Its been 27 long years… When Kapil’s Devils gate crashed on the Caribbean party, inflicting a catastrophic defeat to avert a hat-trick of titles for the calypso brigade, and henceforth achieving the miraculous feat: THE WORLD CUP trophy!!

Six tournaments later & history is yet to repeat itself! From hitting the final lap in 2003 to the disgraceful first round exit in 2007, the Indian cricket lovers have seen it all besides the Cup itself. So when the Cricket Mahakumbh opens for the 10th time in the ‘Country of GOD’ with the sport as the Religion, prayers & tempers will reach their ultimate zenith during 19th Feb – 2nd April.

Predicting ‘who will’ & ‘who will not’ do well in such a pressure cooker event is way beyond even Nostradamus genius; but then what’s the fun if this is not done? So here we go:

The Party-crashers: Bangladesh; led by the inspirational Shakib Al Hasan with the very talented Tamim Iqbal as his deputy, are no longer pushovers especially when it comes to competing on the big stage. Add to that home advantage & the mercurial Ashraful and this confident bunch is more than capable of making it to the knockout round. Will they deliver remains to be seen?

Zimbabwe, Ireland & Kenya can also boast from their historical record in WC, but expecting them to go past the first stage will require some serious hara-kiri. I doubt it this time. Gut feeling maybe?

8. Caribbean Anti-Calypso: Despite Double Bravo’s and dangerous Pollard in their ranks, Windies will need the experience of Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Gayle to assure entry into second stage. After that, May God Bless Them?

7. Its All 'Black Caps': The fact that Newzealand is still to name their final 15 for the Cup really sums up the downfall of the once very dangerous outfit! The side plunged into its lowest ebb after suffering humiliation by the hands of Bangladesh recently. Can Vettori-men turnaround their sagging fortunes and make a distinctive mark this time? Maybe Not.

6. The Phoneix Englishmen: They rose from the Ashes to devastate the Aussies in tests, but were beaten fairly and squarely in ODIs. However, with in-form players such as Trott, Bell & Anderson under Strauss fine captaincy, can they finally finally deliver at the biggest stage of them all? Watch out, they just might this time!

5. The Unpredictable Neighbours: Their build up to the mega event has been typically Pakistani style! Surrounded by all possible controversies over match-fixing, player bans, captaincy issues etc. on one-hand and playing some brilliant cricket to outlast the Kiwis on another! The unpredictability of ‘which Pak will show up’ makes them the most dangerous team, yet again. Will Afridi, Misbah and company do a 1992 encore? Conditions will favour them: Remember Remember!

THE BIG FOUR!

4. Agent Smith’s Proteas: The Quintessential Chokers and Perennial Under-achievers! Recent performances suggest that South Africa is fast shedding this woeful image, however, WC is going to be their ultimate acid test. With Kallis & Amla; in their best forms of their lives, Smith does have a balanced side capable of beating anyone on their day and going all the way too. But, hasn’t this been their curious case last time & before & before…….? Kallis is the Key!

3. The Enigmatic Islanders: Sri Lankans have reasons to believe that they ought to be second-time lucky. Its Murali’s last world cup, Sangakkara is in top gear both as batsman and captain, in batting they have the perfect mix of dashers and technique; in bowling of spinners and pacers; the home advantage too! However, Will Inconsistency and lack of match-practice taboo their shot at glory this time? They don’t have the likes of Aravinda De Silva, Ranatunga & Jayasuriya from their 1996 crown, nobody even closer!

2. The Unstoppable Kangaroo-force: Aussies might be a little messed up right now: Ashes humiliation, Captaincy woes, Injury problems etc. But its near impossible to separate the world cup crown from them, even the mere thought seems utopia. 4 times champions and last 3 in a row: do we need to look any further! So will the champion team crusade to another ‘path of WC glory’ in typical juggernaut style or have times indeed changed a lot recently to trigger chaos? Experience & Confidence: both are scarce for the Aussies this time!

1. Numero Uno ‘Men In Blue’: We have the GOD playing for arguably the very last time at WC stage, We have the Home Advantage & We have billions of hearts praying day/night for the dearest & most precious jewel: “The Pursuit of World Cup Happyness”..!! And then we have MSD at the helm, unarguably the best top order batsmen at present, Zaheer & Bhajji hitting top form off late and a highly improved fielding unit. But most important of all, what this team possesses in abundance is the unflinching belief in its capabilities to go all the way this time, come what may! The GOD a.k.a “Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar”: Its Time for you to take centre-stage and add the ‘only thing’ and the most ‘important thing’ in your CV. For next-time may well be too late! So will the Men In Blue keep their date with immortality on 2nd April, 2011? Hope is a good thing and no good thing ever dies. Ever.

MIB – JUST DO IT!

Let the Games Begin :)