Indian cricket fans are citing a number of instances that denied India a victory in their 2011 World Cup clash against England in Bangalore (Bangaluru). These include poor fielding, batting collapse in the last 3-4 overs and the biggest one being the leg before review turned in favour of batsman Ian Bell when he looked absolutely plum in front of the wicket. But there is a much bigger reason which denied India a victory and helped England fight back chasing a mammoth total of 338. As crazy as it may sound, it’s the crowd cheer I am referring to.
Before you rubbish off my point as ridiculous, let me get it straight. During the early overs of England’s batting, opener and captain Andrew Strauss got an outside edge off the balling of Zaheer Khan which was gleefully collected by India’s captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
I heard a loud nick while watching it on TV and even the commentators did. And the numerous replays confirmed that it was an obvious edge because of the clear sound it made. But shockingly, neither the bowler nor the wicketkeeper or anyone for the matter appealed to the umpire. Why? Simply because they couldn’t hear any nick in of the loud noise of the crowd!
At that time, Strauss was not even on 30 and later on the man goes on to score 158! Imagine Strauss getting out so early in his innings. Obviously, India would have won and they might have even beaten the opposition comprehensively.
Crowds come in large numbers and cheer in loud voices as they feel that will help their team win. I used to agree with this but not anymore after this India-England tie. What’s the use of such loud cheer if it denies your team a win?
In a place like India where cricket is a religion and the victory of the national team is considered divine, it is practically impossible for the crowd to keep their voices down. But after this match-turning instance, I feel they should keep their voices low at least when the bowler delivers the ball. Well, even I am finding this idea funny. But I couldn’t help not sharing this when a victory is denied because of such an ironical reason!
