Of Shame, Hope and Some More Hope

What's in a defeat? One comes across wins and losses quite regularly in his/her life. Actually life in itself is nothing but an aggregation of "jeet and haar". This ideologue stands true, even more, in case of competitive sport. No sportsperson or a team can imagine to win all matches or end up losing all. There is a small little piece of sweet cake and a pinch of salt for everyone.

Though a loss does not matter much in sport, the way you lose does. India's loss to South Africa in Nagpur last night was hard to digest, in this very regard. After being in a commanding position for at least 35 overs in both the innings, the Indian team threw away the match much like a distraught child throws away the biscuit he does not like! It was shocking to see the extent to which a team can self destruct and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, almost adamantly.

A man called Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar came out to bat around 2.30 in the afternoon. From the very first ball he faced, the intention was clear. He wanted to excel personally, bring laurels to the country and take that one more step towards what has been the only unfulfilled dream in his iconic career. He was reasonably supported by an arrogant Sehwag who batted foolishly for the first 10 overs. His ability to rotate the strike is questionable, his attitude hinges on selfishness, at times. But still he hung around and butchered the South African attack. On the other end, a poetry was in motion. As cool as a January morning and as calm as the sea of tranquility itself. Sachin was less violent and doubly effective. The lofted shots were back and he had a better strike rate than Sehwag, in whatever strike he got.

But the here the story ends. What happened henceforth was hard to comprehend and difficult to digest. India lost last 9 wickets for 29 runs. From 267/1 at one stage, the team finally folded at 296 without even lasting their allotted 50 overs. It was a shameful display and the famed Indian batting line up looked a bunch of idiots. Everyone was trying to play a glamorous shot and make it to the newspaper front page. All of them forgot that singles and doubles are lifeline of cricket. But alas, adventurism and glitz seems to have made heavy inroads in the minds of these Tees Maar Khans.

I feel ashamed at the very thought of these players swearing to win the Cup for their paaji a few days back. Their paaji is far more committed and rather self sufficient to achieve this feat. You guys are only here to pose to the shutterbags and endorse brands. That zeal, that pride to play a world cup for India is clearly missing.

MS Dhoni was horrible as a captain. His decision to hand over the ball to Ashish Nehra for the last over was baffling. As a batsman, he foolishly took singles on first balls of the overs and handed over the strike to the likes of Khan and Nehra. There is some serious lapse of wisdom and mental agility on his part. He better pull up his socks and pants, stop pretending to be unperturbed and start showing some urgency.

It was a bitter loss. Something which will drain the team mentally and leave a strong impact on their minds. They themselves dug their graves and now it will be tough to come out of it. The game against windies is their last chance to register a 'proper' win before the knock stage commences.

A billion of hopes are hoping against hope. I am being called an emotional fool, a traitor, whatever. I dont mind these tags if the team recovers well in time. A World Cup glory is all I seek. and trust me I will dance on the rooftop if it happens. Because howsoever critical I might be, at the end of day I am an stupid Indian cricket fan!

P.S. The above post is a combined effort of an ardent Indian team/cricket lover and a shrewd critic.