Indian Cricket

So finally Dhoni’s tigers have done it, a jinx of 15 years has been broken after they decimated the Aussies and handed them one of their worst defeats in the recent memories. Ricky Ponting’s hopes of winning a single test match in India before he hangs his boot now remains unfulfilled and he must be wondering how every time a new player pops up that leaves his plans astray .

Both the test matches that India won was result of a team effort and in that sense now India is indeed moving from a team that depended on individual performances for victory to emerge as a team where every player performs when it is demanded and rises to the occasion for the cause of the team. The captain leads by example. Few people may have noticed it, but had not Dhoni sacrificed his wicket when there was a goof up between him and Suresh Raina who was a runner for VVS Laxman in the second innings, only god knows what could have happened. But did anybody talk about it, not at all; the captain also did not mention it as for him the victory of the team was more important. No wonder the captain of the Indian cricket team MS Dhoni was conferred with the title of the captain of the year by the ICC.

Welding the team into a winning unit is the duty of the captain and the captain courageous has done it with panache. It has however started having its effect on his persona. Still in his twenties, the captain has started showing the signs of stress in the form of his beards turning white in patches as also his side locks. But one can qualify it by saying that the graying of the hairs has been a by-product of the experience that he has gained in the cricketing field over the years.

The manner in which Sachin Tendulkar took the charge in the test match and exorcised the demons of his nervous nineties by completing his century with a six was symptomatic of the sense of chutzpah that has now become the leitmotif of the present Indian team. He has also adapted to the role of grand patriarch of the Indian cricket guiding the youngsters to play their natural game. No wonder, at the photo-op it was the young players who were allowed to bask in glory while the seniors formed the flank from behind.

Tags: Australia, Cricket, India, Indian Cricket, MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting, Sports