There appears to be some kind of confusion with the Indian media labeling that team India must pull off a Slumdog Millionaire in New Zealand. But isn’t the shoe on the other foot here?
India has been doing rather consistently over the last eighteen months or so for expectations to be raised high. They are not even thinking about their past debacles that consumed them before the 2003 World Cup when they last toured New Zealand. Since then, the tables have dramatically turned that while India is posing constant threats to take the top post, New Zealand are slipping and sinking, and presently languishing at the eighth spot, something their coach Andy Moles has stated would like to be addressed.
Given India’s poor performance the last time round, perhaps it would be appropriate to state, to an extent, that India are lesser favourites. But that they are the under dogs in this story is hard to believe. This is a team riding not only on talent but belief and consistency. They are expected to do well in New Zealand, conditions notwithstanding.
On the contrary, it is New Zealand that has the onus on them to pull off a Slumdog Millionaire like comeback. Given their spate of unfortunate incidents that has consumed their aura of the past, New Zealand must now rise like a Phoenix from the Ashes and state that they are here to compete, not to make up the numbers.
To their defense, New Zealand did put up a good show in Australia during the Chappell Hadlee series prior to the arrival of team India and it has shown that the competitive spark in them is very much alive. Now if they can put together their talent in a strategy that works in their favour and push their self belief a notch higher, matches could get interesting, though pushing India could still pose a fair challenge, if the Indians have not reduced their own intensity that is!

Pic Above: A. R. Rahman with his two Oscars for his musical compositions in Slumdog Millionaire.