While watching IPL, I wondered or feared for the life
and career of a bowler. Especially IPL taking almost three months of a year
from the best international cricket players, their mindset will be structured
around 20-20 and they would cease to play the traditional game of test cricket.
Paresh Rawal makes a point in the movie, Cheeni Kum, cricket ko rang-birangi dress mein circus bana diya hai (Playing
cricket in coloured uniform is like performing in a circus)….. Real Cricket is
Test Cricket, Five grueling days to test the perseverance and talent. Or in
other words, cricket will never be able to find out another of Rahul Dravid’s
class in future.
In T20, the bowlers’ performance appears as Overs-Dot
Balls-Runs-Wickets. Dot balls and sixes are the most important element of T20
cricket. Bowler emphasizes on the fact that he does not get hit big and not on
the line, length or the swing, the surreal art of cricket is dying a slow
death. T20 needless to say has made most millionaires in any industry in our
country.
Test cricket matches are wrapped up in three days, so
we may be moving towards shorter version of five day matches. Is it time, to
take a call on the same as well? Maybe we may make the fourth version of the
game popular as well. Rahul Dravid said, Test Cricket is different ball game,
you have to take 20 wickets to be declared as winner. While in ODIs, you just
have to restrict the other side.
Getting back to the current India – South Africa test
series, Indians fans were fretting over the fact that Indian team offered a
meager chase of 217 for fourth innings at first Test in Mohali to the mighty
South Africans who have never lost test match series outside of their home in
last 9 years. Just when Indian fans would have started screaming at Virat Kohli
due to poor performance with bat and shopping with his Bollywood actress
girlfriend, Anushka Sharma, Indian team bundled out the South Africans for 109.
An Indian fan was very surprised at the Indian team’s bowling feat but in
India, with spin bowling, Indians are able to perform.
Its only in match analysis, we got to know that the
heroes were not our bowlers but the pitch for whom it was curated to
perfection. So much so, that what happens to match on 3rd or 4th
day starting happening on the first day. Our pacers who are always chewing
their nails especially after T20 were left flabbergasted once again as the
spinners raked in the moolah and they didn’t even get a chance to apply saliva
on the ball.
To South Africa’ luck, second test was washed off and
then came the third test. 12 wickets fell on first day, 20 on second, remaining
8 on third day for India to clinch the series. Virat Kohli’s magic is happening
along with our able Director who strategizes well enough to beat the mighty South
Africans.
Clearly again the pitch was the winner and Test
Cricket was the loser. I mean, why is the CRICKET losing in this proposition?
Similar happened to India in Johannesburg, 2 decades back and I guess it was
experimental but this time it seems it may become the norm, a T20 match
produces more runs that the third test match between Indian and SA. Ashwin, the
magician with carom ball lashes out, if they can do it, what’s wrong with us
doing it?
If pitch will perform for the players and then what
are players doing on the field? India should have home advantage but that not is
all the advantage and leverage and talent in the match. I mean, we want to see
classy shots from Murali Vijay or few sixes from Dhawan or fiery batting of AB,
some classics of Amla.
Cricket is about competition, about challenges on the
field, improvisation according to the situation. But in this case, Ashwin has
to demolish the opposition and batsmen have no chance to sweat on the field.
Indian team is like a spoilt son of rich man. BCCI does not believe in the
talent of its team, hence they have taken the task unto themselves to help them
win.
During Mohali, we were still anxious as to what would
happen but Nagpur, everybody was certain Ashwin will bowl them out, Jadeja and
Mishra will be his sidekicks, it’s just a matter of time. There was a twist
when Rahul Dravid’s spirit was hovering over Amla and du Plessis but Dravid
pulled some classy strokes in between, while these two were just trying to hold
onto the wicket and not win the match, because there was no chance.
I am glad at small element, in the era of T20 when
fours and sixes rein and bowlers are merely present to bowl, no technique, no
logic, just aim for dot balls, bowlers still have a life. Test Cricket gives
them their due importance but like this, when the spinner has to bowl as they
fall like a tower of cards but offers nothing for the batsman, only for the
bowler. If other nations start emulating India’s strategy, Test Cricket will
not even die a martyr but will be murdered by pitch curators and Cricket Board.
I urge Dravid and the likes to work with BCCI and
other cricket associations to produce better pitches to allow the competitive
game to be witnessed in every format. If Test Cricket has to die, it should die
as a HERO and forbearer and the spirit of cricket but not a terrorist.
