A Tale of 2 Test Matches

The Indian Republic Day week was phenomenal for several reasons. Folks planning trips due to the Long weekend, The Iconic Lalbagh Flower Show in Bangalore, the Republic Day Parade (Which I got to know through Radio that lasts for 3 days until 29th Each Yr.. I’ll Bet that many didn’t know this) etc etc… But for Cricket Lovers, it was a mind blowing week and one that would be spoken about for many years to come. In One corner of the world, we have an almost unknown and School Boyish looking West-Indian Team taking on the Current ODI world Champions in their so called Fortress, GABBA in Brisbane. Just FYI, since the conclusion of the WTC last year, Aussies have since played 9 Test Matches (thrice the number of matches Windies had played..just 3). Was a typical David Vs Goliath Situation. In the Indian Sub Continent, we had the Englishmen touring India playing a 5 Test Match Series 1st of which was going to be played in the Land of Nizams and Biriyani, Hyderabad. It’s a no-Brainer that this would be the match that most of us would follow/be glued to. We have ODIs, T20 and even T10, but there is still something fascinating and romantic about watching a great Test Match. A Good Test Match is something that Folks would Remember for Ages and fondly recall like it like it just happened. The Ashes Edgbaston Test match in 2005, The Adelaide Test that India Won with the Rishab Pant Heriocs or what is arguably the Greatest Test Innings (In my opinion).. Sachins 241* without a Single Cover Drive in SCG…. The list can go on and on… The Indian Republic day week gave us cricket lovers a Love Triangle. The Ind-Eng Test Match started on a flat note and all of a sudden the Englishmen fell like a pack of cards managing just 246 (Good.. but not good enough). The Pitch was so unpredictable that batsman couldn’t predict which way the ball was going to spin or even spin at all. The only thing that we could be sure of is that the ball was keeping low. When the Indians were Batting the 1st Innings, it felt like they were batting on an entirely different surface. Runs were coming easy and more importantly, quickly. Indians were playing BazBall and playing it better (atleast we thought so..).. Indians ended the 1st Innings at 436.. A lead of 190 runs and firmly in control of the match (At least we all thought so..).

In the Land Down Under, the Windies were putting on a show of their own. After being 5/65, the Lower Order Showed Tremendous resilience to take the Windies to a respectable 311. The Aussies started with a collapse at 4/24 and managed to come to 289 due to a Heroic performance from the skipper and Alex Carey, but what shocked everyone was the decision to Declare with 22 runs behind and 1 Wicket still left… In the 2nd Innings, the Englishmen came with a different game plan, “Bowl where you want, We will only Reverse Sweep”. To a large extent it worked specially for Ollie Pope who was batting like he was possessed. A monumental 196 despite an inspired Fast Bowling spell from Bumrah on a track which seemed to only favor spinners until then to take 4 wickets including that of Alex Carey. India had a Modest Total of 230 to chase and comfortably win the test match with a day to Spare. Yes… We all thought it would be a walk in the Park, but the Englishmen had the upper hand morally. Despite a lightning quick 80 in the 1st Innings, Jaiswal was playing like someone was holding a Gun to his head and saying “Play Badly or I will Shoot You”. He was just not able to but bat on ball and finally collapsed with a catch to Ollie Pope and Fwd Short Leg. Just like the saying “Misery Deserves company”, Shubman Gill followed suit, with a simple catch to none other than Mr.Pope again. Seemed like Pope was Omnipresent in this test match. Post WC, Gill’s form seems to be in a downward spiral. Despite resistance from the captain who scored 39 runs, the rest of the team started falling like dominoes. A Late effort from Ashwin and KS Bharat was not enough to get us over the line. We fell 20 runs Short with an entire Day left in the game. That’s what was heartbreaking about this Match. If any one of the batsmen had channeled their inner Dravid or Pujara, India could have surely won the match. In Aussie Land, something exciting was brewing up. Aussies managed to restrict a pumped up West Indies Team to just 190. The icing on the cake for Aussies was Starc bowling a Screamer of a Yorker at the foot of the best WestIndian bowler of this series who was forced to Retire Hurt. Steve Smith who was opening the batting for the 1st time in his career in this series had not contributed much in the 1st Test in Adelaide nor in the 1st Innings of this Test Match. In the 2nd Innings, He was playing in a league of his own. While others around him were struggling to score, he was striking the ball with authority and Class. The Aussies were at 3/113 and anyone at that time would have turned the TV off with the thought that Aussies would whitewash the Windies. One West-Indian had other plans.. Remember the name..”Shemar Joseph”. Despite having his toe injured by the Starc Yorker, it seems like he said “Im gonna do one thing and One Thing Only.. Bowl straight.. Bowl Fast.. hit me if you can”. Aussies did manage to hit him for 60 runs in 10 overs but in the process, pure unadulterated Fast bowling was Winning. Aussies were clueless to Shemar Josephs 90+ MPH rockets. Seemed like Aussies had come prepared for a Geometry Exam but question paper turned out to be Trignometry ;) . Despite an inspired unexpected scoop sweep from Steve Smith for 6, Aussies agonizingly found themselves 8 runs Short. The GABBA fortress had been breached for the 2nd time.. First by East Indians (Virat & Team) and now by West-Indians (Pun Intended).

Few Takeaways IMO

• Pat Cummins Decision to declare with 1 Wicket left and 22 Runs behind cost them the match. Seemed like he wanted the record to show that Aussies were not ALL OUT or he didn’t have faith in Hazelwood’s batting abilities. A Leader must Have Faith in his Team Members. U never know when they might Surprise you. Hazelwood could have hit a Quickfire 10-15 runs which could have changed the complexion of the whole game.
• The Whole universe of cricket lovers are blaming Rohit Sharma for not being able to take the responsibility of winning the match, but the Captain cannot play Solo all the time. Team must learn to Support the Leader in times of Crisis.
• Indian Team were playing slightly unnaturally as they were trying to play like BAZBALL. We should understand what our strengths and harness them. If we try to measure our abilities with someone else’s Yardstick, its almost always going to be incorrect.????? During Difficult times, Do What YOU do Best. Imitation Games won’t always be successful. If Indians had played normal Test Cricket, we would have probably Won the match.
• Don’t get intimidated by the size of your opponent. Your opponent may land a 100 blows, you only need one knockout Punch. This is what Shemar Joseph did.

Long Live Test Cricket!!!?