By Urvi Shah
It was the Finals yesterday between Trailblazers and Supernovas. With a close encounter the last game, the finals was a thriller to say the least. Team Supernovas was looking for a hat-trick of wins in the tournament as they have won the previous two tournaments and the Trailblazers were looking for their maiden win.
Supernovas won the toss and chose to bowl first. We saw some top class performance from Smriti Mandhana (captain of Trailblazers) who scored 68 runs in 49 balls and contributed majorly to the team’s scoreboard. They started off pretty well but after the 17th over we saw some phenomenal performance from Radha Yadav who took a 5- wicket haul and made a record in Women’s T20 challenge. The batting unit of Trailblazers crumbled to the pressure at the death overs. The bowling unit of Supernovas was successful in restricting them to a lower total (118/10 in 20 overs). However, the batting unit of Supernovas failed to deliver yesterday as they found it difficult to counter the Trailblazers’ bowling unit. With Harmanpreet scoring 30 runs in 36 balls gave a hope to the team but it all came down as she lost her wicket early. Trailblazers won the match by 16 runs thus claiming their maiden trophy in the tournament.
Watch the highlights of the Finals here
As much as it was a thrilling match to witness with some exceptionally good fielding effort, we cannot deny the fact that it left us with a lot of thoughts and lessons. The pitch was slower but it was the same for both the teams and it was important for all the player to turn up and get the game right throughout. Coming back to the field after the lock down, it was good to see the level of women’s cricket rising. We hope that with more of these games, we see them flourish and reach the highest level of the game.
When it comes to the finals, stress and nervousness is high. The title that its a “Final” itself creates a pressure in an individual. With that being said, lets go a little back in our own lives. Remember the board exams? The final semester? The jitters and stress you felt? The rush of thoughts, the anticipation of questions that can be asked, the last moment revision, biting your nails, drinking water, revising everything with a friend, etc etc. It felt like a huge deal back then. But now you smile when you imagine all of it again.
We do not experience these feeling and thoughts only once in our lives, we experience it multiple times in different situations at different intensity levels. After experiencing it multiple times, we learn how to work through them and perform to our best abilities under any situation. We all have certain amount of competitive spirit in us. We might all be from different fields but when it comes to competitions, every stage makes us experience different feelings. Some of us may find our space and a way to perform under any situations and some of us are still finding it and its a process.
Competitions teach us a lot.
Sometimes we may face people who come with an experience behind them and sometimes we have to step up our game in order to make a change. This match was not about just winning the trophy (which is an external motivation) but to change the perception of women’s cricket in the world. The tournament was played with an intention that it would help women’s cricket find its recognition and open up more opportunities for them. There is no rocket science behind the fact that Women’s cricket has lesser recognition than the Men’s cricket and its only in the last few years that people have turned up to watch them play and support them. This change is a seed of growth and we really appreciate that.
As we summarize the tournament, we saw different things happening on the field. There was intent, there was hope, there was passion and precision.We saw fearless cricket, a positive approach, the impact of stress, the role of self awareness and how to be calm under pressure.
Competitions are everywhere. You are always in a competition with yourself. You have to be better than what you were yesterday. You have to push yourself, understand yourself, be aware of what works and what doesn’t work for you, how to respond to pressure situations, acknowledge your emotions and channelize your energy. We also learn how to perform with teams, how to be your best, be hopeful and believe in yourself when you are at a low. Team games do teach us a lot just by observing. We grow and learn different things when we perform and work with a group of individuals. Teams teach us about support, reaching for a common goal, working and understanding different perspectives, and how to deal with both success and failure in life.
Sports teach us a lot about life, we have to be ready to learn from it. We have to be open to learn and understand. We can bring a change in our lives by playing some kind of sport or by following a sport, understanding its impact and influence in our lives.
– Team Beyond the Matches