Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom
Indian cricket was in total disarray when it lost its leading men like Mohammad Azharuddin to the match fixing controversy
By Santhosh S
17-Apr-2001
Indian cricket was in total disarray when it lost its leading men like
Mohammad Azharuddin to the match fixing controversy. Indian cricket
hit the depths of despair when they lost to Australia in the first
Test played in Mumbai. "Success is how high you bounce when you hit
bottom", are the immortal words of the American general George S.
Patton. Bounce high from the bottom they did and that too with a lot
of conviction to win the Test series 2-1.
It took a masterly innings of 281 at the Eden Gardens from VVS Laxman
to redeem the lost self-belief. It spurred the whole side to transform
from a losing side to a winning combination. The confidence was so
abundant that even in spite of the musical chairs of team selection,
India could afford to keep their terribly out of form skipper in the
side. The loss in the first Test was soon forgotten and they took
command, breaking the winning sequence of an all-conquering Australian
side. Harbhajan Singh with the ball and Laxman with the bat wrote the
script of the most famous Indian victory. "What the caterpillar calls
the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." --- Richard Bach.
The Aussies too found themselves strangled in a knot losing matches
one after the other. They lost the first ODI and came back powerfully
to take the second one, thanks to the brilliance of Mark Waugh's
elegant batting. India won the third match rather comfortably as the
Aussies badly missed an injured Mark Waugh. Down 1-2, Australia had to
win the remaining two matches to take the ODI series and they did it
in great style too. Michael Bevan produced one of his characteristic
innings with an unbeaten 87 to secure Australia the Pepsi Trophy. Some
wise men had the audacity to brush aside the Australian success; they
were of the opinion that it was only "Pyjama cricket".
Bach couldn't have said it better than this; "You are never given a
wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have
to work for it, however." It was the supreme Australian self-belief
that saw them win the ODI series. All the effort to belittle their ODI
success is not honourable at all. As the result suggests, it was a
closely fought series with Australia having to overcome a formidable
challenge from the Indians.
Indian cricket is on a firm ground now. Steve Waugh's tribute to the
Indian team has to be the best: "This team looks pretty confident at
the moment and back themselves. They are probably a little more
positive and seem to be better organised than any of the Indian teams
I have played against in my career. The tough edge that they have
discovered helped them overcome difficult circumstances in the Test
series and this is why they eventually emerged winners. They won the
vital moments in the series, and were deserving winners in the end."
Truth is such an intangible thing. India has not won a Test series
abroad for many years now. The last Test series win came about when
India beat Sri Lanka in the second Test match at Sinhalese Sports Club
Ground, Colombo on the 1st of August 1993. And, the one before that
came in 1986 when India beat a demoralised English team who were
without the services of Ian Botham, 2-0. Let us face the fact; the
Indian cricket team's Test match record overseas has been dismal.
Silicon Valley wouldn't have been what it is, without the enterprising
Indians. From Fiji to the Middle East to North America, Indians who
have been living abroad have made a mark for themselves, working hard
and being successful in almost all walks of life. The Indian cricket
team will have a mountain to climb when they visit South Africa in
October. But first it is going to be a two Test match series in
Zimbabwe in the month of June. Ganguly and his men will have to
remember that they carry the hopes and wishes of a billion people. The
road to success runs uphill.