A gruelling weekend of sport

This weekend, to the sporting world, has been a great one, culminating in the longest Grand Slam final in Tennis history. The rebuilding Aussies completing a whitewash, but a seemingly bright test career blossoming with the century of Virat Kohli, Leander Paes completing a career grand slam in doubles, Liverpool FC knocking out the two Manchester clubs out of two cup competitions, Real Madrid steering seven points clear of archrivals Barcelona in the Spanish league. And of course the epic final in the Colosseum called Melbourne, two warriors with magical physical powers, summoning every ounce of strength left to put up a spectacle that would go down as the greatest battle ever in the annals of Tennis history.


But for me, it was a series of heartbreaks. One jolt after another in the three sports I follow the most.

 
First in cricket. I was disppointed not because India were whitewashed. It was imminent ever since we squandered away the advantage in Melbourne. But my never ending hope that atleast one of the legends will score a century to salvage some pride ended with the last innings, at the flattest wicket In Australia. I have no doubt in my mind that this was the best batting line up India could put together. But the disheartening thing is the legends of the game, are facing such humiliation which has undone the service they have done to the nation for the past decade and a half. Former cricketers, who weren't even half as good, are calling for their heads, and every so called cricket fan says the seniors should be axed. Such is the ignominy they face now. I would have loved to see them bow out on a high, and leave the game on their terms. Certainly not ending in such a humiliation. The Golden generation of Indian cricket is all but over. When the last of Laxman, Dravid, Tendulkar retires, I would bid a huge goodbye to the game of cricket.


 Then, FC Barcelona, the best football team on the planet at the moment, stuttered yet again away from home this season. Being held to a goalless draw by the out of sorts Villareal who  languish in the relegation zone. While Real brushed aside Zaragoza to be a comfortable 7 points ahead in the league table. This, barely a week after the catalans knocked out the capital club from Copa del Ray, rather unconvicingly but hanging on in the end. by the catalan outfit.knocking Madrid out of the Copa del ray, but not entirely convincing though. Had Madrid grabbed the chances it had created, it would have been a different story altogether, but Barca just about hung on. Barca seem to be playing at two different levels this season. Ruthless at home, and feeble away, present points to whoever wants. Unless Madrid stutter along similarly, Champions league and the Copa del ray could be the only Silverware the Catalans can add to their collection of already 3 this season( Spanish Super cup, European Super Cup, Club World cup).


And the most heartbreaking of all. In an epic final at the Melbourne Park, Rafa was ousted by the world no 1 Djokovic. When it seemed he was all but out, trailing by a set, and 0-40 down in the seventh game in the fourth set, it looked like we were heading into another of those Djokovic's thrashings of the Spaniard in grand slam finals. But then Rafa showed the world why he is one of the greatest tennis players ever, saving 3 break points and winning 5 points on the trot, eventually dragging the match to the 5th set. The Spaniard's tenacity coming to the fore. Even the heavens opened up for a while. And there came the fifth set. Rafa was at his dominating best, and being a break up, at 4-2 and it looked almost certain he had finally broken the  finals jinx against Djoker. He had  the Serb running to all parts of the court, even causing the Serb to lie on the floor in desperation. But it seemed Rafa had become a touch complacent, sending a few shots wide, the unrelenting Serb winning a couple of crucial points to break level, and subsequently breaking again to win his 5th grand Slam title. It was almost 2 in the morning , and the Serb ripping his shirt apart, flexing his muscles and rambling through the Melbourne park like a raging bull would sure would go down as the weirdest scenes witnessed on a tennis court, even more than the grass eating act at Wimbledon. As a Nadal supporter,  it is a gut wrenching loss. Excruciatingly close yet so far. On the brighter side though, finally Nadal has taken their game to the 5th set. And hope he goes one step further at Wimbledon and the Flushing Meadows.

Show respect to the Legends

Just how often over the past decade have we seen this. Former players, the media and so-called cricket fans calling for Laxman to be axed. And in the subsequent game, Laxman rising from the ashes and conjuring up a match winning knock, or should we say, a career saving knock. What happens then. These very people shamelessly shower him with accolades, hailing him as 'Very Very Special Laxman', the 'Crisis man' and so on.

Now, in the aftermath of yet another terrible start down under, the former cricketers have again started calling for Laxman's head. It is ironic these talks come up in series against a country he has had hell a lot of success. He has been the most feared batsman in the Aussie camps of the past decade and a half. He has been a thorn in their flesh, scoring six centuries, three of them at Sydney itself and has played many a match winning knock. And of course, who can after all forget the innings of 281 which was the turning point of Indian cricket.

Even in the last innings at Sydney he made batting look ridiculously easy. There are few pleasant sights in cricket than his elegant cover drive or a wristy flick. It was as if Laxman and Tendulkar were batting on a different wicket from the rest. At the MCG, when Dravid and Tendulkar were batting at 200 odd for 2, it looked as though India was poised for a big lead. But what happened, as soon as the legends were dismissed, it was a familiar story, the great Indian collapse after Tendulkar's wicket.

Just last year, on a green Durban strip, when the ball was swinging like a banana, Laxman single handedly won us the match. He was the highest scorer on either side in both the innings. And a few months before that, he won us a thriller at Mohali against Aus rallying with the tail after a match winning fourth innings century in Sri Lanka a little while earlier.

He is probably the batsman who has won the most no of test matches for India. The statistics might show he has only 8000 runs. But what they don't show is the context of the game in which they were made. He relishes pressure, and seems to be missing the thrill while playing in the first innings. How many countless second innings heroics have we seen from Laxman.

It's not just Laxman who has been a victim of this. This has happened to the other legends too.

Already we are facing a crisis at the No.6 spot vacated by Ganguly. We have been struggling to fill it for the last 3 years. Even today if Ganguly were to step out of the commentary box and don the whites he would the best possible no. 6 for India. But he has had his share of humiliation and didn't want to face any more ignominy. He said enough was enough and exited on his own terms, when on a high.

Barely 12 months back, people were gunning for Rahul Dravid's head. After a series of low scores by his own standards, there talks that his time was over, should India look into the future. What happened after that. A series winning knock in the Carribean, and then then three centuries in a dream tour of England, a nightmare tour for the others. How good the English attack was, they failed to get past the wall but for the DRS howlers. Since then the same people who had written him off earlier had no qualms about showering praises on him.

It is a pity these legends have to keep proving themselves to the world time and again.

If we just peep into the enemy camp Ponting and Hussey were almost in a similar situation where their career was on the line. And how majestically they showed at the MCG and the SCG around crumbling youngsters, that Class doesn't vanish overnight.

Legends know when to retire. After all they have served the nation for more than 15 years. They know the most about their game and the game of cricket more than we do. They know what is good for Indian cricket and when to retire.

This week at Perth, it wouldn't be surprising if Laxman rises like a phoenix again, and makes yet another match winning score against his favourite adversary. And of course, we would see again the former players and headlines in the news saying ‘Class is permanent', ‘Experience is what matters', India's unsung hero, the second innings man, blah blah blah.

 

Just came across this quote, couldn't help but cite it.

"If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it's a miracle."

      - Brett Lee repeats the words of wisdom of his former captain, Steve Waugh 27 Sep 2004.