- Not for nothing is it mentioned that sport is a great leveller. Some of the highs enjoyed on the back of extraordinary performances in a great sporting arena may suddenly drop down drastically since the outcome of any encounter between the two competing teams cannot be forecast on past results. Of course, there will always be a winner and a loser in any sporting contest as the sporting field humbles the best and rewards those who consistently strive to achieve unprecedented glories in the same vein. We know that cricket is no less unpredictable than any sport. The innumerable Indian cricket fans must have felt elated with the back-to-back wins in the T20 World Cups, overcoming opposition challenges with great elan to traverse the distance.
PC: Olympics.com
- Soon after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in India, the Indian Premier League (IPL) took over. And the entertainment quotient of the IPL needs no further elaboration since the run feast witnessed in the last edition with sixes and fours raining incessantly was gobbled up by the crazy fans wholeheartedly. Yes, the benign pitches, batter-friendly conditions, shorter boundaries, and tailored rules to suit batters like impact substitutes make the IPL an extremely one-sided affair heavily loaded in favour of the bat. Those who excelled in the IPL have invariably made it to the senior Team India. The latest such instance can be found in the prodigiously talented teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the very young age of 15 years.
PC: Olympics.com
- The tour to Ireland and England beckoned soon after. Thus, Team India embarked on 2 and 5 TOIs, respectively, against Ireland and England. The team witnessed some drastic changes, with the World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav getting sacked and a few newbies selected. The captaincy mantle fell on the returning Shreyas Iyer. Now, the form of the Team in home conditions dictated that the tourists would have a competitive outing overseas, albeit not in a batter-friendly atmosphere. To the utter shock of Team India fans, the two T20Is in Ireland were won by the hosts quite considerably. Mind you, the Ireland team is ranked lowly as compared to the champion Team India side. But the abject surrender must have come as a big surprise.
PC: Outlook India
- One hoped that the loss to Ireland was an aberration rather than something worrying for the group under a new captain. However, what transpired during the course of the 5 T20Is must have been unpalatable for the authorities concerned since the visitors were completely overwhelmed by the hosts, England, in challenging conditions. It’s not appropriate to mention the conditions as challenging, but rather as ones where the bat and the ball were provided with an even keel to contest. England comprehensively beat Team India 4-0, with the first match washed out because of rain. Yes, Vaibhav made his debut after such hype but could not capitalize. Sanju Samson was dropped to accommodate him. What was achieved, though? Gautam Gambhir should know.
