In the year 2011, India was ranked 1 in the
test cricket and they went to surrender to English in England, very badly. The
score line read 0-4 with 2 innings defeat. Not just the test matches, they also
lost the 5 matches one day series 0-3. Then, the next series against Australia,
in Australia, again went on to lose 0-2 with 2 innings defeat. Must have been
tough on Dhoni! When we thought it was just the away series that India are
losing with its ageing superstars in ranks. The bigger blow came when they lost
to England in India the 4 test match series 1-2, in 2012.
Most Indian captains would have given up or
lost their position after losing home series, especially India are known to be
almost unbeatable in home conditions. Dhoni, with some support from the BCCI,
stood strong.
At present, England are 2 down in the
current Ashes series after winning previous home series 3-0. Alastair cook, the
England captain looks down and out so does the England team. They even lost
Trott, stating stress related issues after 1 test.
Consider these two scenarios at 0-2 score
line, India vs England in 2011 and the current Ashes series in Australia.
Neither India did look like coming back, nor is this present England team
looking like they going to make a comeback. But the stand out feature of the
Indian team was they didn't look like stressed out or wanting to run away.
Dhoni was ready to accept the defeat and oblige that they weren't good enough
to beat England. While Cook on the other hand, doesn't seem like he has
accepted the defeats well. Remember, both the teams were on top of the game
before entering the respective series.
I seriously doubt the future of Cook as a
captain and player. After the second test match he has said that the loss is
hurting him and the team. If he able to make a comeback from here, that would
be great. England has seen players like Marcus Trescothick & Michael Yardy
quit due to stress during tours and never come back. Let’s hope to see more of
Trott in the future. Stress is when, when they are not winning. This is where
Dhoni has been a master, his ability to treat the loss as just a loss due to
bad performance not bad effort. Even after the current one day series loss to
South Africa, he has said it that it’s just the batting is not clicking and
that can happen. He doesn't seem to be worried about the loss or how difficult
it can get in the test series.
India after losing to England in home has
went to win against Australia 4-0 at home and then West Indies. And one-dayers,
the team won continuous 6 tournaments, which included the Champions trophy in
England.
There is this something special about
Dhoni, to be able to keep his cool during lows as well as highs. Not just that,
but being able to bring out the performance from his team after a real low. As
the saying goes, “Never let success get to your head and never let failure get
to your heart. There is probably no better example for quote than Dhoni. After
all Cricket is just a sport, where one team has to win and the other has to
lose.
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