The Test(cricket)of Life

Like any other kid growing up in India, I was a huge fan of Cricket. The first memory I have of watching cricket is when I saw a couple of Sri Lankan batsmen clobbering the Indians all around the park in a test match in 1997. I was 3 years old at the time, and my grandfather, who was a big cricket buff himself and had a major influence in me getting attached to the sport, was swearing and shouting in frustration. I could not understand why he was so upset watching TV where two people were hitting the ball with a stick that they had in their hands. I got hooked to the game and liked the act of hitting that round shape thing to all parts. My grandfather got me a plastic Bat & ball to play with and I remember asking my mother to throw the ball at me while I hit it with all my might, hoping to send it as far as the Lankan players were, only to miss it most of the times.

Times passed and my love for the game grew by leaps and bounds, so much so that it was impossible for me to get through a day without watching/playing some sort of Cricket. Fast forward to 2003 Cricket world cup final, I was at a relatives’ place and we had brought five-six big bottles of coke and loads of wafers, we had painted our cheeks with the tricolor and were all set to celebrate an Indian world cup win. Well, we know how that panned out and although I had no clue about the stature of the tournament, I could not help fight back those tears that refused to stop. I had become fond of Sachin, Rahul, Yuvi ,Dada, Viru, Bhajji and it pained me to see those guys coming up second best in the final. It felt like I had lost, it was just the worst feeling.

After a lot of Joys and heartbreaks watching the game further, I was absolutely clear on where my heart belonged and what I wanted to do with my life. As I discovered later, this was a dream harboured by millions of kids in the country. I eventually played a couple of matches for Delhi Under 15 as an opening batsman and off spinner, but that was it. However, this story is not about my journey as a cricket fan and how the dream was forced closed. The story is about how life is not just a bed of roses and how the game, especially Test Cricket (which for me is still the number one format), has taught me some of the most crucial values of humankind. All my life lessons are attributed to this sport and whatever situation I am in, an apt cricket analogy helps me draw strength to continue the fight.

There’s a good reason for it. No other sport comes as close to life itself as test match cricket does. The ebbs and flows for five days test the true character of a person/cricketer. Imagine you are playing in England, it’s a morning start, your captain wins the toss and decides to bat first on a green top against a quality English pace attack. Scary no? As an opening batsman, it is still your responsibility to play off the new ball and grind it out. Test matches require the skill of hanging in there which is imperative to have in life in general. You have got to leave balls outside the off stump and curb your natural instincts when conditions aren’t favourable. Eventually, the bowlers get tired, the ball is not swinging that much and that’s when you cash in and make it count.

Don’t we all face situations in life where all we can do is hang in there and wait for the bowlers(read circumstances) to get tired. Letting things go outside your off stump becomes a key virtue and patience is needed to be at the forefront guarding our future. Take the example of corona virus, we have all been asked to open the batting at Leeds and the wicket is as green as it gets. James Anderson and Stuart Broad are time and again making you smell the ball as it goes past your nose and you have nowhere to go. What do you do? You either think enough is enough and flash at a wide one which you could have left or you wait. You wait, you respect the conditions and take no chances, one ball/day at a time and you finally manage to get past the tough phase. Do not get out. Things are meant to get better once you’ve battled hard enough.

Test Match Cricket rewards courage and bravery. You need not be the most skilled player but if you can send a message to the bowler that hey, I am not giving you my wicket that easily. If you are ready to get hit on the body, look stupid while you make your runs and show fight in the face of adversity but do not throw your wicket away cheaply, test match cricket will reward you. Courage again, is a massive virtue in life itself. We can all not have the technical prowess of a Kumar Sangakkara or a Sachin Tendulkar but we can choose to be a MS Dhoni or a Dean Elgar. If you watch MS and Elgar bat in tough conditions, most of the times you’d observe them being bruised by the end of the day if they are at the crease. These are guys who do not have the perfect textbook techniques but somehow manage to scramble across for their runs in test matches.

That is a choice all of us make in life, too. We won’t always have the skill that might be needed but do we sit and sulk or come up with our way to combat situations. We can either complain and get disappointed or get out there, show the world that we’re in for a challenge and fight till the last ball is bowled. We look the bowler in the eye with intensity and tell him that he can hit us all he wants, but he’s not going to get the wicket.

Test cricket brings up so many different situations and only the ones who are smart enough to adapt end up playing a long innings. Imagine being in the field for 160 overs and coming out to bat for the last half hour with a tired mind and sore legs. Imagine walking out on day 5 to play Shane Warne. Imagine negotiating a half hour spell from Mitchell Johnson or Jofra Archer in Perth. People who can adapt their games and are flexible to play any situation are the ones who succeed in test cricket, and in life.

Test cricket requires you to think about the bigger picture and let go of personal milestones. You are batting on 99 with the last man in and the team needs 15 more runs to win. First ball of the over you tap it down to third man for an easy single. What do you do? Complete your century first and expose the tailender or wait, wait for the right ball to take the single and if required, a big shot. You think of the team first and sacrifice personal agendas.

Don’t we all do it in our families? Your mom is happy eating the leftover sabzi after happily feeding the family. Your dad works hard throughout his life giving up on his goals to sustain the family.

More than anything, Just as test match cricket, life always gives you a second innings. You can be 100 all out in the first innings but you still have a chance to make amends. It’s never all lost. We all remember the 2001 Kolkata test match right? If Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman can bat an entire day against the best team in the world and turn the match on its head, then trust me, in your life’s second innings, you can turn it around as well. If Jack leach can partner Ben stokes for the most extraordinary last wicket stand to win a lost cause, then everything can be achieved if we take a shot at it. We always have an opportunity, remember that.

Do not give up. Fight. It is going to be okay. This too shall pass. Hang in there.