Rant Alert: We can still save India

Despite my profound love for my country, I have reluctantly adopted a defeatist attitude due to the noticeable decline and moral decay witnessed over the past decade. However, there is still hope to salvage our nation and prevent Modi and his allies from steering India toward dictatorship. All is not lost, at least not yet. We cannot succumb to defeat just because the BJP has succeeded in religiously indoctrinating millions of its voter base, convincing them that their religion holds greater importance than the welfare of the nation.

Over the last ten years, Modi and his corrupt party have radicalised millions of individuals into harbouring animosity towards minority communities, propagating the false notion that their religion—which constitutes nearly 80% of the population (96.6 crores)—is under threat. Alongside radicalising most of his supporters, Modi has ensured that the mainstream media, intended to be the fourth pillar of democracy, is entirely compromised, serving solely as the ruling party's official mouthpiece and propaganda machine.

The BJP has effectively seized control of most institutions, manipulating them to target and incapacitate its political adversaries. The Electoral Bonds Scam exposed how the BJP exploited the Income Tax Department (I-T), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to extort money from corporations. The party's supporters in the media have ignored their scandals, promoted religious hatred and dictatorial behaviour, and prioritised loyalty to their political leaders over truth.

Meanwhile, those who voted twice for their religion remain deliberately ignorant of the country's dire state. They seem content to drive the nation into ruin as long as the party they support continues to endorse their religious bigotry. If the rational citizens of India do not vote Modi and his corrupt party out of power, the India we cherished will be lost forever. We once took pride in our democracy, but when elections are a facade and our votes meaningless, the concept of 'democracy' becomes hollow and devoid of meaning. 

Evaluating Team India's Defeat in Hyderabad

In the '90s and, to an extent, during the 2000s, the common notion—when India toured the SENA countries—was that we were poor travellers because our batters struggled on fast-and-bouncy pitches while their bowlers consistently bounced us out of contention. Our medium-fast bowlers were not up to the mark in threatening the opposition batters and were further hamstrung by the insufficient number of runs to defend. Agarkar's 6-for at Adelaide was a standout performance, and young Irfan and Ishant shone brightly on their debut tours. But these performances were few and far between.

The 2002 tour of England was a turning point. In the unforgettable Headingley Test, the legendary trio of Dravid, Tendulkar, and Ganguly showed the world that India could be competitive on fast-and-bouncy wickets and dominate the opposition. That series, and the tour Down Under in 2003/04, went a long way in dispelling the notion that we are poor travellers. It made us believe we can win against SENA countries on their home turf, irrespective of the pitches they prepare for the visitors. Since then, we have won Test series in Australia (twice), England, and New Zealand. And we have won multiple Tests in South Africa. It's only a matter of time before we win a Test series against the Proteas on their home turf.

 

Unlike the '90s and the 2000s—when we had just a Srinath or a Zaheer—we now boast of world-class fast bowlers like Bumrah and Shami, who can single-handedly destroy an opposition on a given day. To a lesser extent, Ishant and Siraj have been successful too. After Sachin and Dravid's generation laid the foundation in the 2000s, the next generation of batters built on that success to continue Team India's competitiveness in hostile batting conditions. Today, our top-order is more adept at playing the hook and pull shots. They can comfortably counter the short stuff unleashed by the Aussies, the Proteas, the Black Caps, and the English bowlers.

 

Although India has always been dominant at home, the pitch became a central topic of discussion in the 2010s and 2020s due to the rank turners that awaited the visitors. Ashwin and Jadeja bamboozled the batters and usually skittled them out in a session or two. The ball started turning a mile from the first session on Day 1, and the batters had no answers to the questions posed by India's world-class spinners. The matches usually ended in two or three days, which gave the opposition an excuse to blame their shortcomings on the pitches.

After a decade of domination on rank turners, Indian spinners are no longer destroying the opposition like they used to. In the recently concluded Hyderabad Test, the English players out-batted us and outshined our esteemed spin trio.

 

Just like the early 2000s, there is a paradigm shift happening at the moment. The overseas teams are adeptly handling Indian spinners on turning tracks and producing young spinners like Hartley, who recently delivered a match-winning performance. Based on statistics, Indian batters have struggled when facing pitches that offer significant amounts of spin. Therefore, if the opposing teams have high-quality spin bowlers, they stand a good chance of not only being competitive but also succeeding in India, as was demonstrated in the Hyderabad Test.

It remains to be seen if the outcome of the Hyderabad Test will have the same positive impact on England's performance in overseas conditions as the Headingley Test had on India's. If India fails to address the challenges posed by the visitors, it could result in a situation where overseas teams become strong enough to win a Test series in India consistently.