India vs England: A Gutted Indian Fan on the Champion Team's Dramatic Fall

How on earth did we get here??

Roll back to 2nd April 2011; India have just won the World Cup, tears of joy are rolling down my cheeks. Now cut to the present, August 13 2011; the tears are rolling alright, but certainly not of joy.

They say the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Over several years, Indian cricket fans have been used to the fact that every time our team tour outside India, our star-studded batting line-up instills more fear into us than it does into the opposition. We have always been nervous of whether our famed line-up will live up to its expectations or not. What we have not been used to this long is the tag of the No.1 team in the world, that we gained primarily on brilliant performances in a string of several home series. Not that India have not played well in the last 3 years, but one can’t help but notice that a false sense of security has crept in.

When you are the No. 1 test team in the world and you’ve just won the World Cup, expectations from fans will be sky high. You will be expected to play like the best team in the world. More than winning or losing, it’s about playing with confidence, seizing the moments, consistently putting up a good fight and maintaining your pride throughout even during dark days, proving at the very minimum that you are not pushovers.

In the ongoing series in England, which has been one of the most traumatic for the Indian team, they have not displayed any of the aforementioned qualities; those very much expected of the No.1 team in the world.

Playing with confidence: The way the Indian batsmen have played over the course of this series, one would not be mistaken to think that the meaning of the word ‘confidence’ has changed in their dictionaries. Suresh Raina being so petrified of the short ball that he got bowled out of straight and full length deliveries, has said all there is to be said about the team’s performances. Complete lack of confidence.

Seizing the moments: It is not that India have completely rolled over and died this series in England. They certainly had their moments in the first two test matches. At Lord’s, when India had England on the mat at 62-5, MS Dhoni made a blunder. He started the afternoon session with Praveen Kumar, just after Ishant Sharma had wrecked havoc the previous session. The moment was there to be seized, but the team let it slip away. England survived the onslaught and went on to the win the test. In the second test, England were 124-8 . In walked Stuart broad, who was given the time and room to take them to 222. Another instance was during the Indian innings. India were 259-4, we rolled over for 286.

Not one, but three clear instances I have illustrated, where India clearly had the upper hand, but let the chances slip away and England escape with their shortcomings. The so-called Champion team failed to seize the moments and has paid dearly for this.

Putting up a fight: It’s best that we don’t talk about this, for India have anything but displayed any genuine signs of fighting. With the lack of that, the team’s pride and ability to instill fear in the opponents as the best team in the world has gone down the drain.

Harsha Bhogle puts it that all great sides in the past were built upon great bowling units; the West Indies in the 70′s and the Australians in the late 90′s and the early 2000′s being clear examples. India have been the exception to this rule. India’s strength has always been its batting and it will always remain that way, especially with the pitches that the country has which will never produce great fast bowlers. Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath are the only noteworthy mentions. Zaheer Khan has been great, but can never be considered in the same bracket of legends such as Courtney Walsh or Glenn McGrath.

Even when we were on our way to the No.1 spot, our victories were because of our batsmen performing. I find it hard to remember an instance when India got out for a paltry score and our bowlers brought us back into the match. This argument has its proof in the ongoing series in England. Our bowlers, never the best in the world, have done all they could with the exception of Harbhajan Singh. But it is India’s batsmen who have let the team down badly, who need to get their acts together quickly if the team is to salvage anything out of this horror series.