The changing nature of Indian cricket fans

Indian cricket fans can be tough on the players at times

Before leaving my house, I being a cricket fanatic, prayed and wished the best for Team India before their all important clash against the West Indies team at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Saturday. It was after years that I was going to see a live international match (the last one also being against the same opponents at my hometown, i.e. Jamshedpur).

Excitement overload

The excitement level inside me was unmatchable as it was Team India’s big guns taking on the field and I could see every player unlike in the IPL where we can only see a handful of them. Losing the first ODI by a big margin clearly indicated that this time the series won’t be a cakewalk for the Indians. I was partly happy seeing India lose at Kochi as I had full confidence that they would make a strong comeback at Feroz Shah Kotla. I was hoping for Virat Kohli to bounce back to form and change India’s fortunes. But there were a few unusual things which also became a part of the game ‘outside the field’.

The match started with India batting first and the players were given a big round of applause as they were taking guard. India got off to a shaky start as Shikhar Dhawan got out without adding much to the scoreboard. He had not even walked past the square leg fielder when I heard people already abusing and criticizing the local boy. I was confused. Just a few minutes ago, they were shouting their lungs out for the two openers and since he didn’t score runs, he became their villain in a fraction of a second? This was simply misleading, confusing and to a certain extent, hilarious too.

Let the guy digest his own failure first before passing comments. I am not a ‘big’ fan of Dhawan myself, but having played the game for years and understanding it well, I totally understand it is not possible to score in every single match even if it’s in front of your home crowd. He is a stroke player who is not sure of his movements at the start but if and when he gets going, he is lethal and dangerous. In the last game, he was the only player to have scored a half century for Team India and soon he became a victim of the crowd. This was not the end.

Disrespect for stars of the opposition

As the match progressed, Marlon Samuels, the hero of the last match for West Indies, was standing at mid off position and whenever he was being shown on the big screen, he was cheered. But there were a few who still believed in being a ‘typical Indian fan’ and not accepting his success in good spirit. What mistake did he do by scoring a hundred against us in the last encounter? He is doing his job for his country and we are doing the same for our country. It’s a simple logic, isn’t it?

On the contrary, we are not completely bad. As Virat Kohli was going through a tough phase in his batting, he was thankfully not booed. He was cheered to the maximum when he walked out to bat at the No.4 position. Every run which came of his willow was cheered and appreciated. It’s hard to understand the logic of Indian fans at times. We are two-faced and will always be.

The game of cricket is more than a religion in India and will always remain the same way. It is not that every fan is like this, but we take victory with great pride but there is a section of ‘us’ who just can’t take defeats in the same way. No one likes to lose, but we can’t win every game. I agree it’s easier said than done and I was also the same in my teenage days. I still get angry when India loses in overseas conditions ‘without giving a fight’.

Getting back to the game, our respected ‘Sir’ a.k.a Ravindra Jadeja was the victim of fans too when India were trying to put up a big score in the last ten overs of the first innings. He was completely having an off-day as he could only manage half a dozen runs from 16 deliveries. He was neither managing to give the strike to MS Dhoni nor able to go at the bowlers by himself. The people sitting next to me couldn’t take this anymore.

India somehow managed to get a modest total of 263/7 by the end of their full quota of 50 overs. Never did any of the critics realise that it was a two-paced pitch and the ball was doing the talking. When the lights were on and India took to the field to restrict the West Indies power hitters to less than 263, the cheer our team got was commendable. The fans by now had forgotten the total was just above the par score of 250.

Losing hope

The chase began in West Indies’ favour. They were not looking like the team to give up the chance of taking a 2-0 lead in the series. The energy of the crowd started to decline. I, being honest, was losing my patience too but had a ray of hope as I knew West Indies have a habit of collapsing and India has a habit of winning matches from nowhere especially when they are defending a total (Sourav Ganguly’s team had done it several times in the past years).

All we required was one wicket to change the complexion of the game. Keiron Pollard, who along with Dwayne Smith had already put on a good partnership together, was playing his big shots. But then came the moment of rejoice for the fans. He lost his wicket trying to accelerate and after that what happened is known to each Indian fan by now.

Wickets fell one after the other and suddenly in the midst of all this, Jadeja ‘again’ became the hero for those who wanted to see him out while India were batting. The whole stadium lit up and started chanting ‘Jaddu Jaddu Jaddu Jaddu”. Not only him, there was Amit Mishra who also became a crowd favourite all of a sudden. When he was being hit for sixes by Pollard or Smith, spectators wanted him to be removed from the bowling attack. Some had also discussed Team India’s team for the remaining matches of the series and Mishra was not in ‘their playing eleven’.

The change in flavour

When he bowled two consecutive maiden overs and started India’s comeback, he became their favourite instantly. The shout from the stadium was impeccable when India were on top of the game and certainly on course for a dramatic victory. I, along with my elder brother, had lost our voices but still could control ourselves. By the end of the 46th over, it was India’s sweet victory. I saw a brilliant match as Virat came back to form with a sublime innings, Raina made a pacy contribution, Jadeja and Mishra picked up wickets, Shami starred the ball with 4 wickets, West Indies showed their power hitting but in the end, it was a sweet victory for us.

I was going back with a happy and satisfied feeling but had a confused opinion about ‘us’, i.e. the Indian fans. I remember it was against the same opponents when we played at Keenan Stadium at Jamshedpur that the crowd threw empty bottles on the ground when we were losing. The same thing happened this time around even when we were winning. Newspapers, empty bottles and foods were thrown on the ground.

How come the ground became a dustbin after the game got over? What kind of gesture is this by fans? This is not the way to show our excitement or anger. There are foreigners who rightly pick on us because of this behavior. We should learn from players as they are taught to behave in a disciplined manner on and off the field. Indiscipline shows our mass psyche. We think that we will be able to lose our identity among thousands or become anonymous. It’s a national shame and no amount of anonymity can shield us from embarrassment. Discipline takes us forward whereas indiscipline can take us down the drain.