We all love our Indian Cricket Team and its players. Sachin is God for us and Cricket is our religion which binds people from all strata of the society in this country. When India lifted the world Cup, it instantly became the National Festival in India !!!
This present team is one of the best in the Indian Cricket History. The contribution of Sachin is undoubtedly humungous. He has transformed the team from being a "single man army" to a team now in which every player contributes and is equally important. Sachin's attitude, humility and demeanor are exemplary. He has helped the team as well as the young players to develop and learn his traits. That is why he is affectionally called the "Grandpa" by the young brigade.
It is a known fact that we are many a times harsh in our criticism towards the ones whom we love the most. At the same time we cant tolerate even a word said against whom we love.
And this very same logic holds true for the Indian Team as well. Because of the immense love we have for this game and its players we criticise them badly at times. Like in the ongoing Test Match between India and England, when India had reduced England to 124/8 , they still went on to make 221. The team was vehemently criticised for its bowling in the last session.
I completely agree that this happened because of the complacency factor. And this is a regular phenomena with our Team. We perform only when we are pushed against the wall. This is easily verifiable. If we see the last few Test Series, India has regularly lost the First Test Match and then bounced back in the second. This article analyses this in detail.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-india-2011/content/story/524835.html
But my point here is something else. In fact in my discussion with a friend on this same very topic, I told him that we need not criticise the players so badly, as they were the ones who reduced them to 124/8.
Many a times, this No. 1 team is compared with The Great Australian Team which ruled Cricket for almost a decade and a half. There are many people who feel and say that India Can never be like the "Invincible Aussies".
I feel why should India be like the Aussies. India has its own identity. We play the game for the sole purpose of pleasure and entertainment.
In lighter vein, I ll say, we do not play this game to showcase our supremacy. That is why we give our opponent umpteen number of chances to recover and fight back. So that the game is thrilling and enjoyable. We care for the lovers of the game more. We ensure that they have a good enthralling time when they watch this game. We play for Cricket and not for ourselves.
On a serious note, I personally never liked watching the matches which Australia played when they were at the helm. The element of uncertainity was lost, which is the basic essence of this game. There was no thrill, no fun. In fact there have been many instances in which Aussies have been found to be using unfair means like repeated false appeals, sledging and doping to achieve their sole aim, that was winning the match. India has never done this and can never do this. Because our culture does not permits us to accept success by wrong practices. Am sure many of us would agree with what I am saying.
So India's approach to the game is quite fine as it keeps the game poised till the last ball is bowled. And as long as India keeps on winning the series, we should not mind losing a game here and there to encourage our opponents to fight back and be in the game. Hence, there is no doubt that India plays better cricket than Australia played or can ever play.
To sum up, I would just reiterate what George Bernard Shaw said about this great game. It simply consolidates the fact that cricket is a Gentleman's Game and the players and the spectators have a divine feeling while playing or watching this game.
| “The English are not very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity” | |
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