“If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.”
Tom Peters (American Writer)
The quote pretty much sums up the game between India and Australia on 4th December 2020. In the first T2oI held at Canberra, Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first. The match started off well for Australia as they were successful in picking up early wickets of Dhawan and Kohli. With the top order of the Indian batting, the unit started falling off, it was KL Rahul who shone brightly at the top with 51 runs. We also saw a few excellent shots from Samson (23). India was in need of a steady partnership but Australia was in for a good game. Henriques (4-0-22-3) and Starc (4-0-34-2) bowled exceptionally well along with Zampa (4-0-20-1). The middle order and the lower order struggled to put up scores on the board. That is when Jadeja stood up to his role and put up unbeaten 44*. Unfortunately towards the end of the first innings, Jadeja experienced an edge and blow on his forehead. As per the concussion/suspected concussion rules by the ICC, a like-for-like substitute can be called in. Yuzvendra Chahal was the concussion substitute for Jadeja. It did raise a lot of eyebrows from the Australian side but the match referee’s decision was accepted.
With Aaron Finch and D Arcy Short building up a good partnership, it seemed difficult for the Indian side to get this one. With T. Natarajan(4-0-30-3) and Chahal (4-0-25-3) picking up crucial wickets and Washington Sundar bowling an exceptional spell of 16 runs in 4 overs, everything changed for the Australian unit. They lost their wickets in a quick time frame. Henriques tried to steady the game but lost his wicket in the 18th over and scored just 30 runs. With the concussion substitute firing his guns right, it was a moment in the history of cricket that a player who was on the field as a concussion substitute won the Man of the Match award for his performance.
India lead the series 1-0.
The key learning from this match was about how we can seize the opportunity given to us. We have to be prepared every time. Rarely do we get such opportunities where we have to perform under a situation of injury or emergency leave to/by our colleagues. As we recognize ourselves as a part of the group/organization, it is our own responsibility to be prepared to perform at any moment. Sometime we have time for preparation and sometimes we don’t, When we do not have enough time to prepare ourselves for it, we look back to our practise and experience. There is always a reason why we are always told to focus on our process and prepare ourselves, focus on our potentials an be aware of our strengths and weaknesses. We also need to be aware of the situations around us and be on our toes always. Being aware and focusing on your own process helps us to be prepared for most of the challenges. Along with that experience and understanding of what is needed also helps perform better. We also have to be prepared for the fact that sometimes things won’t go our way but that should not stop you from not giving your best.
Even after having one of our down, we saw some exceptional intensity in performance in the bowling unit. With one debutant and one coming in as a substitute, it was a different energy on the field. On one end there was an experience and on the other there was belief. There was also aggression and there was a peaceful attack. Together as a unit, these emotions contributed to giving a great performance. Similarly, the dynamics of emotions in a group at work or in general helps us to find the right balance, support each other, and perform better.
The match particularly taught us about how to rise up, to accept the situation, and stand up stronger. It also taught us to not give up and keep doing our thing and soon, we will get the breakthrough that we need.
Urvi Shah
Author, Beyond the Matches