India`s tour of England: When the divinity didn`t intervene for India

London: India appealed to the divinity, but even gods were unwilling to intervene to ward off the inept team`s embarrassing 1-3 Test series loss to England.

Desperately seeking some luck, the Indian team put up a big poster outside The Oval dressing rooms with a quartet from Hanuman Chalisa, a hymn for Lord Hanuman. But it didn`t work and India Sunday suffered a humiliating innings and 244 runs defeat inside three days at The Oval, and lost the series 1-3. It was India`s second successive innings loss in England. On the third day Sunday, TV cameras zoomed in on the four lines from Hanuman Chalisa outside the dressing rooms, showing a desperate Indian team seeking divine intervention. But the Indian team`s fascination with Hanuman Chalisa is not new. During the 2011 World Cup, Hanuman Chalisa was recited every morning in the team`s dressing room. Ranjib Biswal, who was the team manager during the World Cup, had famously claimed that all the players are superstitious and god-fearing. Even during the final of the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL), a CD of Hanuman Chalisa was reportedly played in Chennai at the behest of former Indian cricket board chief N. Srinivasan, who is said to be superstitious.