Just One Bad Day

Each one of has one bad day in office once in a while, and this Indian team is no exception.

It is not that suddenly this bunch has become a gathering of cricketing novices. On the contrary, most of them are cricketing greats whose records and accomplishments will be fondly remembered decades after they are gone.

So it was amusing to see/read/hear so much, and so scathing, criticism of the team for just one bad session of batting. They were dubbed the greenhorns on a greentop while their Series victory in England on seaming tracks, commendable performance in Australia especially the win on Perth’s bouncy track, and authentic win over Pakistan was conveniently forgotten. The problem was not with criticism, but with the overdose of it.

To be fair, after the World Cup this team has lost just one test series (courtesy the likes of Bucknor and Benson) and won a rare tri-series and a twenty20 world cup. So one disastrous day was always in the offing and it came at Ahmedabad.

Today, a Harbhajan delivery hitting Kallis stumps without dislodging the bail symbolized India’s plight more glaringly than ever. A team, with all the greatness at its disposal also needs some luck, and a few umpiring decisions, to make it count. India never had that in this test and that is the crux of the matter. It is not just the pitch.

Approaching tea on day two, with South African leading by a good 300+ runs, only one result looks likely. Unless Weather intervenes in a big way.