India vs Australia: Sorrow, despair and joy at last, how Indians Down Under rode an emotional roller-coaster over the years

It was the early 1990s that Australia first started experiencing a large influx of Indian migrants. The country was just recovering from a recession and economic turmoil, but at the same time, on the cusp of producing a once in a generation cricket team. It was the beginning of one the powerhouse eras of Australian cricket.

For an Indian immigrant, the 1991-192 tour was the first time tricolor flags were collectively visible at a cricket ground. Apart from a small minority that felt it was truly worth purchasing a ticket to attend the matches, a large number watched the event unfold with great interest on their television sets. For the next 28 years, those Indian fans would go on to live in agony as the Australians continued to batter India on the hard and bouncy pitches.

Many of them now call the land Down Under as their home and are proud to be ‘Australians’. But when it comes to cricket, they still bleed blue. It was the first generation, after all, and most of them had a very strong bond with their home country. More importantly, every time India were beaten at cricket, most would walk into their offices or schools with bowed heads. After all, cricket was the strongest bond between the two nations. It was almost like cricket was creating an identity for them. So, every time Australia won, they were on the receiving end of a few tongue-in-cheek comments.

It was a massive frustration watching the Indian teams on the 1991-92 and then the 1999-2000 tours getting pummelled by the great Australian sides. There was no escape from the friendly verbals from the community. This was the invincible team with the likes of Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, and Glenn McGrath putting up a grand show.

Many of the Indian fans were quietly envious and proud, but at the same time still trying to figure out, when will the day arrive when an Indian fast bowler could hurl fast bouncers like Brett Lee? When will an Indian spinner bamboozle the Australian batsmen? When will an Indian wicket-keeper counterattack like Gilchrist? When would the Australian media criticise their own team? And importantly, will India ever win a series Down Under?

The epic 2001 series win at home had given the Indian fans in Australia some hope. However, it was still seen as ‘winning it in your backyard’. So, when the Sourav Ganguly-led troops arrived in 2003 to compete against an Australian team without Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, the hopes had risen with belief that this could well be the time to create history. It was also a phase which saw a large influx of Indian students and it led to increased support at the grounds.

The second generation of the migrants that arrived in the early ’90s was also growing up and suddenly it felt like the parochial barracking could push India to the brink. However, it ended as a series of ‘only-ifs’. Only if Steve Bucknor had given Ponting out LBW in Melbourne. Only if Sehwag didn’t get out to full toss on 195. Only if Parthiv Patel held on to the catches on the final day in Sydney. Only if there was DRS. They managed to draw the series. But the search for that elusive win still remained.

Then came the infamous 2007-08 epic, where tensions boiled over, and India’s rise in cricket swelled the local Indians’ chests with pride. They argued in offices, and possibly for the first time suffered an identity crisis. India eventually lost and there was angst. At the same time, the victory in Perth was arguably the sweetest of them all. People rejoiced on the streets and in houses. Most felt this was going to be the era. Their time was coming.

But instead, the 2011-12 series ended up being a nightmare. The ageing Indian team left many embarrassed and those early settlers felt if India couldn’t win without the ‘Fab Four’ and that too against an Australian team in a rebuilding process, they would probably never witness an Indian victory in Australia.

Finally, in 2014-15, India had fast bowlers that could hurl bouncers and batting unit that could bury the demons of being intimidated by short-pitched bowling. The crowds flocked to the stands, the local Indian population believed. Kohli had reinstated that pride. But Steve Smith wiped off all the dreams.

By the time India arrived again on the shores in mid-November last year, the local fan base was enormous. The students that had arrived in the early 2000s were now desperate to show their identity via cricket. Those emigrants that had arrived in the early ’90s were edging towards retirements; lots of them took their grandkids along hoping to convert the third generation into Indian fans. The second generation was now in their 30s. The students that arrived had Australian passports and had found their Australian identity, but amidst all, they just wanted to see an Indian victory Down Under.

On the conclusion of the third day’s play in Sydney, that feeling, one which they had been waiting for years and years, finally started to sink in. A day later, many took the day off work and sat patiently in the rains to watch history unfold in front of them. They sang, embraced, laughed and a few even had tears in their eyes. Finally, they could turn to their neighbours, bosses, Australian relatives, their peers, and say, “Mate, India can win in the Aussie backyard too!”