It's not that common to see that India flexing the muscles of superpwers and getting the things done the way SHE wants.
But if it's cricket, it's possible. We have seen the same recently. People just can't neglect India. Australia may be the world champions on the field. But India is the superpower in cricket and dictates the game. Otherwise who in the world will dare to take panga with ICC and the Aussies . As said by somebody , here cricket is religion and cricketers are Gods (as long as they perform). You just drop the heroes from the team and then see the streets of Kolkata, mumbai, jalandhar ... No need for me to write anything here. Basically it's all linked with our pride, self esteem and insult.
This is what happened during the recent test series in Australia during the Sydeney test. This time it was Ponting and his men (where victories have gone to the heads). They thought of using the typical aussie sledging tactis against the Indians. Poor kangaroos, little idea they had about the whole episode backfiring at them and putting them in poor light.
For India it was a question of pride. Here Tendulkar is our GOD. And Honorabe mr. Procter has neglected our very own tendulkar's testimony. ha ha. How in the world was that possible. And how millions of Indian fans were going to accept the same. On top of it Mr. Bucknor added enogh fuel to keep the fame burning with intensity. And then... it was a big drama in India as you know, also it had created enough sympathy for us. What best one could have imagined. Support poured in right from common man, politicians, cricketers across the world, the very own Australian media. Mr. Ponting might have won the test match in Sydeny, but the battle was started which eventually he was going to lose.
First signs of ICC taming down came when BCCI took a very tough stand on halting the series. I read somwhere about 2.2 M USD penatly being imposed on Indian board, had India decided to discontinue with the series. Let me tell you it's peanuts for the BCCI. Though everybody was well aware that India would never have discontinued with the series. It had put enough pressure on the ICC and first signs of ICC getting bogged down started showing. Finally Mr. Sharad Pawar who is heading the BCCI is a seasoned politician after all. :-). Mr. Bucknor was sent back to Jamaica, the other gentleman had to pack off his bags. This was enough. India had a moral victory at that point of time. The tension relieved to some extent.
Then India went ahead and almost dominated the remaining 2 matches. Inbetween some other enquiry commission was appointed. Guys, I believe it was all drama. Finally we all were aware what the result was going to be.
Again Mr. BCCI applied the pressure tactics and finally all racial charges against Harbhajan were dropped. SO final victory came India's way and has definitely put Australia in poor light. We are not still very sure what mr. Bhajan said. Whether he said or not said that's also a big question. It all was possible because BCCI has the money, India has the viewers. I doubt if Bangladesh or Zimbabwe would have been successful. :-)
Aussies some advice for you as well. By now you must have realised that you may be winning 16 matches in a row, but you have a long way to go. First try to behave yourself. Your tactics may work against few but not all. You will agree that this time your selection proved wrong. Aussies we may not be as good as you on the field, but we have enough power. So please don't take panga. Think twice next time.
Winning matches may be simpler for you, but winning hearts is not so easy and that's what you need to learn. Look at West Indian team. they dominated in the last 70th and early 80s. They were also world champions. But they were down to earth. The victories didn't reach the heads.
It's a long way to go for you...
