To put India's defeat in perspective, you may recall the summer of 2011 in the Caribbean, where MS Dhoni & Co. laid the foundation for their subsequent 0-4 whitewash in England.
You read it right. In the third and final Test against the West Indies in Dominica, India were 94/3. The target was 180. Up 1-0 in the series, Dhoni decided to end the chase at the start of the mandatory 15 overs. That's 86 runs of 90 balls with seven wickets in hand.
"We were risking a series win going after the target," Dhoni had explained. And so, Dhoni left the islands with a 1-0 series win firmly in his pocket. However, as far as the England series is concerned, India threw in the towel at the Windsor Park in the Windies.
By refusing to trample the beaten Caribbean side and go to England on a bigger high, Dhoni showed that he was keen on playing it safe.
Sports teams, much like marching armies, gain confidence from wins. You can't show a white flag to a weaker army and then march on to fight someone bigger, stronger. England saw this chink in Dhoni's armour and plunged the sword in.
This has been a sore point in Indian cricket — the failure to go for a win when there is a chance to draw the contest. From this attitude emerges a history laden with dull draws at home and spineless capitulations abroad.
Indian captains, barring Sourav Ganguly at times, have preferred to use their pieces to create a stalemate than fight for a checkmate. The fear of losing made playing for draw a fair game.
And that's why the loss in the first Test at Adelaide has to be good news for Indian fans. When was the last time you saw an Indian captain score a hundred in both innings and refuse to drop anchor even when a draw seemed the viable option?
That's why Virat Kohli now appears cooler and heroic despite leading his bunch of men to their fall. On Saturday, he was the fallen gladiator who won hearts before losing the fight.
No sort of negativity is welcome in this group, he said. Indian cricket has not seen a captain who speaks with so much assurance even after a defeat and that too when he could have gone for a draw.
That's the new, young India. It's not only in cricket, take any sphere for that matter. One can see more and more youngsters ignoring plum offers and opting for start-ups. Even in corporates, they know what they want and spell it out in no uncertain terms. Those two young entrepreneurs did not cower in fright when Amazon came to these shores. They stood fast and Flipkart has taken the battle head on.
For this self-assured generation, there are more choices and from an early stage they are used to taking risks with the selections they make. Kohli represents this generation in cricket. And when he has to pick from win or draw, he must have made his choice when he first held a bat in his hand.
And Australia, despite their win, must be concerned. The first step towards winning is wanting to win and they know it better than anybody else.
It is only a matter of time before Kohli will take over as the full-time captain and if Adelaide is any indication, Indian cricket is not going to be the same.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}