Crap-e diem

The first Test is over, India and Australia are still tied 0-0, and the Indian supporters can heave a sigh of relief. Three more Tests to go and the mighty Aussies will leave the shores. Hopefully, we can sneak in a win and take the series. After all, the Aussie team is the strongest in the world, right? They do have Hayden, Ponting, McGrath, Gilchrist, Langer, Warne, Martyn, Symonds, and Gillespie, don't they? No, wait, they actually have Hayden, Ponting, Clarke, Katich, Watson, Johnson, White, and Haddin, etc. in their ranks.

Before I continue further, take a look at this fantastic commercial by Nike, featuring Michael Jordan, the greatest performer under pressure I have ever seen in the sporting arena (along with Tiger Woods).



India did not sneak away with a draw in the first Test match. They clung on to it. Desperately. Like a one-armed man hanging off a cliff. An attack that reads Lee, Clark, Johnson, Watson, and White (don’t they sound like a law firm?) was able to reduce the batting line-up featuring names like Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, and Ganguly into defensive heroes. Where is that vaunted Indian batting line-up, that juggernaut that has evoked memories of another Fab Four?

The target was 299 runs in 83 overs, probably too stiff for a 5th day wicket and the downside (losing) was too much to bear after being under the cosh from the first day itself. (Because, when you are running uphill, no matter how close to the target you are, it still seems way above you.) My problem with the Indian chase was that they did not even try to go for it. The general consensus was that if Sehwag got off to his typical start then there was a chance. Huh? That’s it? One and done??? The strategy was so palpable that even the Aussie captain knew this – Ponting began with just 1 slip to Sehwag. Stop Sehwag and the Indian run-chase was done. It took a brilliant catch, that Hayden made look very simple, to get Sehwag at the very same position. Sehwag was attempting a flick, completed his stroke when the ball hit the back of the bat and flew low to Hayden’s left. Hayden, never taking his eyes off the ball, stayed down and picked up the ball with his fingers cradling the ball just before it was going to hit the ground. With that one catch, the Indian run chase was done!

Here was a chance to test the Australian attack (if you want to call it that). See what stuff they were made of. What would I have done? I would have held back Dravid and sent someone else in. If Gambhir got out first, I’d send in Ganguly. If Sehwag got out first, I’d send in Tendulkar (to maintain the left-right combination). With the clear instruction that they had to attack the target like it was a one day international. Ganguly and Tendulkar are the most secure players in the team in terms of having a place for the 4 Tests, so there is no pressure on them to fail, so to speak. Also, if it is very clear that they were going for the target, then a failure will be absolved as they would have been following team instructions (a simple statement at a press conference later on can clear up this fact). Australia had just one swing bowler – Lee. The rest of them hit the deck hard and look for seam movement. Wouldn’t it be harder for them to attack if they had to put 3 or 4 men on the boundary? And seriously, if after reading this the thought that goes through your mind is what would happen if the 4 get out quickly, then I want you to tell me why we make a big deal of the 25 or 30, or 40 thousand runs that the Fab Four have made? The Indian batsmen are fantastic players; a once-in-a-generation kind of fantastic. If given the license to go and attack they will find a way to do just that. India would have won the match or drawn with Australia clinging to a leg-stump, negative bowling line to slow down the run-rate. Wouldn’t that have been a great exhibition of the strength of our batting line-up and shown the rest of the country that the Aussies can be had?

Instead what we got was a defensive effort that only underlined what an innocuous attack the Aussies really had. Tendulkar and Laxman, between them, batted for a little more than 41 overs, scored just 90 runs, and are feted as heroes, only serving to further reinforce the negative mindset of the Indian camp. I like them both very much, and I was watching them with gritted teeth the whole time, willing them to survive, but I was mad at the Indian think tank for, pardon the pun, tanking the run chase even before it started. Tendulkar, the man who gave Shane Warne’s nightmares was unable to impose himself on Cameron White, making his debut no less, and even suffered the ignominy of getting out to him. Enough said.

India are the home team, with 5 batsmen who have scored about 40,000 Test runs, with two spinners who have taken more than 900 Test wickets, and three fielders who have collectively taken over 370 catches. The Aussies have one batsman who has scored more than 10,000 runs, another great who has over 6,000 runs. One bowler who has taken more than 100 wickets (Lee has 291), and their lone spinner was making his debut. And we are celebrating the fact that we drew the first Test?

Seriously, those that are afraid to win are indeed condemned to repeatedly fail.

P.S. I see that Prem Panicker has a similar view on this subject on his blog. He also adds a couple of other interesting tidbits along the way, notably one that concerns Anil Kumble's health, or lack thereof.