Ish ignored me. He mumbled something about avoiding a follow-on, which
looked pretty difficult.
Day 3
The next morning I don't know why we even bothered to switch on the TV.
India struggled to stretch their first innings, but packed up before lunch at 171
all out. 'And the Australians have asked India to follow on,' the commentator said
and I slapped my forehead. A defeat in a test match was one thing, but an
innings defeat meant empty parks for weeks. Kids would rather read textbooks
than play cricket and be reminded of India's humiliation. Why on earth had I
started this business? What an idiot I am? Why couldn't I open a sweet shop
instead? Indians would always eat sweets. Why sports? Why cricket?
'That's fucking-follow-on-fantastic,' Ish said, inventing his own phrases for the
moment. He clenched his fist and came dangerously 1 lose to the TV. 'We had
them by their balls at 291/8, and now l hey ask us to follow on?'
'Should we turn off the TV?' I said. Should we close the shop for good? I
thought.
'Wait, I want to see this. I want to see how our team makes eye contact when
they lose so badly,' Ish said.
'They are not making eye contact. You are just watching them on TV,' Omi
said.
'If this match is a draw, I will treat you all to dinner. Ok, two dinners,' Ish said.
For its second innings, India made one change. It replaced the opener Ramesh
with another new guy called Laxman.
'The team is full of people with contacts. Everyone is getting their turn today,'
Ish said as the Indian openers took the crease for the second follow-on innings.
But Laxman connected with the ball and bat. He slammed four after four. At
the end of the third day, India stood at a respectable 254/4. Adding that to the
first innings score of 171, India needed only 20 runs to match Australia's first
innings of 445. An innings defeat looked unlikely, and, yes, we could even draw
now.
'See, that's what the Indian team does. Right when you give up hope, they get
you involved again,' Ish said at dinner.
'You were going to see all days anyway. Please think about our Monday
meeting,' I said.
'Laxman's job is not done. He needs to be around if we wan a draw,' Ish said.
I sighed. I would have to prepare for the school meeting by myself.
Day 4
If there was a day that India dominated world cricket, it was on the fourth day
of the match. Yes, India won the World Cup on 25 June 1983 and so that
counted, too. But the day I'm talking about was when two Indian batsmen made
eleven Australian cricketers dance to their tune. They did it in public and they
did it the whole day. That's right. On the fourth day of the Test, Ish didn't leave
the TV even to pee.
Here is what happened. Laxman and Dravid continued to play and added 357
runs for the fifth wicket. Day 4 started at 274/4 and ended at 589/4. Nine of the
eleven members of the Australian team took turns bowling, but none of them
succeeded in getting a wicket. The crowd at Eden Gardens became possessed.
They chanted Laxman's name enough times to make Steve Waugh visibly grumpy.
The team that had given us a follow-on could not bowl one batsman out.
avery
(avery)
#1