An open letter from a fuddy-duddy cricket romantic

Thank you, Australia. Thank you for being such a gracious host to the greatest advertisement of test cricket in this century. These were tough times, make no mistake. The sport was behind the curtains for a major part of the year overshadowed by gloom and doom. To rise from those ashes and host a spectacle of this magnitude, kudos to everyone involved.

Thank you, ground staff, and the support personnel involved to make sure this event runs smoothly. Thank you for giving our young buds, fertile soil to blossom in. Over the years, you gathered the reputation of being the toughest place to make a debut. But throughout the series, as many as 6 debutants played their part in this heist. So, thank you for giving us our future heroes.

Thank you, Australian fans. I won’t let the abuse by some idiots at SCG overshadow the grace that you’ve shown throughout the tour. I know it’s difficult to see your heroes lose but I’m sure as the feeling sinks in, you’d know that it’s cricket which eventually won.

Thank you, Broadcasters for bringing to us the joy of watching our heroes play in national colors, which was absent in our lives in the past few months.

Thank you, Tim Paine. I know you’re facing a lot of battering from Indians as I write this. But I’m sure they put this clause in your captaincy contract. You have a page to yourselves in Australian cricket history. I’m certain you’ll take all this on your chin as the graceful leader that you've always been and look forward to conquering greater heights.

Thank you, Australian team. I have grown up watching you as the pioneers of grit and resilience in cricket. I’m overwhelmed to see my heroes display the same in front of you in your own den. I know it’s not ideal being devoid of the elusive trophy on the last 3 tours. I’m sure you’ll come back harder and give us some more enthralling memories.

Thank you, Pat Cummins. You personify the perfect modern sportsman. Running in and giving every ball just everything that you can. If you could take a break from cricket and replace one of the players in the Australian Open, you playing Nadal would be the game I’d love to witness. It’s almost cruel to not watch you hold the trophy that you'd cherish more than the player of the series award, but that’s how a team sport goes sometimes.

Thank you, BCCI and Cricket Australia for standing up for the players and making sure the focus doesn’t shift from cricket during this high-profile tour. I feel immense pleasure when I take these 2 names in the same breath. I’m happy there were no swords crossed and the boards went hand-in-hand to ensure cricket remains the only winner.

Thank you, Indian fans who filled the stadiums as much as they could during these times. Also, the fans who flocked the TV sets on a tuesday morning. 60 million viewers on a weekday for a test match. That’s more than an average IPL game. Thank you for taking notice of test cricket, a form of the game that embodies life in every way. I'm sure you'll fall in love with it as much as I did.

Thank you, Nitin Patel, our beloved Physio. Probably the busiest man on this tour. You were probably the only person who had something to do every day since we got to Australia. Thank you, Indian support staff, who catered to every small need of our players from the day they went into the infamous bubble.

Thank you, Shubman Gill, for making us reminisce the times we had a swashbuckling test opener on away tours as well. In many ways, you made us coin the phrase “New India”. The seeds of a future legend were sown. We certainly sensed a déjà vu when you played that upper cut for a six over third man. But don't worry, I won't burden you with yet another comparison with you-know-who.

Thank you, Bumrah and Ashwin. Even when you couldn’t, you instilled the belief in our youngsters that they can. Thank you for being such generous heroes behind the scenes when young India took center stage.

Thank you, T Natarajan. 4 months ago, the lead bowler of your IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was injured. From being the uncertain piece of that bowling attack, you led them to the playoffs in an inspiring campaign. Flown to Australia on the back of this feat as a mere net bowler, you fulfilled your dream to play for India in all three formats. You made us believe that focus should remain on making the most out of your present. Opportunities come in heaps when you do so.

Thank you, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar. The reason I mention you together is that you were the ones who fought the inevitable. At 186/6, we were certain to witness another Gabba heartbreak. But you believed. If it wasn’t for you, who knows in whose favor 2-1 might have fallen.

Thank you, Rishabh Pant. You seem to have got a liking for Australia, don’t you? Thank you for making our seats seem small while you were batting. Thank you for yet another wicketkeeper’s innings that will be etched in our memories in the years to come. You made us believe that 2-1 is possible even when the whole nation was satisfied with a 1-1. And of course, Thank you for your antics behind the stumps. We love you.

Thank you, Mohammed Siraj. Not everyone understands the pain of losing a parent. Not being able to say one last goodbye is a regret that no faint-hearted can ever digest. Making a debut in such a gruesome series during such a phase of life and leading our pace attack with such finesse. In the future, maybe people will look back at the scorecard and say, “13 wickets in 3 games. That’s decent”. But trust me, I’ll tell the stories of my hero from Hyderabad with pride in my heart and tears in my eyes.

Thank you, Cheteshwar Pujara. I grew up listening to people talk about the bravado of Sunil Gavaskar playing without a helmet facing lethal West Indian quicks. I’m fortunate enough to watch your bravado in this series. You made sure that the Pants and the Gills around you, could flourish while you faced the heat. You’re the living embodiment of the way of life. Take every blow with grace without getting dismantled. You’ve redefined selflessness in the last few weeks and the world took notice. You were ready to surrender every bone in your body for them to break but your spirit never broke. Nothing has come easy in your life. We’re grateful for your mental toughness. I wish you great health as you continue to literally put your body on the line for the team.

Lastly, the hero who as always didn’t have a spotlight on him. Thank you, Ajinkya Rahane. After Adelaide, you picked the team from the ashes that remained after 36 all out and did justice to the role of being the Indian Test Captain. You led from the front when the whole team was falling with a gutsy 112 at MCG and commenced what was an extraordinary showing. You made us realize that even with lesser skills, we can excel if we believe. You’ve taught the whole world, a lesson of resilience. It could have been very easy for you to crib about your fate after losing so many players to injury. You could have easily lost and got away with the excuse of not having adequate resources at your disposal. But you made the most of what you’ve got and the whole nation is proud of you. Even after such a humongous achievement, you stayed humble and expressed a token of love to your counterpart in Nathan Lyon, who achieved the milestone of 100 test matches. You have my heart.

This series in every way was a life lesson for all of us. Even the tiniest could prevail against the largest if they believe. Arrogance has no place in life. You may be the best but you still got to fulfill your duties without that arrogance affecting you.

A major part of your success attributes to how you approach your duties. You may have the worst of fortunes with a 36 all out, losing all the tosses, losing more than half the side to injuries, playing in a country where you didn’t win for 70 years but despite all of that, controlling the controllable without cribbing about the uncontrollable is the choice that you have. If you make that choice and prevail, then you’ve not only got a chapter but a book to yourselves in history.

To witness such gallantry during these gloomy times was truly heartwarming. I have no doubt in my mind while coining this “The greatest test series of all time”. Not because of the quality of cricket on display but more so, the courage shown by either side to fight till the last ball, refusing to give up even when the odds are stacked against them. Amidst all the thrill and drama, our sport truly won.

So, Thank you for this extraordinary soap that had us glued to TV sets, scorecards, weather reports, medical research, and what not!
                                                                                                                                               
                                                           

                                                                                                            -         A fan who still refuses to believe 19/01/2021 happened