4 reasons to go easy on the Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is being heavily criticised by the experts, former cricketers and fans from all across the world following their defeat in the second Test. More than the defeat, it is the manner in which the team lost. The Indian team was completely outplayed in all the departments at the Home of Cricket.
The batting, in particular, looked toothless as the batsmen looked helpless against the moving ball. There was definitely a lack of application and maybe even preparation.
Most of the people think that the team deserves all the criticism they have received. It is indeed true that the team has struggled to live up to the expectations. But, are we being too critical of them since this is Indian cricket? Here are a few points that suggest the same.
#1. This defeat is the first of this kind
If we take a look at all the Test matches this team led by Virat Kohli has ever played, you will never find any match where they were outplayed like this. In all, Virat Kohli has lost 7 Tests as a captain and this was the only time the team was never in the competition, although it can be argued that the overseas sample space is very small.
Excluding West Indies, before the series, Kohli had captained the team in 5 overseas Test matches, two against Australia in the 2014-15 tour (1st and 4th test) and three against South Africa earlier this year.
Out of the five, India managed to win just one, drawing one and losing three. But the three matches along with the Birmingham Test were closely contested and could have gone either way. On paper, the record doesn't look good but it is pretty common these days.