The cricketing fever never takes a break in India where the people follow the sport like a religion. The victories are celebrated; the defeats are mourned. For a significant period, cricket remained the sole obsession of the second most populous nation in the world but in recent times, several other sports are starting to make a mark in people’s minds. However, what sets cricket apart from other sports is the storied rivalry between India and Pakistan.
More than the competitiveness on the field, the Indo-Pak rivalry is more a result of political tensions between the two nations. To a keen follower of the game though, another rival of Indian team, purely on competitiveness, would appear more appetising. If your guess is Australia, give yourself a pat on the back.
2 Nations, 1 Obsession is a cricket documentary which depicts how the rivalry between India and Australia started and became one of the fiercest in the world of cricket. The documentary starts with veteran cricket broadcaster Harsha Bhogle describing the concept of rivalry in sports and when his words ‘without rivalry, there is no sport’ are quite true.
These rivalries add a distinct flavour to a contest and bring forth passion from even the most casual fan.
In the past few years, the matches between India and Australia have produced some of the most memorable contests where both teams have given their everything on the field to claim their supremacy over the other not more so than in the ultimate, oldest format – Test cricket.
2 Nations, 1 Obsession talks about the culture of the two countries where players who have represented India and Australia in the past share their experience of playing each other in away matches.
From Sunil Gavaskar to Allan Border, a host of legends open their hearts out while talking about the historic rivalry they have cultivated over the years.
Obviously, not everyone has the same viewpoint. There are few who seemed to have enjoyed playing in Australia including Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and Gavaskar. Then there was those like Murali Karthik and Dilip Vengsarkar who found it difficult when it comes to Australian food.
Also Read | T20 World Cup 2022: Iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground Gets Ready for the Blockbuster India vs Pakistan Game – WATCH
Ravi Shastri steals the show as there are not many in the cricketing world who don’t shy away from talking their heart out. Shastri being Shastri puts a smile on the face whenever he comes on the screen and speaks with such flamboyance that you are bound to become his fan, all over again. He somehow has the knack of making everything interesting.
Bhogle is another one who you will root for as he provides some insightful details that every cricket fan will love to hear. He recalls how former Aussie Captain Border shared a great camaraderie with a former PM of Australia so much so that the cricketer didn’t have to follow the public rules of formality with the high-profile political figure even when in public space.
It then sheds some light on how the India vs Australia Test series was named after two of the greatest players from each team – Border and Gavaskar.
It showed how the Australia of the late 70s and 80s didn’t like coming to India and several players shared their honest views on it. It’s Shastri who openly said that Australia realized that India is the biggest market of the game.
Legendary India captain Kapil didn’t shy away from admitting that the current generation of players are much more confident than the players of his generation and it’s surely one of the highlights.
When it came to rivalries amongst the players, it will bring out emotions of the 90s and early 2000s cricket fans without any doubt. It talks about the fierce rivalry between two captains – Sourav Ganguly and Steve Waugh and how the two didn’t like each other. At the same time, it also shows a glimpse of the Sachin Tendulkar vs Shane Warne era where the two greatest cricketers tried to over-smart each other on the field.
Unlike many documentaries in recent times on India vs Australia rivalry, 2 Nations, 1 Obsession tries to give a perspective on how the life of players from the two teams is different in their own countries. In India Tendulkar had to hide from everyone when venturing out but someone like Warne had no problem going to malls in Australia like others.
It’s a nostalgic ride for the people who grew up watching Border, Gavaskar, Dev, Shastri, Tendulkar, Warne and Gilchrist, while for the young fans it’s a perfect watch to know where it all started.
One of the highlights is Ganguly’s reaction to the Australian fans after the iconic Eden Gardens Test of 2001.
It’s a nice watch giving an insight into how the rivalry came to be and the stars that made it so.
2 Nations 1 Obsession Premieres on History TV18 on 13th and 14th October 9PM
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here
Comments
0 comment