Saturday 29 December, 2007

The Absolute Zero

Yesterday night I had an opportunity to hear noted classical singer Aarti Ankalikar in a live concert. I had been waiting for it for quite some time, not the least because her name bears a close resemblance to my better half’s. It was a wonderful mehfil, with Aarti Ankalikar regaling her fans with a wide array of music from the Raaga ‘Madhukans’ to the semi classical Thumri, Dadra, Chaiti and chipping in with a rare Ghazal too.

With the fourth days play at MCG only couple of hours away from the end of this concert, I thought a similar performance from the Indian batters could have been a real icing on the cake. But deep inside I knew, it would remain just what it was – a wishful thinking.

So Indians took the field in hope of venturing, where none has been before. The noises emanating from the players were right too. Bhajji talked of being positive and the team coming to Australia to win and nothing else. The only problem was Indians did not walk their talk. Or dare I say, they simply did not have enough ammo to do it.

Even the most ardent fans would not have hoped for an Indian victory. What they were looking at were those little battles within the war, which would have helped team India to compete in the series ahead. They scratched the surface, even dug a mile, but there was nothing that could remotely suggest an Indian fight back.

Over the next days we may delve on what went wrong and what could have been right. But getting bowled for less than 200 runs in each outing, in less that two days time, is a moral shattering defeat, which ever way you try to look at it. I am not sure if Indians can recover from this mauling.

You criticize the players when you harbour some expectations from them. But when the needle points to -273.15 on a Celsius scale, there isn’t much to write home about.

For me, that is also the saddest part of it.

26 comments:

Golandaaz said...

It would be interesting to see how India responds. We lost the first match of the year in SA and the last match of the year in Aus. Did not lose anything in between. It is still not good enough

samc said...

Guru,

What a coincidence! Even I attended the same concert on Friday, and then I set the alarm clock at 5am. However, I could not bring myself out of the bed till 6, and unfortunately, I had not missed much :-(

I liked Madhukans more than anything else in that program, by the way!

Soulberry said...

Very true CG, it is entirely possible that Lord (or rather, Baron) Kelvin actually measured the temperatures elsewhere to arrive at the absolute zero but must have, for the purposes of decency, presented other evidence in his treatise. I'm sure there must have been an Indian of the current team, in an earlier birth, playing cricket in the 19th century.

Kumble, and India, face the dilemma of a lost gambler. Having risked a throw and lost, they are now left with having to risk a bit more in attempting to recover what's lost. Bringing in Sehwag would be one such gamble again, as will persisitng with the same team.

If Kumble were to whip a rabbit out of his shoes, which nobody wants to be in at the moment, there could be large-scale riots when he'd put them up for auction.

I haven't heard this lady. It has been ages since I listened to classical music. Maybe now I should dust my old LP's and get started again.

Cricket Guru said...

India still has three more tests to play in this series. So theoretically, we could end up losing more matches in the first month of 2008 than in entire 2007, Golandaaz ;)

Samc, welcome to CaAT.
Yes I agree 'Madhukans' was the highlight of the show.

SB,
The dilemma of a lost gambler! Very apt. If I were Kumble, I would gamble on the second choice -Sehwag.

Read your post - Press Review. Yuvraj's attitude may just be the blessing in disguise that India needs to rope in Veeru.

Wish you all a very happy new year.

Daniel @ Campinas said...

Chin up, just the first match. India looked very respectable on Day One, and they can bounce back. What should have India concerned I think is serious deficiencies in the bowling attack. One more spinner would be ideal.

Anonymous said...

CG... wishful thinking indeed :)... it is a matter of skill isn't it? That's what it all boils down to... Looking forward to hopefully see the batting fire... 5am for me tomorrow.

Soulberry said...

Zak isn't playing...that's a rather hefty kick on the backside for India. Either Ishant or Pathan to play...I suspect it will be Pathan for experience's sake.

Batting remains the same...will be up and watching nevertheless.

My best wishes to you and yours on the new year.

Cricket Guru said...

Welcome, Daniel and new year greetings to you.

SB and Scopi, new year greetings to you too.

I cannot think of any better venue for Indian team to play the second test, than the SCG, especially after the Melbourne disaster.

But they have blown away yet another chance to stay alive in this series. Who knows, tomorrow could well be the series decider.

Anonymous said...

CG... are you away... no news on your front?

Cricket Guru said...

Hi Scorpi,

Sorry for that. I had written a post on VVS yesterday night, but the internet connection failed me.

Will post it in few minutes

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