Over and over, again!

Three months from now, amidst ‘musical montage’ of the Indian Premier League, the Australian tour would be another ‘forgettable series’.
A Murli Vijay or a Paul Valthaty would come and hit a ton in the 120-ball format and the likes would give us reasons to cheer.
And, in that high-decibel chaos, we would forget what Rahul Dravid said in his ‘Bradman Oration’ real cricket — Test match.
That compels me to put forward a serious question: Are we nurturing a bunch of cricketers who practice lofted shots in nets or we help them stick to cricket basics and let them play a ball according to its merit?
I remember an interview of an IPL centurion, who emphatically stressed on hitting ‘big shots’ in nets during his preparations of IPL matches.
Though, he was successful in a particular IPL edition, but with that India lost a player, who has good enough merit to be a Test opener.
Now, why this question? Take an example of the ongoing India-Australia test match at the SCG.
When the Day 1 came to an end, there was a divided opinion. Optimists believed that India would take couple of quick wickets early on Day 2, and pacers would then restrict Kangaroos to a score not more than 250, conceding a lead of just 50 odd runs.
A section also had faith that SCG would turn to an Eden Garden and some very, very special innings might either level the series or turn it in India’s favour.
On Day 2, the outcome of the test cricket became evident, probably from the very first ball. India were lucky on just one ball out of 540 deliveries they bowled. The scorecard resembled of many occasions of 2007 series. Ponting dismissed by Ishant. The difference was, by then, the Australian right-hander had done his job and not only that he along with Hussey made Indians look ‘awry’.
Two records were noteworthy. Ponting scoring a ton after two years and Clarke hitting his maiden double-century. The big Australian trio of Ponting, Clarke and Hussey were said to be out of form before the series began, but experience played its part and they are now the team saviors.
India, on the other hand, had been preparing well. Says a statement of Dravid from his Bradman Oration, “We have come here more experienced, better prepared.” But, Dravid himself had, after a great 2011, tough times dealing with seaming deliveries.
Except Sachin Tendulkar, who despite of so much hullabaloo over his century’s century producing the best possible bat-ball sound, no Indian batsman looked comfortable.
If Australian selectors were bold enough to pick Ponting over inexperience, despite the noise, their Indian counterpart went a step ahead and dropped Harbhajan, who had been consistent with his off-spin against Australian.
Another point, whether the Virat Kohli or the Rohit Sharma, whom we call Indian cricket’s future, are also loosing their batting charm in the media din.
Can we not have a fast wicket at the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy, where players will practice ‘chin music’? Or, will it be the same story over and over, again?
Many foreign tours will come and we will have the same mixed feeling of optimism-pessimism. Heart would like to see India on the winning side, while the brain would say we are incapable of that.