Another day, another topic.
I write this as India play Australia and from what I see at the moment, are going to feel the aftermath of the game pretty bad.
There are of course, two things to look into, here.
To start with, are the public going to be mad? you bet. By the time of the third powerplay, the look on Dravid's face was one of desperation. Not to save the game perhaps-more on how he is going to protect his wife and child from all the servings that they are going to feel down their spine.
Let's start with the objective part of the episode. When India lose (which they will-that is a certainty), would i say they were outplayed by a classier opposition? No.
Not because the aussies aren't good. But here i guess they didn't need any class; they would have won with a second string team as well. was 250 enough? am not really sure, though of course, it has been time since some of our top guns really delivered. but with a good bowling attack, one might argue that probably the target is enough.
But the key word here is good.
Our bowlers looked hardly better than some net practice youngsters on display. Pathan was pathetic, Munaf was murdered and as far as sreesanth goes, i can only say he bowled like s***. when dinesh mongia is the best bowler on display, then you have a really bad bowling attach. Dravid had limited choice debating to himself as to who should not bowl the next over. And if this keeps happening as a regular feature, then we have no business playing cricket at all. It might be easier sitting and typing all this on my computer but then this is exactly their job. I agree that the pressure of playing for one of the subcontinental teams is overwhelming but it is simply inexcusable that the players we have can only do this much. And the faster pacers could barely touch the 80mph line so what i really wonder is why India has and probably will never produce any genuine fast bowler when Pakistan do so regularly? Aren't we of the same build, race and other commonalities?
Finally, how are the public going to respond? in typical manic fashion. I'm sure this will give NDTV and CNN-IBN a good slot on their new programs but the real fact is that we applaud too quick and bring out the brickbats equally quickly. And there, I fully support the team. There is no reason whatsoever to respond violently especially towards them or their families. And till we learn to control our emotions instead of always wearing it our sleeves, we are bound to see the dirt time and again.
Hopefuly, the SA-Australia match will be of more interest to the cricket lover.