(Background- India played Bangladesh in Champions Trophy semifinal which turned out to be a one sided affair thanks to our batters who were just too good on a rare sunny day in England.)
THE 'TON'DULKAR SYNDROME
"There was no need for Rohit to play that shot!" My dad shouted as Rohit nonchalantly pulled another short pitched delivery for four..
"With Virat nearing his hundred he should give him strike!" He added.
And as it turned out, Virat hit the winning runs staying unbeaten on 96 which was a high quality innings strudded with some exquisite drives.
But my dad rued the fact that he had missed his 100 by 4 runs due to Rohit Sharma's lack of understanding.
I call this the TONdulkar Syndrome. My dad has grown up in the times of Gavaskar and Sachin where India won very few matches as compared to the regularity with which India beats other opponents today.
For the generation of my dad, a hundred was very important for that was the only thing they could afford to celebrate as 100s came with far more regularity than India's wins. I instantly remember the Multan test. Yes, the one famous for Rahul Dravid declaring the innings with Tendulkar stranded on 194 rather than remembering it as a great test victory for the team. Obviously, Sachin was disturbed and he made it known publicly though he later acted as though he was unruffled by it. But who remembers that even Rahul Dravid was batting on 93 when Sourav Ganguly declared in the Sydney test just a few months before Multan test. There was no fuss about it because Dravid created none..
He didn't need a special home series and the standing ovation at Chinnaswamy.
For all the hundreds Sachin scored, he unfortunately could never finish games with as much consistency as Virat has been doing.
And I think the sooner we get out of this TONDULKAR syndrome and stop idolising only those players who score a TON and start cherishing the victories more than the individual records, the better it will be for our nation..
Hearing Virat Kohli's post match conference, I am pretty sure, while there may or may not be another guy who scores a 100 100s for India, there will fortunately be no other Multan Test in the history of Indian cricket or for that matter that 114 off 147 balls in Mirpur vs Bangladesh to complete his 100th hundred..
"I feel a 100 kilos lighter!" were his words.. 100th 100 was all on his mind, I sometimes wonder!? India lost that match and were knocked out of the Asia Cup..
India has moved on and so should we.
Times of personal glory are gone and it's time to ready ourselves to celebrate another Champions Trophy victory as a team...
If it was like 1990s we would still be saying, "I hope Kohli gets another hundred on Sunday!"
I will just say, "I just hope India beats Pakistan comprehensively!" No matter if Shikhar or Kohli or Rohit get out on 99..
That's how the invincible teams of Australia and West Indies of the past used to play..
Ruthless and boring..
"It's all about making it a routine. We just want to play it as just another game!" as Virat said in the Post match presentation..
Also, something that stood out was how Virat equally credited MS Dhoni for that move to bring in Kedar Jadhav. This camaraderie between an ex skipper and a new skipper is something very soothing and very unheard of in Indian cricket. If you don't think so, just go watch SACHIN's movie and there's a whole section involving the troubled relationship between Sachin and Azhar..
Sachin was undoubtedly the greatest Indian batsman but Kohli is well on his way to becoming India's biggest match winner..
P.S. You might not agree with me on this or you might, but you have to agree that the attitude with which this side is playing is quite akin to the Australia of 1999-2007 phase..
Ruthless and boring..
But Champions nonetheless..
THE 'TON'DULKAR SYNDROME
"There was no need for Rohit to play that shot!" My dad shouted as Rohit nonchalantly pulled another short pitched delivery for four..
"With Virat nearing his hundred he should give him strike!" He added.
And as it turned out, Virat hit the winning runs staying unbeaten on 96 which was a high quality innings strudded with some exquisite drives.
But my dad rued the fact that he had missed his 100 by 4 runs due to Rohit Sharma's lack of understanding.
I call this the TONdulkar Syndrome. My dad has grown up in the times of Gavaskar and Sachin where India won very few matches as compared to the regularity with which India beats other opponents today.
For the generation of my dad, a hundred was very important for that was the only thing they could afford to celebrate as 100s came with far more regularity than India's wins. I instantly remember the Multan test. Yes, the one famous for Rahul Dravid declaring the innings with Tendulkar stranded on 194 rather than remembering it as a great test victory for the team. Obviously, Sachin was disturbed and he made it known publicly though he later acted as though he was unruffled by it. But who remembers that even Rahul Dravid was batting on 93 when Sourav Ganguly declared in the Sydney test just a few months before Multan test. There was no fuss about it because Dravid created none..
He didn't need a special home series and the standing ovation at Chinnaswamy.
For all the hundreds Sachin scored, he unfortunately could never finish games with as much consistency as Virat has been doing.
And I think the sooner we get out of this TONDULKAR syndrome and stop idolising only those players who score a TON and start cherishing the victories more than the individual records, the better it will be for our nation..
Hearing Virat Kohli's post match conference, I am pretty sure, while there may or may not be another guy who scores a 100 100s for India, there will fortunately be no other Multan Test in the history of Indian cricket or for that matter that 114 off 147 balls in Mirpur vs Bangladesh to complete his 100th hundred..
"I feel a 100 kilos lighter!" were his words.. 100th 100 was all on his mind, I sometimes wonder!? India lost that match and were knocked out of the Asia Cup..
India has moved on and so should we.
Times of personal glory are gone and it's time to ready ourselves to celebrate another Champions Trophy victory as a team...
If it was like 1990s we would still be saying, "I hope Kohli gets another hundred on Sunday!"
I will just say, "I just hope India beats Pakistan comprehensively!" No matter if Shikhar or Kohli or Rohit get out on 99..
That's how the invincible teams of Australia and West Indies of the past used to play..
Ruthless and boring..
"It's all about making it a routine. We just want to play it as just another game!" as Virat said in the Post match presentation..
Also, something that stood out was how Virat equally credited MS Dhoni for that move to bring in Kedar Jadhav. This camaraderie between an ex skipper and a new skipper is something very soothing and very unheard of in Indian cricket. If you don't think so, just go watch SACHIN's movie and there's a whole section involving the troubled relationship between Sachin and Azhar..
Sachin was undoubtedly the greatest Indian batsman but Kohli is well on his way to becoming India's biggest match winner..
P.S. You might not agree with me on this or you might, but you have to agree that the attitude with which this side is playing is quite akin to the Australia of 1999-2007 phase..
Ruthless and boring..
But Champions nonetheless..
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