A Dream XI that could take down ‘The Invincibles’
India and West Indies faced off in the first match of the ODI series. Although the hosts fought hard they ultimately lost the match by a narrow margin of 3 runs. This marked the seventh consecutive ODI defeat for the West Indies team.
How the fortunes have changed for the Windies. If we go back to the period between the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, West Indies were a feared opposition.
Led by Clive Lloyd, ‘The Invincibles’ won the first two cricket World Cups literally without breaking sweat.
The Invincibles
Openers: The team boasted of an opening pair that could have damaged the mentality of the opposition bowling at the very beginning of a match. In 102 ODI innings, the duo scored 5150 runs at an average of 52.55.
Middle Order: The middle order was graced by the presence of one of the most flamboyant batters in the history of cricket Sir Vivian Richards. In an era where a strike rate of 70+ was considered good enough, Richards had a strike rate of 90.20. His aggressive brand of cricket changed the complexion of a match within a matter of hours.
Viv’s swagger was backed in the middle order by the solidity provided by Alvin Kallicharan and Clive Lloyd. The formidable batting line-up gave no respite to the bowlers, the threats used to come in one after another.
The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse: Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, and Colin Craft, if you don’t know the names ask an 80’s batter about them and you will have a clear idea. Four bowlers capable of bowling over 90 mph consistently is something even the best batters would avoid facing.
The excellence of the team was evident in the finals of the 1979 World Cup finals. The batting line-up posted a total of 286 runs, which was defended by the lethal bowling line-up very comfortably.
Here at OneCricket, we have built a team of players, who could have given the Windies invincibles a run for their money.
Openers: Sachin Tendulkar and Adam Gilchrist (WK): While there might have been many contenders for the opening spot, no one is better than the highest run-scorer in ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar.
His able partner would be Adam Gilchrist. The Aussie wicket-keeper batter would have given Sachin the time to settle down with his aggressive batting and also induce fearlessness in the rest of the batting line-up against the lethal four.
Middle Order: Ricky Ponting (C), Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, and Mike Hussey: Ricky Ponting, with two World Cup titles to his name is the perfect man to lead the star-studded team. Also, his ability to cut and pull makes him the perfect number three on the team.
Jacques Kallis is the man providing solidity to the team in the middle order. Virat Kohli is a must in the ODI format. At number five he provides dynamism to the batting order.
A finisher who is good at finishing off matches for his team and who can play pace bowling effectively was required. Hence, the selection of Mike Hussey.
All-Rounder: Ben Stokes: With Jacques Kallis already on the team the presence of Ben Stokes provides greater balance to the team in both the bowling and batting front.
Spinner: Muttiah Muralitharan: You need the best of the lot against such a formidable batting line-up. So, there is no better spin option than Muralitharan, who has picked up 534 wickets in ODIs, the highest by any player.
Pace Attack: Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, and Jasprit Bumrah: Shoaib Akhtar with his raw pace, and Wasim Akram with his swing will be the perfect combination to open the bowling for the team.
Jasprit Bumrah is the best death bowler in the current scenario. He could be the cherry on the top of a well-balanced bowling line-up.
So, let us take a look at the two sides in this hypothetical dream match.
West Indies
Gordon Greenidge
Desmond Haynes
Vivian Richards
Alvin Kallicharan
Clive Lloyd (C)
Collis King
Deryck Murray (WK)
Andy Roberts
Michael Holding
Colin Croft
Joel Garner
World XI
Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Adam Gilchrist (Australia) (WK)
Ricky Ponting (Australia) (C)
Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
Virat Kohli (India)
Mike Hussey (Australia)
Ben Stokes (England)
Wasim Akram (Pakistan)
Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan)
Jasprit Bumrah (India)
 "Probuddha Bhattacharjee")
