Today morning Krishnan tuned into the IND Vs AUS test match happening at Sydney. As it was the last day of play and India at that time were 5 down my mother started her prayers. Hanuma Vihari and Ashwin were at the crease. We went about our morning chores while keeping an eye on the progress of the match.
When Hanuma Vihari took 124 balls to score 15 and Ashwin likewise scored 33 off 122 balls, we realised that this may be a fine lesson in Grit for young cricketers. And it was ! India managed to draw a match that almost seemed tilted in Australia’s favour. If either Hanuma or Ashwin had got out, the next person in was an injured Jadeja. I am very fond of Jadeja and think very highly of him, but I don’t think he would have managed to hang in there for as long as these two did.
World over Test cricket has lost its following because the one-day and T20 formats have caught the fancy of the spectators. A lot of marketing efforts have paid off too. In my opinion very few current Indian cricketers have the patience for test cricket. To just hang in there …
Bruised but not Broken
Both Hanuma Vihari and Ashwin were injured. Ashwin’s wife had tweeted about how he was in unbearable pain last night. They both played for 3.5 hours to ensure a draw for India. Yes, commentators and cricket lovers may feel that they could have tried to win the match, but I think the circumstances were not in their favour. If either one of them had gotten out, we probably would have lost the match.
Draw was the win for today !
I am very impressed with Hanuma Vihari. For a very young cricketer to have that kind of patience is truly amazing. I don’t know how his cricketing career will be but he will be a success in life for sure.
Sledging, Racism and Australia
As someone who loves Masterchef Australia, I find the sledging and unsportsman like behaviour of Aussie cricketers surprising. In Masterchef it almost seems as though Australians are angels and just love having migrants becoming a part of their society. Aussie Cricketers on the other hand never play fair. Several incidents of racial slurs happen every time the Indian team tours Australia.
Australian cricketers retire and become angels once again … they immediately start working with slum children in India or sing with Asha Bhonsale !! :(. Ashwin seems to have handled the sledging well today.
Twice the ball was thrown at Hanuma Vihari by fielders and it hit him on his leg once. Why ? How would you react if he turned around and hit you with the bat while smiling benevolently ? There were several balls bowled targeting bodily injury rather than getting the batsman out. Are we still using “body line” tactics? Wasn’t that banned?
Aussie cricketers need a lesson in sportsmanship and “manners” while they are playing not after they retire.
Questions !
The big elephant in the Indian cricketing room is – why is Ashwin being sidelined? despite his obvious capabilities as an all rounder ? Is it Ravi Shastri’s doing or Virat Kohli’s ?
Million dollar question – Why is Indian cricket not more important than personal equations ?
Any answers ?