Opinion
From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in a matter of ten days. What transpired on day 5 at Lord’s sent us all into the kind of euphoria that was special and to be cherished!
For most of us that was the series defining moment and had England virtually down and out.
How wrong could we have been. The age-old cliche of this magnificent sport: ‘Sport is the greatest leveller in life’ holds true still. This game can be exhilarating and cruel at the same time. Joy for one, sorrow for the other.
The battle of optimism versus despair. The contrast in emotions can be quite intimidating for fans.
However, what one must always remember is that change is the only constant in this game of life and opportunities never cease to exist.
Yes, India was outplayed at Leeds. No excuses for the shoddy batting in the first innings or, for that matter, the batting collapse on day 4 in bright sunny conditions especially after braving through a really tough and overcast day 3.
Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara had reignited the hopes of a large number of Indian fans with their stellar partnership yesterday and much more was expected from the pillars of the middle order, but it was not to be.
James Anderson showed his class. The ever-improving Ollie Robinson was relentless and even Craig Overton and Moeen Ali chipped in to knock out India and take them out of their misery in under two hours.
Surely much of the battle was lost on Day 1 itself but the worrying thing was how much of it was mental! India’s mental flaws were exposed and kept us down for most of the Test and that is something that would surely concern the team.
Many things will be discussed, like team combinations, the toss, India’s continuing batting woes in the middle order and whatnot, but as true fans of this remarkable bunch of players, we must not stop backing them to bounce back from here – especially when they need it most.
This team has done it in the recent past and is certainly capable of doing it again here.
Come on, lads. Chin up!
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