Three events that changed Indian cricket

I am going to list down three events in chronological order which in my option changed Indian cricket: -

1.       Eden gardens – India vs Australia, 2001

2.       Sourav Ganguly taking off his jersey at Lord’s – Netwest trophy final, 2002

3.       Inception of IPL - 2008

Rahul Dravid in the book titled “Rahul Dravid: Timeless steel” says, we could both sense that we had done something unique, something that would define our careers from then on, irrespective of what we achieved or didn't achieve after that. Indeed, they did something which can never be forgotten.

Australian team arrived in Kolkata riding high on 16 consecutive test matches victories. Indian team was up against a mighty opposition again, having lost the first test match in Mumbai within 3 days. 2^nd test match also going the same way, even worse as India were following on after being bowled out for 171 against 445. There was no hope, only a miracle could rescue India. And miracle did come in the form of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman who stood firm against all odds. They batted whole day taking India from 254/4 at the start of day 4 to 589/4 at the end of day 4 adding 335 runs without losing a wicket with Laxman unbeaten on 275 and Dravid on 155. India declared on 657/7 midway in morning session on fifth day. Indian fans started to sense something. Victory was not easy from here on too but they knew that they had surely averted the defeat. Australia were none for 12 at lunch and 161 for 3 at tea. India needed 7 wickets in last session. Thanks to Sachin and Harbhajan’s great bowling that Australia were bowled out for 212. India won the match by 171 runs.

It was a great team victory. This win provided a self-belief that no team is unbeatable if everyone stood up to their task. Prior to that, there were individual brilliances but mostly as a team we ended up losing.  

The second event came a year later at Lord’s when India was asked to chase a mighty total of 326 against home team at the mecca of cricket. England captain Nasser Hussain and Opener Marcus Trescothick scored centuries. India started well reaching 100 under 15^th over without losing a wicket. Ganguly and Sehwag took advantage of power play and toyed the English bowlers. But some poor shot selection found them wobbling at 146/5 losing five wickets in just 40 runs. And because of flurry of wickets in no time, asking run rate was also going up. In came two young lads Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif and played the match of their lives taking India home. Need to mention here that Kaif debuted in the same year in January and it would have taken a lot to remain calm and to take calculated risk in this undisclosed territory he was in. I still remember the overthrow which sealed the win for India with 3 balls to spare. It was India’s one of the greatest ODI victory.

What happened after that at Lord’s balcony was a statement by Ganguly, and it infused aggression into young Indian side. I do not think anyone would have had audacity to take off his shirt and swirl at Lord’s balcony. This win also made Indian fans believe that there is world beyond Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid. Coincidentally Ganguly was the captain in both the occasions at Eden Gardens and at Lord’s.

Nasser Hussain at SAP Labs leadership talk in 2011 in Bangalore said, “Indian team used to get bullied by class fifth students whenever they used to tour England”. It was Sourav Ganguly who changed that. He infused passion, aggression and new energy in Indian team. World started looking at Indian team differently not just from within 22 yards but beyond it. It indeed was Ganguly who built the new team and provided them a platform to express themselves.

In this series, I think inception of IPL in 2008 changed the game. BCCI started getting more money, youngsters from all over India started to dream to play with best of the best in the world and learn from them. Many purists would argue that IPL ruined the real cricket and they may well be right but I think it changed the cricket in India for good. Good facilities started reaching to remote places. It became the game for masses now which was only for select few big metropolitans before 2008. Now you can see players from all over India playing IPL and getting noticed. It united India in a way. It also gave a good quality life to cricketers. You play well for 2 months and then you can enjoy the whole year. Most players still aspire to represent India but if they don’t make it to the highest level they can still feel satisfied and lead a good life.

No one would have imagined that the entire tournament can be shifted to a different country because of general election in India in 2009. South Africa hosted 2009 edition of IPL which was won by the then Deccan Chargers Hyderabad. Game changed dramatically after the advent of IPL. Players attitude changed too. Now the match is not over till the last ball is bowled or last run is scored.

I remember Harsha Bhogle in one of the Ted Talk mentioning that Dwayne bravo was called in to play one match for Mumbai Indian against Deccan Chargers Hyderabad in Hyderabad and then use Private corporate jet to send him back to represent West Indies. Never would we have imagined that we will get a player for one match all the way from Jamaica and send him back via private jet. We have arrived somewhere.

In my opinion, these are three events that largely changed Indian cricket. India was destined to be no 1 test team after the hard work put in by Ganguly in shaping the team. 2011 world cup victory was also the result of the preparation done in last decade under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. But I would concede that 2011 world cup victory was the most special moment for the Indian team and the fans.

I hope to see India reaching new heights in world cricket and bring more joys to everyone’s life.