Reality behind Harshit Rana arriving solo for team dinner
Gautam Gambhir hosted Team India for a dinner at his place on Wednesday night, ahead of the 2nd and final Test vs the West Indies. But of course, a controversy still managed to happen. All the team members arrived together in a bus, and then came a BMW sedan and out stepped Harshit Rana.
Now, some people are calling it a show of 'aura', while others sarcastically dubbed him the 'chief guest'. The question that came up was: if the entire team, including senior players like Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja, arrived in the same bus, then why did Harshit Rana come separately?
Reality behind Harshit Rana arriving solo
The reality is, Harshit plays for Delhi, which is his hometown. It's quite common for cricketers to go to the ground directly from their homes when they're in their home city, and spend the rest of the time with their families. That’s probably what happened here too, and since he came directly from home, he wasn’t on the team bus.
The problem is, some of us try to read too much between the lines, and overanalysing every little thing has pretty much become a hobby for everyone these days.
India vs West Indies 2nd Test preview
After a one-sided contest in Ahmedabad, the pitch in Delhi is likely to favour the batters. The idea is to try and have an even contest, so that the match doesn't end within 3 days. Though Team India once again go into the game as favourites, interestingly, out of the 7 Tests played between India and the West Indies in Delhi, India have managed to win only one. Yes, just one! It sounds almost unreal for a team that’s been a dominant Test force at home for decades, but the numbers don’t lie.
The story goes back to 1948, when the two sides met for the very first time in a Test at this venue, then known as the Feroz Shah Kotla. That historic game ended in a draw. Over the next few decades, Delhi remained a frustrating ground for the hosts when it came to facing the men from the Caribbean.
Between 1959 and 1987, India hosted the West Indies five more times in the capital, and the results were far from flattering. India drew three of those encounters (1959, 1979, 1983) and lost two (1974 and 1987), often to a West Indies team brimming with superstars and armed with the most fearsome fast-bowling unit the world had ever seen.
It wasn’t until 2011, yes, more than six decades after that first clash, that India finally broke the jinx. In that Test, led by MS Dhoni, India defeated the West Indies by five wickets at the Kotla, marking their first-ever win over the Windies at this venue. That match also saw local hero Virender Sehwag light up the crowd with fifties in both the innings, and R Ashwin making a memorable debut, taking nine wickets in the game.
Now, after 14 years, Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium is ready once again to host India and the West Indies in a Test match. On paper, the historical record might suggest that the Windies have enjoyed better fortunes here. But that would be a misleading picture of the present.
Back in the 1950s to 1980s, the West Indies were the undisputed kings of world cricket — a side packed with legends like Sobers, Richards, Holding, and Marshall. India, on the other hand, was still finding their feet as a Test powerhouse. But today, the equation has completely flipped. India has been nearly unbeatable at home over the past decade, while the once-mighty Windies are still in the process of rebuilding.
So, while the past may whisper about Delhi being the Windies’ happy hunting ground, the present tells a very different story. This time, the numbers don’t scare India; they inspire it to rewrite history once again.
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