I seriously refuse to accept the current Indian cricket team as one from our own country, in any sense of word, they can never be termed as Indians. We, the Indians have always been brilliant and yet unprofessional, thats why you see the Indian intellect going to US univs and doing wonders there while not doing even an iota of work here. We are just not supposed to be professionals or the champs in any field specially when it comes to the collective effort.
Indian teams of past always had brilliant and talented individuals who could blow anybody away anyday but the teams always followed a set pattern. They will charm, enthral you for some time, they will beat the strongest team at times but more than often there would be a memorable performance to show for such a victory! Specially when it came to big victories, it was almost always the result of some utter brilliance, a long innings of special value or a bowling spell which could dazzle you.
I dont rmr the last time I saw an Indian team lose from a winning position and more often than not situation has been the reverse, many times I close the tab in which cricinfo is open after a disappointing phase of the match only to realise that there are exited voices coming from the TV room indicating that something good is happening. Even Ganguly’s team, which can be said to be the harbinger of the (supposedly) golden era of Indian cricket was just a beginner in this field, sure they finished some good matches and won some almost lost matches but even that team was only “Indian” after all and had its share of failures under pressure.
“lack of Killer Instinct“, a phrase which has been the nemesis of every Indian cricket fan for the last few years, you could oft hear the phrase being used after almost evey match that the team lost, you always heard the commentators cribbing about the lack of, killer instinct and the tendency to attck, required while fielding and we all got accustomed to it. It was just a part and parcel of life.
BUT this team seems to be quite unconcerned with a thing such as pressure, the expressions of team always remain whether they are chasing 15 in 3 overs or it be 50 in 7 overs and defending 50 runs in 10 overs is done with same composure as the task of denying the other team victory when the ask is 10 RPO. They just dont seem to cringe. A term which I like very much while describing the recent performances of India is “Clinical“, the other team alwayss finds India atleast a bit better than them! Whatever they might do, its just not enough. The team knows how and when to raise the bar of performance. The best part is, very rarely does it happen that a particular person outshines rest of the team, even if there are scintillating like the ones by Yuvraj and Sehwag, you can almost always name a few others in the same match like the ones by Yusuf Pathan and Ojha in this match.Or whether it be the win against English chasing 387, if it was Sehwag who gave a blitzkrieg of a start then we had Sachin composing one of his better centuries and guiding India home while being ably supported by Yuraj.Its generally quite difficult to chose the MOM these days, its always a team effort.
I am sure things wont remain as rosy as this and there will be hardships and failures ahead and that time, I might be the one criticising the team for being slack or lousy losers but lemme congratulate the team for tasks well done while they are being done.
And all this has been achieved just because of the change in the mind set of the team, I wont for any moment consider the current crop more talented than the Dravids, Gangulys or the Laxmans who are not playing now but it is in the minds of these men. They know how the things need to be done.I consider this as an overhaul of the system which was Indian cricket AND this very fact gives me hope that someday, we will also see an overhaul in the political system of India, all we can do is just wait for the day when we have politicians who have KILLER INSTINCT and who know how to win (and not only the votes and money but also respect and hearts!)
Till then wait is the name of the game
Song of the Day:- Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin
PS1:- 3 movies in the last 3 days, a sort of record for me!! 🙂
PS2:- Of the 3 movies I saw, Just Luvvvvd Gandhi, Dil Kabaddi was okayish, a time pass flick and Luck by Chance was intolerable!! 😦
PS3:- Hoping to start swimming from tomorrow
PS4:- Gotta wake up in 3 hours for that, dumbass of a guy wont register in the eve. 😦
PS5:- Listened to Beatles, Janis Joplin and John Denver after long!! 🙂
Ye Meri Life hai... 