Hope Floats

The storm has subsided. Yes, India's heartbreaking defeat inside three days at home blew up a storm in every supporter's mind. A storm of annoyance, frustration and disillusionment. The spontaneous reaction to the defeat was to make each one of us doubtful, skeptical of our team's abilities. Statements like, "We're cowards" were made, coupled with questions like, "Why does our team always end up losing a hyped contest?" were raised in probably every one of our minds. But our defeat is now a thing of the past, and like always, we'll have to learn from it and make sure we do not make the same mistakes again. By no means have we lost the battle. It was only the first round, the first battle. Of course, the Aussies now have an undeniable upper hand, but we haven't yet lost the series. The war is all but over!

But, we went down without a fight!

There is an old saying in cricket that goes something like, ' When one great scorer comes to write against your name, he writes not how many runs you scored, but how you played the game.'

In the modern era, this probably implies that it doesn't matter if you won or lost, but you should've been upto the fight atleast. And that is what is troubling each one of us. That we weren't competitive enough. The sheer manner in which we lost would certainly lead us to believe that. But I don't think there is complete truth in it. No doubt our batting collapsed in both innings, but that is only one side of the story At the same time, it is also true that we bowled very well early on and had them reeling at 99/5. What followed was unimaginable, and it was in those 2-3 hours of blitzkrieg, that we lost it. That, the partnership between Hayden and Gilchrist was the second fastest in the game's history, with the fastest scored in 1902, 99 years ago, tells that it was a most extraordinary effort. We've to take our hats off to them! The 2 hours of mayhem took the game away from us. It is also important to note that most of these runs were scored against the three spinners, one of them on a comeback, one on debut, and the third only a part timer. We did try to make a fight out of it in the second innings, but the initiative was lost by then. I don't think that there was any Indian player who didn't have enough desire to beat the Aussies. I think that most of them didn't have the mental toughness.

The captaincy issue:

Being the captain of a young and inexperienced side is, by no means, an easy task. Especially when that side happens to be India. With the kind of following the game enjoys in India, it isn't difficult to understand why. Whether the team wins or loses, it is the captain, more than anyone else, who is under the microscope. Saurav Ganguly has proved no exception. After his initial success in the ICC Knockout Tournament, victories over Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, there were praises showered on him from every corner. And typically, after this loss, it is he, who has received most of the brickbats. There are people complaining about his field placements, questioning as to why there wasn't a mid-wicket in place during that onslaught. Well, Ganguly's logic isn't too difficult to comprehend. He was trying to get the two lefties to play against the spin on pitch turning square. There is nothing wrong in that strategy. I'm sure had there been a mid-wicket in place, we'd have been the first ones to complain that he wasn't even trying to get the batsmen to sweep! It is one of those decisions that makes the captain look like a genius when it comes off, and a complete fool when it doesn't. The area where he might have gone wrong might be that he didn't make quick changes. But consider also the rate at which they scored their runs. Also, with a small target on board, it is understandable that he was in a dilemma of whether to attack or defend.

The other point being raised is the way he conducted himself. Of course, his outburst on getting run out wasn't in good taste, but a man does all sorts of funny things when things aren't going his way. I believe Ganguly has still a lot to learn and we should give him some time. After all, this is his first major test assignment. Also, isn’t a captain only as good as his team?

So, is there a hope?

I believe there is. There is still a lot to play for in the series. One has to understand that ours is, by test standards, a very young team. It should also be borne in mind, that ours is traditionally a team driven by individual achievements. For us to achieve something by teamwork isn’t going to

be an easy task. Teamwork has never been our strong point. And for that to change, it’ll take some time. We must remember that after the match-fixing setback, this is our first real challenge. That Bangladesh and Zimbabwe weren’t the best oppositions to estimate our worth against. That John Wright and his methodology is sound, and it’ll definitely prove to our advantage in the long run.

Good things don’t happen overnight. Even the Australians have reached where they are, only after a string of defeats in mid-eighties and early nineties. Like day follows night, good times shall come again. But for that, we need to support our team. For if we don’t, they shall be under even more pressure to perform. Unnecessary pressure is the last thing they need. Give them a break, and I think we could expect a better performance.