Friday, January 27, 2012

Whitewash Looms for Team India - Have we watched the end of an era?

As Indian famed batting line up was being swept away by precise English bowlers, one test after the another, excuses flew thick and fast from the Indian camp... It was said that the pitches were far too green, there was too much seam and swing on offer, players were injured, some others tired after playing the IPL... The hard earned number 1 tag was snatched away from them as the Indians capitulated to lose 4-0.

Pressure grew steadily on the team but it was the senior players, namely Sachin and VVS Laxman who were blamed the most. Sachin kept searching for the 100th 100 but it kept on evading the great man. Laxman looked a pale shadow of what he was in the early 2000's leading up to 2008-2009. Dravid was in imperious form on that tour and escaped backlash from the fans.

The series against West Indies came and went without any significant performance from these three players. India could not even win 3-0 against a young and struggling West Indian team at home in spinning conditions. Surely something was wrong. But, NO, winning 2-0 was enough for the Indian team... The signs were there for all to see... Unfortunately, the team were still blinded... By the IPL riches, by past performances, by thinking that this was just an aberration...

The tour of Australia was next. It was said that this is the best chance for the Indian team to win a series down under. People expected the experienced Indian team to steamroll the young Aussie team in transitional phase. As I type this at the end of day 4 of the last test of the Australian series, India are just 4 wickets away from a humiliating whitewash!

Sachin seemed burdened by the thought of the 100th 100 throughout the series. He seemed in good form in the first two tests but he always had an eye on the scorecard - "How far more to get that 100".

VVS Laxman still played those wristy flicks that defy gravity and laws of physics once in a blue moon, but more often than not his feet seemed stuck in cement. The hands went hard towards the ball instead of the soft touch that was associated with his batting.

Dravid, The Wall, crumbled match by match, bowlers finding ways to penetrate his defense as he kept getting bowled. He seemed baffled as the ball found newer ways to sneak in between the bat and the pad onto the timber. The death knell had been sounded.

"Have we watched the end of an era?", This is the question on every cricket fan's lips, whether he is Indian or just a cricket lover from around the globe.

This is definitely the end of an era, for me. These three may or may not play together in the Indian test team again. Well, they should not, logically. But I hope that they are given farewell matches. Let us, for a moment, remember that perfect straight drive from Tendulkar, the textbook forward defence from Rahul and the ball being flicked from way outside the off stump towards the mid wicket fence from very very special Laxman... I am getting all nostalgic, well lets leave that for some other time...

14 comments:

Vishal Kataria said...

Doubt it. Even the Aussie team had gone through a miserable phase in between, but they bounced back.

India has seen worse. Remember 99-00, when we couldn't win anything anywhere (even in India)? We are much better placed than that. Plus, whether we accept it or not, the Indian team is fatigued. At least this will be a chance for the seniors to sit out and youngsters to set the world on fire.

Youngsters like Yuvraj, Gauti, Viru, Zak, Kaif, etc. came and changed the face of a dying Indian team. That time will come again.

Far from the end of an era, we will see the Indian team rise like a phoenix from the ashes soon...

Cheers...

P.S. We're still World Champions for the next 3 years...

Teamgsquare said...

Its just a vicious cycle . We shall come back for sure but the question is how much time will we take to come back and how we will come back .

DS said...

We cant give the same excuse after every series that we are tired. Do we say that to our boss!
And also why we live in the past? Yes we won the World Cup, the memories will always remain. But does winning the World Cup give our team the license to lose important series that too in humiliating manners.
Should we not play like world champions instead of playing in such a way that people wonder if winning it was a fluke?

DS said...

Its a vicious cycle, I agree. But half the problem gets solved when we accept that is a problem. The BCCI and the team must realise that its time for older players to move on now.

Akshay Kumar G said...

I am getting so emotional after hearing the reports that Dravid might announce his retirement tomorrow. I can't really fathom that fact. He had one bad series but Dravid deserves a better send-off than this. He never got a proper send-off in ODIs but at least in Tests he deserves better. :(

DS said...

He surely deserves a farewell test. But I felt that he should have retired after the England series, on a high at least personally.

N.S.Kirti said...

Although i dont know much about cricket, i agree that the older players must be set back and allow the youngsters set in. And i honestly think Tendulkar should retire now. Please forgive me if I am wrong in saying this but I feel that cricket now for him has become a matter of completing his 100th.
I may be wrong; its just my opinion.

Ok, drifting apart from cricket(since I see that EVERYONE here is talking about that), let me giv eyou the appreciation you deserve :)
this was FANTASTICALLY written DS!!brilliant wordplay, brilliant description of the teams's plight and i could almost FEEL your disappointment and your hurt as a big Fan through your words. Do consider my suggestion of doing more creative writing. You are VERY good at it :)
cheers!

Arti said...

It was sad to see India go down in this manner. But then its just a phase, i am sure and we need to support them now than ever more. My take, harsh on them to write them off this way, for they have proved their mettle over the years and given us many a proud moments to cherish! Try to step in their shoes and we will see that its not easy to keep your mind off from the insensate media and fans alike when things refuse to go your way.

DS said...

@ NS
Yeah, its high time that we gave a long rope to players like Badrinath, Pujara, Rohit, Rahane. Also Don retired with an average of 99.94, so Sachin might also retire with 99 tons.
Also many Thanks for your unabated appreciation of my posts, always pushing me for doing more creative writing. I may well start a new blog for that, lets see.

DS said...

@ Arti
Every good thing has to end. They have given us moments to cherish and I respect them and the partnership between VVS-Rahul still motivates me whenever I am down. But if they keep going on like this, they will soon lose the respect. You are selected for present performances not past ones. They have to admit that they are past prime and should go out graciously.

Anonymous said...

They din't even show the spirit of the GAME... they just played like school boys, remember we were once the best TEST team,, all that we must do is CHEERING and we need serious overhaul in BCCI and our PITCHES should be changed...
SHAME !
Dee..

Raj said...

Beautifully written. I can see the pain in your writing and it is indeed sad that these legends did not have a fairy tale ending which I feel they deserved. A very nice article indeed. :)

Abhishek said...

I guess we people have reacted very immaturely.
We must give this team sometime they are the only ones which have clinched world Cup last year.
But yes Aging players must now start thinking about their retirement as lots of young guns are knocking on the door.
Very nicely written post.

N.S.Kirti said...

oye posting next when??