India's captain Rohit Sharma and New Zealand's captain Tom Latham shake hands after New Zealand won the second test cricket match against India, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, in Pune, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)
Nothing is certain except death and taxes. The invincibility that the Indian cricket team boasted of for a dozen years was only a cloak and not an iron-clad guarantee that was future-proof and would work forever. Having won 18 series on the trot at home, they were downed by the humble Kiwis, flightless birds that took wings on two Tests played in completely different conditions.
Team India’s record went for a toss but the doughtiness of the New Zealanders under Tom Latham had to be admired first while reserving the pity, rather than censure, for Rohit Sharma and his men.
Sharma’s batters appeared like babes in the woods, bowled out twice in conditions more akin to Christchurch than Bengaluru, the credit for which must go to the Kiwi pace bowlers, and again bowled out on a spinning pitch in Pune that was not an alarming turner of the Bunsen burner type on which much of this invincibility and winning streak were built.
The total lack of application on the part of the batters, save in one phase when the team was hopelessly behind after being shot out for 46, was evident when Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant fought back and restored respectability, but could do little to turn the verdict.
What the celebrated batting lineup did not do was to dig in and play it like red ball Test cricket, taking on pace and spin with tight technique and stolid temperament and playing it out session by session.
There is no reason to believe that every time a sports team fails the athletes are not deserving the huge sums of money they receive, especially Indian cricketers with their fat IPL pay cheques. However, it is true that this current set of players is a pampered lot, with major players receiving Rs 7 crore contracts a year getting to choose when and where and in which format they will play and when they will take rest. The treatment of our stars is more akin to that of favoured sons-in-law of the ultra-rich and they seem to have forgotten what a hard grind Test cricket is, and which won’t be forgiving of those who don’t display the grit to stick it out when the going gets tough.
The slam-bang glamour of the white ball seems to have ruined their appetite for the longer format and yet they are the world’s top-ranked Test team still atop the ladder of merit. Surely, they can pull themselves up from here to qualify for the WTC final and win it to prove that the loss to the Kiwis was only an aberration.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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