As a kid growing up in 90s while we played several sports only cricket stood out probably because that was the only sport where India had a competitive team. While we did watch football matches and tennis regularly on TV, cricket still had a special place above all of them. In early 90s, I remember following some tournaments like one in Sharjah and when South Africa visited India for first time. But never really had any favorite cricketer and was still coming to terms with the rules and what the sport meant. My folks liked watching tennis matches on TV and Dad loved watching football. So I really don't remember watching cricket until the Australia tour of 1991/92. Late that year the Benson & Hedges cup ODI tri-series down under was broadcast on TV and that put cricket on top for me. I did reach scorecards and match reports by then in newspapers and used to read 'Sportstar' magazine.It was good to see and become familiar with some names like Kris Srikanth (with a familiar tamil name) the adventure seeking opener who would play some wild shots, the dour and defensive all-rounder Shastri, Azhar the captain, Kapil Dev the famous all rounder, Prabhakar the other new ball bowler and some young batsmen like Sanjay Manjrekar and one really young kid Sachin Tendulkar who I preferred over the more established names mainly because while grown-ups or older kids in the area knew about others and would talk about them the younger ones were just on the scene and not very known and everyone just knew he was special. Just after the tri-series where we got to final and got walloped was the 92 World Cup, the first one I followed. To an extent I still remember most of these matches ( youtube highlights videos and cricinfo articles and scorecards help as well I guess), like most kids I knew we all took great delight in beating Pak in the World Cup league match. The match that really broke my heart was the thrilling 1 run defeat to Australia in that World Cup.
So the morning routine in those months especially when there was no school and sometimes even when school was there was waking up early and switching on tv. I would ask my parents to wake me up much earlier than usual and they were amused as well. However what unfolded on TV was my favorite Indian team would get mauled even though we did put up some fight occasionally and gave glimmer of hope, the final result will be a resounding Aussie win presided over by what would eventually become familiar voices to kids who grew up watching cricket broadcast from Australia. While we all became life long die hard cricket fans, following action from wherever we are and that became one common thread for conversation with several friends and relatives who grew distant otherwise. In 90s the cable tv era truly arrived and we also got access to cricket matches played across the world, the ones from Australia always appeared better produced than anything else. There was something about cricket played in Australia that left a lasting impression, the way their players chewed gum, painted faces and strutted about, the commentators, the reverse score, the ducks walking across screen compounding humiliation often for a visiting batsman, the sledging, the crowd with their funny and cheeky slogans, everything ...
There was a clear belief that these Aussies were numero uno and beating them especially in their own backyard was extremely hard. In fact some friends of mine became huge Aussie fans even favoring them over India simply because of their winning / dominating habit, they might be pushed to a corner but still find a way to claw back and win. Even IPL's most famous and successful team picked Yellow jersey to resonate with Aussies who always win ( that line even made it to their team cheer song). In early 90s we saw these guys at home were solid bunch and through 90s Aussies just showed they were top dogs in both ODIs and Tests and had several all-time greats in their lineup.
The next tour there was after 8 years or so and was even bigger flop, by then I was a die hard Sachin fan and felt terrible for him. Cut to 4 years later another Indian team was visiting down under led by Sourav Ganguly with Sachin, David, Very Very Special 281 Laxman and Sehwag as well around I felt a little more hopeful. I was staying in Mysore having started my professional career at Infosys and it turned out all 6 of us staying in that big house were cricket fans just like majority of the training batch. Our landlord lived opposite and he was also supplying us food, he was also cricket fan and did not mind us dropping by on cold early mornings to sip tea at his home while watching the telecast from Australia. He was really hopeful that we will win this time, which all of us admitted did not even cross our mind, we were just hoping we manage to compete especially since we did not have any experienced bowlers. Surprisingly on that tour we did compete really well and when the Adelaide test was happening we were having an RDBMS concepts lecture in training classroom, but the instructor was young chap and eventually got persuaded to stop his slide show and replace it with rediff live score update feed as Dravid took us over the line in what to Indian teams of that era was a near impossible chase. Though we lost in Melbourne, during Sydney test a win loomed large but beating Aussies at home was not easy and thanks Steve Waugh and no thanks to Mr.Bucknor the series ended 1-1.
That series must have given a lot of hope for the team and for fans like me it was a big boost as my team had shown their mettle in what most of considered as the toughest stage in World cricket. The next tour was a bit of blur for me as I was doing my MBA from Singapore but cricinfo was around by then and following the game was easy even when attending classes. That series was heartbreaking as we felt a bit robbed though Aussies did what they did best, emerge successful from tough situations. In 2011 though we had a terrible defeat in England, I was somehow optimistic about chances in Australia and this time we had social media and several friends of mine had created an email group and during our day at work we would discuss cricket through emails. I remember camping somewhere in Karnataka with my cousins Vaidya and Sharad. It was a really cold morning and we had our tent set up in the courtyard of our homestay and they had a TV kept just outside their home as that was the place they would set-up campfire and dinner for all guests. We parked our tents in such a way that if we roll it up we could see the TV and watch the test match early in the morning. There was lot of hope since Sachin and David were batting properly that day, then they both got out and then just like that it all came crashing down. Memories of 90s returned as Aussies just broke the team like they usually do to most touring sides and after a while the opposition just turns up to get pummeled. While MS was castigated and perhaps deservedly for not raising the morale and making the team compete, it was clear that his men did not have the goods to do anything there and the opposition was just a formidable wall or fort which could not be scaled and it was clear as day.
2014 was slightly different, as the tour started with a tragedy in Aussie domestic cricket and it sort of cast a pall of gloom over the entire atmosphere. There was a change of guard as Kohli took over as captain replacing an injured MS and made some left field ( some would say hare brained ) choices. All out aggression was the mantra and while Aussies clearly motivated to make a statement and dedicate a win to late Phil Hughes were playing extremely well, it was not that easy. Like it always happens India ended up chasing a huge total and the familiar script of trying to fight a bit and maybe a lone wolf waging battle while crashing to terrible defeat was expected. However Kohli and co just created some unbelievable magic the likes of which I had never seen as Vijay supported to an extent and the total surged past 300 and the possibility of an impossible win loomed large. It turned out to be Kohli's Chennai 99 moment as he finally fell and then the team collapsed. What seemed to be a golden chance to seize control and win the series was lost. These guys can never win down under we all agreed. Next match was just more of the same, they were in the running for most part and then a sudden collapse and boom the series was gone. Two draws that happened next did nothing, no one was saying at least its better than 0-4 defeat as in past, it was a feeling that there was a good chance to win and compete well and it had ended in another series defeat down under.
When 2018 tour started it was still hard to say, India having promised a lot but coming up short in SA and looking to be in running at least in the first half of England tour kept falling back towards the end as England always managed to land the knockout punch, so not so inspiring record outside India that year. On the other hand Aussies were without their talismanic captain Smith and prolific opener Warner out banned for an year for ball tampering controversy, but their bowling was still very good. We knew the Indian bowling lineup was good and could blow away the opposition and take those 20 wickets and set-up the game, the question was if batsmen will be able to linger long enough to seize the game. Living in US meant the matches are no longer early morning ones for me, this time I had not subscribed to any TV pack as we have become a no TV household. So cricinfo was the place to be to follow the action, first day started and India started batting there was the familiar unease and dread. True to form the wickets started falling, the familiar story started repeating with less than 50 runs on board 4 wickets had fallen.
Not again was the general reaction among friends on my group and in social media as we all got used to that familiar sight of Indian team promising to cross a barrier fall to a poor start yet again and fall into a position of no return. It was 100 odd for 6 and then Pujara stood up and continued standing up for rest of the series. Slowly things turned normal and within a few days the tables were well and truly turned and despite some nervous tail wagging India won the first one. Then the familiar script returned as selection gamble backfired in the next one and India went down. This stage is usually the make or break stage in most series and India usually would miss seizing the chance after this. But not this team as the team crossed that barrier and won in Melbourne and almost had another big win in sight at Sydney before rains arrived to save Aussies further humiliation. 3-1 would have indicated the domination achieved, but 2-1 was good enough. After having watched India always struggle to win there even though they played well and competed a few times, this was ultimate abroad win for many like me who started watching in 90s. It felt very good to finally see that happen. It may not have been the best team Aussies assembled and it may not really be like India's wins in Eng and WI in 70s but still it feels Indian team has been able to break new ground. Of course future is a mystery and we the cricket fans are always hopeful but this is a great place to be right now for the team you passionately follow
