Country, ball by ball, Indian Express, 18th September 2007

Cricket, whether is the Test, One-day or Twenty-20 variety, is always the flavour of the season in India. And if the spectators have their quirks, so do those who inhabit the commentary box. The discerning viewer can perceive on his/her TV screen whether the ball hit the bat or the pad. But the non-discerning patriot only wants to know if we have hit a six or whether the opponent is out.

If you had followed cricket in the eighties and early nineties, you will recollect that Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Mohindar Amarnath were three great Indian cricketers who were responsible for almost all our losses in one-day matches as they could never really distinguish between the limited overs and the five-day versions of the game. Now that each one of them has metamorphosed into important TV commentators, it is refreshing to hear them talk very profoundly on how one-day games must be approached and when the accelerator needs to be pressed.
When master blaster Sachin Tendulkar comes out to bat, Gavaskar or Harsha Bhogle will invariably tell you that there is a “tense hush” as the great man comes in. Unfortunately, Tendulkar then proceeds to get out early in his innings. But as far as Messrs Gavaskar, Bhogle are concerned, this is never for any fault of his. They will invariably lament that the ball did not touch the bat or, even if it did hit the pads, it would have missed the stumps by at least eight inches. They can never understand how any umpire can give such a decision. And Gavaskar will add, “Frankly, that was a bad decision.”
It is always “unfortunate” that Tendulkar gets out at 0, 1, 4 and 99 due to incorrect umpiring decisions. This can only mean that there is some bias against our master blaster. But what is amazing is that the whole world seems to be against him.
Umpires everywhere, whether they happen to be English, Australian or Indian, are clearly biased when it comes to Tendulkar. And this is also why we always lose matches. Truly, Indian commentators smell of patriotism and never miss an opportunity to brandish it on TV.