Could the 'champions' not make 86 runs off 90 balls?

Someone long deceased once said: In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail. Well, 86 runs off 90 balls with seven wickets in hand… could hardly be described as daunting; hardly worthy of great. But then India’s response – to call their batsmen in and settle for a tame draw – showed that they still have a long way to go before they can play like champions even against the West Indies. The more you look at those numbers, the more cheated you feel. At first glance, they seem to be the right ingredients for a thriller; but then think again. This is the ODI and Twenty20 era… those numbers point to a win; a win, yes, if only India had the guts to go for broke. The entire episode leaves a bad taste in the mouth which should hardly be the way we feel considering that we won the ODI and Test series. But we do feel that way. And who is to blame? Is it our unreal expectations, buoyed by the World Cup win, or is it just the wickedness of modern sport? [caption id=“attachment_39418” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“India skipper MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher sure made a statement during the third Test. AFP”] [/caption] After the game, India coach Duncan Fletcher was irritated by the constant stream of questions about India’s abandoned chase. All he could muster in response: “Well, you don’t think we made a statement here? It (run-scoring on that pitch) was difficult. Once it got to four or five runs per over we were struggling to score. We were struggling to score three runs per over. The side decided it was difficult to get those runs and thought what’s the point in going there and ending up maybe with just one side able to win it.” He said it again and again. Trying to get everyone over to his side but perhaps he failed to understand the ‘point.’ This was a team that counts itself as the best Test team in the world and they give up in the face of ‘difficult.’ Rather cruel on the fans, isn’t it? The great teams are not daunted by impossible, they don’t fear failing but they do fear letting themselves down. And that should be what the Indian team aspires to do; where it aspires to be. Fletcher could have set the agenda; he could have shown the team what he is all about. His attitude could have expressed itself in our will to win but instead his ‘safety first’ approach casts him in poor light. Just as the episode where he was shushed into silence by N Srinivasan in his first press conference in front of the Indian media. [fpgallery id=73] The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of skill, not a lack of talent, but rather a lack of will. India had them on the mat, right where Dhoni wanted them but then you chose to back off for you feared a backlash. All the Indian team needed to do was step forward and give the finishing blow. And for most that is the biggest grouse: Dhoni and his men settled for less than their best. Dhoni is a clever man; incredibly so. And he often speaks about putting things in perspective but this was one moment where one was tempted to dam perspective and everything that goes with it. Winning isn’t everything – had the Indian team given it an honest go, not one of us would have even raised an eyebrow – but giving it your best is. They say, the meek shall inherit the earth and perhaps they shall but it is the brave who are remembered. Sport, at its purest, is about going out there and playing your hardest – no questions asked. It’s about leaving nothing in the tank so that by the time you get back to your room and ask yourself: Did I give it my all? There is only one answer that comes to mind. At the end of their careers, players are often asked what their legacy is… not many in this team would like to point at this match. In fact, most of them would wish this moment forgotten, for even in their triumph, they would have felt like losers. And if it didn’t annoy them, then there’s something seriously wrong with the way we play sport.

Could the 'champions' not make 86 runs off 90 balls?

Sport, at its purest, is about going out there and playing your hardest. Dhoni and Co certainly didn’t do that on the last day of the third Test.

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