5 things we learnt from the Cricket World Cup 2019

I grew up playing and watching sport. If there was one thing that always engaged me, got me fully drowned into, that is sport. The cricket world cup 2019 is an outstanding example of what sport can be. How amazingly it can engage its fans, how cruel the game is and how fulfilling the journey can be!

Following sport taught me so many life lessons. The belief that I have today to get something done came from sport. The heart and soul I put it when I work on something was influenced by sport. The true beauty of life, I learnt from sport. And this world cup has added more lessons that I would like to share with you all.

Never hesitate!

India had an excellent world cup campaign. We all thought the cup was coming home. Topped the league stage and were all set to defeat New Zealand to reach the finals.

And then you know what happened. To the disbelief of an entire country, India lost to NZ. The margin was that run out of Dhoni of a direct hit from Guptill. And it happened due to the slightest of the hesitation to come back for the second run. Had Dhoni just run for the second straightaway, may be… Just maybe we could be where England are today.

The throw that sent India out of Semi Finals

Hesitation never helps. If you are set to do something, just go for it. The margins in life are so tiny that even the slightest of hesitations make a huge difference.

Call it luck, but it comes with a lot of effort and by taking every chance that comes to you. Never give up!

I was rooting for England to win the final given their superior batting line-up, familiar conditions and home support. But at the end of the match, I felt so miserable for New Zealand. They did (almost) everything right to get the world cup. England was so damn lucky in the final moments. That Trent Boult catch stepping on the boundary line, that overthrow which went for 4 after hitting the bat of a desperately diving Stokes, that excellent throw of Roy at the right end to get Guptill run out. England were completely riding on their luck. But as Harsha Bhogle said on Cricbuzz, this luck was probably a result of all the hard work England put in over the last 2-3 years.

Balls hits the bat of Stokes and goes for a boundary. 6 runs!

They came in with a strong all round team, their backups for the starting eleven were strong as well. Backup openers, all-rounders, bowlers. They came to the world cup with 100% preparation that is well suited for their home conditions.

They beat India with ease, they beat Australia with ease. In the final match, when most people thought it was NZs game, Buttler and Stokes stood up. When Buttler fell, Stokes kept going. They just never gave up. And eventually they crossed the line. I feel they deserve every bit of this world cup.

Never give up and you will get your share of luck to cross the line.

Extraordinary are the visionaries!

You are a visionary when you think ahead of time and problem. Not when you try to solve the problem after facing it. Kohli called for an IPL style knockouts in WC that gives a second chance to table toppers. Had India progressed to the final, he wouldn’t have said that.

Because England won the cup by the boundary count rule, we all are saying that this is an unfair rule and the cup should have been shared. Again, the rules were loud and clear all along. But who would have thought? We did not see this coming, did we?

Such events tell you how much respect visionaries deserve. They are able to see what’s coming and act accordingly. Talking in hindsight is always easy, but talking ahead of time – RESPECT!

Leadership matters!

Kane Williamson showed how a not so good team can actually get brilliant things done when led by an excellent leader. This world cup in England was supposed to be a batting friendly one, and New Zealand’s batting was not at its best throughout the tournament. But one man made a huge difference… He led his team from the front with the bat and got almost 30% of their team runs, and was exceptional on the field as a captain. His bowling changes, his field placements, his calmness, confidence, and never give up attitude is what brought NZ that close.

They just scraped through with slim victories during the league stage in couple of games, edged Pakistan with NRR to qualify for semis, some excellent bowling and a game changing direct hit got them through to the final. And oh boy! What a performance in the final. Without Kane Williamson, this was not possible. He got the best out of his team with exemplary leadership. He truly is the man of the tournament. 

KW receiving the Man of the tournament from Sachin

True leadership is a rare skill. We need more leaders of that kind in today’s world.

And finally, there is never a perfect rule.

  • Boundary count – England wins.
  • Wickets count – NZ wins.
  • Maiden overs count – NZ wins.
  • League stage position – Eng wins.
The rules of the game that everyone knew, but no one were willing to accept in the end!

You think of thousand more permutations and the result will still be controversial. There are no perfect rules… for the judgement is made by human emotions. And emotions are hard to predict.

Even in real life, we rue our missed chances. We cry foul about the rules we play with. But in the end, we simply have to accept and move on. Sticking out and calling life unfair isn’t going to help. It is what it is. Just keep trying and one day you’ll be where you want to be.

That’s all for today! Hope you enjoyed this piece. Always welcome for comments and opinions!

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