Ganguly Again!
As india slid into another ignominous defeat the question on everyones lips was how long is ganguly going to be patronised. It is becoming abundantly clear that ganguly's low form isnt a passing cloud. He is losing his grip on his game and on the team. One could not help noticing the desperation in the man when he came on to bat at ahamedabad. After seeming to be on a roll in the first two matches the indians have lost the momentum to the pakistanis , who , fuelled by some strong batting are looking favourites to win the tournament. What happened? The answer is simple : a captain is facing the lowest slump of his career.
Anyone would know that cricket is a team game. It not only takes a collective effort to win but also a collective will to win. How often have we seen a brilliant effort in the field or a cameo with the bat or an inspiring spell with the ball lift the game of the team as a whole. Human emotions and feelings are highly infectious. When a captain is struggling even to put bat to ball it gets to the entire team. Even players in the peak of their form begin to feel dispirited. Remember the last india's tour to australia? It took one inspiring knock from their captain in the first test to set the tone for the rest of the series. It is now working the other way around.
Then, i guess that ganguly's suspension for the next 6 games is a welcome break. Welcome because it would help the cause of both the indian team and ganguly himself. It would give him some time to think away from the heat and pressure and critics braying for his head. Perhaps we can see a changed man after this break.
A captain woes
I remember the time when India as a team were unbeatable at home. It was also the time when they were distressingly poor overseas. After innumerable whitewasheses whenever they travelled overseas the cricket lovers were forced to concede to the fact that they were just not good enough. I am thinking back on it because it was also the time when our 'dada' was synonymous with towering sixes and sugary off-drives.Those were days when the spinners especially leg-breakers had nightmares of ganguly dancing down the pitch to his death tune and carting them above their head for massive out-of-the-ground sixes.
Well , it takes no special knowledge to state those days have ended. For one , indians are winning overseas that too test matches , for another they are struggling to draw at home and the most important one is our beloved 'dada' has just forgotten what batting is. It is becoming increasingly difficult to even relive those bright memories after seeing some shocking and pathetic displays of non-batting.Irony has strange ways of asserting itself and it wouldnt be a matter of pride for our 'dada' - the way he was dismissed ; by spinners - in the bangalore test - looking clueless,confused and lost.One word? pathetic!. Being as kind hearted as i am,i forgave his string of poor scores (not that me 'forgiving' him mattered at all) - that reads interestingly 21,12,12,2,1, however i can never reconcile with the way he was dismissed. Hey Courtney walshes and Glenn Mcgraws, you guys can no longer claim the right for being dismissed foolishly.Our 'dada' has the prode of place no Forgive my language and forgive me for pitting walsh against ganguly for the former was one of the greatest in his department and the later...er...what is his department anyway?. on-field Spectator?.
Ganguly is in a huge pit that he has dug for himself and is now struggling to climb out. Perhaps its time for a change. There is a limit to human endurance and i beleive ganguly must not be made to endure anymore of this painful agony nor the spectators must be made to wince at that sight of a supposedly world class batsman moving awkwardly and standing there not even realising how he was dismissed. Forget pacers trying to bounce him , or bowlers using intimidatory tactics ,ganguly i think no longer gets even a thought from the opposition captains. He has attained a new level of batting where its a free for all. If he is causing any confusion in the opposite camps it must be between bowlers fighting to bowl to him. So congratulations india for drawing the series with pakistan with a ten member squad. Great work!
