Published by Nanda on 11th January 2008
A lot of so-called “neutral observers” have mentioned that India’s reaction to the SCG test has been way over the top, the BCCI are bullies, the Indian players are hypocrites, Harbhajan Singh is a racist, the burning of effigies is a barbaric act. I could go on and on.
All the above comments/theories are not going to make matters any easy, they are going to further enrage a nation that is already on the brink of pulling out of the tour. Let me point something out before I start shredding these statements apart. First and foremost, cricket is not a passion in India, it is a religion in its most literal term. The psyche of an Indian fan is that their players are like gods that are battling it out with the rest of the world. So what if they lose. Hey the English only won the Soccer World Cup once, and yet over there soccer is the same as what cricket is in India. What about Aussie rules football. Who really knows about this sport besides the Australians. And yet it overtakes cricket or any other sport in popularity. Oh, and don’t even get me started talking about the crowd/players behavior during a Carlton-Collingwood match.
Cricket is not a contact sport, but the way sledging and intimidation is going on, it may very well become. How much crap can a person take before he gives it back. The Indian players are not like bowling pins that every Tom, Dick and Harry comes and knocks them over. This isn’t India under Mahatma Gandhi that believes in non-violence as the key. This is a young and aggressive India who knows its history of being oppressed by foreigners. So why should they be intimidated by a team that has a known history of insulting, abusing and discriminating its opponents.
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A lot was being said about this match before a ball had been bowled. Will India be competitive enough? Will it be Shaun Tait or Brad Hogg? What will the pitch condition be? Can India stop Australia from 15 wins in a row? The first question can be answered after looking at the scorecard - Australia, 1st inngs - 337/9. A shock result after a splendid start. The Indian supporters in Melbourne had their best day out after 4 long years. But if memory serves me correct then four years ago India had one of their best first days in Australia. We all know what happened at the end of the match.
The second question’s answer is that Brad Hogg found a place and after watching Killer Kumble’s performance, the Australian selectors must be hoping that he is the right choice. Harbhajan Singh had already made it clear that the Indians would love to go after Hoggy. All goes to be seen who goes after whom.
The pitch had a slightly green top and it seemed that the ball was not really coming on to the bat. There was definite movement from the first ball up, and the movement was there whenever Zaheer Khan was bowling. The wicket of Ricky Ponting was an absolute peach of a delivery.
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Published by Nanda on 3rd December 2007
I would like to know why these ex-players want the Indian pitches to favour bounce and movement and not be slow as they have been for like forever. Every country has its own identity and for India its that the pitches support spin and are slow. So why should we abandon our identity and copy the Australians, South Africans or the English. Has the Perth pitch ever supported spin? No. Has any of the England pitches supported steep bounce? No. So why do Indian pitches need to support pace, bounce and lateral movement. Where would the so called “home advantage” be if all pitches in India are like a visiting team’s home conditions?
The so-called ex-players who call themselves experts have built their careers on these same slow, turning conditions. Where would they be if the wickets in India supported pace and bounce during their times? I think the BCCI should stick to its guns and keep tradition alive. There would never be a Kumble had India never had spinning tracks. Where would Bhajji’s hattrick be at the Eden Gardens? Does Sri Lanka or Pakistan ever talk about changing the conditions of their tracks? Slow and spin-friendy tracks are what “IDENTIFY” India in the world of cricket. In my eyes, to go against it is being non-Indian.
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