India escape defeat at Lord's

By John Cheeran
How unexpected defeats strike us. Argentina entered the Copa America finals without a loss yet they were outclassed by Brazil. Even after losing their World Cup campaigns, Brazil and Argentina are still held in high regard in world football.
Argentina, despite their loss in the Copa final, are most attractive plotters of the ball movements on the field. Every time they step out on the field they command respect; the lineage of Alfred Di Stefano, Mario Kempes and Maradona are kept alive by Lionel Messi.
And just two days ago, Argentina won the world youth championship, a tournament that is considered as one of the finest platform for emerging talent, defeating Czech Republic in the final.
Let’s come back to Argentina’s trait of living in dignity despite setbacks.
India, and England, too failed in their World Cup cricket campaigns. But can India command respect from their rivals as well as from television watchers despite their poor show in World Cup?
India have floundered again in the first serious Test that they faced since the World Cup. I guess, the level of expectations from the fans are so low, there are hardly any heartbreaks.
Skipper Rahul Dravid had a disastrous outing as batsman at Lord's Test against England.
VVS Laxman, finally given his chance, struggled to do himself and his team much good. Only Sourav Ganguly showed he could still play within his limitations to ensure his own survival.
And do you think that rain would have helped India if Greg Chappell was still around as coach?