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.