|
The Bangalore
fiasco, and the placard |
By Harimohan
Paruvu (The writer is the author of 'The
Men Within - A Cricketing Tale' which
happens to be India's first ever cricket-based
Indian English novel)
 The
placard said it all. 'I didn't come 10000 miles
to see this". I did not see such placards before
in Indian cricket arenas, so it interested me.
In case our players did not know, I'd like to
clarify this. There is a primary responsibility
that spectator sports have. It is to entertain
the spectators. Entertainment in the form of
honest competition; closely fought competition
that makes spectators sit on the edge of their
seats.
But in the
Bangalore test between India and Pakistan,
the Indian skipper Anil Kumble defied all logic
by not declaring soon enough and foregoing a
chance to win a rubber 2-0. My disappointment
was more because I genuinely appreciated his
captaincy in the first two tests.
The only thing that came to my numbed mind
was that there is a definite way that justice is
served when there is no honesty. No wonder the
Pakistanis got away with bad light in a match
they would have lost embarrassingly if it was
played out for another twenty minutes.
As a spectator I'd appreciate a situation when
gallant challenges are thrown at opponents even
if it meant giving them a lifeline. Don't
mistake me. I am all for killing the opposition
when it is down: but I cannot forgive a decision
that denies your side a chance to win.
The inexperienced captain might even lose a
match with a sporting declaration, but he will
certainly win many spectators hearts. The
experienced captain would know the margin
(especially when he knows the opponent's batting
strength). But here's a perplexing case of an
experienced player denying his side a win.
Was our bowling spearheaded by
Kumble himself, so bad that they cannot contain
a depleted side within 300 runs in two sessions?
Was the batting practice of fringe players so
important? Or was there something that the poor
spectator could not see that only the greats
inside can see?
There must be millions of spectators out there
who felt cheated. I did, even though I only
moved as far as the couch in my living room. I
can only imagine how my placard-holding brother
from 10000 miles away must have felt.
I only hope Kumble or whoever made the call, had
the right reasons for making the appalling
decision. And in future, whosoever makes these
decisions better be warned; they better be in
spectator interest.
That placard is only a sign of things to come.
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