5 lessons that the Indian fans should learn from the Ashes series

Indian cricket fans

Two Ashes in one year and both producing contrasting results. If the one in England was dominated by Captain Cook’s army, the year-ender in Australia was a perfect payback from Michael Clarke‘s men. But there was a difference in the way the two series’ went. In England, Cook’s team dominated the Australians and played quality cricket to grab the urn but in Australia, things were a little more dramatic.

Winning a series against your arch rivals is one thing but catching them by the scruff of their neck, rubbing their faces in the dirt and tormenting them to a point where they lose their mojo is an achievement that seemed beyond this Australian side.

Over the last two months, Australia played some fascinating cricket. Mitchell Johnson, Michael Clarke, David Warner, Brad Haddin, Chris Rogers, Ryan Harris and even Nathan Lyon stepped up with exemplary performances to overpower England and earn back the urn. But more than the individual performances, it was the revival of team Australia that stood out in the series. They not only trounced England, but also left them reeling with self doubt and indelible scars.

As a neutral it was series to enjoy but as a fan, there was a lot to learn. Especially, for the Indian cricket fans, this Ashes series should be a guide book on how to support a team.

And here are the five things that all Indian fans should’ve learnt.

Have faith in your captain

Back your skipper – He’s the man!

India is the only country that mocks at a cricket captain who has two World Cups, almost every ODI trophy and the distinction of taking his team to the top of the rankings in both Tests and ODIs on his CV. MS Dhoni is perhaps one the most successful captains in the world yet in his own country, his achievements are surprisingly downplayed and he is often tagged as “lucky”.

Of course, his career will always have the black mark of suffering two whitewashes abroad but so is the captaincy tale of Michael Clarke. After losing the series 4-0 in India, Clarke went on to lose the Ashes 3-0 in England. Yes, the fans were disappointed and the selectors were concerned but no one, absolutely no one, went on a rampage to remove Clarke from the helm of Australian cricket.

The selectors pinned their hopes on him for a revival and by the end of year, Clarke has turned things around and how! If MS Dhoni had a fantastic year with the Indian team, Clarke too has cemented his place in the Australian folk lore with this resounding revival of team Australia.

Just like MS Dhoni, Clarke has been slammed for backing players of his choice and has often faced criticism for playing favourites. But at the end of the day, they are leaders of the nation for a reason and the fans must understand that the stakes are much higher for the man who flips the coin.

Moral of the story - The Skipper knows best.

Don’t mock at home series wins

Playing to your strength isn’t a weakness

Another lesson for the Indian cricket fans. We, in India, don’t value home wins and often tag the Indian cricket team as – “Tigers at home and Lambs abroad” .

But isn’t it true for every team?

India loses in Australia, Australia loses in England, England loses in Australia, South Africa loses in UAE and Pakistan loses in Zimbabwe!

True, India has not won anything abroad for sometime but they don’t really lose much at home either! If Indians are not adept to playing the short ball on a green top, the foreign players are mostly clueless on dust bowls.

If Suresh Raina can’t handle the bouncers, he is tagged as not good enough but someone like Jonny Bairstow is still regarded as the “future” even after he fails miserably to decipher the doosra!

Indians can’t play fast bowling, agreed; but England couldn’t handle Johnson, and worse they gave Lyon a five wicket haul. So does that mean that the English can’t handle either pace or spin?

Moral of the Story: Ghar mein har koi sher hota hai and it’s not something to be ashamed of.

Move on from your golden generation and back the talented ones

Hail the new gen

The biggest lesson for the Indian fans. We in India suffer from obnoxious bouts of nostalgia. For us “what was” is more interesting than “what is” and “what can be”. We are in love with our history and our past heroes and we are so wrapped in their aura that sometimes, we fail to acknowledge the present and the future. We love comparisons and are often dismissive of the emergence of youngsters who threaten to emulate our past superstars.

Similar to India, Australia too, lost its golden generation of cricket. If India saw Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman bid goodbye to the game, Australia had likes of Mike Hussey and Ricky Ponting walk into the sunset.

However, unlike us, the Australians are not dismissive of the emergence of the Warners and the Steven Smiths. We still sigh about Dada’s captaincy but they trust in Clarke. They accept the loss of the flamboyance of Adam Gilchrist but they are happy to invest in the solidity of Haddin. They miss the presence of Matthew Hayden but welcome the roughness of Dave Warner.

They don’t compare Steven Smith to a Mike Hussey and support a misfiring George Bailey but most importantly, they don’t troll their front line spinner.

Moral of the story: Stop living in the flashback, back the future stars.

Stop sniggering at IPL

It all started during the IPL

Can you believe an IPL being held while India is taking on Pakistan in a Test series?

No, we can’t and if it happened, we would tear BCCI apart, from limb to limb. However, the Aussies don’t have a problem with the Big Bash League being held in between an ongoing Ashes series.

We love blaming the IPL. Anything that goes wrong in Indian cricket is due to the Indian Premier League. But look closely, the IPL has done wonders for Indian and world cricket. For India, it’s been a supply channel of untapped talent and has produced talents like R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma and now, Sanju Samson.

Even the Australians must thank the IPL for their Ashes win. The last IPL resurrected the careers of two of their best performers in the recently concluded Ashes – David Warner and Mitchell Johnson.

Moral of the story - The IPL matters.

Be the 12th man for your team

The Aussie crowd really got under Broad’s skin!

Do you support your team when it’s losing? A team doesn’t need support when it’s doing well but it needs the good wishes of the fans when things aren’t going their way. The Indian fans rubbished the Indian team during the recent India-South Africa ODI series. Agreed, India was poor in the two ODIs against South Africa but did they deserve such a severe backlash from the fans?

However, those same fans were back when India bounced back in the Test series but sorry to say, that’s not what real fans do. The Aussie fans showed how to be the 12th man of a team. Right from Brisbane, the fans had the team’s back. They got under Stuart Broad’s skin and clearly got onto England’s nerves.

Not only the fans, the media too, did their bit. They targeted Broad, made him the Phantom warrior and cornered England into a very uncomfortable hole. The results were evident – Jonathan Trott gave in, Graeme Swann gave up and the urn was snatched back.

Moral of the story - Win or lose, it’s your team, stick by it!