“THIS INDIAN team is scary,” Bangladesh’s Sri Lankan coach Chandika Hathurusingha had said before their game a couple of weeks back, using an adjective that was never associated with the Indian cricket team. It may have been used to describe the West Indies of the 1970s and early ’80s, and Australia later, but not for India, that too in a World Cup. However, Hathurusingha was right, intimidation is certainly in the Indian air this tournament.

The swagger is unmistakable. They don’t need to depend on marketing personnel to create hype. They can jus

t announce “come watch India bowl”, and the fans will come in droves. They had shot out Sri Lanka for 50 in the Asia Cup final; they gave away just five runs more on Thursday.

This was after Indian batsmen had brought the house down. Shubman Gill (92), Virat Kohli (88) and Shreyas Iyer (82) seemed set for hundreds, but missed. But that didn’t matter, with India winning by 302 runs — the fourth-highest ODI victory margin ever. It was another Indian triumph — 7 from 7 games, making the home team the first to book a semi-final slot.

Nerves may jangle before the semi-finals, but even there, the fretting is likely to be more about the law of averages catching up rather than cricketing implosion.

Mumbai’s Wankhede crowd certainly lapped it all up, in the company of Sachin Tendulkar. The morning had begun with them chanting “Sacheen, Sacheen”, as he walked up to place the glittering trophy for their eyes. The evening would progress with full-throated gasps and joyous cries as Indian bowlers blew away the neighbours.

At one point during the dramatic denouement, the cameras caught Tendulkar sitting with former teammate Ajit Agarkar, who is the current chief selector. Tendulkar was mimicking a bouncy delivery, his fingers dramatically whipping the ball down, the kind of stuff children do while bowling imaginary balls as they go about their daily lives. And the crowd oohed and aahed when they caught the visuals on the big screen.