Win or Lose, Play it like Australia

Let's take a break from the controversies that raised high emotion in a country of more than 1 billion people. Cricket is a religion for millions of Indian fans and they worship the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Dhoni as demi-gods. It is no surprise their anger and emotion explode when something went against their players.

It's true that Bucknor and Benson made several "unforgivable" mistakes that changed the course of the game. However, here the question is did we play up to standard?

We can't absolve our cricketers of the responsibilities they carry on their shoulders. Indian fans are always unpredictable. I remember how Ravi Shastri had to spend more than a month in Hong Kong after the 1992 World Cup, in which he batted slow in every match.

Shastri had taken 112 balls balls to score 57 runs against England. India lost the match by 8 runs. In another match against Australia, Shastri again batted slowly with no success and India lost that match by 1 run. When India was booted out of the World Cup, his house was attacked. Shastri could return to India only when normalcy returned.

Similar incidents are very common in India. Even the great Sachin Tendulkar was booed on his home ground in Mumbai. Dhoni's house in Jharkhand was attacked when India lost to Bangladesh in the World Cup 2007. Ironically, the same Dhoni was bestowed with the first "Jharkhand Ratna" (Jewel of Jharkhand) award when India won the Twenty20 World Cup. In the recent years, players like Dravid, Kaif, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Ganguly and Irfan Pathan had to face humiliation when India lost badly in any tournament or series.

Yes, we were at the receiving end of Sydney Test. We got maximum number of bad decisions. The umpires looked like supporting the Aussies even though they were not. They hit India every time when it looked solid. But should we have lost the game?

Forget about the dismissals of Draid and Ganguly. With Kumble and Dhoni at the crease, India was all set to save the match. But our batsmen failed to apply ourselves. We lost Dhoni, Harbhajan, R P Singh, Ishant Sharma at quick successions. And, they did not get any unfair decisions. It's outrageous that three of our last batsmen fell in the penultimate over of the match (with seven balls to go) to a part-time bowler Michael Clarke while their skipper was stranded fighting a lone battle. Can we forgive our batsmen for their misdeed.

We got two bad decisions in the Sydney Test. But what about Jaffer, Laxman, Tendulkar and Yuvraj? Didn't they let millions of cricket fans down with their poor performance? They faltered when Indian needed them badly. Nothing was written against them, as other things took center stage.

Every cricket lover in India will admit that Australia is much better than India when it comes to playing cricket. They know how to win. They are hungry for success. Despite the mind game, sledging and other behavioral problems, they still rule the roost in the cricket field. They have proven it time and again. Why can't we play like them? Our players get the maximum benefits from cricket. The BCCI and entire country support them when something goes wrong. Do they really live up to our expectations?

Sydney test is history now. Bucknor is out. We have two good umpires Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf for the third test. Let's move on to Perth and see how Indian players apply themselves. They got what they want. They received huge support from India and abroad. Everyone put their weight behind them when they needed the most. They received sympathy both in India and Australia. Now what? Will they be able to win Perth and Adelaide for the country? They win or lose, it's to be seen what exactly they do while playing for the pride of 1.4 billion people.