Cricket is a strange game. It can swing fortunes, make the mighty bite the dust, and make bouquets morph into brickbats — all in minutes. India’s second consecutive humiliating loss to England in the four match Test series has triggered a flood of reactions. The Internet is abuzz with reactions from fans that range from scathing sarcasm, horrified disbelief, sheer disgust to strained optimism.

It’s not the loss but the way India went down that has upset most fans. Celebs have also expressed their views on Twitter, some harsh, some funny, some reinstating their faith in the World Cup champs. So while MTV VJ Ayushmann Khurrana tweeted, “Post world cup win we thought it was an onset of Indian era in world cricket of sheer dominance. But we forget inconsistency is our 2nd name”, actor Farhan Akhtar cheekily said, “Lets look at the bright side. We’ve figured out 10 new ways not to bat in English conditions. All the best for Test # 3.”
With news about Virender Sehwag joining the team for the third test, things look better for India as the “Multan ka Sultan” can change a match’s course with his bat. Fans speak out about India’s performance so far and share their optimism for the remaining two matches in the series. “There is a dignified way of losing — by fighting till the end for the pride and justifying the number 1 test ranking,” believes Sankalp Bhatia, a cricket fan.
Some criticise the team’s magnanimous decision on the Bell-gate saying a winning team could have afforded to give a reprieve, but not one that was staring at defeat in the face. Vikram Chaudhary, a statistician, says, “Beggars cannot be chosers. Sportsman spirit would have been better lauded had we won or drawn or even run England close. But players feigned injuries, batsmen were clueless and the squad looked underprepared.” Seconds Sankalp and adds, “Despite a huge target, our players forgot that we had two days to play and approximately 150 overs to negotiate. They should have gone in with a resolve of not gifting their wickets away, but sadly, it appeared that they were in a hurry to rest.”
Despite all this, R. Kumar, professional, is hopeful that India will surely bounce back. “Dravid is in good form, and it’s not fair to blame others in the team. I feel the next venue Edgbaston could be lucky for us, and with Sehwag fit for third test match, I am very optimistic.”
India’s loss had writer-politician Shashi Tharoor tweeting, “Our team looks tired, poorly-prepared, unmotivated & after tea on Day2, out of their league. Can we expect Sehwag&Zaheer to turn it around?” To which Vineet Bhatt retweeted him saying, “Ind is not bad team,we can beat same Eng side but in our home conditions!!”
When Captain Cool blamed a packed schedule and gruelling back-to-back tours for India’s poor show in England, some were not amused. Temachur Kani commented on Facebook, “BCCI has to plan accordingly that there should be more practice matches before the test. If the players are still not addressing their concerns to the Board, then they are ineligible to say that they are proud to wear the Indian cap and represent the team.”