No Comparisons Please !
It was the greatest triumph ever? Umm … have second thoughts
Sharad’s Sunday Sojourns (week # 458 | 24th Jan 2021):
“If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride — and never quit, you’ll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards.” … Bear Bryant.
Ravi Shastri, the current head coach of the Indian National Cricket Squad, thinks that the recent victory over the mighty Aussies is the best series victory ever by India, anytime and anywhere! Now, Ravi has a realistic argument. After all, in the face of probably ‘never-faced-before’ adversities, as well as the additional, and extraordinary challenges (COVID-19, bio-bubble and quarantine, racial comments, amongst others) faced by the young and inexperienced team, it is hitherto unbelievable how the men pulled it off! No acknowledgements seem adequate, and they deserve the accolades and praises showered upon them by the fraternity, both national as well as global. Who am I to raise a finger, and above all, who am I to even retrospect?
. . . . .
Saying that, I wish to lay down my outlook, as a common man, as a citizen of India, and as a aficionado of the sport. Let’s lay an emphasis on Adelaide again. As I see it, all the hullabaloo surrounding the grit and determination surface from the ‘turnaround’ after the humiliating ‘36’! But think for a moment. Should we not take a deeper look on that? The national cricket team is bundled out for a paltry double-digit score, and all you would do, is to just shrug it off after a meeting? Seems somewhat strange to me. On a hindsight, experts believe that was the ignition point, which fuelled the desire to overturn the face of the series. And I am so glad that it did! Just that, with our renowned skipper and his marshals, care must be taken not to repeat this ‘feat’, not once, never! Was just a ‘bad’ day? Well hope it was!
Then comes associations and judgements. Which honestly, seems kind of abyss to me. Do you mean to say that the ‘uncovered’ pitches of the 70s and the four-member pace-battery of the monumental West Indies (Roberts, Garner, Holding, Marshall) is inferior to the current Aussie bowling attack? If you are, then you are kidding yourself! Even the Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis duo of Pakistan deserves more credit than the current Aussie pace duo. And what about Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee? How do we disregard Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh? And where do we put McGrath, Lee and company? Do you mean to say that Muralitharan, Warne, Mustaq, all were simply sent off packing? I refuse to accept that! So, to brand the contemporary series conquest as ‘the greatest’, seems prejudicial to me, since history has dodged bullets from different guns, with and without malice!
. . . . .
Make no mistake, whatever team India achieved this time, will be etched in golden letters in the annals of time, with awe and inspiration, disproportionately! Nothing is taken away from them, and only thumbs up to their courage and display of sportsmanship! But to glorify something of the ‘greatest ever’ theme perpetually, exquisitely portrays ignorance. I put my hand on my heart, and I can see VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid turning a match on its head at the Eden Gardens in 2001. To even think of that Aussie Squad, and to think that we defeated them (after 16 straight win record), sounds preposterous, even after 20 years! And no, I do consider that we defeated the Aussies at the Gabba after 32 years!
To those, who thinks enough is enough, and let’s show some strength and solidarity to the victors, I would suggest to give a glimpse at the column by Greg Baum. I was a voracious reader of ‘The Age’ during my stay at Melbourne, and I always appreciated his unbiased and rational purview. Bottomline: Well done India! Thank You from the bottom of my heart!
But no comparisons please!
