India may have won the first T20 world cup... they might had come close to lifting the ICC World cup in 2003.. but still the form i always liked more to watch was the longer version.. which they call a "real test". In the earlier days of my upbringing , there was no cable connection in the house.. so i used to watch the highlight packages or video snippets in news. Although i was too young when tendulkar sizzled in perth, i recall hearing the heroics of sourav ganguly in first 2 tests. Finally, the first series which i watched live was Ind-SA Test series in 1996. Alas! that was the complete blunder for the team India. I still recalled india bundling out for 100 and 66... and first time i saw the helplessness of indians on a bouncing deck.
Later in the ganguly era, some respect was restored, but still we were not able to dictat the terms on foreign soil , moreover so in south africa which remained a bogey-land for team india. So this team when the team crossed the pacific ocean, everyone was nervous, how would they perform, can they justify there no 1 tag, which is challenged brashly by their counterparts. They almost do a dis-service to their fans when surrendering meekly in centurion. Although little master added yet another milestone to his already glorified CV.. still it was a rout, to say the least.
Boxing day, as the next day after christmas is referred to, generally marks the last test of the calendar year. This time there were 2 tests. One where Australia was finding their gears to stage a comeback in Ashes.. and another in kigsmead durban , where south africa is going gaga over the plantation they have made on the playing surface.
But this indian team is known for turnarounds. Earlier they win the first match to lose the advantage in further outings. This team knows to bounce back , and to their believers they have done the impossibles this year. In SL, VVS Laxman played an incredible knock to secure a drawn series when the chips were down.. and then in mohali, he even surpassed his legend. If my heart needs the check-up for its cardiac health that match has certainly provided it. I remember being glued to the TV set. Every run scored by VVS was like gold-dust. Again the kid was back in me. Again i was shouting,yelling and dancing as if the on-field players are looking at me.
As the story goes, my mom used to told me that while watching a Ind-NZ test match in my younger days (mind you those matches started at 3 AM).. i used to shout a lot.. doubting my neighbors of a burglary in my house. And that day my mom told me that i was almost repeating my performance of the younger days.
So why this all now.. because once again my favorite format is back, once again batters are facing music.. once again bowlers looks like tanks on mission.. once again VVS showed why he is dreaded in opposition dressing room, and once again i am shouting, screaming , praying, dancing. I forgot i am 25 years old.. i forgot my examinations are going on.. its test cricket at its best baby... you better remember it.
P.S. Keiron Pollards and Dwayne Bravos of world may get unbelievable auctions in IPL, VVS is priceless, damn you lalit modi.. you put a knight among the pawns of T-20 circus.
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