The recent cornering of the Proteas in test matches by India , despite surrendering other shorter forms of the game, gives a much needed reprieve to the die hard Indian cricket fans. Only recently, we did a remarkable turnaround with the Lankan lions in their own den and before our fans could rejoice the team started slipping again. What does this roller coaster ride of our team do to the minds of some passionate fans. Here is my one rupee worth of thoughts based on personal experiences !
My earliest memories of Indian Cricket was the English team visiting India somewhere in the early 1970s, when the running commentary was used as the only means of communication to know the scores. Come Pongal, there will be a test match at Chennai and people used to be glued to the radio sets.
I still remember running to the then Madras Airport, when the Indian team landed after a victorious stint at West Indies and the birth of a new star 'Sunny' ! Since I was doing my Pre University in a college right opposite to the airport , couple of friends ran there during lunch time only to be told that the team had already left !
After many a struggle, I could sneak into the Chepauk stadium, courtesy a kind Sardar security man, to see Alan Knott bending like a bow and the sight of Chris old and Arnold with their golden mane menacingly rising like a wave from the nearby Marina to disturb the timber behind the Indian batsmen. I could still recall Salim Durani's towering sixes to win the test for India when Derek Underwood was making our life miserable after rain soaked the pitch for hardly an hour.
Then the spin trio of Bedi, Pras and Chandra enthralled the audience by spinning a web around the Windies in Chepauk , which was seen by a local crowd of Mylapore at the then Raja Rajeswari school, opposite to my house, for a ticket of Re 1/- on a common Television set ! The memory of Bedi's vicious spinning ball drawing Clive Lloyd forward only to have the bails whipped out in a flash by Farookh Engineer is still green.
But then India winning a match was few and far in between, in those days ! Just to hear the exploits of Sunny and the maiden century of Gundappa Viswanath at Kanpur on his debut- if memory still serves right Ananda vikatan released a special cover story of Vish on that occasion- I used to listen to the commentary. How I wish I preserved those photos of the giant Tony Grieg cradling Vish after his ton and the same Tony going down on his knees to appeal to the crowd to maintain calm, as he was finding it difficult to focus with such a roar around !Then the drubbing of 42 All Out in England and the torturous route Indians took to lay the windies low against the menacing pace of their quartet and the stubborn , Anshuman Gaekwad limping back to the pavilion with bruises all over, but ensuring a victory that turned Indian cricket around.
The real interest in the game peaked with Kapil's devils making history in 1983 and I can recall even now coming out of the house with my bro, in the dead of night to see neighbors letting out fire crackers ! As if to prove this was not a lucky streak of victory, India repeated the same with a win the Benson and Hedges cup, with our team almost dominating every match played with either the bat or ball, culminating in our team doing the lap of honour on the Audi car of our 'Champion of Champions' ! Then there were some rare instances of our shutting down the TV late in the night for a hopeless cause only to find the next morning that Kirti Azad created history with some meaty shots to win the game. As if to keep the spectator interest alive, Indian team always made it a point to rout Pakistan and that perhaps sowed the seed for the current passion and emotional rivalry on and off the field, whenever these two teams clashed.
The dreamy phase ended with that last ball six of Miandad and it was the turn of Pakistan to run through every match we played. With the advent of Sachin , came the rekindled phase when he made it a point to strike whenever he was out on the field. Who could forget the little master's repeated exploits on that sand stormed night in Sharjah to lay the mighty Aussies low and snatch the cup from the steely grip of Steve waugh! I sincerely feel the generation that watched Sachin play is the blessed one as history will keep talking about his exploits for decades to come.
Around Sachin was developing a strong team for India with the likes of Saurav, Dravid, Kumble and Indians started believing that they could win every match they play. Young turks like Shewag, Yuvi, Kaif and Ghambir provided the right foil and when the team struck gold again in 2011, there was rarely any talk about how the team deserved the same. To ride on the strong shoulders of MSD who stood out as a captain on par with with the likes of Tony Lewis and his icy demeanor under trying situations , endeared people to him, to grow along with the team.
As rightly pointed out by the great skipper himself, World Cup is not the personal property of any team and one has to fight through their skin to deserve its possession. With the increase in expectation and enhancement of technology, the competitive nature has risen to unimaginable proportions as billions of dollars are also involved as stake. The passion has risen to mercurial heights with the Asian fans even willing to offer their lives, rather foolishly, for the victory of their favorite team !
Despite the presence of Greats like Sachin, the ride of India was not without the hiccups as happened in the Kolkatta semi final against the Lankans and also that dream spell of Akram that folded the Indian tail as soon as Sachin was held in that gripping Chennai test.
India and Australia have always been fighting to assert their supremacy , be it in any form , as happened in that historic tied test in Chennai !
So, the common Indian cricket fan has been taken carefully through brilliant performances, both from Individual and group, to such an extent that they find it difficult to digest any slip-ups. But the game has taught us to digest both - the victories and others - and just enjoy the game.
So, let us enjoy the game, applaud the performances, not question the pitches and umpires, as they are all part of the game. After all, this game is being played and watched with all such vagaries for many years and let us continue to enjoy the ride !
Cricket, as a game will also continue to stoop to deceive and win to warm the cockles of the fans' heart , at the most unexpected time, showing its color!
My earliest memories of Indian Cricket was the English team visiting India somewhere in the early 1970s, when the running commentary was used as the only means of communication to know the scores. Come Pongal, there will be a test match at Chennai and people used to be glued to the radio sets.
I still remember running to the then Madras Airport, when the Indian team landed after a victorious stint at West Indies and the birth of a new star 'Sunny' ! Since I was doing my Pre University in a college right opposite to the airport , couple of friends ran there during lunch time only to be told that the team had already left !
After many a struggle, I could sneak into the Chepauk stadium, courtesy a kind Sardar security man, to see Alan Knott bending like a bow and the sight of Chris old and Arnold with their golden mane menacingly rising like a wave from the nearby Marina to disturb the timber behind the Indian batsmen. I could still recall Salim Durani's towering sixes to win the test for India when Derek Underwood was making our life miserable after rain soaked the pitch for hardly an hour.
Then the spin trio of Bedi, Pras and Chandra enthralled the audience by spinning a web around the Windies in Chepauk , which was seen by a local crowd of Mylapore at the then Raja Rajeswari school, opposite to my house, for a ticket of Re 1/- on a common Television set ! The memory of Bedi's vicious spinning ball drawing Clive Lloyd forward only to have the bails whipped out in a flash by Farookh Engineer is still green.
But then India winning a match was few and far in between, in those days ! Just to hear the exploits of Sunny and the maiden century of Gundappa Viswanath at Kanpur on his debut- if memory still serves right Ananda vikatan released a special cover story of Vish on that occasion- I used to listen to the commentary. How I wish I preserved those photos of the giant Tony Grieg cradling Vish after his ton and the same Tony going down on his knees to appeal to the crowd to maintain calm, as he was finding it difficult to focus with such a roar around !Then the drubbing of 42 All Out in England and the torturous route Indians took to lay the windies low against the menacing pace of their quartet and the stubborn , Anshuman Gaekwad limping back to the pavilion with bruises all over, but ensuring a victory that turned Indian cricket around.
The real interest in the game peaked with Kapil's devils making history in 1983 and I can recall even now coming out of the house with my bro, in the dead of night to see neighbors letting out fire crackers ! As if to prove this was not a lucky streak of victory, India repeated the same with a win the Benson and Hedges cup, with our team almost dominating every match played with either the bat or ball, culminating in our team doing the lap of honour on the Audi car of our 'Champion of Champions' ! Then there were some rare instances of our shutting down the TV late in the night for a hopeless cause only to find the next morning that Kirti Azad created history with some meaty shots to win the game. As if to keep the spectator interest alive, Indian team always made it a point to rout Pakistan and that perhaps sowed the seed for the current passion and emotional rivalry on and off the field, whenever these two teams clashed.
The dreamy phase ended with that last ball six of Miandad and it was the turn of Pakistan to run through every match we played. With the advent of Sachin , came the rekindled phase when he made it a point to strike whenever he was out on the field. Who could forget the little master's repeated exploits on that sand stormed night in Sharjah to lay the mighty Aussies low and snatch the cup from the steely grip of Steve waugh! I sincerely feel the generation that watched Sachin play is the blessed one as history will keep talking about his exploits for decades to come.
Around Sachin was developing a strong team for India with the likes of Saurav, Dravid, Kumble and Indians started believing that they could win every match they play. Young turks like Shewag, Yuvi, Kaif and Ghambir provided the right foil and when the team struck gold again in 2011, there was rarely any talk about how the team deserved the same. To ride on the strong shoulders of MSD who stood out as a captain on par with with the likes of Tony Lewis and his icy demeanor under trying situations , endeared people to him, to grow along with the team.
As rightly pointed out by the great skipper himself, World Cup is not the personal property of any team and one has to fight through their skin to deserve its possession. With the increase in expectation and enhancement of technology, the competitive nature has risen to unimaginable proportions as billions of dollars are also involved as stake. The passion has risen to mercurial heights with the Asian fans even willing to offer their lives, rather foolishly, for the victory of their favorite team !
Despite the presence of Greats like Sachin, the ride of India was not without the hiccups as happened in the Kolkatta semi final against the Lankans and also that dream spell of Akram that folded the Indian tail as soon as Sachin was held in that gripping Chennai test.
India and Australia have always been fighting to assert their supremacy , be it in any form , as happened in that historic tied test in Chennai !
So, the common Indian cricket fan has been taken carefully through brilliant performances, both from Individual and group, to such an extent that they find it difficult to digest any slip-ups. But the game has taught us to digest both - the victories and others - and just enjoy the game.
So, let us enjoy the game, applaud the performances, not question the pitches and umpires, as they are all part of the game. After all, this game is being played and watched with all such vagaries for many years and let us continue to enjoy the ride !
Cricket, as a game will also continue to stoop to deceive and win to warm the cockles of the fans' heart , at the most unexpected time, showing its color!
"Wonderful re-collection! The words had flown fluently, shows the passion for cricket and writing!! Great!!!" wrote Mr U.Prakasham on 29-Nov-2015
ReplyDelete"I never knew you are such an ardent follower of cricket. You have mentioned some minute details and statistics which only a die hard fan can remember. Good one..." commented R.S.Ramachandran on 30-Nov-2015
ReplyDelete