Champions Humbled

"There still are one or two donkeys in the field.":Nasser Hussain

We've all seen India's humiliation in England this year, the 4-0 whitewash in the Test series (when they were the number 1 Test team in the world at the beginning of the tour), loss in the only T20 and now the 3-0 loss in the 5 match ODI series (one match tied and one abandoned). This was India's second series since becoming World Champions, the first was against a weak West Indian side.

The last time India won the 50-over World Cup in 1983, in their very next series, they were humbled by the West Indies at home. The WI won 8 out of 11 matches on that tour, all five ODIs and three Tests out of six (the rest were drawn).

Here's a summary of that tour:

1st ODI: India v West Indies at Srinagar - Oct 13, 1983

India 176 (41.2/45 ov); West Indies 108/0 (22.4/22 ov)

West Indies won by 28 runs (revised target)

Scorecard

1st Test: India v West Indies at Kanpur - Oct 21-25, 1983

West Indies 454; India 207 and 164 (f/o)

West Indies won by an innings and 83 runs

Scorecard

2nd Test: India v West Indies at Delhi - Oct 29-Nov 3, 1983

India 464 and 233; West Indies 384 and 120/2

Match drawn

Scorecard | Article index (2)

2nd ODI: India v West Indies at Vadodara - Nov 9, 1983

India 214/6 (49/49 ov); West Indies 217/6 (47.5/49 ov)

West Indies won by 4 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)

Scorecard

3rd Test: India v West Indies at Ahmedabad - Nov 12-16, 1983

West Indies 281 and 201; India 241 and 103

West Indies won by 138 runs

Scorecard

4th Test: India v West Indies at Mumbai - Nov 24-29, 1983

India 463 and 173/5d; West Indies 393 and 104/4

Match drawn

Scorecard

3rd ODI: India v West Indies at Indore - Dec 1, 1983

India 240/7 (47/47 ov); West Indies 241/2 (45.2/47 ov)

West Indies won by 8 wickets (with 10 balls remaining)

Scorecard

4th ODI: India v West Indies at Jamshedpur - Dec 7, 1983

West Indies 333/8 (45/45 ov); India 229/5 (45/45 ov)

West Indies won by 104 runs

Scorecard

5th Test: India v West Indies at Kolkata - Dec 10-14, 1983

India 241 and 90; West Indies 377

West Indies won by an innings and 46 runs

Scorecard

5th ODI: India v West Indies at Guwahati - Dec 17, 1983

India 178/7 (44/44 ov); West Indies 182/4 (41.4/44 ov)

West Indies won by 6 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)

Scorecard

6th Test: India v West Indies at Chennai - Dec 24-29, 1983

West Indies 313 and 64/1; India 451/8d

Match drawn

There is no comparison between the WI of the eighties and the current England side, however, both were considered among the best sides in the world at the time the two series were played. How the champions fared against them is surprisingly similar, not one match was won by India in both the series.

In 1983, no one expected India to win, and the series of defeats that followed was probably a much easier pill to swallow. This 2011 series was definitely more disappointing for the Indians considering they had the best Indian side ever. Missing Sehwag, Tendulker, Gambhir and Zaheer Khan due to injuries would have been a good excuse if not for the fact that the first three played in the IPL just after the World Cup. It's hard to get to the top, but harder to stay there. To the satisfaction of all Pakistanis, India just found that out. Congratulations to England from all of us, and a big booo for India! Either the series was fixed or you guys really are "donkeys". And don't forget we had a hand in the English victory too, Mushy was there, wasn't he?

PS: We won all our matches against Zimbabwe, you guys just got lucky against us in the World Cup.