The Dressing Room Of Eden Gardens

A Word For Our Goliaths

Australians and why I respect them:

Warne is the first to sledge.

Warne is the first to clap.

There were unfair umpire decisions for both sides. Aussies did not try to claim that as the reason the way some people today do (read as England and Pakistan). They were the first to respect India before India itself did, they always took the threat of Sachin seriously yes. But the second Dravid came onto the scene, the knew who to target and target viciously. They knew from the first match that Sourav Ganguly was a threat as a captain, that he had fire and could turn an ordinary bowling side into one that would give everything to demolish the opposition. A bowler needs heart and Ganguly had plenty of it for all his bowlers. Steve calls Sourav the captain with a spine, courageous captain. He is the first to do so. Sourav was a pain in the ass for him but a worthy opponent.

Australians just demand, demand you to play the game and play it with everything you have. Yes they play dirty sometimes, they do anything to win, but it's this hunger of theirs that gets the best out of their opposition. It is always against Australia that most teams have their most epic triumph stories, it is with Australia that all big teams have a rivalry. Such was the influence of Waugh's team that it took them 12 years to lose a World Cup. Remember it was him and Mark Taylor who built the team. His team lost the least though people think it is Ponting's team which did. Ponting ofcourse the winner of two World Cups as a captain was very very good. But Ponting used to lose too, unlike Waugh who won so much that anytime his team lost it was an upset even if it was West Indies defeating them.

Australians caused us to give our best and more. Yes they were beasts, Goliaths, monsters, machine of destruction. But they were the damn scale of measurement. Nothing will change that.

I hate them, love them and respect them at once. It is possible though it sounds like an oxymoron