CONVERSATION WITH A PATRIOTIC INDIAN

BY BISWADEEP GHOSH

Just the excerpts, friends. Would not bore you with the details. Pakitan are leading by 518 runs, yet some believe India can pull it off. At least get an honourable draw, that is. Never mind if Faisal Iqbal has scored a century and looks hardly ruffled. Never mind if Razzaq is giving him good company while Kamran Akmal, who gave so much grief to the Indians in the first innings, is yet to come.

BG: We are dead and gone. We have been murdered by a smart gameplan.
PATRIOT: Cricket is a game in which everything is possible. Remember that records are made to be broken.

BG: But a lead of 518 runs with two days to go? And, Pakistan still have five batsmen left.
P: If they can do it, why can't we? Our batting line-up is better than theirs.

BG: Too many problems, boss. Sehwag has a bad second innings track record, Sachin has not been in the best of touch to say the least. So, who will do the magic for us?
P: Dravid and Laxman. Don't you dare forget what they did to Australia. Then, there is Yuvraj. He has played some great innings. And Ganguly of course.

BG: Ganguly? But two days back, you are the one who called him a liability, a good for nothing, a man who does nothing but politics.
P: That was then. This is now. After watching him play the way he did in the first innings, I seriously feel he is all set for a big one. He will save India from losing the match and the series.

Dear readers,
You think this posting is fiction? Even I would have thought so had the person had not spoken to me just about 15 minutes ago. Anything for India, the winning team, what say you? Even if that means having to watch Sourav Ganguly score a century and bail India out.
Patriotism: we, the Indians, can redefine what the word means every week. One connotation, as of now, is that some serious Ganguly haters are ready to suffer him for the time-being.