da betsul： You would think all Indian fans would hail 2002 as the year of theTiger
da mrbet： Anand Vasu31-Dec-2002You would think all Indian fans would hail 2002 as the year of theTiger. The year of the man they call the Royal Bengal Tiger – SouravGanguly.There has seldom been a year when the super-charged, oftenunreasonableIndian fans expected more of their team. Every time the Indianteam leftfor foreign shores, the chorus sang of an elusive Test series winabroad. Like a poker game spinning out of control, the stakesroseunimaginably every time India went out to bat in a one-dayer. Thesmallmatter of 300 runs was chased more than once. And then theinevitablehappened. India were brought thudding back down to Earth fromseventhheaven in the land of the long white cloud.
© CricInfoIndia has been comprehensively out-played in two Tests thatlasted lessthan six days put together in the course of crashing to defeat.Thefirst two one-dayers have cruelly exposed the Indian battingline-up’stendency to play every ball like it’s destined to be thrashed tothefence. A little seam and sound of timber as the stumps areshattered, alittle swing and the sound of a slip fielder exulting. These arethesights and sounds filtering through from New Zealand – not theresounding thud of willow striking leather.The cynics have begun to chime in from the sidelines in theirgratingtones. Ganguly would not be in the team if he wasn’t captain. VVSLaxmanplays too far away from his body. Anil Kumble is a shadow of thebowlerhe was. And the conspiracy theorists are not too far behindeither.Tendulkar is crying off from certain tournaments because ofsponsorconflicts. The players and the board are scheming to defy theInternational Cricket Council (ICC).Sadly, this is a site read by mixed audiences and the appropriateresponse to these preposterous claims cannot be printed.Suffice it to say that Indian fans are becoming so demanding andsoexcitable that no amount of success will sate them.India kicked off 2002 by allowing England to level a one-dayseries 2-2where Andy Flintoff established the dangerous precedent ofwhirlingaround the Wankhede stadium like a shirtless dervish.Then India toured West Indies and pulled of a win at Port ofSpain to go1-0 in the series only to falter, flicker and fade out, losingtheseries 2-1. Fortunately for fans, the slam-bang fast food versionbrought India consolation.Then was the trip to the Old Blighty. And which Indian fan canforgetthe NatWest one-day series? A string of strong performances fromaresurgent, energetic group of youngsters in the Indian sideculminatedin an exhilarating run chase in the final. The 300-runs barrierwas brokenwith something approaching ease and an infuriated Nasser Hussainwasleft gaping in horror as Ganguly gave his Lancashire teammate asgood ashe got, taking his shirt off and waving it triumphantly.After being hammered at the holiest of holies – Lord’s, Indiaonce againshowed bottle, winning at the most English of all Englishgrounds -Headingley. And what’s more, the visitors managed to hang ontothatscore-line.From a fair English summer for Indian cricket, it was a journeyto theSerendip Island for the second largest stage in limited overscricket. Astrenuous, action packed tournament brought India to the foreonce againas England were blown away and South Africa pipped at the post.Despitestarting more than once, the final was washed out by the arrivalof themonsoon and Ganguly could only get one hand on the trophy whileSanathJayasuriya was happy to help the Indian skipper hold it.Then the West Indies came to India for their dose of dusty tracksandwicket turners. Underlining their superiority at home the Indianssealeda 2-0 Test series win before hurricane Gayle blew them away togive WestIndies the one-dayers 4-3.That pretty much charts India’s course in the year 2002. And ifyou lookback, you will see that there’s little to complain about.If the results are not good enough, the statistics unconvincing,or thebalance sheet apparently in the red there are still other thingstoconsider. There’s the emergence of the pocket-Tendulkar, VirenderSehwag. There’s the forging of a proud, strong one-day unit wherepeopleactually talk about the fighting spirit the team shows. There’sthefielding and running between wickets of Mohammad Kaif and YuvrajSingh.There’s the fire-in-the-belly bowling of Zaheer Khan andHarbhajanSingh. And of course India’s first natural stumper in a while,the babyfaced Parthiv Patel.And yes, there’s the new elder statesman of Indian cricket -RahulDravid. More solid than flamboyant, more substance than style,Dravidhas saved India the blushes more times than fans should forget.Andwaving his baton from the sidelines, the soft-spoken John Wrighthas gotthe best of his forthright, strong captain.That heady cocktail of the year of course has been inevitablyreplacedby the hangover of the Test series loss and the gripes are back.TheChinese whispers are gathering momentum with every passing day.”Indiadon’t have a ghost of a chance at the World Cup in South Africa”say thepundits.And that’s a good thing.Remember what happened when India last went into a World Cupwithout aghost of a chance in 1983?
