India - The Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Of World Cup

This famous novel written by the Scottish Author Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886 dealt with the human psychology of dual personality that can exist within the same individual.

Dr.Henry Jekyll was a mild mannered man of science who carried out experiments in his chemical lab and developed a drug that released the evil side in himself, Mr. Edward Hyde; his alter ego.

Hyde was a homicidal maniac who had no conscience, no restrictions, no boundaries and who gave into all the temptations that Dr. Jekyll ever desired in his subconscious mind.

Cut to the 21st century, February- March 2015, we are in Australia playing cricket’s quadrennial showpiece event, the 11th edition of the cricket world cup.

Needless to say I represent one of those countless Indian cricket fans who despite claiming that Indian cricket has lost its charm with the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid still follows the fortunes of its cricket team no matter where they are and how they are playing.

Without doubt the Indian team has got off to a spectacular start having defeated the arch-rivals Pakistan in Adelaide which triggered off nationwide celebrations. A team that had been coined as a disaster by the media fraternity for its performance down under for the past two months is suddenly being hailed as a favorite for lifting the trophy.

Yet a word of caution for all India supporters. Do not get carried away. We have seen too many crests and troughs especially in World Cups over the last 20 years to know that this team resonates brilliance as easily as it breeds disaster. Such distinct personality traits are often seen in people who are supremely intelligent and extremely talented (like Dr. Henry Jekyll).

Perhaps a bit too gifted for their own good that often they bring their own downfall. The story of India’s World Cup campaign over the last five editions (1996-2011) underlines this theory in its truest sense.

The World Cup has often served as the stage where fans have been a witness to the Indian teams Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde traits in its vintage form. How a team can go from the sublime to the ridiculous in matter of days if not within the match itself has often left the greatest of cricket Pundits speechless. It is not a fallacy when sports journalists stick out their neck and say nobody is as devoted to cricket as is an Indian fan.

Having followed cricket for the last 19 years of my life I am no one to comment on the technical aspects of the game and hence as outside observers we must respect the cricketers who represent our nation for their craft as they are the best in the country.

Yet every World Cup they leave us dumbfounded with their audacious style of play as much as with their bicycle stand like collapses.

1996

As a 10-year old, I got hooked onto cricket as the world cup fever was running high in the country. As hosts I was gladdened to see India making it to the quarter finals despite their hiccups against Sri Lanka and Australia.

But it was only against a world class Pakistan team that I saw the Indian team unleash their brilliance as a marauding Ajay Jadeja slaughtered Waqar Younis in a packed Chinnaswamy stadium. Surely as a 10-year I believed Tendulkar and Jadeja were good enough to take us all the way to the finals. These hopes got a further boost in the semi-finals against Sri Lanka when they were reduced to 1 for two.

Having packed off Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana back to the pavilion. I was sure the remaining 99 overs in the match would remain a mere formality. That is where the Dr. Jekyll Indian team began transforming themselves into the Mr. Hyde.

Sri Lanka fought their way to 251, but with Tendulkar going great guns I was sure victory would be a formality. Until the maestro was stumped for 65 with the score at 98 for one. Needless to say what followed in the next one hour was more frightening than any scary movies series released in Hollywood.

How those same players who slaughtered a world class Pakistan attack collapsed like a pack of cards on a crumbling Eden Garden wicket leaves the fanatic Indian in me speechless even today.

How the next seven wickets fell for 22 runs was beyond belief of the most rational human being watching that telecast, leave alone fanatics like me. The lasting image of an Eden Garden crowd pelting stones and Vinod Kambli walking away in tears remains an etching memory of that world cup.

However as I realize today that was only tip of the ice berg as far as I was concerned, being a witness to the bi-polar personality of Team India.

1999

The campaign began encouragingly against South Africa even though we lost the game. As an Indian fan I was glad that we atleast took the fight against a world class South African team that comprised of Hansie Cronje, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Lance Kluesner and Alan Donald.

However what followed in the next game at Leicester against Zimbabwe sends a chill down my spine even after 16 years. The sight of Henry Olonga celebrating Venkatesh Prasad’s dismissal had stunned not only the Indian playing XI, but also an entire nation.

I remember being at a relative’s birthday party on that day and the way we all had our mouths open even 10 minutes after the match echoed the sentiments of the entire nation. It was not only my family but an entire country that stood gaping wondering how India managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory that too against a team like Zimbabwe.

Yet team India never fails to stun its fan again and again. Like an Alfred Hitchcock plot, they came, from the back of the behind to defeat Kenya, Sri Lanka and England to qualify for the Super Sixes.

The image of Ganguly and Dravid smashing a hapless Sri Lankan attack all over Taunton left us gaping with admiration and also wonder how we could have lost that game against Zimbabwe. Yet a few days later as fans our world came crashing down when Glen Mcgrath dismantled our much vaunted batting line up with surgical precision in the first Super-Six encounter at the Oval.

Despite being reduced to 17 for four, I was optimistic of a fight back from India with Jadeja and Robin Singh holding fort until Robin  got dismissed. The misery of a defeat against Australia soon received an antidote in the next super six encounter against Pakistan at Old Trafford.

Yet again my team left me speechless as to how those same players who had collapsed against Mcgrath and Co. managed to play an attack comprising of Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq and fight their way to a victory.

As one says wonders will never cease. Yet again I saw Team India surrendering meekly to New Zealand in their final Super Six encounter. Like 1996 once again the Indian cricket fan in me was left high and dry

2003

The credit for this campaign goes as much as to the Indian team as it does to the Indian public who gave the cricketers a peace of their mind with their initial lackluster performances. Having panted their way to a victory in their first match against Holland, the Indian team received a drubbing in their second game against a world class Australian team.

Needless to say, the temperamental Indian fans took things in their own hands vandalizing the cricketers houses with stones after which Tendulkar had to make a request to the public keeping their belief in the Indian team alive. Sure enough that episode acted as a catalyst for the team as they marauded Zimbabwe, England, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the league games and Super Six games.

The victories especially against England , Pakistan and New Zealand had their own charm as India had scores to settle with each of them. While Tendulkar made Andrew Caddick regret his choice of word that he had used on the match eve, Shoaib Akhtar and Co. were taken to the cleaners by a one man army named Sachin Tendulkar.

But even in that game against England the Mr. Hyde in our team showed up briefly in the last over of the innings when they managed to lose four wickets (Dravid, Kaif, Harbhajan and Srinath) in four balls in an Andy Caddick over. Yes the same Andy Caddick who had taunted Sachin and had been pummeled to submission had managed to scalp three wickets and a run out in his last over thus somewhat neutralizing his misery.

Poetic justice was done once more when India skittled New Zealand out of the world cup in their super six encounter thus taking revenge for the substandard pitches that had been served to them in New Zealand during early 2003.

However not all dreams are meant to be, as India realized in the finals against Australia,as a rampant Ricky Ponting trolled all over a nervous Indian outfit who were playing in their first world cup final. A nation was once again left heartbroken as Mr. Hyde seemed to have taken over their darling team on the day it mattered the most.

2007

The biggest lesson of this World Cup is never take anyone or anything for granted. As a no fearing Bangladesh fought tooth and nail against a world class vaunted line up comprising of Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Ganguly, Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, the lasting image of Dravid and co. sweating with shock and perspiration will remain implanted in our minds.

Ofcourse in between the two disastrous defeats at the hands of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, we also played against a certain country called Bermuda against whom we smashed 400 odd runs. However, the lasting memory would always remain that stunned expression on Dravid and Co’s face in the Indian dressing room while the Bangladeshis were cheering the Sri Lankan team from their pavilion and making merry of the misery of their Indian counterparts.

Even in such a short campaign Team India had managed to give an extempore of its Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde way to life.

However an old adage also states Love Thy Neighbour. Needless to say Pakistan followed suit as well and joined us in our misery of facing a first round elimination. As an Indian fan it added a minor balm to our wounds that our team was not the only one to make a laughing stock of themselves at the World stage. We had our dear neighbours for company too!!

2011

Team India and Tendulkar became the toast of the nation when they lifted the trophy finally after 28 long years at the Wankhede stadium.

The three victories against Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka acted as the perfect finish to a campaign which was also to be a kind of a swan song to the Indian maestro. However, like true blue mavericks team India did not fail to display their erratic quotient on the field.

How the team collapsed from a commanding position of 267 for one to 296 all-out against South Africa in a league game not only left cricket followers dumbfounded, but also left those who were not familiar with the game equally stunned.

We had some guests home from Germany who had come over to my place. They had picked up the nuances of the game recently from their Indian neighbours and they wanted to get a feel of the game by watching it at home with an Indian family. Having learnt the basics of the game, even they were dazed with disbelief as to how a team could have lost its last nine wickets only for 29 runs.

Ultimately we lost that game and in hindsight it was blessing in disguise as the team pulled up its socks to ensure their World Cup campaign did not hit another road block. For me this remains the pinnacle of the Jekyll-Hyde gamesmanship of the Indian cricket team.

What is in store for 2015???

The World Cup has often served as the best platform for viewers to observe the oscillating pendulum of Team India’s gamesmanship from the sublime to the ridiculous.

While in most cases this erratic style of play has been witnessed over a period of two games (as in 1996, 1999 and 2007), in many cases we have been blessed to scratch our heads wondering whether it was the same team that played an hour back in the same game (India vs England in 2003 and India vs South Africa in 2011).

Hence as Indian fans, while it is important to cherish and celebrate our victory against Pakistan, we must be aware that Mr. Hyde might also not be too far away. The question is whether it will show up against South Africa in Melbourne or an Associate Team only time will tell.

However all we would hope is that it comes up before the knockout games so that like last time, we do get an alarm clock to wake up before the knockouts begin.

No doubt the Indian team is talented. Whether the talent comes out as Dr. Jekyll or as Mr. Hyde we will get to know in the coming weeks!!!

© Cricket World 2015