Fever of the Gentleman’s Game

Tuesday, 9^th July 2019, was like any other day for some, while an anxious one for many Indian cricket fans. Heartbeats were rapid with silent prayers and best wishes for the beloved Indian Cricket team to win the semi-final against New Zealand and reach the finals. After the magnificent World Cup win in 1983 and 2011 and outstanding performances of the team in this World Cup tournament, hopes were high to win the coveted World Cup trophy, only to be shattered into shards later. Though I am not an ardent follower of cricket and do not follow most of the cricket tournaments, the consistent wins by our team motivated me to catch this season of World Cup. For me it was like reading a book where the protagonist is winning laurels for his or her good work and all odds are always in the favour of that character. Such plots encourage me to read further and further.

This World Cup season not only showed me how strong and energetic our team is, but I also learned to see strengths of other teams and players, which I barely knew earlier. Cricket is the beloved and celebrated sport of India, thanks to the British influence and it has always been a symbol of sophistication and people have loved to associate themselves to this sport since decades. The promo of this season has itself been vibrant and highlighted the competitive spirit that cricket or any other sport displays. With England welcoming all the countries and everyone proudly dancing to “Tu khwaab dekhte reh jaa hum le jayenge” and racing for the trophy symbolized that cricket is a package of entertainment, team spirit, unity and patriotism. Isn’t it why it is said that, ‘cricket unites the nation’?

For sincere cricket fans, enjoying match in a stadium is the ultimate way of supporting the team. For me, that spirit and hope for victory was very much alive watching the match in the comfort of my home. We applauded whenever Rohit Sharma scored a century, or when our men in blue hit a four or six or took a challenging wicket of the opponents. I remember those moments when our batsmen hit the ball high in the air and we sat with hearts in our mouth praying it to be a six and not a wicket. It is so much fun to see the large blue ocean of Indian supporters with several faces painted in tricolor, cheering the team with all slogans and cheerful dances. It’s as though this positive energy is passed on to our team to do better in every game. Indian team reached the numero uno position with its wins in all matches except with England. While the perceived intimidating match with Australia resulted into our victory, the most nail-biting one was the match with Afghanistan. India faced toughest fight with them, but still managed to win the match by 11 runs. I was astonished by the spirit of Afghani players who did not give up till the last ball. That match earned my respect for Afghanistani cricket team too. Not having won a single match in the entire tournament, they surely strived to give their best, these lads as young as 18 and 19. When I read more about their team, I learned that the Afghani players imbibed the sport as refugees and their entry in the World Cup itself was a mark to show that they were capable to face the existing cricket champions.

We saw some once powerful teams take a blow of defeat, bidding the tournament goodbye. Each team has their own strengths and weaknesses and set of strong players which makes them a great one. What turning of tables really means, we got to see in this World Cup. On reaching the semi-finals, many of us were confident that India was surely to reach finals since the match with New Zealand was perceived to be a cakewalk. I remember that day when everyone including I had rejoiced over the so-called manageable target of 240 for the Indian Cricket team, a child’s play for the first rankers. But the forces of Nature had other plans and, in the end, it’s all in the destiny. We got massive blows one after the other when our best players were slain in merely few overs. The audience in the stadium too looked crestfallen, but still hope wasn’t lost. With Jadeja and Dhoni emerging as the last hopes, everyone sat with fingers crossed. I developed new found respect for Ravindra Jadeja who tried to save our sinking ship by scoring 77 runs in 59 balls. They gave their best to unlock the gates of Finals, but unfortunately their efforts were not enough to reach there. The dreams of bringing World Cup home ended there for the team as well as for millions of Indian fans, who had hoped to cheer our team in the finals. I learned from that match that even the best people get the taste of defeat when it’s most unexpected. Life is uncertain, and so is Cricket. Today’s winners might not necessarily be the winners at the end. Australia, ranked second, too met with the same fate against England. With the former winners out of World Cup 2019, a new way was paved for New Zealand and England, one of whom would create a history by becoming first time winners of the World Cup. The entire turn of events in this tournament reminded me of the hare and tortoise story, where the third and fourth rankers stole the show.

Cricket teaches us some great life lessons. We should never underestimate our competitors just because we are better than them and should learn to recognize and appreciate their strengths. Strategies can then be developed to get better of the opponents by identifying which can be their probable Achilles Heel. This holds true even in the business world, for you never know who might enter the market and conquer everything that you once owned. Similarly, not being on the top position also is not a matter to get disheartened. The sun shines brightly on some one day and shows the path to overcome the difficulties to emerge as tough. Cricket and business world are all about team work and team spirit. Identifying your team mates’ strengths and giving them the chance to display the best of their skills is a way of motivating them, for the success of any team and a company depends on its people. Even in life it is important to ensure that success does not get in the head. When that happens, you will lose the appetite for failure and it will also blur the ways to still get better in life.

The philosophies in sports, business or even in life go hand in hand, where today’s win is not guaranteed tomorrow unless perseverance is religiously abided by. Despite this, there is always a danger of failure, yet we must learn that we can always rise tomorrow with renewed vigour and better approach. Only when we learn to introspect and correct our mistakes and attitude, we come closer to success, although luck has a role in determining success too. Future can bring bright hopes or gloomy days, it’s how and whether we tackle it with grounded feet that matters in the end.