Published: Dec 25, 2011, 04:45 PM (IST)
Edited: May 30, 2014, 12:54 PM (IST)
By Sidhanta Patnaik
Last year at Durban in South Africa, with scores of 38 and 96 in two innings, VVS Laxman handed India its first ever Boxing Day Test match win. But astonishingly this piece of information will have to live as a second class citizen and some amount of hard selling may, and not might, find a handful into whose chromosome the data can be intertwined for long.
We Indians are highly religious and sincerely heed our celebratory dates with Gods. The etiquette involves the Herculean challenge of justifiably appeasing more than 330 million deities of this diversified land. And it is done with remarkable ease. These age old rituals runs deep to a time prior to the arrival of Adam and Eve on planet earth and there is a faith that our future generation too will carry the belief system forward. This is not the place to discuss how these connections originated, but by the rule of thumb Ganesh Puja belongs to Maharashtra, Durga Puja to West Bengal, Rath Yatra to Orissa, Pongal to Tamil Nadu and the list can run into more than a database of clients that a mobile network company maintains. Our geographical pockets take a lot of pride in being given this status and many a times the failure to acknowledge this sensitivity has led to verbal disputes and show cause notices. The thought might be old fashioned to some but to betray religious convictions is not what we Indians have grown up on.
It is just appropriate that cricket, which is such an integral fabric of our society, fits into this natural balance. Therefore the tradition that ‘officially’ started on December 26, 1974 when Australia took on England in the third Test of that Ashes series has been so well absorbed and respected by us. Our definition of the day is as follows, “Boxing Day Test match is those five days of sacred cricket that is played from December 26 to 30 and whose intellectual property lies with Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.” Though some sources have varying information about this tradition’s starting year yet all that is nothing but sundry today.
Just like we have a sense of distinctive odour for every festival we celebrate, there is also a peculiar smell that we have developed for a Boxing Day Test match over the years. But there lies a paradox. While the independent cricket analyst in us recognises the flavour of the air, the parochial fan within us has so far been denied the privilege to experience the welcoming character of this established ambience. Unfortunately, on five occasions that India has featured in a Boxing Day Test match at Melbourne, the mood has always been extreme to that one is accustomed to on a Diwali night or a Holi morning. So much for our time-honoured habitual analogy!
We can hide the memories of 1985 because television as a product was still new in India, but internet ensures that the modern supporters know that had it not been for Alan Border’s match-saving innings of 163, after the hosts had conceded a lead of 183 runs in the first innings, India’s destiny with those five days of custom would have been long established by now.
There is always an element of romance every time the Australian summer of 1991-1992 is discussed, it may be because of the seagulls or the outfield’s greenery, a sight uncommon in India for long, but Boxing Day victory remained an illusion as Kapil Dev’s five-wicket haul in the first innings failed to attract adequate support from either the other end or the batsmen. Take away Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 116 from that 1999 Test match and the horror of unburied ghosts are still in the air!
In 2003, Virender Sehwag’s penchant to play one shot too many might have denied better fruits, but at least the burns of that scar were soothed by a certain Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar in Adelaide.
In 2007, if Matthew Hayden’s 124 was not ominous, then the decision to make Rahul Dravid open the innings wrote the inevitable on the wall.
But hope and fascination for tradition are two strong points ingrained in our character. That is a primary reason why the business of religion continues to prosper in a country where demand and supply are always unequal and the issue of foreign direct investment in the retail sector has failed to gain a clear majority.
Therefore on December 26, 2011 yet again we Indians will make sure that the alarm clock goes berserk at half past four in the morning miles away from the hallowed turf and ceaselessly transform ourselves into the world of channel 9 brought to us via Star Cricket. The wish will be to see 11 men give a new meaning to the folklore’s trend, but a failure to achieve that over 15 sessions of play will not lead to any protest, for we are advocates of Karma. Instead the focus will shift to the larger context of the four-Test match series.
(Sidhanta Patnaik is a sports marketing professional, public speaker and a part time writer. His twitter id is @sidhpat)
