India has retained the prestigious Border Gavaskar trophy with emphatic victories over the visiting Australian side. While there is plenty of reason for Indian fans to be cheerful, the pathetic display of the Aussies came as a shocker to those who have seen the famous Aussie fighting spirit in the past. One just cannot imagine the world conquering Aussie teams of yesteryears caving in like this team has done.
Cricketing battles between the two nations have usually been hard fought competitions. The Australians used to reserve a special effort whenever they played in India. India has a reputation of being difficult to beat on home soil and the Australian captains knew that very well. They used to approach the task with great determination and cherish every victory very highly. The series in 2001 was labelled as the Final Frontier by Australian skipper Steve Waugh and it was an apt description for the cricket battle that ensued.
But this time it was a rout. After Australia lost by an innings and 132 runs in the first Test, it lost again by six wickets in the second Test. Thus India retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth consecutive time. Our players bowled magnificently. At Delhi, Ravindra Jadeja’s seven wicket haul and Ravi Ashwin’s deceptive flight had the Australian batters in a tizzy. They had no idea of how to counter this double spin attack.
India on the other hand played boldly and had the depth to create an insurmountable hurdle for the Aussies. Their spinner Nathan Lyon admitted this when he stated: “Axar and Ashwin are not lower order batters. In any other team they would be batting in the top six of the line up,” he said. Moreover the sweep shot that almost all Aussie batters employed to tackle the spinning ball, was a big blunder. The situation and pitch conditions were not right for sweeping without hesitation.
Take the case of Steve Smith. He is a highly experienced player and has played 92 Test matches so far. He has scored 30 centuries in Test cricket. In the past he has rarely used the sweep shot and on one occasion he stated in an interview that he does not favour the sweep shot against spinners. Yet in the second innings, facing Ravi Ashwin he tried to sweep and was out. What prompted him to commit suicide? It looked like the entire team had already decided to use the same shot against Indian spinners.
The fact is that the Australians have allowed themselves to come under psychological pressure. Ashwin and Jadeja are not just overcoming Aussies on the pitch but have also wreaked havoc in their minds. The Aussies have only themselves to blame for this situation. As everyone knows, sport is played not only on the field but inside the mind too. If a team approaches the task with confidence and determination, it will win on the field. If a team approaches with nervousness and hesitation, it will lose. That is what has happened to the Aussies.
It all began with their complaints about the pitch at Nagpur being tailored to suit Indian bowlers. Usually such statements are made to put pressure on the home team and prevent them from tailoring the pitch. But this time the players put themselves under pressure by such claims. And once the anxiety gripped their minds, they were unable to pull themselves out of the valley of fear.
So what lies ahead? Two more Test matches are looming–one, at Indore and the other at Ahmadabad. The Aussies need their confidence to be restored. Skipper Pat Cummins has left the scene and gone back to Australia for some personal reasons. But he will probably return soon. He and other dependable former players must advise the team and bring back the determination that Australia is famous for.
While it is always a great feeling to see the Indian team winning matches, no true cricket fan would like to see a weak and meek opposition. The fun and excitement of any sport happens only when two good teams fight it out and the victory comes in the last ball. A five-day Test match getting over within three days, as has happened now, is not worth watching. So the Aussies must pull up their socks and show us the bravery that their predecessors like Bill Lawry, Bobby Simpson, Alan Border and others used to show us in the past.
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