Test cricket gets a booster shot again in India

For a diehard lover of the game of cricket, watching it in any format, either from the stadium or from the comfort of one’s home is a pleasure unparalleled. After the slam bang stuff of T20 cricket a few months ago, in which India triumphed in the finals, the focus shifted to test cricket once again as it played neighbouring Bangladesh in a two-test series last month.

The survival of the longest format of the cricket game – test cricket – has been debated by many across various forums over the past few years. Yet, with the World Championship introduced a few years ago, a certain sense of competition and the need to produce exciting cricket became the objective for teams round the world. It also mattered that India reached two finals of this competition but failed to convert their chances, meaning, the game had its supporters as the home team was playing it.

Accused of being overtly passionate and behaving like upstarts, our eastern neighbour has not exactly been taken seriously at the global level all these years even when they were formally welcomed as official players of the game. This time around, coming on the back of a super-duper victory over our arch rivals, Pakistan, they raised great curiosity, inviting the permanent pundits to look into their successful performances critically with a few warning India to be watchful as the young team, with a bunch of good players seemed keen to extend their winning streak on our soil too.

At the end of it all, it seemed a mirage and the Indians, winning their 18th series victory at a stretch on home pitches, proved more than a handful to the Najmul Hossain Shanto- led Bangladeshis. Often considered borderline impossible till now to win in India against India, it has only gone on to show how the Rohit Sharma-led bunch played the game with a solitary intent of winning, doing it in style ultimately, breaking world records. This series easily can be amongst the greatest that the game has seen in a long, long time.

Our cricket rivals, spread across the world, seem to have no realistic explanation about why we are so invincible on our pitches. However, this has also enabled visiting teams to acclimatise themselves simultaneously, both with the weather and Indian ground conditions, which are hardly uniform, as far as facilities and the nature of the pitches go. Proof of this is the world record of the New Zealand player, Ajaz Patel, who spun a world record on our soil to equal the record of the legendary Anil Kumble, by bagging all 10 Indian wickets. It is a different thing, however, that the Kiwis put up a pathetic show against Sri Lanka, which is another upset victory, promoting the format aggressively.

If there is any robust endorsement required for the game, Indian cricket is the only place where it can happen. Of course, the format of test cricket still doesn’t draw humungous crowds, but that is not because of the 5- day structure alone. The respective state Boards handling the game should also take care of a lot of issues to make the viewers feel comfortable to watch the game from the stands and if this is improved, the game can see more viewers. For the eternal lovers of cricket, the more formats it finds appeal, the better for them for sure.