Winning and losing is a part of sport and sportsmen do take the setbacks in their stride. However, this loss in the world cup final held at Ahmedabad for me was very interesting.
Although the loss was disheartening, but my gut feeling was that the defeat was just round the corner.
This gut feeling was not based on law of averages but it was based on the way we have been playing cricket in recent years.
For instance , the test matches that are played in india often end up in just 2-3 days whereas abroad they often as a rule go up to 4th and the 5th day. In 2021, the India vs England test matches played in England went right upto 4th and 5th day where as those played in India often finished on 3rd day.
Although, it is widely accepted as a norm, that the host country prepares the pitches that suit their bowlers and batters but if the match goes on to the penultimate day, and in india it finishes on 3rd day itself , it is an indicator that we are breaching that fine line of manipulation by a large margin.
If anyone has doubts, one can examine data, its easily available ; How many test matches in India finished in 2 to 3 days and how many test matches abroad reached the penultimate day.
If some spin bowlers can not find a place to play for India when it tours abroad and finest of fast bowlers have to sit out for a domestic test series, it speaks volumes about the kind of pitches we are making to win.
Another good example that comes to my mind is the recent World test match final, that was played in England, in which India lost to Australia. India as per the rankings was below England and it had to defeat England by a huge margin, so as to enter the Final. Thus, what we did was, we made an under prepared track, where we not only finished the test match in just three days but also defeated England with a huge margin, thereby ensuring that we enter the Finals.
This is not fair.
What went wrong.
Ironically, India once again consciously chose a slow track for this D day game to be played at Ahmedabad. Rahul Dravid and his staff landed up 2-3 days in advance in order to inspect the pitch, rather to ensure that the pitch is prepared as per India’s design. Thus it was made a Slow and sluggish pitch, so as to discard any advantage to the Australian fast bowlers. The plan was simple , if we bat first the ball will come slow and Australian fast bowlers will not be able to get any advantage, and our batsmen will go hammer and tongs against the Aussies. Thereafter, before the dew appears our bowlers under the lights would be able send half of the Australians back to pavilion. And if we bat second then the dew will make Batting easier, as the ball would not swing nor spin.
Unfortunately, the think tank undermined the Aussies think tank. The Aussies had their own plan ready to deal with this Indian strategy. They on a sluggish pitch , pitched the ball short of good length and also slowed down their pace, including the spinners. There by forcing the Indians to play cross bat rather than jumping out and tonking the ball straight . The Indian batsmen now found it very difficult to hit boundaries on a pitch where the ball was not coming on bat properly , this explains why in middle overs our batsmen found it difficult to hit boundaries.
It is unfortunate that we ourselves, intentionally, not only undermined the capabilities of our bowlers and did not give them a pitch where they could unleash their full potential. Perhaps, our strategy still revolves around Kohli, Sharma and Shreyas , wherein we doctor the pitch to suit the batters rather than the bowlers.
I am sure, had Rahul Dravid and his staff left it to the curators , we would have had a sporting pitch where our bowlers , who were any day better than the Australians , could have demolished the Aussie batting line up.
Conclusion.
Thus the India’s pitch ploy did not work as the Aussies were prepared for it and crossed the line with lot of spare overs.
No wonder the International Cricket Council’s independent pitch consultant Andy Atkinson, who oversees preparation at global tournaments, raised doubts about the pitch selection process and wrote an e mail ;
.“As a result of these actions, one must speculate if this will be the first-ever ICC CWC [World Cup] final to have a pitch which has been specifically chosen and prepared to their stipulation at the request of the team management and/or the hierarchy of the home nation board, Or will it be selected or prepared without favouritism for either of the sides competing in the match in the usual manner, and unquestionably because it is the usual pitch for the occasion?”
What further made it worst was the muted response of the crowd, as if it had gathered to celebrate India’s victory rather than witnessing a Good cricket match.
You can build a huge glittering stadium but can not inculcate SPORTING CULTURE.
Losing a game is not of much consequence in sports, provided you are learning from defeats. One of the most important lessons that this defeat can teach us is ; STOP MANIPULATING THE PITCHES, Ensure that we prepare sporting pitches so that Test matches in India finish on 4th/5th day.