These days, I do not follow Indian cricket(or cricket, in general) as passionately as I did a few years ago. Many a time, I won't even be knowing when is India's next match. Despite that, that I am writing a post on the Indian cricket team's win over South Africa today, is because, this was not just a test match win for the team. It was much more than that. It was victory against unsporting, manipulative tactics. It was a victory against ugly arrogance. It was a victory for fair play. It was victory for the gentleman's game. It was a victory for the Indian people.
It's a universally known fact that pitches are prepared to suit the home team. But what the South Africans did was doctoring the pitch in the worst possible way. They watered the pitch on the evening before the test match in anticipation of an Indian batting collapse on a wet pitch. On the contrary, not only did the match start late due to this misadventure, but also it was the South Africans who surrendered to a high quality Indian pace attack and that too after India managed to put up a respectable total. It was a sort of poetic justice that the South Africans were bowled out for their lowest score in test cricket since their readmission to international fold.
As if all this was not enough, the South African team showed arrogance that did no good to the game. Andre Nel, who looks like a pussy cat against the Aussies, tried to intimidate Sreeshanth by sledging. Sreeshanth's reaction(which did not include verbal counter-attack), is now of course, well known. The humiliation on Nel's face when Sreeshanth hit that famous six and did that famous bat-dance, is something that I can never ever forget. Players like Nel are a shame to the game.
On the other hand, Indians played it fair. They maintained their calm. They did not get into ugly things like sledging, true to their indian nature. They instead, let their cricket do the talking. They did not crib about the pitch even on day one(If it had happened in India, the whole world would have joined to condemn the curator and the Indian board to hell.). They made the most of a wet pitch.
To sum it up, it was a victory for the good. Congratulations, team India. You did all of us proud.
Monday, December 18, 2006
A Memorable Victory
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5 comments:
Sledging swalpa irbeku. Yen anteera? Olle josh moodsatte.
As for the pitch, the curator said that it wasn't water. It was some kind of a chemical which would improve the moisture content in the pitch. Yenoppa, antu mosa maadakke anta hogi 'hoge' haakkondru.
Oh, I didn't know about this whole watering-the-previous-night incident. You're right, then, poetic justice that they were skittled out for a paltry score while we managed to survive and put up a defendable total(on that pitch). Good victory for India, long overdue. Even though I found the Australia-England match more exciting, this was a good match.
Nel, yes, goes to excessive lengths when it comes to people physically less intimidating than him. The Aussies give back as good as they get(in fact, give it to the opposition even if they haven't been sledged against!), so he doesn't do too much against them, I suppose. Besides, the South African accent is funny and the Aussies would never let him go for that, I guess. So he daren't take a risk with them!
[Swaroop]Sledging is ugly. Great bowlers like Walsh and Ambrose never indulged in sledging to get batsman out. Sledging only reflects on the bowler's inability to dismiss the batsman purely on his bowling ability.
And regarding the pitch, what you have said is the 'official' version. Read this to know the other side of the story, so to say.
[Arjun]Was the other match more exciting? Nodi, naanu noDle illa. Ella aa vidhiya kroora aata, attahaasa.
Yella silent silent aagi aadkond maneg hodre yeeeenu maja iralla. Baibeku, baiskobeku. That IS LIFE!
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