India Fizzles out,-I
Sir,
It was a day of records in
the finals of the Coca-Cola cup at Sharjah. First, it was
Sanath Jayasuriya who made the mince-meat of the Indian
bowling and hit a scintillating 189. Later on, in a most
shameful chase Indians were bundled out for just 54 runs.
It is hard to believe that the team having two of the
great batsmen were dismissed for a paltry 54.
Expectations were really
high from a team which looked at its best at Nairobi. It
lost by a yawning margin of 245 runs, a world record,
surpassing 233 runs defeat for Bangladesh at the hands of
Pakistan. In fact, it was a day of shame for the Indian
Cricket at Sharjah. Indian skipper called it a bad day
for cricket. There is no doubt about it but one has a
right to ask what actually went wrong?
Michael Holding, the
Cricket commentator made an important point during the
game that Indians lack team effort. There is a lot of
difference between what your eleven men can do and what a
collective effort can bring about. And he was dead right.
History serves as an unerring guide to it. We have lost,
in fact we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory
umpteen times in the past. Because, we don't have the
character to perform under pressure and this is the case
that Indians seem to be having no panacea.
We have world's best
batsmen in Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid, and striking
bowler in Kumble. No doubt, we desperately need few more
alrounders. But with these bunch of players in our side,
why we fizzle out on most of the occasions is one
questions haunting every cricket lover. Its the team
effort that counts. Team effort has been the key to
success for some top nations like Australia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand. It was the
team effort of New Zealand that Indians had no answer for
in the finals of ICC Cup. Sri Lankan skipper attributed
its victory to the team ''effort''. So why should our
teams fortune depend only on Sachin's or Sourav's
contributions.
Srilankans had lost both
its openers in the last league match against India for 24
runs but they piled cup a Mamoth 294. The final against
Newzealand in the ICC cup is another example where
Newzealand being 124/5 went on to chase 251 to lift the
cup. I hardly remember one such instance where Indians
would have sent tremors in the opposition camp in
pressure game.
I strongly feel that the
present mode of selection needs a change.
Yours etc...
Sudhir Kr Sharma
Shiv Vihar Janipur Colony Jammu.
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