Three biggest Indian cricket defeats of my time

I have been an ardent cricket fan ever since I remember. I sill have faint memories of 1987 World Cup Semi Final defeat against England. India had a target of 255 to win and top order misfired. Flash forward twenty years, scene was little different, it wasn’t a semi final but it was a knock out match, equally important. There was again a target of 255 and top order collapsed, World Cup 2007 group match defeat against Sri Lanka was equally devastating for fans.

Now when emotions have dried a bit and reality seems to be sinking in, I got thinking about defeats those left me completely heart-broken as an Indian cricket fan. Considering the way Indian team plays there is no dearth of defeats but to make it an effortful exercise I thought I will restrict myself to top three those come to my mind. Factors those went in evaluating these defeats were significance of lost match, level of hope, team’s form and emotional letdown these defeats caused, and finally, this is based on the way I look at Cricket. It was tricky to pick just three and here are the unlucky ones:

3. India v Sri Lanka in group match of World Cup 2007 at Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad on 23 March, 2007

Well…this one is too recent and need no elaboration :-(

2. India v Sri Lanka in Semi Finals of World Cup 1996 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 13 March 1996,

This was an emotional defeat on a crumbling home pitch, probably too much to digest after winning an epic against Pakistan in Quarter Finals. An on course run chase crashed all too sudden and crying Kambli probably made a lot many others cry too.

1. India v Australia in Final of World cup 2003 at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on 23 March, 2003

This one scores highly as I think this Indian team was the best we have ever got in a World Cup. They were playing amazingly well as a team and boy who can forget those very frequent huddles. But to Australia they looked almost invincible. To me this was our most convincing performance in World Cup. However in Finals over spirited Zaheer and a fourteen ball first over gave away Australia an early advantage and India never recovered from that point onwards. Honestly I still had some hope while we started chasing but Sachin’s departure sealed the coffin. Losing a World Cup Final leaves that frustrating feeling, too close but yet too far.

There are many more which came close to these three, Javed Miandad’s last ball six in Sharjah cup in 1986 was a very close entry to this list. Then 1987 World Cup Semi Final defeat against England was again a big blow. One more close competitor will be defeat to Pakistan at Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium in April 2005 when India lost last match of six match series. India had a lead of 2-0 and lost four matches in row to lose series by 4-2. Fourth defeat at Kotla was India's biggest defeat in terms of runs at home that time and was disrupted by disappointed fans throwing bottles on the field. If I recall correctly, this match was watched by Vajpayee and Musharraf, huh, what a shameful let down that was.

From a Cricket perspective, these top three humiliating defeats occurred when we were to chase a target, batting literally collapsed and we lost convincingly. But I also noticed some more patterns in my top three ranked Indian cricket defeats. All were in World Cup, boy I expect too much out of this carnival every time. All were in month of March, either I watch too much Cricket in March or may be March is unlucky month. Two of these defeats occurred on March 23rd, where the hell are those astrologers who predicted India’s win over Sri Lanka this time in all morning news shows?

What a nightmare…

It’s over and shall remain an unfilled dream for another four years. Derailed blue brigade has caused utter disappointment and humiliation. An over hyped mission, over one billion ardent fans, a spirited team with its back against the wall, a coach who revoked hopes of repeating the history; all were mercilessly shattered. Tears rolled, bottles broke and one of the most passionate sports dreams of India ended. Its time to call it a day, bid adieu to world cup, accept that we just couldn’t deliver when it mattered most, its time to pack bags and leave battlefield, its time to make ways for gladiators who deserve to be there, its time to painfully and reluctantly move on.

Times ahead…

Is consistency important in life? Is having a clear sense of direction in life important? Are vague ideas worthless? These are few questions that have been debated over several drink session throughout my college days. There have been many who believed consistency, crystal clear purpose and clarity in thoughts are essential and then there are few like me who have debated that these aren’t necessary. Every time we used to run out of liquor and thus energy to argue and capacity to generate more creative arguments, that’s why a conclusion was never arrived on this subject.

Few weeks back I drove to Bangalore and met up with one of my pals who used to be on other side of the argument and still is. Over a beer, unknowingly, we were again where we left it in college days. None of us have changed the sides, there were just more creative arguments, life’s experiences to supplement our points and a little more patience to listen others idea with a sense of openness and maturity. This time we were short on time and fully aware that few subjects are never to be concluded and probably its better that way.

Driving my way back to Chennai, I reflected on times gone by and times ahead of me. More I thought more I was convinced that consistency isn’t important. Take for example people, one of the most amazing creations of god but extremely inconsistent (i.e. heterogeneous bunch). Have you ever met two identical folks? I haven’t and I know I will never. My point is if you become consistent then where’s the fun, everyone knows how to get around you. If you have had a track record of changing course of your life every few years towards things you never imagined, you will agree crystal clear sense of direction is a myth. My vague ideas are always my source of inspirations and keep me going.

There are occasions when I am lost because I have no clue where I will be few months down the line. However few months down the line I do find myself at point which is far better than what I would have expected or pushed myself for in case I would have been clear. I am once again at that juncture where there is vagueness for the time ahead. Lot of uncertainties and changes ahead and I am looking in future with vagueness but excitement and I am sure I won’t be wrong. Cheers to times ahead. :)