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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I am not going to write about the fourth day, as the final day of the second test is going to be talked about for a long time to come. I was absolutely disgusted with the way this test has finished and from and Indian fan’s point of view I am of the opinion that to hell with it all. India should forfeit all their remaining matches and come back home before the One Day series. But that’s just me talking in an emotional state. After the embarrassment at MCG a couple of weeks ago, this test should have been sealed in three day’s time with India as victorious. However, when 11 players play against 13, it is not a fair contest. Yes sir, I am talking about 11 Australians and 2 Umpires that fielded this match against India.
The disappointment started from Day 1 itself. Ricky Ponting was given a repreive, then Andrew Symonds survived 3 calls. Yet, when it came to bat India were always at the receiving end of each and every decision. It seems that when it comes to playing against Australia, the opposing teams always have to play against the umpires as well. The utter nonsense of umpiring in this match must leave a lot of spectators disillusioned. The people back home must be pissed off.
And then we turn to the attitude of the Australian players themselves. At one point it’s OK for them to sledge any player, but when something gets sent back it quickly becomes racist. Let me be very clear on the Bhajji row, Andrew Symonds and the rest of the Australian bullies are no saints. To presume that Harbhajan used the “Monkey” word is wrong until it is proven that he did say that.
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