pportunity lies in the middle of difficulty” Dare, Rise and make it happen
Hello friends , This time I am sharing some learning from India’s great historic test cricket win over Australia.
Here in India, Cricket is not considered a ‘sport,’ but it has been the mantra reflecting back and forth through the skin and blood of every Indian. If there is something that unifies the people of our nation beyond all diversities in religion and culture, it is the never-ending affinity towards cricket.
Turnarounds can never be predicted. That’s why they are called turnarounds. Indian cricket team players did a magnificent turnaround in the just held test match series that will go straight into history books .‘In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity’ – this quote worked wonders for some young, inexperienced and talented Indian cricketers in the current series as they grabbed the chance with both hands in the absence of some regular players.
What is interesting to see is that the players who were involved in the turnaround in this Test Match have scripted amazing turnarounds in their real lives too.
Natarajan is the son of a loom worker who had no money for luxuries like cricket gear and shoes. For many years, he had to think a hundred times before investing in new shoes. His mother cried when she saw him representing India on TV. His wife gave birth to their son when Natarajan was playing IPL in UAE.
Shardul Thakur battled obesity to play for Mumbai and thereafter IPL. No less than Sachin Tendulkar advised him to lose weight for a great cricketing career ahead of him.
Siraj rose to become India’s new ball bowler despite being born to a poor rickshaw driver. His father died and he couldn’t perform his last rites as he was in Australia on national duty.
Washington Sundar was named by his father M. Sundar in honour of a man named P.D. Washington, who had sponsored Sundar’s cricket passion The man passed away just before Sundar’s second son was born. Sundar named his son Washington as a tribute to his benefactor.
Navdeep Saini’s father was a government driver and could not afford expensive cricket coaching for his son. So Saini played exhibition matches on tennis balls at Rs.300 a match to fund his dreams.
All these guys came together as debutants and have turned this match over its head. All their lives they were waiting for this moment in their cricketing career.
All their failures, all their struggles, all their doubts and all their insecurities – all that was settled once and for all in this Test match. When presented with an opportunity, they fired themselves up and attacked Australia with all guns blazing.
In this series, more than any other Test series I have seen in my life, the Indian Cricket team has proven their naysayers wrong .They had sustained tremendous pressure and taken hard knocks all over their bodies against one of the best Australian attacks ever. And by doing so, they have made us realize that while 5 hour IPL matches can create instant celebrities, Test Cricket, which stretches over five days, creates Real Heroes.
Celebrities sign autographs, but Heroes continue to inspire the nation decades after they Retire.
Conclusion-
What I had concluded from this test series is that it’s okay to have difficulties, but running away from them is not. Our inner instincts as humans are to avoid problems, but the catch lies in the fact that history gives us a good way to hack ourselves. Examples from history reveal the fact that people who thought their adversary would do them no good, found an *Opportunity* in it, which they held onto, finally coming out even stronger on the other side.
Like the meaningful lyrics of Kelly Clarkson, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” When our life is too comfortable and convenient it makes us somewhat weak .Difficult and challenging situations in our life make us strong.
On a final note, whenever I see difficulties in my life, I get somewhat excited! (apart from embracing for the impact) ; because I can now count on the fact that I am soon going to come across an opportunity that will ultimately turn out well for me if I play the game well.
So a lot of learning from this victory, the same thing happened with our country economy and our life when the pandemic hit in march 2020, but how beautifully we fought together and came out victorious. It’s an example for the whole world
Pandemic is a terrible thing, but it’s not so terrible as we thought. It is important what your attitude is like. If you are in good spirits & positive frame of mind , you will overcome all difficulties.
Covid-19 may affect us for some time but it cannot affect us forever. I find that the more difficult the situations, the stronger and more united we are.
Thank you Team India and all Indians and their never-dying spirit.