India became a victim of the snowball effect in England after having a disastrous start to their English campaign this summer by losing the first Test at Lord’s by 196 runs.
After this defeat many Indian fans and cricket experts predicted a defiant comeback by India
and reckoned a win from the then number one team in Test cricket.
Before the series, England were completely written-off since no one was
focussing on an English
win, instead people were eyeing an Indian victory without any
hindrance.
However, the Lord’s Test changed everything and shifted the focus
from an obvious win to a blatant welcome which was given to the tourists
by England. The warmth that India had received before the first match
had weathered away and now they were in for a
cold summer against a team led by Andrew Strauss.
Strauss is perhaps the most successful captain in England’s history
and under him the English side has surely flourished in Test cricket.
However, saying that they are the best side in Test cricket is yet
another underrated statement because they are also
the reigning T20 champions which proves that they are equally dangerous
in the shortest format of the game.
While some might argue that India tried to top England’s performance
in the second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham the fact remains that
they were not up to speed and were blown away by the English with some
outstanding bowling and fielding after India
exhibited impressive bowling in the early part of the first day of the
match.
Every time India walked in the field they seemed a bogged down side
and instead of giving a better show, their performance deteriorated with
each passing day. Not even the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar could pull his team out from the deep pits of hell
where the Indians had been thrown into by the hosts.
The only bump in India’s demise was the matured performance from Rahul Dravid who provided the fans with some memorable batting performances in the three matches that have been played in the series.
Nonetheless, the snowball effect has taken the Indian side downhill
as they have been dethroned from the number one spot in Test cricket a
feat they achieved after beating the former number one team Australia.
England on the other hand, crept to the number one spot without any
hype and in fact before the series most cricket commentators did not
even bother to mention the possible crowing of England as the number one
team in case India got beaten up.
Well now, the Indians need to huddle and aim for a better future,
although there is nothing much they can do to get their number one spot
back, they should try to gather lost pride in the fourth and final Test
of the series beginning from 18 August at the
Oval.
England on the other hand will now aim to give younger guys a chance
to take a dig at India since the pros have done an astounding job in the
opening games. Perhaps it is time for India to give its uncapped
players a go as before the series the Indians were
happy to rely on their over the hill
players to get them through in England, however, now that the pros have
failed India have a good excuse to give their young players a chance to
play for the national team.
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