Chepauk 2008!
It would have been completely unfair if I didn’t post something on my blog today. After all the Tendulkar-bashing (3 blog posts out of 9 completely dedicated to why Sachin is not a match-winner) I have done in the past, it’s my duty to give credit to, as Kevin Pieterson said, “the best cricket script-writer ever!” . He always wrote great scripts, just with very very sad endings in the past but he chose Chepauk 2008 to completely turn it around!!
I have been forced the change my stance on Sachin, but for some reason I thought it was going to happen today. Like millions of other people, I SMSed a friend of mine the “will Sachin fire today question”, with the feeling that- he was not going to waste what Sehwag had done the previous day. He was determined to succeed, be it for whatever reason – the terrorist attacks in Mumbai or the memory of Chepauk 1999 or just to prove a point to critics like me (which btw amounts to exactly 1 person!)
Now, I am trying to figure out why he never did something like this in the past! He always did have the determination right? Ofcourse he did. Infact, you could see it on his face while doing his regular adjustments and taking a stance! So, it’s not the determination that was missing! But amongst all that determination, you also saw a tinge of fear. He was “over-determined” if you can call it that, and the fear of failure haunted him! But this time at that wonderful afternoon at Chepauk, you saw a calm and composed Sachin. He didn’t waste time from 90 to 100, he didn’t “adjust” the already correct stance, and he didn’t look over-determined. Infact- I could see a tinge of the calmness that Mahendra Singh Dhoni shows whether he’s winning or losing or handling interviews!
I am sure Sachin is a great learner, but in the past he didn’t have anyone to pick up the “Dhoni-trait” from. All other Indian captains from the past – never had the courage to accept defeat with the style with which Dhoni does. Ganguly had a tinge of it- but he was never someone people could learn from. But Dhoni is changing that. He’s forcing people like Sachin, Yuvraj, and Gambhir to learn from him. He stays calm under pressure, and he’s ensuring his team does too.
Let’s all hope we see more performances like this from Sachin and Team India, and the “Dhoni-trait” rubs off on everyone!
I have been forced the change my stance on Sachin, but for some reason I thought it was going to happen today. Like millions of other people, I SMSed a friend of mine the “will Sachin fire today question”, with the feeling that- he was not going to waste what Sehwag had done the previous day. He was determined to succeed, be it for whatever reason – the terrorist attacks in Mumbai or the memory of Chepauk 1999 or just to prove a point to critics like me (which btw amounts to exactly 1 person!)
Now, I am trying to figure out why he never did something like this in the past! He always did have the determination right? Ofcourse he did. Infact, you could see it on his face while doing his regular adjustments and taking a stance! So, it’s not the determination that was missing! But amongst all that determination, you also saw a tinge of fear. He was “over-determined” if you can call it that, and the fear of failure haunted him! But this time at that wonderful afternoon at Chepauk, you saw a calm and composed Sachin. He didn’t waste time from 90 to 100, he didn’t “adjust” the already correct stance, and he didn’t look over-determined. Infact- I could see a tinge of the calmness that Mahendra Singh Dhoni shows whether he’s winning or losing or handling interviews!
I am sure Sachin is a great learner, but in the past he didn’t have anyone to pick up the “Dhoni-trait” from. All other Indian captains from the past – never had the courage to accept defeat with the style with which Dhoni does. Ganguly had a tinge of it- but he was never someone people could learn from. But Dhoni is changing that. He’s forcing people like Sachin, Yuvraj, and Gambhir to learn from him. He stays calm under pressure, and he’s ensuring his team does too.
Let’s all hope we see more performances like this from Sachin and Team India, and the “Dhoni-trait” rubs off on everyone!
posted by Prem at
12/16/2008
|
5 comments
