Greater Noida, March 9 (IANS) One of the 1983 World Cup-winning heroes, Madan Lal is mightily impressed with the current Indian cricket team and believes that they can "99 percent" retain the prestigious title.
"I must say that India is playing very good cricket at the moment. The way they are playing is the best I have seen in a long time," the former bowling all-rounder said here on Monday.
"India can 99 percent win this World Cup. If one day goes bad, that is another thing and if they don't win, then it will be due to their own mistakes. But hats off to them for how they have played so far."
India have started their World Cup campaign on a brilliant note by defeating Pakistan, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the West Indies on the trot to qualify for the quarter-finals. In the process, they won their eighth match in a row in World Cups which equals their previous longest Cup streak, established in 2003.
"The team has done well in all the departments -- bowling, batting and fielding. The turnaround that they made following their tour of Australia is remarkable," added Lal, who inaugurated his new cricket academy at Gaur City here on Monday.
Though the first three victories were comprehensive, India struggled to a four-wicket win over the Windies in their last match at Perth on Friday. However, the 63-year-old, who played for India from 1974 to 1987, played down the issue.
"The West Indies match was very important. I don't think they played poorly. These kind of things keep happening in sports. It was a tight match and a very good win. Also, you must not discount the WACA wicket which is pretty tricky," said Lal, who is well remembered for his spell of three quick wickets that broke the back of the West Indies batting in the 1983 final.
"It was important that (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni spent some time out in the middle and got some runs under his belt. It is a plus point and it will also boost his confidence. The team now has 6-7 players who can win India a match on their own."
Asked to comment on the recent controversy where vice-captain Virat Kohli was involved in an ugly spat with a journalist of a leading national daily, Lal said the top order batsman should have controlled himself.
"Kohli did not do the correct thing and the incident should not have happened. He should keep his emotions under control. He is a young player and made a mistake. But I am sure he learned from this incident and is unlikely to do such a thing in future," concluded the former right-arm pacer.
166 Confession of the Jamaatians: 'Maulana Saad had asked to stay in Markaz'
New Delhi: A total of 166 deposits have been questioned, including the sons and relatives of Maulana Saad, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police. According to sources, most of the Jamaatians in their
Border Controversy Rises: Border dispute escalates, Maharashtra trucks stopped in Belagavi, Karnataka, stones pelted
The border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra has started taking a fierce form. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists pelted stones at trucks from Maharashtra during a protest at Bagewadi in
Aviation Sector: One lakh people will get employment in the aviation sector, the ministry told the parliamentary committee
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has told a parliamentary committee that in the coming two years, more than one lakh people can get employment in the aviation sector of the country.
Punjab IED Case: Stray dog stopped bomb blast? Policemen on target of Khalistanis, big disclosure in interrogation
Punjab IED Case: Khalistanis sitting abroad are now planning to target the Punjab Police officers who played an active role in eliminating terrorism at the behest of Pakistan. This disclosure has come
Amit Shah: The Home Minister said- the aim is that Hindi should become the friend of local languages, he became the head of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee again
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said that after 75 years of independence, the country's governance must be done in the language of the country. He said that we have to move forward with
Kashmir Toolkit: Pakistan's nefarious toolkit came to the fore on the third anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370
The nefarious designs of Pakistan have come to the fore once again. Even after repeatedly talking about Kashmir, he is not ready to improve. Now on the occasion of the completion of three years of the
Russia-Ukraine War Updates: A glimpse of the destruction of the Russian warship Muscova came to the fore, 69 citizens of Zaporizhia in Russian captivity
Today is the 55th day of the Ukraine war. Ukraine had destroyed Russia's largest warship Moskva in the Black Sea some time ago. Now the glimpse of the destruction of the ship has come in front of the
Shock to Elon Musk: Tesla lost twice as much as Twitter bought, the company's value fell by $100 billion
The world's richest person, Elon Musk, has now been captured on the microblogging platform Twitter. This deal is the third biggest deal in the tech world and for this Musk will pay $ 44 billion (Rs
National Achievement Survey 2021: Drop in the average performance of students as soon as they go to class 8th-10th, 48% of students walk to school
The ability to learn is decreasing by the time of classes VIII and X as compared to classes III, and V. This disclosure has been made in the report of the National Achievement Survey 2021. It focused
Heavy war with Ukraine on Russia: Western countries impose strict economic sanctions, Apple-Nike stop sales, seven banks out of SWIFT
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has intensified. As the war escalates, the anger of countries around the world against Russian President Vladimir Putin is also increasing. Describing the
