BLAME IT ON MONKEY

 

BLAME IT ON MONKEY

 

The awesome aussies have not just themselves to blame for their ‘race’ downhill, they have a ‘monkey’ to blame too! It all started with Indian team’s ‘dada’giri in its tour ‘down under’ in 2003. From the moment Saurav made Steve Waugh wait for the toss to Saurav’s first ever century in Australia, from the incredible win at Adelaide to a mammoth first innings score of 705 at Sydney where the Aussies sweated it out for nearly seven sessions – a feat they were not accustomed to – the aussies, so used to pin their opponents ‘down under’, felt for the first time in their  recent memory of being challenged by India and they did not like it one bit.  So much so that Steve Waugh labeled conquering India as the ‘final frontier’. They play their cricket hard. They believe that they can win from any position, which they have done on so many occasions, a fact they are proud about. The focus is always on the team, not on individuals. The intensity shown by them on the field is often mistaken for being intimidatory. ‘Intent and intimidate’ – a tactic they used so successfully in conquering one too many world cups, one too many tests and one too many ODIs. The consistency with which they beat their opponents and with such ease made them world champions. And in India, they found a challenge. Twice, they were stopped in their ‘race’ for successive 17-test-wins by India. On both occasions, they were beaten. Their frustration level kept mounting with each encounter with India. They tried every trick on the field – helping umpires take decisions (Ponting pointing a raised index finger when Mark Benson was unsure about catch having been taken cleanly and looked dutifully at Ponting). From glaring to sledging, the aussies found their match in sharmas and bhajjis. They began to taste a bit(ter) of their own medicine. The bubble of frustration burst with them alleging that Bhajji had used ‘monkey’ word against Symonds which they termed as ‘racist’. The Indians fought hard – as they did on the field – and got the racist charge removed. The fact that their charge was set aside thereby indicating that it was indeed a false one was a slap on their face which left an indelible mark. Even renowned columnists slammed aussies’ tactics. Roebuck was highly critical of the aussie’s on-field behavior. And the debacle at Perth was the last straw. From then on, the Aussies lost focus on the game. Ponting in his Book – Captain’s Diary – is reported to have mentioned that a senior Indian cricketer had even requested him to drop the charges against Bhajji. And the release of the book coincided with their recent tour to India. Ponting’s focus was more on his book and its contents. Probably, he hoped to divert India’s attention from cricket and consequently conquer India. He achieved neither and the Aussies were beaten 2-0. And now, Oz overpowered by the proteas, hurting and hurtling them down even further in their ‘race’ downhill. Aussies have themselves to blame for their lost focus. Oh! Yes, they have a ‘monkey’ to blame, too.