir Donald Bradman that didn't lose a single match on their tour of England did earn the tag of 'The Invincibles', but that was a different era and a different game altogether. In the modern era, especially in limited overs cricket, even the most supremely confident and in-form teams have to be careful.

The media is always accused of putting pressure on the team, of over-analysing things. So, let's keep the analysis simple. As far as India is concerned, the overall picture is looking good. The openers are firing. Shikhar Dhawan already has two centuries in this World Cup and is 1 away from equalling the all-time record of the most tons in a single World Cup. Rohit Sharma's 64 vs Ireland has pushed his tournament average beyond 35. The upper middle order is in good hands, thanks to Kohli and Rahane. Dhoni has got some crucial runs under his belt in a run chase. The bowlers are hunting in packs and both the pace and spin departments are coming good. All 5 opponents so far have been bowled out by India. No wonder then that Herschelle Gibbs tweeted to say, "India have ticked all the right boxes going into the quarters, playing like a champion outfit."

A champion outfit or a complete unit were phrases experts would never have used for the Indian team that played in the tri-series in Australia. This however is a completely different team in terms of application and determination. Dhoni, in fact has said, "The moment you start thinking about participating in a World Cup, the adrenaline starts flowing. With a lot of fans coming from India, and starting with an India-Pakistan game, was just fantastic."

The captain seems to be in a happy frame of mind, which is great news for the team. India do have another league stage match to play, but millions of Indian fans in the country and across the world know what the real equation is. Three wins. That's all Dhoni and company need. Complete unit or not, if they achieve that, they will achieve immortality.