Indians are insane cricket followers. They get overjoyed with a century, they go bananas over a defeat, a winning run makes them forget the pitfalls and one false stroke makes them go nuts about a player. To cut it short, Indians are emotionally driven when it comes to cricket. And as debatable as it is, cricket remains a religion and a match is a war about to happen.

For the record, Team India has lost the 2nd Test of the on-going India-England Test series. The balance sheet reads England 1 India 1. And the obvious message is, ‘no 4-0 revenge.’ Not this time around, for sure. So, there I see a shattering of belief and yet there exists a ray of hope. Strange, but these two extreme emotions continue to co-exist. In fact, in their co-existence lies their uniqueness.

But this loss has not made everyone unhappy. At least, these five are in a jovial mood. Their reasons for happiness may vary or they may be sarcastic. But this is a happy bunch of entities with smiles intact.

1) Happy Record Books

Team India has maintained its record at Wankhede in Test matches. It simply doesn’t like to win a Test match at Wankhede. Even a draw is fine. But no wins please. All of us prefer or dream to remain steadfast. Team India is no different either. If we can treat the players like heroes and consider them as our close family members when they win, then we shall laud their love to remain steadfast. Like us, they are stubborn and have stayed true to their records. Remaining true to one’s word is a quality so loved amongst all of us. For cricketers, their cricket is one of the obvious ways to express themselves. So, words ought to change to records in their cases.

2) ‘Incredible India’ gets a helping hand

‘Atithee Devo Bhav’ (Guest is God), the tagline of this campaign highlights that respect towards the Indians, its history and towards those who travel to India is ultimate. So, this loss shall not hurt as it is more a gesture of ‘mehmaan nawaazee’(treating the guest right) than anything else. Dhoni and co. shall not be blamed for losses like this. In fact, Aamir Khan, the brand ambassador of the campaign and the Indian government, shall thank Team India for extending a helping hand towards this campaign.

3) Cooking it

It is a known fact that Indians enjoy food. No matter which part of the country one goes to, it is unlikely that the food would turn him or her down. So there was no chance that they let down someone who has Cook writ large in his name. It was immaterial how deliciously Cooked the noose was. Being the key sporting ambassadors from India, Team India has made sure that Cook is a happy Chef.

4) Foreign Direct Investment

Although Great Britain has decided to take away the grants from India, the Indian government is still in a happy space. Now, considering it is always under scrutiny for whatever policy decisions it makes, this is unique. The UPA government is glad that at least someone is ferociously supporting UPA’ s move to promote Foreign Direct Investment in the presence of alternative products grown in India. In cricketing sense, when India’s own spinners failed to get much out of the Wankhede wicket, FDI’s from England kept the game of cricket benefitting. After all, someone has to look at the larger picture. The game and the FDIs have to survive. (I can see the opponents of FDIs are fuming.)

5) KP and MP

These two gentlemen may be fighting for the spot of the happiest man in the England dressing room, but Kevin Pietersen and Monty Panesar are surely leaving India on a happy note. For Kevin, he loves India anyway. He is someone well accepted across India. Let it be his chirp, his demand for upgradation at the Taj Mahal Hotel or the money he gets at the IPL, everything is fine about him when he is India. (It is a different story though for Flower and co. on KP’s voyages to India.) Now on, he will love India even more post his nearly missed double hundred at Wankhede that is said to have completed the nonstop talked about reintegration process. In Monty’s case, Team India takes good care of him whenever he is here. The batsmen raise his wicket tally significantly, help him earn/continue his good form and keep him in contention for the England squad.

Cliché states that if you could make at least one individual smile every day, your life is made. Here, Team India has managed to generate so many smiles. There is no question that the wishes for more such smiley faced incidents are filling up Team India’s mail box. However, there are some requests from Indian cricket fans who want to see their Team win. As dramatic and hyper as they are, attendance at the grounds, their love and smiles are crucial towards the development of cricket in India. Team India, cheer them up.