On the Indore pitch | Desperation can be inspiring — but it can be embarrassing, too
India’s captain Rohit Sharma leaves the pitch after Australia won the third cricket Test match against India in Indore, on March 3, 2023
| Photo Credit: AP
When a team loses, it is a cliché to say the players didn’t want to win desperately enough. For the losers, that is both comfort and justification.Desperation might be a strange quality to seek in sport. It can be inspirational, as when an Anil Kumble, broken jaw wired up, bowls in a Test match (and claims the wicket of Brian Lara). It can be disheartening as when players alter the condition of the ball with sandpaper in a win-at-all-costs approach.
India are beginning to show some desperation too. Skipper Rohit Sharma said at the end of the Indore Test which they lost on a turner that these were the kind of wickets India would ...