Cricket Fervour, forever
Mile sur mera tumhaara, aur sur bane Hamara
Cricket is in air today, and shall be there tomorrow and ever thereafter in India.
Cricket, as everyone knows, is a game of huge uncertainties. Though it's a team sport, yet practically we have all seen that a single batsman and/or a single over turning the match on its head. Yesterday, it was Tilak who stood like rock amidst disastrous start of famed Indian batting line up.
Sanju Samson once aptly summed it up " that all IPL Teams are very well matched to all other teams, and on any given day any team can win against any other team."
Nonetheless, given all that unpredictability in the game of Cricket, yet, the 1970-1990 era saw invincible West Indies ruling the world of cricket, winning World Cup twice in 1975 and 1979. And in 1990-2010 era, it was Australia who ruled the roost, winning World Cup 5 times in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 (hat-tric), and in 2015 . The hatric of World Cup titles won by Australia in 1999, 2003 and 2007 shows the strength cricketing character of Australians, and their abilities to raise up their games in crunch times.
Both West Indies and Australia, excelled in all department of the game, and had great depth to manage a land slide, and release thunderstorm to upset the rhythm of opponents whenever the odds turned against them.
Australian dominance in Cricket was so huge that in 2005, ICC Super series was organised in Australia. There were 3 ODI matches between World Eleven and World cup winner Australia, which Australia went on to win with hands down, 3-0. And you know who at that time represented World Eleven, Chris Gayle, Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag, Jaysuriya, Brian Lara, Shoaib Akhtar and other big wigs from Newzeland and England and South Africa.
Turn the clock to 2025, and it’s India all over the place. Earlier the West Indies, Australian and English speedsters were most dreaded and feared. And now, it’s Indian speedsters who are nightmares for best of the batsman from other cricket playing countries. The middle order in Indian team has men of steel to pull the team back in reckoning whenever they find themselves in ruin, like yesterday.
Even if Cricket is a team sport, but there is still a fervour of individual genius in each team, like our all season Yuvraj, ever reliable Axar Patel these days, Tilak in yesterday’s game, and none like Maxwell’s innings against Afghanistan the other day, which pulls their Teams out of ‘ no win situations’ to ‘ must win situations’.
I have a take on Indian cricket in future. If ever ICC allows every cricket playing country to field 2 teams in ICC matches, say Team A and Team B, be that T20, or ODI, looking at at the depth of our present bench strength, I foresee a climax final match between 2 Indian Teams one day or the other.
And, I even dare go one step more. Given our all season bench strength, I even foresee that India B Team, may even beat India A Team, because of the raging fire in their belly to prove themselves right; for they were the one ignored in selection for Team A for the country.
Let’s then soak ourselves in India’s pride today as India continue with their dominance in World cricket.