India - 16 going on 17... but unable to reach 18

Okay! Records are meant to be broken. And also, a record is a milestone that has a certain limit at that point of time – though this limit can be extended to whatever limits by the record breaker. However, the limit does exist and it is never infinite.

Who would have thought a decade and a half ago that the 100-meter dash can be run in under 10 seconds? Carl Lewis certainly did not, but he did it nonetheless. And today, we have sprinters who are clocking 9.77 seconds (almost 2.5% under the so-thought limit). Or, who would have thought that 434 runs could be scored in 50-overs in cricket? Australia did it notwithstanding it being a superlative effort. Only to realize a mere 4 hours later, that South Africa were also more than up to the task.

That brings me to my current context. Would you have ever imagined that India would equal the world record of 16 back-to-back successful run chases (yes, chases!!!)? That too against teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England? And then break the record with a 17th consecutive win against West Indies, to create the new world record.

Indians traditionally were always poor chasers, and this new-found confidence in chasing is because of the fresh enthusiasm seen all around the team in the form of newcomers who carry no past baggage of losses while chasing a total. They are the go-getters and they are ready for the kill. Not to forget the captain, who more than lives up to his nickname “The Wall”, who is ever-willing to take on a challenge and come out victorious. This is the same guy who cricketing pundits said had no place in one-dayers because of his traditional and woefully slow batting. Who would have thought that the same genius would today be just 500-odd runs away from the magical 10K runs figure in one day cricket? And who would have thought he would be leading the team (let alone be just a part of it) with most successful chases in history? After all, he started playing in the era where India almost always lost while chasing? And he was blamed manyatime for the same due to his slow batting. But here we are, with a new world record. And this man is leading from the front like no one else before. And the team is rising to new heights with every fresh outing.

This brings me to the second point that I want to discuss today. Why did India lose their 18th chase? And that too when the target was extremely achievable – 199 to get in 50 overs is not stiff by any standards – South Africa got more than double of that, and that too against the world’s no. 1 team. So, why did India’s record run come to an end? Well, there are no simple answers here. I saw the match, and have only one thing to say – Brian Lara marshalled his limited bowling resources extremely well. The wicket did not have much for the bowlers, and against Indian line-up, the bowlers wouldn’t have been much worth. But Lara ensured that he was giving the ball to the right bowlers at the right time, who created sufficient pressure by good line & length and forced the Indians to throw their wickets. That is precisely what happened in my view.

One man – Yuvraj – played a brilliant knock in my view, till the very last ball that he got out on. Having taken the team to that level (India needed 11 off the last over, mind you, with only 1 wicket to spare) where they needed just 2 runs off the last 3 deliveries, he should have got it. Bravo, who was bowling the last over, was having one of the worst days of his life till that very last ball. But the excruciating circumstances took their toll on Yuvraj, and just one reckless fling of the bat threw it all away.

Well, that’s history now, and West India has derailed the Indian bandwagon. But there should be no remorse. Like I said, there is no record that is limitless. And Indians have genuinely created a huge record that is going to be difficult to surpass. However, no record can survive eternity – so it is bound to broken. In my view, currently there are 3 teams that are up to it – Australia, South Africa and India itself. So, let’s see if it can be bettered; and let’s see who gets it!