Having followed cricket for so long, I have become more convinced than ever that it is this game, more than any other sport, which mirrors life. For one, cricket, like life, continues to have an element of fascination, intrigue, mystery, thrill and uncertainty about it. As in life, fortunes in this game have often swung from one end to the other more than in any other sport. The vicissitudes of emotions manifested by the pain and agony of a heart-wrenching defeat to the thrill and ecstasy of an exhilarating victory and all that falls in between are as much a part of cricket folklore as it is of life. And again, as in life, so in cricket, equanimity in thought and action is a great virtue to have.
Let me recount a few examples featuring India. In the Cricket World Cup of 1983, India was down and out against Zimbabwe with the scorecard reading a miserable 17 for 5. India’s captain, Kapil Dev, a man endowed with supreme self-belief, was, however, not quite done yet and with some support from the lower order helped India set a competitive total. Zimbabwe fell short of the target, and India won that match, living to fight another day. In the same tournament, India reached the finals and was pitted against the West Indies, arguably the best team in the world then. Hardly anyone ever gave India a chance. It was billed as a no-contest and yet India was able to stop the Caribbean Calypso and lift the World Cup. The “diminutive” David had once again put it past the “gigantic” Goliath!
‘Final frontier’
Eighteen years later, an all-conquering Australian team had come to India to play a three-match series. Steve Waugh, the then Australian captain, considered the contest to be his team’s “final frontier”. Having won the first match quite comprehensively, and having enforced a follow-on in the second, the Australian juggernaut appeared coasting to victory. Two of the finest men ever to have played for India now rose to the occasion. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman stitched together a partnership which took the wind out of Australia’s sails and in the wake of some splendid and inspired bowling by Harbhajan Singh, India went on to win that match and later the series as well.
Incredible things have been achieved in life with self-belief, and none more than when one is down. The cricketing examples cited above are testimony to the power and strength of self-belief. On another dimension, complacency can confound and many a bubble has burst because of this! Life is replete with examples of people “falling” from comfortable positions and “rising” from near impossible situations as has happened many times on a cricket field too. West Indies and Australia, two teams, seemingly invincible, “fell” from dizzy heights while the “underdog” India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat reaffirming the axiom that cricket indeed mirrors life.