Politics And Sports In The Time Of Pandemic!

It was cruelly insensitive on the part of the Government of India to declare in Parliament that there had been no COVID-19 deaths during the second wave due to lack of medical oxygen in the country, when not only the thousands of the affected families but also millions other anxious or someway related families just cannot erase the nightmarish images of people dying gasping for breath on hospital beds, in the hospital passages/corridors/lounges, on the outside courtyards or on the streets, in the parked cars, within the four walls of homes; hospitals sending SOS for oxygen, desperate doctors even breaking down; and round-the-clock media reports and most disturbing visuals.

 

The reason given by the government is even more ludicrously insensitive: that the states did not report the deaths due to the lack of medical oxygen. Well, most of the states, particularly the ones ruled by the same dispensations would hardly advertise their failure or the stark lack of preparedness. The government is talking about the worst affected state of Maharashtra that too did not audit oxygen-related fatalities; the ruling party should know that it is the only state in the country that was adequately prepared with enough stocks of all requirements including medical oxygen cylinders. Instead, why don’t they talk about Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka? If they think this is some kind of image-building then they should rethink and concentrate on damage-control, because apart from being cruelly insensitive this act represents the lowest low of politics.

 

The Government of the union territory Delhi has made a most horrible claim: they constituted a  panel to audit oxygen-related deaths, but was disallowed by the all-powerful Lieutenant Governor to go ahead. Besides, what about the highest-level meets discussing desperate measures to streamline the supply of 02 or somehow increase its production, sanctioning setting up of numerous oxygen plants even within hospital complexes and to receive plane-loads of oxygen concentrators by several foreign countries including the UK and the US? Were all these sham? On the top of it, the denials about shortage of vaccines and the gross under-reporting of COVID-related deaths continue unabated. Normally insensitive people are compared with having rhino-like thick skin; however, on this inhumane count even the rhinos would turn their backs on them most disdainfully.

 

If  COVID-19 infections were not enough Israel’s NSO-Pegasus spyware, the legacy of 2019, has arisen again to re-infect the mobiles of a whole lot of journalists, activists, opposition political leaders and even existing ministers of the central government. While the NSO has been maintaining that it sells the spyware only to governments, the Government of India has not been giving convincing replies or arguments, and this is accentuated by the fact that there are many other governments in the federal union of India. Therefore, this is some politics or mystery that many never see the light of day unless the NSO closely inspects clients’ misuse and it finally destroys the software itself as somewhat indicated by them lately. The spyware is extremely difficult to detect and only it can self-destroy its traces within the mobile phones if it so desires.

 

In the sports arena all the matches of either football or cricket or tennis were played with no or limited-capacity crowds. Only the Euro Cup-2020, postponed last year, created quite a lot of excitement allowing crowds increase gradually to reach 60,000 or 75% of the capacity at the Wembley stadium, England from the semi-final stage while COVID-19 cases of the Delta variety increased by leaps and bounds on a daily basis there. The hosts England was much expected to win the Cup once they reached the finals creating history, but Italy’s penalty-shots victory generated a racial abuse at the stadium marring the reputation of the tournament. Meanwhile, England lifted all COVID restrictions and decided to coexist with virus, because with most of the citizens fully vaccinated hospitalization and fatality rates have been almost eliminated. Although this seems to be a practical solution, God forbid, it is fraught with dangers as more lethal variants can achieve vaccine-escape or immunity-breakthrough anytime.

 

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has proved its insensitivity to the pandemic dangers time and again. Of course, it had to participate in the World Test Championship Final between India and New Zealand in Southampton, England during June 18-23, 2021 with very limited crowds, and India lost that match due to colossal batting failure, all the euphoria it created when India qualified defeating England in the home series before the deadly second wave (then the BCCI had to suspend the IPL-2021 midway). However, the Indian team continued to stay in England to play a five-match Test Series against England starting August 2021, while COVID had infected a few members of staff including the most-favored Rishabh Pant. So much was the urge to get on with game that a second Team India was created under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan to take on Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, and the visitors have already sealed the three-ODI series leading 2-0.

 

And finally, the Tokyo Olympics, postponed since 2020, is starting tomorrow, the 23^rdof July 2021 as quite a few athletes have already been infected and some of them ruled out which is very unfair as it deprives them of achieving medals. The World Health Organization has warned that infections are bound to increase as the Games goes on. We don’t see any reason why the biggest tournament of the world having all the countries on board should be held at this juncture. How many of a COVID-ravaged India with the Third Wave feared to hit at any moment would have the spirit to celebrate the possible medal winners, except of course, the hordes of insensitive Covidiots or clones?           

 

But of course, as sports enthusiasts and optimists we do wish all success for the Games, the Indian contingent and all the participating athletes, and fervently hope that more waves of the pandemic are effectively prevented everywhere on planet earth.

India Qualify For The WTC Final Beating England 3-1 In Test Series!

India have crushed England by an innings and 25 runs in the fourth and last cricket test match at the Motera, Ahmedabad today and won the Test Series 3-1, thus qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final to be played at Lord’s from 18^th June 2021. India needed to win the Series by at least 2-1 margin and had this match been won by the visitors the Series would have ended in a 2-2 draw in which case Australia would have qualified. There are three priceless innings from the Indians that contributed to this emphatic win at the Motera today. First and foremost, the man-of-the-match Rishabh Pant for his incredible century of 101 in just 118 balls coming in to bat at a time when India had lost 4 wickets for 80 still trailing by 125 runs to England’s first innings total of 205. There was tremendous pressure on him to stick on and at the same time pile up enough runs to help his team come back in the game. Rishabh played against his normal attacking style defending a lot with Rohit Sharma till 121 runs and then taking command with Washington Sundar coming in, slowly opening out to launch his known attacking shots all around the park, and reaching his century with a six. His handling of veteran James Anderson with the new ball had been breath-taking. Rishabh Pant’s innings can be called match-defining as it started building a crucial lead for India.

 

Second, the astute and stylish innings of 96 runs not out by an emerging bowling all-rounder, Washington Sundar, only on his fourth test after a brilliant debut in Australia, giving support to Pant in their most valuable partnership of 113 runs, and then taking over command with Axar Patel for company in the match-winning partnership of 106 runs. Unfortunately, he missed out on a most deserved maiden century.

 

Third, spin-bowling sensation Axar Patel, only on the third test of his career, played a priceless innings of 43 runs, partnering with Sundar for a hundred-run partnership that gave India an unassailable lead of 160 runs. Unfortunately, Axar got run out, missing his half-century and not being able to help Washington get his ton, at the team score of 365 which eventually became the final score as the last wickets fell on that score.

 

Ravichandran Ashwin who achieved the feat of 400 wickets in just 77 tests in the last match at the Motera was deservedly judged the man-of-the-series for his incredible haul of 32 wickets in the four-match series and his astounding century in the Chennai second test. He has also become only the fourth bowler of test cricket for maximum wickets in a series thanks to his 32 in only 4 tests. In this this match he and Axar have evenly divided the wickets, thus each registering a fiver. Axar in fact has had four fivers in his first three test matches with the incredible total catch of 27 wickets. For pacers, Mohammad Siraj chipped in with two wickets in England’s first innings and Ishant Sharma did not need to bowl much.   

 

No England batsman could hold the fort for a much-desired duration except for a half-century by Stokes and 46 by Lawrence, mystery replacement for Archer, in the first innings. Captain Joe Root has virtually become the reverse ‘Root cause’ for defeat, not able to contribute anything of significance in the last three games. In this game England perhaps missed the services of Jofra Archer who was dropped inexplicably in view of the fact Anderson and Stokes captured 7 Indian wickets and that a second spinner was indeed brought in place of Broad whose selection in the last two games had been another mystery. Dom Bess who bowled quite well in tandem with Leach in enabling England win the first test in Chennai got dropped for the next two games, and he could not regain his form after being brought in for this game. England’s second innings was an absolute disaster with the whole team collapsing for 135 runs, just a lone half-century by Dan Lawrence.

 

This match has also definitely given some relief to the new pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium after the raging controversy that emerged as the inaugural pink-ball test here ended inside two days. Now it’s likely to be accepted as a challenging pitch where each playing team must prove their skills and application, because the fourth test went on for almost three days and while England again had the advantage of batting first and could not again capitalize, Indians, particularly the tailenders, showed the pitch to be an easy one in stages, by building a total of 365 that should be considered as massive on this ground.

 

Thanks to this test series win that also marks the 13th home series win on the trot during 2013-21 India has become the top team in ICC Test rankings and is sitting pretty at the top of the table of the WTC, with co-qualifier New Zealand next and Australia on the third position. With excellent youngsters and newfound talents India would be looking at the WTC Final against New Zealand exuding confidence. For the sixth, seventh and the eight batting positions India have players like Pant, Sundar, Ashwin, Axar and others. For the sixth position the form of Rishabh Pant has been revealing now, and his constant improvement as a wicket-keeper augurs very well for the team. Only the famed top-four Indian batting has been a disappointment except for the consistently useful knocks of Rohit Sharma. The forms of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane are real concerns at the moment. However, such class cricketers can turn the tide in their team’s favor anytime and instantly. 

Celebration times now for India with cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar's 50 years of his sensational international debut this day in 1971 against West Indies in West Indies making way for India's majestic away Series win. What nicer gift than this win and qualification for the WTC Final in the legend's honor. Not to speak about the brilliant away series win in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy this January.