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        The best thing that could have happened to Indian cricket is its loss in the preliminary stage of this World Cup. No, this is not cynicism or frustrated anger after the feckless performance of last night. What India needed was a dose of hard (and even harsh) reality that can cut through the cultivated layers of electronic media-engendered hype, misplaced and almost foolish passion of the fan who doesn't have a clue about the vagaries and virtues of the game and the corporates who have some vested interest in keeping the bubble blown.

        The forces surrounding Indian cricket have created a feeling that winning is the only option. In competitive sport, the truth is something else. In this World Cup itself there will be 15 failures and just one winner. In Grand Slam tennis tourneys, there are 127 losers, and then, one champion. That is sport. That is its reality.

        Last night's bitter defeat will hopefully provide the much-needed sanity to Indian cricket. If other sports in India suffered from poor media coverage and pitiful corporate patronage, then cricket was a victim of the other extreme. Everything about it was in hyper that you clamoured for the silence of simplicity.

        After what happened last night, obviously, messy blame games will be played out for some time. A lot of dirty linen will be washed in public. Irate fans will have some nasty things to say about the players. Some properties maybe damaged. Bilious former cricketers will question the players' commitment. Electronic media pundits, gathered around like bumbling banshees, will dissect everything and target specific individuals as being responsible for the failure. The tone will be hysterical and high-pitched.

        But cricket soon would be left to itself. And that is the need of the hour. Cricket in this country, for long, has been everybody's baby. Everyone had a view on how it should be run and how the players should play. This was dangerous and disturbing.

        The fans and the other patrons of the game sure have a case to feel disappointed. Even feel cheated. But to attribute motives to the defeat at the hands of Bangladesh and then Sri Lanka last night is patently a wrong prescription.

        Just a few days ago, after their easy annihilation of the hapless Bermuda, the Indian cricketers were praised sky high. One channel even went to the extent of saying 'Yuvraj, Sehwag, Sachin and Sourav played the innings of their career'. Having used such hyperboles on one day and then to dump them as clumsy oafs the next day is almost puerile and shows up the lack of balance and perspective. This is symptomatic of all that is ill with India and its cricket.

        Why India lost was because it played poor cricket. It was not up to scratch. Period. But what will decide the future of Indian cricket is not this defeat but how we handle the situation arising out of it. A few hard decisions have to be taken. Some big names may have to stand up and be counted. The captain himself cannot be beyond reproach. The coach too has a few things to answer. After all, it was at his behest that the team was chopped and changed. We were told that it was all done with 'an eye on the World Cup'. The teacher cannot write the exam for his ward, and the coach cannot do it on the field for the players. Yet, this coach, more than anyone else, had been inducted with high hopes. In all honesty, he has failed. But ouster is not the straight answer to failure. There are some grey areas to be covered. The solution to the problems may not be in this team. But may be in how well we re-organise and revamp the entire system and shape up the future teams. The talent pool is disturbingly shrinking. That is the area of concern.

        Death can happen in thousands of ways. But birth has only one route. Similarly, winning and success are begot only by the marriage of hard work and skill. Everything else, as the ad says in a different context, is bakwas.

        Coming back to this World Cup, India's defeat also means that the sincere aficionados can now get to appreciate cricket in its real sense. Cricket will now belong to its true fans. And that is where it should always be.

        Sweet indeed are the ways of adversity.