|
- Tushar Jha
 Mathew
Hayden's recent derisive remark calling the
Indian batsmen 'selfish ' has been labeled as a
part of the usual
'mind games' that the Aussies play before
embarking on a tour to India by a lot of folks.
A lot of them also suggest that to be impervious
to such remarks would be in the right interest
of Indian cricket.
But I beg to differ this time. For the
first time a profane argument from an Aussie
against the Indians has set me thinking and I
see quite some truth in what Hayden seems to be
suggesting.
The Aussies have taught the world the art of ' Playing to
win '. Win at all costs seems to be their top
credo. Be it the ODIs or the longer version of
the game they are the undisputed champions and
in especially in the ODIs where they are the
front-runners by far. Nothing accentuates this
more than the mauling that the Indian Team under
Ganguly (He claims to be the second best) has
received in their last few match ups where the
Wallabies rattled a score of close to 350. Three
hundred and Fifty runs??? Well, that’s insurmountable
on most occasions, isn’t it?? Maybe 30 runs
more than a score that most teams would think of
putting up a challenge to. But the million
dollar question is 'What is it that takes them
to such Himalayan scores or where do they get
these 30 runs extra from which is proving
decisive in the final analysis and gives them
such peremptory powers?? (Considering the fact
that our batting might is equal to theirs’ if
not better). A few of the hackneyed reasons that
have been given - aggressive running between
wickets, agile fielding by all 11 and applying
pressure through imaginative captaincy etc. As
much as we try to emulate these it may not be
possible for us to reach their standards on all
these accounts. But I’m sure we can eviscerate
or blot out all the factors that our hampering
our quest for the top spot and Hayden's comments
points out to us just one of them. Except for
Sehwag , all Indian batsmen have been guilty of
slowing down when closing on their personal
landmarks which was normal a few years back
but in the Australianised cricket of the
21st century is close to a sacrilege.
We talk about being aggressive and having the Aussie like
fighting spirit. The Indian team would be well
advised not to consider Hayden's remarks as
another bluster from a cocky Aussie and look
into this aspect of the Aussie batsmanship and
bring to an end the 'personal milestone’ bit,
which is proving insidious. If India or for that
matter any international ODI team have to
forward looking (2007 World Cup) and think of
putting up a strong countervail against the
Champions they must take the Aussies as a
benchmark.
Top
of the page
|
