New Delhi: Can Team India recreate the magic of 1983 and bring home the Cup of joy?
Riding high on soaring fan expectations and a series win against Sri Lanka, the Indian cricket team on Wednesday left for West Indies for Cricket World Cup 2007 beginning March 11.
The team left for the Windies by a 0240 hrs (IST) flight on Thursday for the ninth edition of the World Cup.
It will stop over in London en route to the Caribbean and will be based in Jamaica till the opening ceremony in Montego Bay on March 11.
The team will play two warm-up games against Holland and West Indies on March 6 and March 9 respectively and their first World Cup match in will be on March 17 against Bangladesh.
After months of build-up for the mega event, the men in blue seemed confident with skipper Rahul Dravid sending out a clear and an ominous signal to rivals, saying the team "fully equipped" to do well in Caribbean conditions.
“Playing in a World Cup is always special and the boys are ready,” Skipper Rahul Dravid told CNN-IBN as the Men in Blue boarded the bus.
A gala affair
But before the departure came the celebrations. The team was given a gala send-off dinner by the Board of Cricket Control in India.
The board also dedicated a new cola to the team in the glitzy event where a number of former cricketing legends sending in their wishes.
The dinner was accompanied by a music band and the guests comprised national selectors and officials, apart from Team India.
All of them were spotted relaxed, swaying to the peppy music, chatting, cracking jokes and savouring the food.
Chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar – a member of India’s 1983 winning squad - appeared upbeat and heaped praises on the team.
"This is an excellent team. Man to man, our team is far superior to the other teams, but they have to put that into practice," the former India captain was quoted as saying.
Dravid and coach Greg Chappell had addressed a farewell press conference at the board headquarters at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday afternoon with many team members,ex-cricketers and Bollywood personalities in attendance.
Out of the 15 players selected, only nine of them have experienced a World Cup while six - Robin Uthappa, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and Sreesanth - will be appearing for the first time.
The 16-nation World Cup will be played at 12 grounds in nine venues between March 11 and April 28.
(with agency inputs)
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