Page 45 - The Indian EYE 091721

SPORTS SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Indian Eye 45

think about it: india are so Bad that

they are actually Good

As acclaimed twentieth century writer Khalil Gibran once remarked,

“Exaggeration is truth that has lost its temper.”

ndia’s improbable victory in the 4th Test come together, the rest of the batters have
sent social media into frenzy. There already gone to the pavilion. Kohli is not
Iwere claims of it being the ‘greatest Test back at his best yet and Rahane seems to
team’ going around or the ‘best Indian Test have fallen off the charts altogether.
team.’ Although there is subtle merit to Even in the horrendous tours of 2011
these claims, I argue that this is just an over and 2014, I do not remember performances
exaggeration of the ground reality. like 36/9 or 78/10, let alone two. The bat-
ting collapses occur too frequently to be re-
how Good are team india? garded as a modern great. What made the
Sehwag-Dravid-Sachin-Laxman-Ganguly
here is no doubt that the Indian Fera great was their consistent overseas
cricket team has flourished in the
T21st century. With a thriving crick- batting performances without having the
eting culture, robust recruitment setup caliber of fast bowlers at their disposals in
throughout the country, monetary power in bRokeN CRiCket dReams the nets to practice with.
Now India finally has the bowling attack
the hands of the BCCI with the advent of to take 20 wickets consistently, but a batting
the IPL, and a prospering India A system, NITESH MATHUR line up that is not even close.
India has the greatest depth and resources
available. www.brokencricketdreams.com Greatest indian bowling attack
The rise of Mohammed Siraj, Washing-
ton Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, However, is this team the best? I do not he reason India is succeeding away
Suryakumar Yadav, and Ishan Khan across think so. from home can be attributed to two
formats in less than six months attests to Tfactors: (1) comparatively lower
this claim. Collapse a day does Not keep the standard of opposition, and (2) fast bowling
unit.
overseas victories doctor away Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jas-
prit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvnesh-
ndia came back from 0-1 to seal the eam India is brilliant at comebacks, war Kumar, Shardul Thakur provide regular
Border-Gavaskar series 2-1. Stories but why is there a need of comebacks
Igalore and the legend of this series will Tin the first place? breakthroughs while Jadeja and Ashwin can
carry in the minds of fans forever. Simi- The 2000s Australia team set the bench- play both as wicket-taking options and chief
larly, a defeat in the third Test against En- mark for Test greatness. Did you ever hear controller depending on the conditions.
Since the South Africa tour of 2018, In-
gland did not faze India. In the 4th Test, them coming from dire circumstances? dian bowlers have taken all 20 wickets by
a 99-run deficit was overcome via valiant Well, not much because they were so dom- pace on multiple occasions. Injury replace-
century by Rohit Sharma and memorable inant, a comeback was not even necessary. ments are readily available as well.
contributions in both innings by Shardul The same is true for the current World
Thakur. Test Championship winner, the New Zea- so is india Good, bad, or Just okay?
To give you an idea how far India have land cricket team. When they win, they win
come along—This is India’s 4th victory emphatically. he bowling attack? The best in their
in Australia & England since December If India are to instill their greatness in nation’s history. Their batting? Eh.
(and 8th since 2018 in Australia, England, cricketing folklore, they must replicate their TNot so hot. India might have one
and South Africa). In the decade before, home dominance away as well. of the best line ups on paper but are defi-
India’s only moments of glory were Head- nitely not the best Test team going around.
ingly 2002, Adelaide 2003, England series Current batting side does Not fire in Or at least just not performing to their full
win in 2007, and Perth 2008 (coincidentally Unison potential yet. The flaws in India’s team per-
Rahul Dravid contributing with 148, 233 & formance combined with miraculous come-
72*, captain, and 93). L Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Chetesh- backs and recency bias actually amplify the
This Indian team is good. Really good. war Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rishabh degree of their quality. India are so bad
They have the spirit to come back from any KPant, and Ajinkya Rahane are all sometimes that it brings out the best in the
circumstance, and they just never give up. good batters individually, but they have team. Still a long way to go achieve domi-
The attitude instilled by Ravi Shastri-Virat rarely fired in unison. nance.
Kohli is evident in the body language of When the top order bats at its best, the In other words, India are so bad that
each and every player. middle order collapses. When Pujara-Pant they are actually good. Think about it.

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