Selection Day

 

We celebrated the decade we spent after the monumental six at the Wankhede on the 2^nd of April 2011. Was it the second-best day for a diehard Indian cricket fan or was it 18^th Jan earlier this year when Rishabh Pant jabbed going past the bowler for three runs to win Historic test at Gabba?  Another point to debate as the famous Marathi Author P L Deshpande has said: Cricket is more a sport of talking than actually playing it.

25^th June 1983 was the best day that changed cricket. At the helm was the greatest Indian cricketer in terms of talent and impact according to me: Kapil Dev. For those born in the mid-seventies, our cricketing experiences started with the sheer excitement Kapil brought on the field as an all-rounder.  This fairy tale story of the underdogs beating a champion like WI and beating England, Australia, and Zimbabwe (in that famous match) during the tournament was something out of this world. 

On 18^th January 2021, we observed a change of Guard for the ‘World‘s Best Team’ tag. The same event happened on 3^rd May 1995 at Sabina Park, Jamaica when Australia defeated WI by the same margin 2-1 in the well-fought series in the Caribbean.   WI team dominance of the 80s with its batsman and pace bowling was replaced on that day by the combined excellence of Australia. After the transition decade of the 90s, Aussies ruled the Naughties (the 2000s). Similarly after the transition decade of the 2010s, incidentally after the 2011 WC win, 2020’s will belong to India. And 18^th January was the start date.

Let’s provide statistics of the domination of the Indian team compared to Australia in all three formats in the last decade after 2^nd April 2011.  In Tests, India has won 54 out of 102 matches played, lost 30, and drawn 19 and a W/L ratio of 1.76. In comparison, Australia has won 54 out of 104 played, lost 34, and drawn 17 with a W/L ratio of 1.55.  In ODIs, out of 220 matches, India has won 136, Lost 72, and tied 5 with a W/L ratio of 1.888. Australia has played 190 and won 105, lost 75, and tied 1, with W/L ratio of 1.4. To complete the formats, in T20 out of 114 India has won 73, lost 36, and tied 2 with a W/L ratio of 2.02.  The ratios change significantly in tests after Jan 2015 when Kohli took over mid-series vs Australia after the sudden retirement of MS Dhoni.  The W/L ratio is 3.07. In ODIs after Jan 17 when Kohli took over, it became 2.28.   Indian fans have seen the dark days of rare victories amidst regular defeats in the 80s and 90s. Indian team foundation set by Ganguly in 2000s built further by Dravid, Kumble, and Dhoni has now culminated in the highest pinnacle winning against Australia in Australia that too at the famous stronghold of Gabbatoir. This has more significance than the statistics. With the popularity of Test going down, it’s not just about winning a bilateral series. It’s the handover of the mantle that makes it more historic.  

We Indians are not process-driven generally.  India now aspires to conquer every sector. This process-driven success template based on higher standards of fitness which results in better fielding, catching, and running between the wickets has taken things to next level in cricket as an example. Individual brilliance was always there in Indian cricket right from 1932. Gavaskar’s dream debut and Purple patch in 71 changed things a little bit in terms of resilience in Indian cricket but the current regime has made an impact and delivered. Thus we have dominated cricket in all formats despite ICC Silverware eluding us after 2^nd April 11 (   CT13 win was significant but was not a world cup just like Bensen and Hedges in 85). ICCT20 WC in 2007 completes the Top moment’s list. Reaching top test ranking in 09 was kind of underrated as it was based on home series wins.

2^nd April 2011 was significant as a tribute to the generation of Sachin, Dravid, and Ganguly, with overall brilliance of VVS, Kumble, Dhoni, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvi, Bhajji, Nehra and Zaheer. World Cups, ODIs and T20s are at top of the popularity charts.  On the other hand, 18^th January is a tribute to the next generation of Talent of likes of Pant, Bumrah, Pandya, Jadeja and an unlimited supply of a set of new backup players supported by the experience of Pujara, Rohit, Rahane, Ashwin, and Kohli. Now the next target of this world-beating Indian team is to backup this potential and convert it into ICC Silverware including the final of WTC.

Just as a leveler, like the zenith moments, let’s also try to rank the nadir moments. Despite the lack of occasion, the emotional impact of the Miandad’s six remains the lowest moment. WC 07 ouster would be the second-worst moment. The semifinal loss vs NZ in 19 ranks next as we were clear favorites.  The WC semifinal losses in Kolkata96 and Mumbai87 rank as well closer. The final loss to Aus in WC03 was kind of undermined due to winning vs Pak earlier.  CT Final loss in 2017 vs Pak and the dark away series in 2011 England and 11-12 Australia also features in there.  The dark era of the 90s created emotional trauma for fans but then we had that master blaster. He singlehandedly eased out things around him, provided a billion dreams and eternal hope during the liberalization era.

In between IPLs, we have seen the best ever cricket played by the Indian team across three formats with a depleted team, winning five out of six series. Our depth and will has been tested like never before including the infamous 36 all out, and the team somehow always came out with an answer. It’s been breathtaking. And 18^th Jan 2021 sums all this up and thus selected as the second-best day for an Indian Fan.