20-20

There is a big brouhaha born out of extreme disappointment about the way the Indian cricket team played on Day of the second Test match at Motera. I can only pity the average Indian cricket fan for his lack of knowledge and sensory perception. I know cricket is an emotional game and millions cry when Sachin gets out at any point in the match. I also know that people want Mahendra Singh Dhoni to score at least four a ball and that a Pathan ball must both inswing and outswing and hit the middle wicket every time. That a foreign player abusing us is a monkey but our players can refer to be in bed with the other player’s mother and it’s a simple and innocent teri maa ki.
But come on, dear Indian fan, control your loose emotions. Your players played the best at Motera. You have to understand that these are not Testing times for them. A lot has happened between Chennai and Motera. Virender Sehwag has gone from a triple-centurion to Daredevils captain. The same is true for every Indian player. They have a massive tournament ahead. They are already in that mode. Since that tournament has showed them what they are truly worth, they know the true worth of Test matches.
Our players are in the 20-20 mode. So made sure they play only 20 overs or less than that. In 20 overs they managed 76 runs, which is bad, but then everybody has a bad day. It is largely because they got confused because of lack of scantily-clad cheerleaders and a proper DJ playing Chak De India. They also got confused because they were wearing white shirts and trousers after being exposed to those funky designer sportswear being promoted on TV.
You can’t expect a team in 20-20 state of mind to score more than 20. And one of them, Irfan Pathan made the mistake of scoring 21, which is a minor slip or misunderstanding if you will.
Now you may argue they could have scored at least a 100 because 76 is not a phenomenal score even by 20-20 standards. But then it’s all a game. Be a sport, cut our boys some slack.