Cricket: Are We The Champions?

The Indian cricket team had not finished posing for the lenses after their T20 World Cup victory. And the Aussies have put it across to them in no uncertain terms that they are the real Big Brothers of the game. The Kangaroos won the second encounter in the seven-match series convincingly by 84 runs, although the inevitable was delayed for some time, thanks to some futile resistance shown by the Indian skipper, Dhoni, and the team's angry young man, Shrisanth.

The Aussies' win came as no surprise. Right in the first match of the series (which was washed out), they showed that they are the best in the business. After a not-so-impressive start (by their batting standards), the "men in yellow" showed great character and bounced back to post a total in excess of 300. One wonders why that did not come as an eye-opener for the recently crowned T20 World Champions.

In today's match as well, the Aussies, who were batting first, did not get a good start. But, blame it on laxity on the part of the Indian players that the Kangaroos again managed a score of more than 300.

And when it came to chasing, our batsmen seemed to be in a hurry to return to the pavilion. Is it the same Team India that was in South Africa a fortnight ago? Such poor display of cricketing skills makes one wonder whether we are worth the title "World Champion". So what if there is difference in the format of the game? Our attitude must get reflected somewhere.

Big names and past records do not win matches. It would take a great deal of discipline and application to beat the ever-in-form Australians. There are five more games to go in the series. In cricket, as they say, no game is over till the last ball is bowled or the last wicket is down. However, I will be surprised (pleasantly though) if Team India ends up clinching the series by whatever margin they find suitable.