In sports, one is only as good as the last outing. Whatever one may have achieved in the past or may be capable of accomplishing in the future doesn’t matter nearly as much as the here and now. Events in two distinct sports over the past few weeks have ensured that the maxim holds true regardless of the stature of the protagonists.
In cricket, the fortunes of India and Australia have flipped on a dime. Less than a month ago, the Men in Blue didn’t know what hit them as they tried to come to terms with the 0-3 home series whitewash against New Zealand. Chances of making the World Test Championship final were considered remote at best. Fans were fearing the worst when they embarked on the five-Test tour of Australia, apprehensions that became graver when the team was bundled out for a mere 150 in the first two sessions of the Perth Test. However, what transpired thereafter can mildly be described as ‘reversal of fortune’.
The Aussies, meanwhile, were in prime position for payback after losing two successive home series to India. The WTC holders led the points table with several players also having been part of the 50-over World Cup winning side in India a year ago. Beating India in a Test series for the first time in almost a decade could help this team being counted among the best their country had ever assembled.
But after initial promise, they suffered one heavy punch after another over three days to an extent that the famous Kangaroo spirit had been knocked out much before the final bell. Pat Cummins’ side has no option but to lick its wounds and try to make a fresh start in the day-night Test at Adelaide.
In the football world, the fortunes of Manchester City and Real Madrid have nosedived of late, to the extent that the unthinkable – Pep Guardiola being under pressure – has happened. The four-time defending English Premier League champions, who have also claimed the holy grail of the UEFA Champions League during that period, lost five games on the bounce in all competitions before squandering a 3-0 lead at home with 15 minutes of normal time left against Dutch side Feyenoord to only manage a draw.
Real trouble
Real Madrid often go through whole Champions League campaigns without defeat but have already been beaten by Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool this season. They have also suffered a 0-4 humiliation at home against Barcelona in La Liga, apart from dropping points against Atletico Madrid, Mallorca and Las Palmas. They are still only four points behind Barca with a game in hand, but need to get their act together quickly.
More than the results, it’s the performances that would concern Los Blancos fans. The team has made heavy weather of many of the matches that it has won, often having to claw back from deficits. The arrival of French superstar Kylian Mbappe was supposed to make Carlo Ancelotti’s side – Champions League winners in two of the last three seasons – unbeatable, but they have gone in the other direction. Real Madrid fans and top brass are not known for patience. As things stand, both City and Madrid are languishing in mid-table in the new Champions League format.
In elite sports, little details can often make all the difference to the outcome. During the home series against the Kiwis, India made a wrong call at the toss in the first Test and were caught in a perfect storm of bowler-friendly conditions. A dodgy session against the second new ball in the second innings effectively sealed the deal. Pushed to the corner, they resorted to the time-tested formula of providing dust bowls despite knowing that their own batsmen were none too proficient on them. Losing the next two tosses, combined with the fact that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were not at their destructive best, added to their misery.
In adverse circumstances, talk of rift within the squad and questions on commitment surface. No side is one big happy family with everyone looking eye to eye in all matters, even when things are going well, but all these matters come to the surface only when a team loses.
In much the same vein, the Australian team is now being considered a Dad’s Army with their acclaimed domestic system failing to produce young players of quality. David Warner’s prolonged retirement summer and Steve Smith’s elevation to the top of the batting order were called ‘vanity projects’. Former players have been quick to take aim at the team, coaching staff and selectors. Players even have had to come out and deny that there are no factions between the bowlers and the batsmen.
The Perth result was more a result of Jasprit Bumrah bowling a sublime spell after tea on the first day and some assistance in the pitch. The Aussie top order, with a debutant as opener, was fragile and many better equipped line-ups could have succumbed under the circumstances. But there’s nothing that a Smith century and Marnus Labuschagne finding his bearings – he still averages 48.45 in Tests, marginally better than Virat Kohli – can’t rectify.
Perfect storm
Going back to football, Manchester City have got stuck in a cocktail of injuries, loss of form and lack of suitable options – all in the backdrop of the sword of the Financial Fair Play investigation hanging over them. Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is out for months while midfield maestro Kevin de Bruyn is just feeling his way back from the treatment table. Erling Haaland is nowhere near his superhuman goal-scoring prowess while a few other stalwarts are suddenly showing their age as City are conceding goals for fun.
All said and done, they are eight points behind leaders Liverpool going to Anfield on Sunday. Pep Guardiola doesn’t have a great record there but if he can engineer a coup, they will be back in the reckoning and the Doubting Thomases will look stupid.
Mbappe is yet to find his bearings at Real and with Vinicius Junior already ensconced as the leader of the attack, it’s quite a task for Ancelotti to get the best out of both and the team at large. But they have a few winnable matches domestically and if they manage to get to the later rounds of the Champions League, their nous and winning mentality may come to the fore.
It doesn’t take long for fortunes to change in top-level sport.