Indian cricket story is similar to a tamed elephant

This mentality is majorly due to India’s poor performances overseas in the past. Indian team, on foreign pitches, except a few famous sporadic victories, has always been on losing side. Indians, till the early 2000s had developed a mindset that winning a test match abroad is an uphill task. Winning a Test match and series on foreign soil became equivalent to winning an Olympic gold medal.

Things gradually improved in 2000s. A new belief entered the Indian cricketer’s psyche that the Indian team can win on bouncy tracks. But the victory margins did not improve. The Indian team was contempt with the lone Test victories in the series. 

Indian captains never complained after the series that Indians could have won in a bigger margin. After the recently concluded Test match in Dominica, Dhoni said, "Not disappointed about stopping the run chase. We were risking a series win going after the target. We realised that it was not worth going for it after those wickets, we gave it a go but we are happy with the series win." 

Indians have always been happy with 1-0 win. This series score line has been consistent in India’s major victories abroad in last five years. In 2006, India managed to win the Test series in West Indies after 35 long years by the meager margin of 1-0. This series was won after the first three matches ended in a draw and the fourth match was won, thanks to a herculean effort by Anil Kumble in the second innings, who took six wickets.

But critics were not satisfied by this margin, as India could have won at least by 2-0 margin. Indians won by a similar 1-0 margin in New Zealand in 2009. Also they were contempt with a 1-0 Test series victory in England in 2006-07 under Rahul Dravid’s leadership.

Indian team has been ranked No. 1 in Test cricket for two years. And the time has arrived for the Indian team to believe that it is a giant elephant which is not only capable of breaking the shackles of the tied rope, but also mighty enough to rip the tree, it has been tamed to. Time for Indian domination in world cricket has arrived.There is an effective way used by animal trainers in circus to control large animals like elephants. This humongous animal is tied to a rope to their front leg to a pole. No cages and chains are used. Yet we rarely hear of an elephant being escaped or even of an elephant which tried to escape from the clutches.

The reason why elephants do not escape from the rope, which is puny in comparison to their size, is because they have been conditioned from a very young age to not escape, by being tied to the same rope. At that age of the elephant, the rope is strong enough to hold the young elephant. But as the elephants grow, they have been conditioned to believe that they cannot break away and walk away free.

This principle is easily applicable to us humans as well. We generally believe in what has been told to us, all throughout our lives. We believe that if we have failed in one thing, once in our lives, we shall never succeed in achieving it.

Indian cricket in last five years has shown the signs of a tamed elephant which has not reached its true potential. For years Indian team believed that winning a Test match abroad is impossible, and when we do win a Test match, we are contempt with one victory, believing that we cannot win by a bigger margin.

After India’s perplexing decision to pull out of the chase on the final day of the Test match, many critics and Indian fans criticized MS Dhoni and Indian team’s think tank. 

This criticism came more out of frustration as the followers of Indian cricket are aware of Indian team’s potential and the talent it possesses, the conviction that it can achieve more. With Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman still at crease, and the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli to follow, chasing 86 more runs from 15 overs should not have been difficult for the No. 1 Test team in the world. But the Indian captain approached a safer route of declaring and grabbing the series victory without taking much risk.