Crestfallen is how the Team in Blue could be described, distraught at having lost the match, they have let the hopes and aspirations of 1.3 billion down. The hearts would have been heavy no doubt, we lost the opportunity to take the Trophy. Yes we were unbeaten in 10 consecutive matches and were favourites to emerge the victors but the Kangaroos had other ideas. They played like champions and on the day they proved to be better than us in every department of the game and were deserving victors. If only Rohit had not given the charge after the six and four of consecutive balls, or Head missed the chance which would not have even qualified as half a chance, the story may have been different. But then that is exactly how he has batted throughout the tournament, so we can’t blame him. Then was it the highly defensive game of Virat and Rahul which literally choked us, but even on previous occasions the two of them managed to get out of similar rut and scored briskly once the situation was under control. But on this occasion they could not break the shackles and credit goes to Cummins for imaginative field placings as also the brilliant fielding by everyone throwing themselves at everything thus saving some precious runs. But 240 was a fighting total, the opening spell gave away too many runs and the three wickets which fell were just not enough to rattle the Aussies.
This is not the first time that we have ended up on the losing side nor will this be the last time, we have had our share not just in Cricket but all other sports as well. Some of us may recall the 7-1 drubbing that Indian Hockey team received against our arch rivals Pakistan in Asiad 82 hosted in Delhi in front of a packed stadium. The team was good with Mohammed Shaid and Zafar Iqbal two outstanding players but it just wasn’t their day and Mir Ranjan Negi the Goalkeeper became the fall guy. “Chak De” the famous Shah rukh starrer is based on this Negi as he went on to coach the Indian Women's Team later and they emerged as winners. Who can forget the 1996 Eden Gardens Semi Finals against SriLanka where the spectators set the stands on fire not able to digest the poor performance of the Indian Team, ending up in India forfeiting the match itself. This one really hurt as we had hyped this event and the team to such an extent that we thought we had the cup in the bag already. The team to its credit also helped create this aura with such resounding victories with both the bowlers and the batters coming good. Too much of anything is never good as the saying goes and so true it turned out to be, may be an odd loss in the league matches may have helped.
But all is not lost, we can hold our head high for an excellent show overall, our performance has won accolades by all and sundry, even Indian fans, who aren’t very forgiving have given credit to the team for their prowess on display in the last fortnight. The only hitch as far as I am concerned was the poor selection of advertisements and not shots by some of our great icons such as Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Sehwag who have resorted to endorsing products such as “Kamla Pasand”. Since we got an overdose of this ad all through the event. How I wish these heroes who we have have grown up revering and idolising refrain from such products, they won’t be any the poorer but at least we can still look upto them. Thankfully Virat, Rohit, Hardik, Bumrah have not succumbed to such temptations.
We are sure the Team will bounce back and avenge their defeat by getting back to their superlative form. Here is to Team India, Rohit, Virat, Rahul, Bumrah, Shami, et all, three cheers!!
36 comments:
Very well penned .. I especially liked this one ‘ The only hitch as far as I am concerned was the poor selection of advertisements and not shots by some of our great icons such as Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Sehwag who have resorted to endorsing products such as “Kamla Pasand’ .. and ‘they would have not become poorer without these’
Interesting!
Great writing
Well said, Suyash.
But I seriously wonder what is the whole hype about?
To me it was a tournament, where Team India did am excellent job till the last game, which went to a better team as it demonstrated better skills of high resilience and their ability to deal with the pressure better.
For me, it begins and ends with that. That's it.
We salute TEAM INDIA for the commendable performance throughout. You articulate the emotion perfectly. Kamla Pasand ads were actually so irksome.
Correctly brought out. The Indian team must learn to rise on the big occasions. The way Aussies raised their game & played to a meticulous plan, Indian team failed to do so. To my mind, Aussies mentally outplayed us.
Correctly brought out. Too much of hype. But, then one must remember that it is the hype that brings in the moolah. Which off course it did for the airlines, hotel industry and all and sundry (including kamla pasand).
Apt words sir. Regards
Too much of hype for a game of cricket. Sports needs to be played well and fought well. Results don't matter....its all mullah speaking as bought out by somebody. Media is playing too..I am sure sportsmen amongst those 11 players would have have understood
Good read and a balanced view of an event which means nothing to 190 other countries who haven't even heard of this pastime calling itself sport. No big deal. Go have a crack at World Cup qualifier today against Qatar. That is sport.
11 Australians silenced the 1.3 lac Indians at the stadium and wrecked our special 11
Well written! But it still pains to see Rohit as lead and Rahul behind wicket
It's a game. If one feels bad, then it's ones doing. Why get so charged up and think it's win or kaput. The players did well. Just not their day. Well written.
The only difference between two teams were their capabilities to handle pressure.Indian faultred.
The selection of ground was wrong as there were better places like Kolkata or Mumbai.
Any well well played blue yellow is the winner.
It was very much on the cards, and for all the non cricketing reasons!!
Wonderfully penned suyash ! Looking forward to the next
The astrologers, pandits and media announcing, publishing and forecasting that INDIA IS WINNER AND WILL WIN made the team and players over confident and deciding the match at Modi stadium not in Mumbai as earlier may be to give credit to BJP might have gone wrong.
However, our team deserves acclaim and appreciations played well in all earlier matches . God bless our all players. Loosing and Winning is a part of sports.
Lucid phase-wise analysis done of the mother of all matches sir! While giving credit where due, you have added just the right tinge of emotion by involking key protagonists! Knowing you as a cricketing enthusiast of repute yourself, the blog truly personifies sportsmanship spirit - for a Gentleman's Game - of the highest order!
Yes, the hyperbole around cricket in India is created by the media. Well said Suyash.
Nice read......expectations reduce joy......this is what happened........we as Indians had lot of expectations all fueled by the hype created....the matches where this happened earlier has been rightly brought out to understand that in games these results will come in regular intervals....this uncertainty is the reason why we are glued to the screens....wish the match was not so one sided....enjoyed the semi final Australia vs SA much more....
Well covered. The Chak de real story I didn't know... it was definitely over hyped, 24×7 media had gone nuts, the experts.. but the team just choked, it didn't look like a final.. we played like minions.. a little fightback would've been good. Both the semi finals were definitely better fighting games. The kangaroos were all over us so completely, did hurt, silencing the crowd.. hurting
Very well written article. our team played well and that is all.
Good one !!
Correctly brought out Sir. The jinx of law of averages befell our men in blue on a wrong day. It is a game after all.
here is my take on the WC -
[LBCCI is rather adept in creating stars, primarily through the skewed compensation structure of IPL ( that generates far higher income for cricketers than the India jersey does ) but not in producing champion teams. They feed into the Indian psyche of personal glory than collective success. Don't our parents always seek individual success ( at amy cost ) for their kids than promote a sense of community well being ?
Even our planning ( as was evident when Head began to steal the match ) seems to be centered around only a few of opposition's stars ( in the extant case, Warner & Smith ) and not all of them. Our tunnel visioned strategists like Dravid can't even begin to appreciate that the Aussie have 11 potential match winners in their team. Not merely 4/5 that India has always had. Consequently, all the fuss is centered around these 4/5 while the others are thrown some crumbs ( endorsements/ appearance fees ) to be content with. Most of this non cricket income is made possible by the IPL franchise owners who have far deeper connects in industry than BCCI does or would. That said, endorsement fees are a function of one's contractual status with the BCCI. Hence, money / gifts change hands profusely to secure & maintain the contracts. In all this murky business, where is the time to train & plan as a team ?
At times, it is better to lose one or two battles and prepare the important future battles with vengeance. Overconfidence is a malaise which creeps in once one doesn't taste defeat occasionally.
The subject is one in which each and every denizen of our country consider themselves as experts . Any opinion is hotly contested .
As usual a superb article . Keep the pen going .
Kalyan
Nice one..... while we must appreciate the effort of the team and their steller performance, the winning also counts.
Well analyzed as ever.Thanks.
Having scored 240, our bowlers made the stay of Australian batsmen difficult in the beginning, but unfortunately for us and fortunately for Australia the ball kept missing the intended target. With bit of luck things could have been different, but it was not to be. I at times wonder how difficult it must be for players to cope up with this inability to win despite having talent
What we have been taught right from early childhood is “ be a good sportsman”. There is no big deal in losing or winning. Let us learn to be balanced in any situation. We teach our children to handle a loss well. I think the Indian team is fantastic. We should just be a good loser. That’s all. Now let’s focus on the next one. Well done!!!
Vey nice read Suyash 👌
Well written, very interesting 👍
The defeat was painful, coming at the very end of a glorious run up. But as you yourself pointed out, overall well played India!
It is sports...let us not treat it as war. Unfortunately all the media hype converts sports into a battle ground. There are goid days and bad days. Unfortunately, the crucial day was our bad day. Let us not criticize the coach, the players, IPL etc etc. Suyesh well written...so right about kamla pasand.
Cricket ... Much Ado .... You've no doubt captured the mood of the nation, and in your usual flair. I have over the years begun to see this not as a game, rather as a business opportunity by parties outside the game (and some inside the game as well). May the best businessman win.
It was like scoring full marks in all the tests and prelims but failing in the board exam.
The mat was pulled under the feet and billion hearts broken.
Some wonder why Saurav Ganguly and MS Dhoni we’re not invited/ kept out of business.
Whatever it maybe kudos to our team for best ever display which I observed in my 54 years of cricket.
Yes, it could have been a set back for those who could not make political mileage out of it…
Post a Comment