The first non-Indian cricketers to sing the Kingfisher Beer song “Ula la la la, vey o” (I hope this is correct – I have no intention of getting Vaughan try to correct me) were the West Indians. In fact, Kingfisher was the official sponsor of the West Indian cricket team almost half a decade back, and this Indian sponsorship gave some decent funding to the impoverished game that every man, woman and child loves in the Caribbean. Today, I am sure, almost everybody in the West Indies would be despising all things Indian, notwithstanding the fact that 4 of their playing 11 in the last test (Ganga, Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Ramdin) are of Indian origin. In fact, together they scored almost 2/3rd of the total runs scored by West Indies in either innings (67/103 in the first and 142/219 in the second); yet could not save their team from the blushes.
India, on the other hand, have finally shaken off the ghost of not being able to win a series outside the sub-continent (I don’t think winning the series against a totally depleted and demoralized Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe last September should count as being able to win outside). The last time when India actually won a series of consequence outside was when Kapil’s Devils demolished England 2-0 in 1986. Who would have thought that it would take a good 20-years to repeat the feat? However, if you just go a little back in history, you would realize that India had taken 15 long years to register their 1986 series win abroad – the last time it happened before that was in 1971 in England again. Though, then the Indian team was fresh with having beaten the mighty, mighty West Indians in their backyard just a few months ago.
The question that arises is that “Is India capable of continuing to win abroad?” On paper, very much so. When you win despite not playing Irfan, and with Sehwag, Kaif and Yuvraj being in terribly low form, it tells you that things are auguring well. We did play the series pretty well and should have won at least 2 if not 3 of the tests, had the rain gods not intervened to favour West Indies. However, one must not miss the fine point that the Indians got pretty “Indian” wickets in West Indies, and their task was made that much easier. They cannot expect the same every time and elsewhere. Also, the very fact that England went home from India with their chests held high a few months ago, despite not having their top league players in the team, tells you a thing or so about the Indian state of affairs in tests.
Victories tend to make you heady, specially when they come after such a long gap and such toil. It is time indeed to be drunk in the joys of reaching a long-cherished goal; yet one must not forget that the journey has just begun. We cannot be complacent from here onwards. Dravid and his team would be well advised not to let this go to their heads, and should ideally see this as almost a gift given the nature of the pitch given to them. Yes, the series is won, but because the opponent inflicted self-injury.
While record books will show that we are victors, the team should not assume the same and think of themselves as good as Kapil’s Devils; not yet at least – maybe in the future, they will prove themselves to be even better. Dravid has infused a sense of responsibility & pride in this team by leading from the front with his own knocks in the past few months, and by his demeanour on & off the field. He must surely be feeling happy today. However, he would also be the first one to realize how close they have come to winning and then squandered it – in ODIs specially – due to lack of killer instinct. His work is not over; it has just begun.
I, despite sounding very boorish & critical in this monologue, am one proud Indian today. But I can’t get myself to sing, “And I’ve, had the time of my life…”.
