Time was when the West Indies with Greenidge in the lead chased over 300 in a day to eventually help deliver a "blackwash". India chased 347 on the last day to tie a test match. Several other such examples abound of champion teams having taken up the challenge to assert their superiority over their rivals. With this game, India has also given England a huge boost.
The art of percentage cricket has been mastered by India. However, the mantle of World Champions, the instinct of a winner, the swagger of a better team doesn't belong to India. Despite being World Champions and the number one ranked team, India is a defensive, percentage cricket under-performer. They are really number one in an academic ranking, but not really the best team out there.
Going for it would have meant that India either win or draw the series. How can India and Dhoni be satisfied with a 1-0 series win when a winnable game is given up? As far as I am concerned India are wimps. They are world champions of series wins perhaps, but not cricket. They approach the number one ranking like preparing for an academic test. Sure, they have garnered the points, but they have mastered no one and nothing.
Sure, this behavior can be rationalized, but this team gave up it's "great" tag today. It's made up of statistically superior players, but this is a team of wimps with no heart and no pride. Any team that worries about losing more than wanting the rush of a win is not a champion team.
A lot of people may go home feeling happy with the series win in the West Indies, but as far as I am concerned every game needs to be won or taken to it's logical conclusion. Giving up in the middle of a chase is a loss. India has a long way to go and needs to acquire some guts before they are respected as World Champions. Today, they are not champs, they are wimps.
3 comments:
This article may have been valid had a full strength team been playing.
But it wasn't.
And before talking of wimpy teams and percentage cricket, please provide examples of teams missing 3 of their regular top order batsmen and still chasing 4-5 runs an over on Day 5.
PS: A full-strength Indian team chased down 389 in the 4th innings vs England in 2008 (the highest in the sub-continent and among the highest ever). They also chased down 3 scores in excess of 200 in the 4th innings in a single year (2010)... another record. So think twice before labelling a team as a "defensive, percentage cricket under-performer."
i was about to write a comment but after typing one word the phone call came and my thots got bit derailed... then i decided to call it off and not wrote the comment thinking that i might encounter more phone calls if i decide to write a comment here... so i gave up...
Anon, I completely agree with you. Also, this Indian team never made any claims to being great.
True, they shut shop too early, and could have gone for a win.
England, with a full strength team will be a truer test and any remarks on this team will be more valid then.
In the meantime, I'm stopping to drop by on this blog. Well-meaning as the authors may be, they seem to lack any real perspective, depth of thought, or even sophistication of language. Not really worth my time anymore.
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