Inspiring victory


The Border-Gavaskar trophy is sitting pretty in the BCCI office after few years, and it is indeed a moment to cherish. The victory as such is important, and perhaps what is more important is the timing of it. Some legends are calling it quits, some are showing wear and tear of long years on the field, and the media is numbering their days. The team is clearly undergoing a transition. In such a situation it is heartening to find new entrants showing their mettle right away, seniors ready to take extra load of an out of form player and importantly, the emergence of a truly inspirational and influential leadership. Personally, I learnt a lot from some people of this Indian outfit. Will be happy to share it here and happier if someone reading this is also inspired.


Licence to Kill: Gambir (Skill): Showed us how to hit-and-run a Kangaroo (I mean, the Watson collision incident !), but was punished suitably. It was good to show attitude to Watson, he deserved it. But a quick apology after that would have saved his ass. Nevertheless, he is the leading run getter of the series in spite of a one match ban. Great going man.


The World is not Enough: Ishant and Zaheer (Persistence and Patience): It is no mean job to bowl and get wickets in Indian pitches. As a fast bowler, it will be very very frustrating to see edges flying past slips, or put down by butter fingered elders. In spite of that, these two bowled with a big heart and showed their commitment with 18 overs of unrelenting spell of pace bowling on day-3 of final test. Hats off guys.


Never Say Never Again: Sourav (Resilience): Announced his exit and made way for an youngster. When Gambir was dropped, he suggested Vijay to be included and it proved to be a great move. His consistent performance in the middle order and some useful partnership were very crucial. After being dropped from the team, it was a dream comeback for him and a fairytale farewell now. Will miss you Dada.


The Man with the Golden Gun: Dhoni (Innovation and smart thinking): Whether it was tossing the new ball to Sehwag or placing an 8-1 field, Dhoni took everyone by surprise. The element of uncertainty he brings to the opponent captain’s mind makes it easy to force them to do mistakes. Lucky and positive, the Indian team is thoroughly relishing the captaincy of this guy.


Diamonds are Forever: Dravid (Unrelenting hard work): Miserably out of form, talks of retirement or being dropped and yet, The Wall has got some good words from the Aussie coach himself, about his commitment and time he spends in the nets. Krish. Shrikanth and Dhoni have also put their faith on him and said it’s just a matter of time before he is back in touch. Waiting for the magic.


Ok, now something much larger than the 22 yards!


Moonraker: ISRO (Professionalism): They have made the nation proud by a successful launch and wonderful maneuver of a complicated control operation to put the satellite onto lunar orbit. Can’t wait to start working with you people!

Comments

Darshan said…
The most impressive thing abt your post was the thought of including bond titles for the players' skills ... very nice thinking ..

good post ..
12 November, 2008 14:58
Anusha said…
Very well-written! and of course innovative is the way you have incorporated all Bond movie titles!
12 November, 2008 19:03
Arun S Venkataraman said…
Thanks ! And pardon couple of spelling mistakes. I typed in Word, and copy-pasted. There is some formatting error, so not able to rectify the errors.
12 November, 2008 19:10
Anonymous said…
An excellent post indeed! A neat work of survey of the current Indian team (and a bit of 'Chandrayan' too). Cool post, keep posting more!
12 November, 2008 22:20
Bel said…
as usual , unusual..
why don n u try becomin a sports columnist.. or are u already one??!
18 November, 2008 18:20
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