HAVING GONE in the holiday season, I had to endure a long wait to enjoy the roller coaster, much like the Indian fans who had to endure a long wait till the Indian team started delivering good performances in overseas matches.
The roller coaster laboriously crawled 200 feet up an upward incline to the top. I remember the days when just like the roller coaster, the Indian team started to string together consistent victories starting 2001 and slowly inched it's way up to the top of the test ratings by end of 2009. The Sheikra stops for a few seconds at the summit, treating it's riders to a giddy view. The Indian team too spent a brief time at the top, it's fans and commentators basking in and celebrating the team's success. And following the ODI World Cup win, the Indian cricket fans were convinced that their cricketing Gods were now the lords of world cricket.
But by the end of the Australian tour, it splashed into the pool of disaster, soaking it's fans and supporters with utter disappointment and dejection. The team even replicated the Sheikra ride in a single day in the Asia Cup held in Bangladesh. Following the high of Sachin's century of centuries, the world champion team proceeded to surrender to Bangladesh after scoring 290 runs.
To ride the Sheikra again, one has to go back and stand in the line before commencing the slow ride to the top. Similarly, the Indian fan has woken up to the realization that with an aging batting lineup, meagre bowling resources, and a lack of exceptional young talent bursting forth, it will be a long wait before the Indian team can start the steep climb back to the top of the rankings, even more so in Test cricket.
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