CRICKET IN SWITZERLAND GOES PINK - A CRICKET BALL FOR MODERN TIMES

From 2015 season, Cricket Switzerland is using Dukes pink balls

Cricket in its traditional form was and is played primarily with red leather balls. Cricket balls through the ages were red because the ball-manufacturers in the 18th century England preferred 'red' dyes. This tradition carried on for generations until the time cricket got immersed in the world of commercialisation. Though, there has been one-day internationals with coloured clothing, night games and T20's - cricket at its core is played with red balls as it happens to be one of the few surviving cricketing traditions.

 

A GAME OF COLOURS - RED, WHITE, TO........PINK

The thought of coloured clothing disturbed this 'traditional' aspect of the sport. 'Red' ball, no longer fitted in with coloured clothing. The colour of the ball was changed to 'white', which meant - coloured clothing and night games were a reality and deemed practical for growth of the sport. In recent years, the governing body of cricket along with many cricket associations have pushed for day-night test matches (it has always been a day affair) with white clothing and thereby the ball required a new colour, something more conducive for the on-field personnel, spectators and to the broadcasters. Red, not suitable under lights and white ball with white clothing would be a disastrous combination - 'pink' became the unanimous colour.

The word 'pink' has a long history. In the 14^th century, anything that meant "to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern" was called 'to pink'. Of course, the decorations were of the flower 'Dianthus' which in Greek meant 'flower of Zeus', as named by Theophrastus, a Greek botanist. The colour of these flowers gave rise to the word 'pink' which we commonly use.

In the new millennium, an international cricket series included five-day affair 'tests' and coloured clothing 'one-day internationals'. With the advent of T20 cricket, the game shrunk - and the three hour cricket became an instant hit. Various leagues most notably, the Indian Premier League created ripples and cricket unleashed its newest and the bravest commercial avatar. This fast food formula made money and thus rocked the wooden chairs of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) - the governing body, the custodian who has the ultimate say on the laws of the game!

CHANGING WITH TIMES IS SMARTNESS

Since that landmark MCC's decision in 2009, when the committee waved a green flag to experiment with 'pink' balls, there has been several matches that were played (on a trial basis) with these new coloured balls. A women's international match between England and Australia as a part of Pink Sunday programme to support Breast Cancer Campaign happened to one of the first instances in international cricket to experiment with the pink balls.

In the last six years, there has been a first-class match between Durham and MCC played under lights at Abu Dhabi, a first-class match in the Caribbean and recently Cricket Australia has been at the forefront in having the combination of 'pink balls', 'white clothing' and 'day-night' first-class cricket work. It even created trials with the broadcaster last year and there is very likely, later this year, cricket would witness another revolution - the first day-night test match.

SWITZERLAND AMONG THE FEW TO USE PINK BALLS

For Cricket Switzerland and its cricket playing fraternity, the decision to switch to pink balls starting from 2015 season was simple and logical. Led by the President and ably supported by clubs and other committee members, the idea of pink balls and its experimentation was met with little resistance.

Switzerland doesn’t have the luxury or benefit of cricket only grounds & stadiums with sight-screens, and the background can often be white concrete sports buildings or apartment buildings, red brick housing, dark red & brown mountains, trees & forests (green in the summer, brown/red in the Spring and particularly in the Autumn).

'Visibility' is key when you play in the pastures of Swiss Alps in three different seasons

The above factors can make the traditional red ball difficult to see as a batsman, even more difficult as a fielder. The white alternative is better, but still not ideal as the facilities at public school and sports authorities are often white or grey. So the white ball gets lost in these too. Additionally the white ball tends to be of inferior quality compared to the red and thereby quickly loses its shine and colour on the rough artificial surfaces we have at most grounds, turning grey!

But mountains, buildings, stadiums, forests are not pink! Once we got over the array of jokes about using pink balls, the trials (for over a year) showed there are technical advantages of using the pink ball. They swing much like the red ball, and the one used (Duke's) retains its shine longer than the white and importantly its shape. Batsman see it better, spectators also find it easier to follow and the aging umpires also find it easier to judge.

Pink balls are easy to spot and it helps umpires and the spectators 

Cricket Switzerland believes in maintaining the traditional aspects of the sport (playing in whites); however, for practical purposes - like in this case turning to 'pink balls', it is simply a case of discovering a 'winning formula'. 

UNLIKE THE LAST MAN STANDING

A little over fifteen years after playing what many say is one of the best innings played on Indian soil, I still get goose bumps whenever I watch the innings of 136 made at Chennai.

Yes, it was played by a batsman named 'Sachin Tendulkar' - and the name itself makes one come up with opinions. After all he happens to be one of the greats this sport has ever witnessed. However, when you look at that innings in isolation, the real treat begins. After many years of watching the highlights of that particular innings, I must say 'looking in isolation' made me marvel at those strokes and the manner in which he built his innings.

It was on a Sunday - my day began with watching the highlights from the 3rd day of the Test match, the preview with the ESPN commentary panel and the live match itself. I was a fourteen year-old and subscribed to the fact and belonged to the club of people who believed - as long as Sachin is at the crease, India wins!

India started the fourth day at 40 for the loss of both the openers. They had to make 231 runs in the allotted 180 overs or less. That's a little over one run an over. Easy? Not quite. One thing was sure, if India were to bat for 180 overs, then victory was assured. The challenge was on - can Indian batsmen battle it out on a pitch that would deteriorate with time?

If ever I have seen Sachin struggle to score runs, this innings would be one of them. For a large duration of the first session, it seemed that way. After scoring a duck in the first innings, he showed a lot more intent, played for time and the merits of the Pakistani bowling attack led by their skipper Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq. First it was Dravid, then Azharuddin and out went Ganguly - all of them in the first session (never mind the last two being slightly dubious decisions).

The ball was turning and Saqlain looked threatening and on the other end Akram was menacing with his variations and angles. Sachin patiently built his innings as India went through a period where no boundary was scored for 111 balls. His fifty off 136 balls contained six boundaries and the innings of his half-century had already consumed a little over 200 minutes. Clearly, time was not the issue - but it was also not easy to score runs.

Forging a steady partnership with Nayan Mongia, Sachin started to score more freely and was in a more familiar territory. Nadeem Khan, the left-arm spinner did turn the ball square without any luck while Shahid Afridi did not pose any threat. Practically, the questions were asked by Saqlain with his variations on a turning pitch.

During those days, Saqlain Mushtaq was a bowler Pakistan heavily relied on - especially on the sub-continent wickets. He was experimental and had plenty of tricks by changing his flight, loop and angle regularly which resulted him in picking a lot of wickets. Once Sachin started to pick Saqlain with ease and score boundaries of his bowling, the chase was on and Indian victory was well on its way.

One by one Sachin tackled all the challenges, ticking one box at a time and even had luck come his way when he survived a caught-behind while on 90. And then the next two deliveries - off it went for boundaries and Tendulkar now was just two short of a wonderful hundred. He had scored 16 runs in that over and the last shot - a slog sweep which gave him a boundary also had him nurture his back.

He was in his tenth year of international cricket and a few months away from turning 26 - it was a sight one had never witnessed. It was overlooked by the commentators, spectators, viewers and possibly him too? until the time it got severe and was visibly hurting his fluency.

It didn't take much time to score a single and reach his 18th test hundred - his third in Chennai and first against Pakistan. The whole crowd erupted, gave him an thunderous applause. They knew what he had achieved until that point. He had scored a hundred fighting like an injured gladiator. India needed exactly 100 more to win the match. Victory was still a far cry.

He took just over 100 minutes to score his second fifty and 99 deliveries which had seven scoring shots to the boundary. Clearly, he was in the top gear and this was the time when I went out to play cricket as my friends had already taken to field. India would surely win and that was my belief when I stepped out.

The next 36 runs I remember is courtesy of the highlights - which appeared that night on ESPN and now available widely on YouTube. Sachin Tendulkar unleashed his array of strokes down the ground after his hundred. His innings now had a certain momentum with strokes through the covers, punch off the back foot, straight drive and hitting straight down the track. India now require 21 runs and surely Tendulkar would win it for India from here. His previous two hundreds before this - in Bangalore (vs. Australia) and in Wellington (vs. New Zealand) resulted in team losses and with 21 runs, no one even thought about India losing.

The thing about watching the highlights is that - one already knows how or what particular score did a certain event took place. I knew India had lost, I knew Sachin would get out soon! With every stroke and boundary, he tried to nurse his back and I focussed on that - as I had never seen him struggle this much while playing. His challenges were not the bowling attack - but a battle within. He was scoring freely and five hits to the boundaries, India would win the match.   He pulls a short delivery off Saqlain to the square leg boundary - 17 more runs with four wickets in hand.

He walks away from the wicket after scoring the boundary, absorbs all the pain from his troubled back, gathers all those thoughts in his mind masked to an extent by the pain. He was scoring freely and there was no need to change the strategy. Mind you, with batsmen giving him company at the other end, it was on his shoulders to carry the team and win the match. He takes the strike and Saqlain delivers a flighted delivery on the leg-side, slower in the air and Tendulkar with a big back lift tries to loft it over mid-on, mid-wicket area, instead the ball has gone up in the air and Wasim Akram takes the catch at mid-off. The commander of the Indian cricket army is out!

There was no silence as the crowd continued its applause for this champion batsman. They had seen him score these runs and also had seen him struggle with his back. A mammoth effort and the crowd gave him an standing ovation as he left the field in disappointment thinking - probably one shot too many? 

The match was over in the next 21 deliveries with India scoring just 4 more runs and Pakistan picking up the remaining three wickets. I was shell-shocked to hear this result while we were playing. Our neighbours came out to resume their normal lives had faces filled with disappointment. The talking point was - why did he play that shot? and can't our bowlers score these few runs? Believe me, that argument is still on whenever this innings is mentioned.

The last time before Chennai 1999, Pakistan visited India to play a test match was in the 1980's. It was also close to a decade since the last India - Pakistan test match (incidentally Tendulkar made his debut in that series in 1989/90). There is a rivalry of gigantic proportions when it comes to India and Pakistan and the lack of sporting contests only magnified it in 1999.

Chennai crowd gave a standing ovation to the victorious Pakistani team and they acknowledged it by doing a lap of honour. I was too young to understand the relevance of good sportsmanship - but deep down I knew what Chennai crowd that day was a gesture of goodwill. Looking back, I believe Chennai crowd saw the fight put up by the Indians and to an ardent sports fan - nothing else matters apart from that. A win would always be cherished but a defeat - it is not the end of the world!

I have seen a lot of hundreds coming from the bat of Sachin Tendulkar and also have missed a few - this one surely has to be the best one I regret not watching it completely. 

A NEW HOPE OR A REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE - THE KP STORY

On 21st of July 2005, England had a Test debutant in the name of Kevin Pietersen. He came into the team at the expense of Graham Thorpe and by the end of the Test match and the series, Thorpe was long forgotten by the English fans and the media. A new hope was born!

I was in my third year of Engineering at that time and used to run back home in a frenzied manner - to watch the telecast each day of the Test. After supporting Australian cricket for long in the 1990's, they became unmanageable and started winning just too much for my liking. It was the 3-0 win against the Indians in 1999 - a result which made to discontinue supporting Australia; instead root for the opponents they played against.

In the previous Ashes tour, Michael Vaughan emerged as a star for England with his three hundreds at Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney - a treat to watch. No matter how heavily he accumulated the runs, something was missing. It was no fault of his, it was what I was looking for in English batsmen. Then came the 'maverick', a freak with a blonde streak, reminding me of how James Dean might have been if he played cricket in the modern era with a cricket bat carrying off that 'funky' hairstyle.

Kevin Pietersen had that X-factor.

In the past thirty years, England as a nation consistently produced effective cricketers - most of them appearing too boorish when it came to stroke play. There was a difference to KP's persona - which boils down to the fact that he was not raised in England? While Pietersen needed someplace where he could play cricket day in and day out, England desperately needed this X-man to resurrect themselves and challenge to reach the top. Yes, he was that great; media propelled his reputation a notch further and made sure he be selected for the Test playing XI. What a arena it was to make one's test debut - in one of the oldest international competitions known to the sporting world.

    

My mind goes back to the year 2005 and to the first Test at Lord's. Australian team were dismissed in under 45 overs on the first morning of the series. England then lost wickets in a manner - when even the 'women in labour' would show some composure. Top order dismantled! and stumps uprooted once too many in quick successions. By the end of day one, England were seven wickets down with the debutant Pietersen unbeaten on 27.

Next morning's highlight - he comes down the track and hits the ball over long-off for a six, that too off McGrath. Phew! and this was no slog; the bowler in question was not a club cricketer. And then, a moment of joy for all the English spectators when he cover drove Glen McGrath to reach his maiden half-century. Folks from all the sections with hands in unison, clapping their new hero.

KP immediately then demonstrates his power - a wonderful execution of slog sweep over mid-wicket off Shane Warne. Audacious!. He tried one too many and he repeated the same stroke the next delivery and this time he was caught between deep mid wicket and long on - caught within metres from the boundary courtesy of a full stretched dive from Damien Martyn. That magnificent catch had done for Kevin Pietersen.

Chasing 420 runs in the final innings, England got off to a good start and not long after that there was a repeat of first innings - the manner in which they lost wickets quickly and cheaply. Wickets fell in a heap and partnerships were just not there.

It was the debutant  KP - once again to show some form of resistance in the form of attack. He showcased just about everything.  Cut through the point, stroking it through the covers, heaves to the leg side, sweeping square of the wicket, driving it straight and the pull! Brett Lee, world's fastest bowler of that time banged in short and KP was quick, daring and pulled it majestically. The ball went sailing beyond the boundary ropes into stands, many rows back. KP belongs to the big stage!

He went on score another half-century and slog swept Warne, yet again and this time the bat made a clean contact with the ball and six!. It was a pity he did not have steady partners at the other end and at the close of the innings he remained unbeaten on 64. He top scored in both the innings on his Test debut. A remarkable feat against the number one side in the world.

The defining moment of the Ashes came on the last day of the fifth Test at the Oval. Against all odds, England were leading and Australia had to win the test to square the series and thereby retain the Ashes. He was dropped twice and had few close calls - well that's all part of this wonderful game. We all need luck in life and it was riding high on Pietersen for England's sake.

Apart from few tentative moments; bulk of his time he spent at the crease - 285 minutes to be precise, Australia had no chance of retaining the Ashes. His breathtaking knock of 158 came in 187 deliveries packed with fifteen boundaries and seven of the cleanest strikes over the rope. He hooked, pulled, drove, cut, flicked, guided to all parts of the ground. Australians were clueless towards the end and when he got out he got a standing ovation - something until then I had never seen happening to English cricket in the Ashes. Pure magic! and victory to England at the Ashes.

I have the DVD of the Ashes victory of 2005 and I might have played innumerable times during the past few years. KP went on to score 22 hundreds more and some of it were equally awesome; bludgeoning the attack, the best of the bowlers, humiliating the greatest of bowlers of his era - be it wily spinners or tearaway fast bowlers. Apart from his weakness to 'pie chuckers', he performed exceedingly around the globe. His tally of 23 Test hundreds is above all the English all-time test cricketers except for Alastair Cook (25).

KP is a once in a life time cricketer - a rare breed, something to do with him not being English by birth. He is not your typical Gentleman but by no means he is a criminal. He was the new hope like how 'Luke Skywalker was to the Jedi's' and instead he was branded as a 'Rebel without a Cause'.

He idiosyncrasies were quite different from majority of his teammates - a sense of individualism. I don't have to remind you again, a national cricket team is composed of individuals not clones. Cricket is still competed by humans and not robots. In spite of all the management support staff, it is ridiculous to blame a single person for off-field antics - something which has not been disclosed.

    

KP, now branded by the English cricketing authorities as a bad boy would have probably better off if the management spent some quality time thinking  as to - What made Kevin Pietersen tick.... like a bomb? from time to time. 

Going the Distance

I do not care if South Africa wins the Test match from here. I will be one of the happier souls if India were to win the Test from here or an unlikely draw - if weather were to intervene the proceedings of the first Test match between India and South Africa.

Since its re-admission to international cricket - India has toured the 'Rainbow Nation' six times including the current tour. Barring the previous series (which was levelled 1-1), India has lost all the tours and is yet to win a ODI series over there. What will be the outcome of this tour? We know surely what happened in the ODI series.

I will neither be talking more about the shorter formats nor predicting how the series will unwrap in the days to come; all I want to share is the way I feel about this Indian team after having watched the first two days of the Test match in this current series.

A young team led by M S Dhoni - who incidentally captaining in his 50^th Test  (only 14 have managed to achieve this feat till date) wins the toss and elects to bat against the number one team in the world. My mind goes back to the Headingly Test match in 2002 when India chose to bat first in overcast conditions with series 1-0 down. India won the Test match in spite of playing in a seamer-friendly conditions to level the series in an emphatic fashion. That was a brave decision!

For the first time (since the time I started to watch cricket) there will be no Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Mohammed Azharuddin, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in the test line-up. These names resonate a sense of my belonging to cricket - and now we have a team whose highest run-getter is MS Dhoni. This team will go down as one of  the most in-experienced line-up for a long time I can remember. Yet there is no sense of panic and that partially is due to low expectations.

Day one saw Indian openers batting first; they hung around for a while and got out without making any impact. Then came the partnership of the Test match so far (from Indian perspective) between Pujara and Virat Kohli. They occupy the #3 and #4 positions respectively in the line-up which the previous incumbents were the top two run-getters of India all-time and the top three (as I write) in the history of the game.

During the playing days of Dravid and Tendulkar - the third wicket partnership had always been a crucial phase; one which has contributed to many of the recoveries after a poor start and many a times gave momentum to an innings, capitalising on a good opening partnership. The essence was there - although I do not want to compare them in one-to-one terms; the feeling of security was to be seen - controlled aggression meets the soothing influence. And then came the run out - Quel Dommage!

India managed to score 280 and probably could have scored more - I do not wish to get into details. Twenty short of three hundred was all this new team could manage. A lot better than some of the scores the team had posted when they last toured outside the sub-continent (Australia in 2011-12 & England 2011).

I watched India bowl - and saw South Africans running away with the game after good initial spells from the pace bowling trio of Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Shami. With 120 runs on the board for the loss of solitary wicket, the Proteas were in commanding position going into tea.

Then came the intense spells from the trio, suitably rewarded for some good bowling which reduced them to 145/6. It was all about the Indian pace attack; they did a tremendous job in damaging the back bone of the South Africa never ending list of batsmen.

Bouncebackability - a term invented by English football club manager Iain Dowie comes to my mind. The word is apt for the way Indians forged ahead in spite of losing the openers while batting and the manner they took wickets mid way through the South African innings.

The match at the end of day two is well balanced. Unless there is an intervention from the weather, this Test will produce a result with both teams having a fair chance to win.

Historically, this is one of the few away grounds where India is yet to lose a Test match. In 1992, Indian batsmen fought it out on the last day to draw the Test match; 1997 match saw stellar performances by the duo of Rahul Dravid - Sourav Ganguly; victory only to be denied by poor weather on the final day and a stiff resistance of Daryll Cullinan. In 2006, India won the Test match - their first test win in South Africa.

What will happen this time? I am no astrologer - and I will be thrilled if India were to win and maintain its no-loss record at this ground. A quote from the movie 'Rocky' comes to my mind - "I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know? 'Cause I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance."

Going the distance is what I expect from this Indian team - a team of new guys little short on Test match experience.

OFFLINE & ONLINE CRICKET

I left India for my Master studies in 2009. The course involved sports but when it came to cricket, it seemed as though it was an alien sport.

Except for few Indians in my batch there was absolutely zero interest on cricket and we were the most recognisable Indians, more than Sachin Tendulkar. This is where it hit me, and quite hard. I was in Switzerland and not in India.

It was on a Sunday morning that year on my way back to the room I got a message from my friend. That was the time when I had a normal mobile phone with no internet - no tabs or smart phones. I had to rely on Wi-Fi connection if I were to be connected online. There was cricket being played and it involved India, but no where I saw the buzz or could find enthusiastic people to discuss about it.

I checked the scores on Cricinfo only to find Tendulkar had hit 163 before he left the field retired hurt. How could I have missed it? I cursed myself and in a state of desperation, I found a remedy. A friend of mine, a cricket enthusiast himself gave me the link to a website where I could watch the highlights. I watched it once, twice and few more times.

When the Indians played New Zealand in the 1^st Test at Hamilton, I stayed awake till about 4 am watching Tendulkar construct a brilliant innings of 160. It felt different as I had never watched an innings of his live on a laptop. And earlier in India, I had to wake up early to watch a live match from New Zealand and now I had to sleep late.

Over the course of the year, I watched him score a match winning hundred against Sri Lanka, a mammoth effort against Australia. His 175 at Hyderabad reminded of the desert storm innings when he plundered the Australian attack.

I started watching cricket through my laptop regularly; it reminded me the time when I used to watch and follow cricket with my family, friends or even strangers. Be it at someone’s place, or at work or even on a street, cricket was followed religiously and that was the buzz I was missing. Cricket was such a wonderful ice breaker that I started missing the conversations on this sport. Where were the opinionated minds?

After a year of staying and studying in Switzerland, I was back in India on an assignment. I was working late on that evening when I got to know about Sachin’s double hundred, the first in ODI’s. I was sweating it out on a afternoon when I saw the scoreboard of him scoring a Test double hundred against Sri Lanka, I was busily running to different parts of Delhi when he made another double hundred against Australia and I was chatting with my friend on a cold evening with no TV cable connection when he had scored that 50^th Test hundred against South Africa at Centurion. He went on to score one more at Cape Town and I missed that too. To sum it up, I had missed the best phase of Tendulkar’s cricketing career in the 21^st century. How could I? Why did I not watch all the matches just like the old times?

A couple of weeks before I was to get married, World Cup 2011 had started. I was in Bangalore and didn’t want to miss the chance of watching a match live. After struggling for close to six hours, my cousin and I did manage to buy ourselves a ticket each. Tendulkar scored 120 off 115 deliveries and it was his 98^th international hundred. It was to be my first World Cup match and as it stands, it was to be the last time I would watch Sachin score a hundred live on the ground.

I didn’t watch him take that single at Nagpur which gave him his 99^th hundred. Like many others, I too waited for him to score his 100^th hundred. It wasn’t to be in the World Cup, not when he toured England, not when West Indies toured India or when Indians toured Down Under.

I was in Jaipur working for IPL and a meeting was scheduled to discuss about the preparations for the upcoming tournament. As we went inside the meeting room, there were about 4-5 gentlemen representing Rajasthan cricket hooked on to TV. Sachin was batting and was close to the landmark.

My heart wanted to stay and watch him score that hundred, while my professional head wanted me to go ahead with the meeting. There was a visible reluctance among many to go ahead with the meeting and even my manager wanted to stay back as he didn’t want to ruin the joy of watching Sachin getting to his 100^th hundred. In fact, he too was keen to watch the proceedings on TV. He was an ex-cricketer himself and he knew his statistics quite well.

The next 15- 20 minutes went by and finally the moment had arrived. It was not one of his best hundreds and Tendulkar would agree to it. But the burden was lifted. A huge sigh of relief and what next was left for this cricketer? Since then he has announced his retirement in both ODI’s and in the T20 format. Now, he is bowing out of the game in less than ten days time.

I was not in Kolkata and also was not to be in Mumbai for his 200^th Test. Like it was four years ago, I caught all the action on the laptop and by this time I have made few friends with whom I can talk about cricket here in Switzerland.

Life as a cricket fan is a lot easier these days, thanks to the internet and smart phones. I can follow live scores, catch the highlights, watch live cricket or even archive videos.

As I prepare to watch his final few moments in international cricket I know for sure, irrespective of where I reside and what’s going on in my life, a glimpse of a Tendulkar’s innings will remind me of those random memories of mine associated with cricket.

I put my feet on the lake and the water gushes away. I am not the same person anymore as the water which gushed my feet is long gone replaced by a fresh stream. Cricket will not be the same to me. 

My Two Cricketing Idols - Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid

I had completed my Engineering studies and was now a corporate. Few months later in December 2006, Indian cricket team were touring South Africa and part of their tour was a solitary T20 match. It was India’s first international T20 match and at the end of it, they emerged victorious. It was Sachin Tendulkar’s first and turned out to be his only T20 international. At the time of the first T20 World Cup in 2007, the trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly and had opted out of T20 cricket internationally as they felt it was best suited for youngsters. Rest, it turned out to be an historic moment in the evolution of present day cricket. MS Dhoni led his young team to the title which changed the course of cricketing future - Birth of Indian Premier League and the successive T20 leagues around the world.

It was the summer of 2008 when Indian television and stadium goers had got a custom made cricket event which involved international cricketers spread across eight franchises or cities in India. Sachin Tendulkar represented his home city ‘Mumbai’ while Rahul Dravid turned out in red and gold colours for ‘Bangalore’. This year IPL completed six seasons and if I look back on that night of 18^th April 2008; I was celebrating my mother’s birthday with relatives and friends at home and the IPL carnival was not so far off from my place in Bangalore. For the first time Indian viewers were to be divided on city basis for its most worshipped sport. I am a Bangalorean and my cricketing idols were Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. I decided not to support anyone and I still maintain about picking my favourites on the match day or how I felt. C’est la vie for me when it comes to T20 cricket.

Around the fourth season of IPL I found myself to be in a situation where I was donning the outfits of the IPL central management team which operated the tournament. It was a dream for most youngsters, cricket fans, and game maniacs to be working on a job that involved cricket and cricketers. By that time, I had lost my innocence as a fan and looked at my idols in a different way. I became averse to the idea of clicking photographs with them and more so when it involved my revered cricketers (God knows, how many of my close friends and relatives I have denied). I was still a kid at heart when it came to these two cricketers or when it came to supporting them. Just that, I had become a more silent kid than continue being a naughty one. I felt I was different and if I ever get to meet them in person, I knew I would be not be like any other fans. Believe me it was different.

Looking back, I was thrilled when Sachin Tendulkar greeted me, shook hands and gave an autograph penned using his right hand (he is a left-handed writer) in a local cricket match and quite a similar euphoria when I met Rahul Dravid for the first time after winning a competition and second time at a game. I was a kid back then, the one who had his dreams fulfilled by these two cricketers. No they were not just cricketers, they were super-heroes to me.

And few years later I meet them as a professional. A lot had changed in my life – I was married by this time and yet I could not stop but admire these two cricketers. Yes, I was watching less of live cricket than I used to and yet was managing to follow the missed action through highlights, cricinfo and other medium of information.Cricket was not just a passion, it was my work too. 

Yesterday, both Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid played out their final limited overs game or should I say in coloured clothing. While Rahul Dravid has retired from all forms of the game internationally, Tendulkar continues to be a player in the longer version of the game (Test cricket) for India. While I am amassed and intrigued at the journey and accolades Tendulkar has been able to achieve, I am inspired by the course and journey Rahul Dravid endured. Sachin Tendulkar won his last T20 International for India, last One day international for India (including a World Cup), last IPL match for Mumbai Indians (including the trophy) and the last Champions League T20 again for Mumbai Indians (including the trophy). Even if he doesn’t play another Test for some reason or the other, he would still have the feat of winning his last Test match he played for India.

On the other hand – Rahul Dravid has not won a World Cup; he was part of the losing team on the occasion of his last Test, last ODI, his last T20 all for India, his last IPL match and the last Champion’s league T20 match with Rajasthan Royals.

Rahul Dravid will not play competitive cricket anymore and I am a grown up boy to understand his decision better than I would have few years ago. He will be missed but I am sure his family would not complain about this retirement. Personally, it was a warming experience to work with the same franchise Dravid captained and something which I cherish for a long time to come. The journey outweighs the destination and one such epitome to that is Rahul Dravid's career. 

Sachin Tendulkar has played 24 years of international cricket. I know he is not at his best at the moment and I also know he knows his cricket much better than I do. Is he destroying his legacy by not being at his best or is it a tale of perseverance and dedication to one’s skill? Frankly, it doesn’t matter to me. His effect on cricket lovers and to the world cricket has been enormous and a mighty positive one.

So on that note, I will cherish this period of dusk on the greatest cricketer I have witnessed in my lifetime. I was a five year old kid when he first played international cricket (1989) wearing the whites and he will end his playing career someday wearing whites. Among my list of childhood idols across all sports, he remains the last man standing. 

Image Courtesy: internationalreporter.com

ADELAIDE – SCENE OF THE INDIAN WHITE WASH

Letting the chances go by, suffering and finally humiliation; Summing the theme of the first 3 Tests Team India came into the 4^th Test having a long gap and one wonders if there could have been a 3-day match organized just to keep the cricket flowing instead of having nets alone. Did we overlook this gap when the schedule was drawn up?

Reality as it stood in Adelaide; with one test to go there was nothing much to lose since the Border-Gavaskar trophy was already taken. Winning the dead rubber would only salvage some pride but not repair the dents.

M.S Dhoni who was banned for this Test for over-rate issues gets time to plan mentally for the T-20 and the ODI series while Sehwag, the stand-by captain had hopes of continuing his good record as captain. Prior to this match, Adelaide has been dear and kind to the Indian team in the recent past, having won in 2003/04 season and dominant for most parts in 2007/08 season. This time the scene was different and any result has no bearing to the morale of the team, as the damage had already been done. Any positives out of this test will be an indicator as to what where the team is headed or if at all there is light at the end of this dark tunnel.

Michael Clarke winning the toss on a good batting track had every intention of keeping Indians on the field for long; not surprisingly he opted to bat. Ashwin was back in the team replacing for Vinay Kumar and Wriddhiman Saha would keep for the first time in Tests after having made his debut earlier in 2010 as a batsman. Did India miss a trick by not opting Ojha instead of a third seamer?

Indians had a good start as Australians found themselves in a situation like the previous Tests;  losing the top order and only to have two of their in-form batsman making the rescue act. It was time for the sequel of ‘Pup and the Punter Show’ – and the show went on much to the frustration of Indian fans and delight to all the Australians. Runs flowed continuously for 95 overs, spanning close to 400 minutes which yielding 386 runs in the process. For people who love records, this partnership was for statistical delight – the partnership was the highest for India-Australia Tests for any wicket. The selectors must be patting themselves for having kept Ponting in the team, as it weren’t to his revival Australians would have struggled to post those big totals which has been the difference between the two teams in the entire series.

Captaincy must be a great thing; ask Clarke and he will vouch for it as he is in the best form of his life. Not sure if it has to do with lack of penetration by Indian bowlers or really good quality batting. From what I have seen from the series, it was clearly evident Indian bowling lacked penetration at crucial junctures and intensity was missing when partnerships were built. Barring Melbourne Test, India never looked like picking 20 wickets and the failure of batting didn’t help the bowlers either as Clarke went on to make another double hundred and thereby became the first captain to hit a triple and double hundred in the same series.

It isn’t a pleasing sight when you are a fan and even the most cynical Indian fan would not have anticipated the extent the Australians have been drubbing the bowling attack in this series. It has been just three innings and those three innings have seriously dented the confidence of the bowling attack; This in spite of having the luxury of having injury free bowlers, unlike in England. The misery finally ended with Ryan Harris hitting a six off Ashwin and Clarke declared the innings  after his team posted 604 runs in little over five sessions of play.

What do you expect from the Indian batting this around? All I knew for a fact that, if Australia were to win the Test, Indians have to be dismissed twice. With 21 overs left on the second day and three more days, I hoped one brave act from our line-up. Sehwag blazed away scoring boundaries before getting out to Siddle. Not to mention, India did manage to get their highest opening partnership of the series, a meager 26 runs. Enter Rahul Dravid, a run later the brick was disturbed yet again. I am no expert talking about his technique and I shall only say, he is a much better player than this. Not often I have got this feeling, but in this series, I felt Dravid looked like getting out on most occasions whenever he came out to bat. I was speechless when he was beaten and was left with no explanation as the replays kept showing him getting bowled.  The feeling only got worse when the broadcaster displayed all his previous dismissals in the series.  Another day, I was left with wondering – Will the third day be the day?

On the third morning, barely the Republic parade had started; Indian batting line-up had a parade of their own losing five wickets for just over an hundred on board. A republic day hundred was what the whole of India hoped for, but it didn’t happen from the bat of Sachin. Gambhir and Laxman soon left and it seemed even a good batting track wouldn’t be of much assistance to the mental state of the Indian team. Will be there another low score? and by this time I was used to getting up early and watching India perform badly with the bat.

Kohli and Saha, a fresh pair was a pleasant sight to watch. For the first time, there was some intent and purpose in the way they batted. The pair went on to add 114 runs before an error of judgment from Saha at the stroke of tea; almost went through a session wicket less. Almost!!

With wickets  falling at the other end there were some anxious moments whether or not Kohli would score India’s first century of the tour. He got there finally and erupted like a wounded gladiator having just won a hard fought battle. His hundred was redemption of sorts, a personal victory more than anything else. His maiden hundred will be the highlight of the tour and a glimmer of hope for the batting line-up that someone stood up and made it big while for many the pride was lost in their final playing days.

It wasn’t a green top wicket - the batting order was disturbed by sheer discipline and Indians were lost all the wickets for 272. Clarke didn’t impose the follow-on; with the pitch still good to bat coupled with the heat, it wasn’t such a bad idea to give the strike bowlers some rest for a session or two before going all out on the Indian line-up.

It will be the final showdown in Australia for many of the batsmen and they will have no option but to save the match, avoid another white wash in less than six months or wilt away in the heat of the battle. But they had to wait as Australians opted to bat for some time.

Bowlers again stuck to their task and picked up the first three wickets easily. Barring the Perth massacre, the Australian top-order has rarely troubled the Indians. In quest for quick runs, the resurgent Aussies went after the bowling with Ponting having another good hit and showed no signs of being under pressure. Clarke declaring with a lead of 500 and with little over five sessions to bat out, the Indian batting was merely a formality as one expected nothing but a miracle to avoid the whitewash.

Looking at the batting scores posted in the series, even the highly regarded optimists wouldn’t have bet on India winning this Test. Logic!!! But cricket in the past has defied logic and has shown miracles don’t just happen on ice. I hoped for one last glory with track being flat. Frankly the finale started on a low note with Gambhir getting out cheaply as Sehwag opened up his attacking instincts with boundaries coming at ease. It was the first innings at Melbourne did Sehwag last play such a knock and when Lyon tried to strangle him for runs, the stand-by captain could not resist the temptation for too long and mistimed a full toss to Ricky Ponting.

Sachin Tendulkar in what seems like his final outing in Australia came to the crease with no expectations whatsoever. Or was that an exaggeration from my side? The 100^th hundred talks had taken a back seat ever since India’s surrender at Perth. But expectations are like nails, they keep growing and can only be cut, trimmed from time to time but can never eliminate it. His hundred would have appeased few on the ground who had a tough time supporting the Indian team. Indians were the favourites coming into this series and never played like the ones with the top tag. The procession soon followed first with Dravid getting out to a wide delivery and then Sachin trying to defend Lyon’s ball gave a easy catch to short leg. Irrespective of what had happened to the little master, he was given a standing ovation send off for the memories of 20 years. As he walked back to the pavilion having had the worst Australian series individually, he must have wondered how life seems like a full circle. India had lost 4-0 when he had first toured Australia and now in what seems like his last tour, India were in the brink of losing 4-0. He has seen much better days and who knows he might make another trip to Australia, if form and body holds up.

VVS Laxman and Kohli put on some resistance before Lyon managed to induce a false stroke from Laxman and was out caught at short mid-wicket. Surely, I saw Laxman to have played his last innings in Australia. His career took a notice when he made that hundred 12 years ago at Sydney. It feels a curtain has been drawn and he has all the time to decide in the coming months as to where his career and life was headed.

With few overs to go in the day, Ishant Sharma walked in as a night watchman. The decision to protect the night watchman proved costly for Kohli as he was short of the crease when he tried to take a tricky single. With four wickets and a day to go, the question was how long the tail resistance would last?

The final four wickets could add only 35 runs and India had their second whitewash in as many away series. Not only they plummeted to number three in the Test rankings, it was a hard fact to believe that they are still ahead of Australia in the ICC Official rankings, although they are just ahead on mere technical basis. Later in the day with England losing to Pakistan on a spin-friendly track, I asked myself as to who really is Numero Uno at the moment?  It would take few more series and years to find a team which is suited to play in all conditions.

A few of the players likes of Dravid and Laxman would not be there for the ODI series, but the bulk of the squad will be boosted by few fresh minded ones who have come to Australia for the two T20 matches and a tri-series with Sri Lanka as the third team. The outlook will be different as India would like to repeat the heroics of 2008 when they won the tri-series. Will they perform as expected from World Champions ? or Would the white wash have an impact on the psyche going into the shorter versions of the game?  Time will tell 

PERTH: THE NADIR OF INDIAN BATTING

The wait was over and I was ecstatic to have woken up 15 minutes prior to the match and to see Indians batting first. “What better way to start a morning?” – I thought as I went to wash my face. It was 15 minutes past five and my mind went ahead of imagining India bat for the next two days and how I could sit at home on two non-working days just to watch the Indian batting line-up piling up the runs. Then the Buddha moment hit me – “Think only on the present and not ahead”. 

Ambling through the first few overs of the Test match Indians lost Sehwag and Dravid while Gambhir at the other end had decided he was not going to get out easily.  He was kept company by Tendulkar who hit three of the best drives one can see – one straight, an on-drive and to demonstrate his prowess on the off-side a cover drive which silenced all the demons people had to say about the pitch prior to the match. Both teams having opted for an all pace attack must have thought, have we made a right decision? It didn’t look like when Tendulkar was at the crease. Ryan Harris brought back after a fiery first spell took the prized wicket just when the master looked good for a big knock. Gambhir soon followed after having resisted the temptation outside the off-stump,  finally succumbed and nicked one to the keeper. Well, it isn’t the ideal start as India went into lunch on the first day after having inserted into bat by Michael Clarke.

The talk prior to the match was about giving youngsters a chance and the news of Rohit Sharma replacing VVS did the rounds. Well, Rohit will have to wait for his opportunity as Laxman retained his place and now had the responsibility to steer India to a decent total. He had Virat Kohli by his side and both looked good resurrecting the innings with 68 runs being added to their partnership. Kohli made his first major error of the day when he misread the length and ballooned his drive to Warner at deep point. And soon Laxman went for 31 following the dismissal of Kohli who made an impressive 44. With six wickets down, out came Ranganatha Vinay Kumar for the first time donning the Indian whites and thus became the latest entrant to the Test team. His brief stay at the crease yielded 5 runs and nine runs later Indians found themselves to be dismissed for 161.

At this point I felt embarrassed and I quite didn’t know how to react and I had a strong reason for this. It wasn’t just the collapse that made me feel exasperated but the manner in which the batting collapses have been taking place on the foreign soil. I cannot recall during my lifetime such a dismal performance overseas and the last time India lost consecutive six matches abroad, my mom was just nine years old. Now seriously there is an issue and the persistent problems over the past six months can’t be ignored or overlooked. With peanuts on the board to defend, bowlers had another shock in the manner David Warner went about his innings. He dominated right from the start and by the time the day ended he had a century to his name, Australia were 12 runs behind and having 10 wickets intact and to make matters worse only 23 overs were bowled. Can this get more worse? To give credit, where its due it reminded how Sehwag went about his innings and Warner, being Sehwag’s team mate at Delhi Daredevils showed what he is capable of. A product of T20, Warner showed it to the world 20-20 after all isn’t such a bad thing to cricket.

A new day comes with a new beginning never mind the scars that Indians carried coming into the second day. With pitch still assisting the bowlers, there was every possibility Indians could have turned it around. Not until a double century stand and gritty 65 by Ed Cowan, bowlers managed to take the first wicket. Umesh Yadav, easily the find of the series from India’s perspective took three quick wickets, Indians were in with a chance for a comeback. Dhoni persisted with Zaheer, Ishant and Yadav and the trio ensured Australians didn’t repeat their batting heroics of Sydney. At the stroke of tea,  Aussies were bowled out for 369 with Yadav claiming his first five wicket haul and Vinay Kumar his first scalp in Tests.

The final session of the second day, Indians did well to restrict the lead to 208 runs considering the way Warner destroyed the bowling on his way to a splendid 180. Having got the best start of this series, Gambhir got out to a bouncer from Starc while scoreboard was just 24. Sehwag got a peach from Siddle and that had top two run-getters in the world at the crease. From the looks of it, it wasn’t easy and it was only matter of time where another wicket would fall; that moment occurred on the 17^th over when Starc was brought back after previously having bowled just an over, had Tendulkar plumb in front and Indians were three down.

The 10 year entertaining history of India-Australia Tests were started by the pair of Laxman and Dravid. It was their partnership  in Kolkata in 2001 that changed the course of the future bi-lateral series between the two cricket loving countries.  They had a huge task in hand. As the adage goes, “History repeats” – Will it be again them as they did in Kolkata, Adelaide etc?

For the sake of pride if not anything, India needed this pair to defend, cut the deficit and ensure the team reach a position from where they could have challenged for a win and come back into the series. My mind went too far ahead twice in as much days and before I could calm myself back to the reality, I saw Laxman edging to third slip Marsh and the man, I mean ‘The Man, the troubleshooter, the specialist’ was gone. Out for a duck, walking back to the pavilion in a manner as I have never seen him do. Did he just play his last stroke in international cricket?

It was just too much to take and that’s when the other side of reality hit me. If suffering is what makes India take strong steps ahead (referring to 2007 loss at the World Cup, 3-0 loss to Australia in 1999/2000 and followed by 2-0 loss at home to South Africa in 2000) so be it. Let this team suffer for the future’s sake as somewhere down the line we have to think about improving even while being on a winning streak. We love to live in the history and I am no different but somewhere the fascination shouldn’t overlook the present reality, that if not given a serious thought will hamper future’s growth.

With such thoughts I went to bed and no matter what the result (Was I still hoping for India’s victory??). A gritty fight by Kohli and Dravid raised the hopes of a fight back and the dreams were washed away when Dravid and Dhoni got out quickly. It was a matter of time and would have just been a consolation if Indians managed to make Australia bat again. With 43 runs behind and four wickets in hand it looked possible going into lunch. Post-lunch all it took the Oz bowlers was 20 balls to dismiss India for 171 and hand them a second consecutive innings defeat. Kohli the lone warrior among the batters managed to score more than 100 runs (both innings) in this Test.

How many times in the past two away series we hoped India would show their magic with the bat? The number goes to 14 at the end of this Test. The teams are allowed for missing out on runs and big scores occasionally; what sort of a Tests is it, if we do not have few collapses once in a while to spice up the match? But there were one too many in the past six months and the Perth test to me was the nadir of this current Indian batting line-up. Reality seriously bites and I am just a humble cricket fan.

The vision of taking the top spot was a long process which started when Ganguly was made the captain and had John Wright as India’s first foreign coach. It took nine years to achieve the feat. After taking the top spot, BCCI did their best to accommodate as many tours as possible with top teams to retain the #1 spot in the past two years, removed the DRS for Indian tests at the behest of some senior players and provided all the facilities possible for the players to win matches. Somewhere things have gone wrong and it looked all the more clear since the World Cup triumph. Class is permanent and this team has many class players and the solution isn’t just about dropping seniors and replacing them with juniors, it is beyond it. It is about a process.

Moving forward, a vision must be put in place if Indians have any hope of reclaiming the top spot. A phase-out plan for seniors, injection of youth, horses for courses and maintenance of workloads  of cricketers. This isn’t a new territory, Indian ODI team went through the transition phase brilliantly post the early World cup exit in 2007; and with a well structured foresight Test cricket will also be in good shape. As Indian players have plenty of time till the next Test to introspect,  I am getting reminded of few lines from the song ‘Measure of a Man’ sung by Elton John -

“There comes a time when castles fall
And all that's left is shifting in the sand
You're out of time, you're out of place
Look at your face

That's the measure of a man

You've come full circle, now you're home
Without the gold, without the chrome
And this is where you've always been
You had to lose so you could win
And rise above your troubles while you can

Now you can love, now you can lose
Now you can choose
That's the measure of a man”

The fourth Test at Adelaide starts in nine days and with series 3-0 down, I hope some pride can be restored by winning the Test (oh really?). Ok, at least,  Can we not try avoiding the second white wash in as many away tours?

PERTH – WILL THIS BE THE SCENE OF A GREAT INDIAN FIGHTBACK?

Last time when Indians arrived in Perth the score line read 0-2 to Australia and this time it is no different; at least with respect to the score line. Apart from 2-0 deficit there aren’t any similar situations as last time India lost the Sydney match which bolstered India’s purpose of the whole tour. It galvanized the entire team and the result – more determined performance which resulted in winning the Test match in a venue, considered alien to the sub-continent teams.

Twenty years ago Perth Test match showcased the world about a 18 year old teenager who had the temerity to take on the big boys of Aussie bowling attack. He isn’t the teenager anymore but comes to this week’s Test match being one of the game’s greatest and more importantly the in-form batsman in the present touring squad. Expectations have only multiplied in the last twenty years and the talk of the town is surrounding his century and nothing else.  For a change how about we focus all the attention towards India and their chances of winning the Test match?

Just to give a historical perspective – The ground at Perth is named after the owners - Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA). The venue known for its intense heat is cooled by the afternoon breeze sweeping along the Swan River,  famously known as the ‘The Freemantle Doctor’.  Though the stadium was built in the late 19^th century, international cricket was never scheduled for a good 80 years owing to transportation problems. Since this is located far end from the cricketing hub, it needed an airport and scheduled flights to Perth to make it accessible for international cricket. It finally happened in the year 1970 when Australia took on England. The highlight of the first match - Sensational arrival of Greg Chappell into the international arena by scoring a century on debut.

Perth had to wait for another four years as the second match was played in 1974; since then the Test matches at W.A.C.A  has been a regular feature in the Australian test match calendar.

Knowing as the fast bowler’s paradise – The ground at W.A.C.A has been traditionally known as a surface that assists fast bowling and good stroke play. Termed the ‘fastest track’ in the world, there has been many intriguing contests with bat and ball over the last 38 test matches it has hosted.

India first played at this ground in 1977 against an Australian side that was weakened owing to disputes,  many first choice players had with the Australian cricket board over Kerry Packer issue. Having batted well in both the innings with centuries to Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath in the second innings, Australia won the Test match chasing 342 runs by two wickets. India had a great chance of recording their first victory on Australian soil at Perth but the bowlers could not penetrate at crucial junctures. However India won the next two matches at Melbourne and Sydney to make it 2-2 before losing the decider at Adelaide.

Two trips to Australia were made one each in 1980/81 and 1985/86 which saw the performance of the Indian team being very solid drawing the series each time, that also included the famous Melbourne Test win. None of the test series featured Perth as the venue and it was not until 1991/92 season Perth was featured again and also a five test match series.

In 1992, with few weeks to go for the World Cup Indians came to Perth to play the final Test. They were trailing 3-0 and with the fast bowlers Australia had in their squad, 4-0 was a very probable result. Sachin Tendulkar made the headlines in the world cricketing circles with a resounding 114 which featured 16 boundaries and bulk of them coming from square of the wicket. Apart from this, this Test also had a moment of celebration, a consolatory one for Kapil Dev who became the 2^nd bowler at that time to take 400 wickets when he trapped Mark Taylor in front of the wickets. Going into the last day, India had all their wickets in tact; though victory was too far to think of (442 runs) a fight was expected and things were on track for the fight back with Indian openers putting up their best partnership of the series (82). It is the habit of losing wickets in a heap that hampered India’s progress as the Aussie quicks spearheaded by Mike Whitney and the debutant Paul Reiffel ended India’s resistance two hours after the fall of first wicket. Though India displayed some individual brilliance at different occasions in that series,  none were consistent enough to enforce a respectable draw or a victory.

In the next two series in Australia, Perth was given a miss and it was only in the January of 2008 one got to see a Test match between these two nations return to this ground. The build-up to the Test match was enormous with India having threatened to boycott from the series if the umpires Steve Bucknor wasn’t replaced for the Test match.  Harbhajan Singh was not playing and there was a comeback of sorts for Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan.  Both made a impact on this Test with quick runs coming at the top and Pathan finding the swing and discipline to take wickets at regular intervals. Pathan was the Man of the Match for a performance which made India the first Asian team to win a Test match at Perth. The match had other highlights - Ishant Sharma’s spell on the 4^th day to Ricky Ponting is remembered till date, Anil Kumble taking his 600^th Test wicket and more importantly India winning the Test match and thereby stalling the hopes of Ponting taking the 17^th Test victory in a row. Though India could not win the next Test match and thereby level the series the spirit was well admired even by the Australian public and ex-cricketers.

January 2012 - The attention shifts to M.S Dhoni and his troops with comparisons being drawn from the team’s performance in 2008. Dhoni was the vice-captain back then which included most of the current players. Will he draw some inspiration from that victory? Will he show aggression that is required in such situations in a place like Australia?

“How much truth can a team bear, how much truth can a team dare? ... that became for me more and more the real measure of value.” - a personalized quote of Friedrich Nietzsche

Next week, things will become clear regarding the bounce back ability of this current Indian team, which not so long ago was rated as the number one Test team in the world.