Indian Test Cricket – in search of a new a dawn and new chapter….
New era of Indian Test Cricket is upon us.
It has started with a slight glimmer, unlike other eras which started with some dark clouds circling! This time there is freshness and to be honest every Indian fan kind of knows the attitude with which with these players will perform, thanks largely to the legacy of 2 recent captains – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
One might like or dislike Virat Kohli, however what he has undeniably done, is to ignite a renewed sense of passion in Indian Cricket fans for the longest format; which in all honesty wouldn’t have survived the grand arrival of IPL and Franchise Cricket (in general) at the world stage, without backing from one of the biggest superstars of contemporary game.
Last series was certainly a lost opportunity for the Indian team. They were well and truly on the ascendency and had every chance of bagging another series win on UK shores after 2007. It had everything drama, capitulation, fightback and was building up a nice crescendo but then got cut short.
I was lucky enough to have witnessed the famous Lord’s test match in person and the memory of that 5th day performance is still etched in me.
Last test of the series, which was then played much later, turned out to be one of those test tube games of Baz-ball era that really pummelled any hopes of a grand series win for us.
This new India team has no baggage of its predecessors, however they do have the weight of expectation of a billion. Expectation is not of a series win (although that would be fantastic) but of one where each of the member will fight for the badge in front of the shirt and not indulge in unnecessary engagement farming via social media.
This English side is also going through a transformatory phase especially in bowling, one feels that its battle of Indian batting vs English bowling that will determine if we can nuture any hopes of positive results this series.
Cricket at its core is a simple game but also becomes complicated for those who seem to forget the basics. Battles will be won by the team, which can stick to basics in this series.
For the survival of test cricket, world needs Indian Test Team to play with passion, perform at the highest level and most importantly win.