11.03.2001: 15.03.2001 A Tale of Turnaround

By Dr Kisholoy Roy

The Test match played between India and Australia in March 2001 at the Eden Gardens certainly was one of the most superbly fought and won Test matches by India in cricketing history. There is little scope of finding another team earning such a victory under remotely similar circumstances. This was the Test match that altered the character of India’s playing XI. The Indians not just learnt to stay positive in adversity as a unit but also give a piece of their own shit if shit was passed on to them on field in any form. They were no more prepared to take things lying down. Therefore, a book themed on this iconic Test match was a requirement and I purely as a cricketing enthusiast have tried my level best to justify the requirement as an author.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dr Kisholoy Roy
• Release date: Apr 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463438855

Dr Kisholoy Roy

Dr. Kisholoy Roy is a PhD in Management from IIT (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad. He is a certified Accredited Management Teacher (AMT) who has been into teaching Management for several years now at the post graduate level. Dr Roy has authored several books on management apart from authoring various case studies, articles and research papers. He is presently engaged as an independent trainer and consultant in digital marketing and brand communication apart from his engagements as a faculty in Marketing with various B-schools.

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Dr. Kisholoy Roy

Copyright

11.03.2001-15.03.2001

A Tale of Turnaround

Dr Kisholoy Roy

© Kisholoy Roy

Copyright of this book solely rests with the author and no part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form across any medium without the consent of the author

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all those players of the Indian cricket team who rose or at least made a sincere attempt to rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes to achieve glory at the Eden Gardens Test in 2001 against a mighty Australian team and in the process became part of one of the most enchanting folklores of modern day international cricket

Preamble

Among the various cricketing venues across the globe, there are few that are often referred to as the ‘Mecca’ of cricket simply because of the venue’s history, its rich and noteworthy timeline and a number of significant statistics attached with it. If the Lords cricket ground in England is one such venue, we in India are proud to have our Eden Gardens in Kolkata that can truly be regarded as a ‘Mecca’ of cricket.

It was at this venue that a Test match between India and the visiting Australian cricket team was played in March 2001 (specifically between the 11th and 15th of March that year). This was the Australian team that had established its supremacy wherever it went. This was the Australian team that had a supremely talented opening pair of batsmen in Mathew Hayden and Michael Slater. They were devastating players who could be both frustrating and punishing as batsmen. This was the Australian team that had a rock solid, tried and tested middle order. This was the Australian team that had the best of bowling options. Some of the all time legends of the game like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were leading the pace and spin attack making it almost impossible for the opposition to breathe freely while they bat. This was the Australian team that was led by an exceptional player who was not just a superb all rounder but also a prolific leader. Someone who led his battalion successfully across nations and continents and at the time, when he came to India in 2001 along with his team, he was well in sight of achieving a world record of sorts as far as victory streak in Test matches was concerned. This man was obviously Steve Waugh, one of the most recognized and regarded Australian cricketer in modern day cricket. This was the Australian team that was a master at something else too which is often considered unethical in cricketing parlance by many and that is sledging. Sledging was an act that had all the support of Waugh and he himself often took the initiative to unsettle the opposition by passing discouraging and provocative comments.

However despite all these strategic advantages as a team, it was at the Eden Gardens in March 2001, that the Australian juggernaut was finally halted. A victory streak of sixteen games