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Bleed Blue

The key ingredients that contributed to India’s T20 World Cup win

The feeling is yet to fully sink in. There was a time when India would dominate the group stages of the World events, but fall flat when it mattered most- the knock-out matches. How time has changed! It has been a purple (or rather blue) patch recently- India has dominated the white ball format. Back-to-back T20 World Cup wins, Champions Trophy…. When you add the Women’s ODI World Cup and the U19 Men’s World Cup- it has indeed been a heady streak.

So, what has led to this transformation? Sharing my thoughts on the key ingredients that led to the World Cup win in this edition I call ‘Bleed Blue’.

Firstly, IPL has been a great enabler. Youngsters are exposed to high pressure situations earlier, They play with world class opponents for two months and are battle-hardened when it comes to moments of truth. India has just lost 2 out of 30 odd matches in the last 4 white ball World events- uncanny consistency especially in the T20 format which is considered the most unpredictable.

There has been a big shift to moving from celebrating milestones to putting your hand up and doing what the team needs most. It was refreshing to see Sanju Samson talk about how he went for the big shots even when he was nearing a century in the semifinal- as he knew it will benefit the team the most. Kudos to Gautam Gambhir for driving this big change.

The other related point is there has been a welcome change of rewarding the player for performance vs carrying big names in the team and making ‘safe’ picks. Moving on from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to the younger brigade was not easy. Dropping Shubman Gill (the test and ODI captain) for Ishan Kishan was a big call to make ahead of the World Cup. Even during the tournament, getting Samson in after the loss to South Africa was a big decision- one that the think tank got absolutely bang on.

The next one I would say is elevating our T20 approach and taking it to the next level. While 200 was the goal seek till very recently, the team scaled 250 in the two knock out matches, 300 is the next target! This was possible due to the structure of the team- having 8 batsmen meant that the batsmen could go hard even if they lost a few wickets. The team was also flexible with the batting order (Eg: Shivam Dube being promoted during the semifinal to take on the spinners) to maximize the returns. Well done again to the management for inculcating a fearless spirit and positivity in the team.

Lastly, Jasprit Bumrah! The best all-format bowler from this generation. When you bat a full 20 overs but your opponent only gets 16- chances are that you will win!

But cricket is not won with few individuals but as a full team- so here’s celebrating the full lot…

Sanju Samson- what a story! He has been living behind the shadows of MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant and lately Ishan Kishan… was only drafted into the team in the Super 8 and what a difference he made. Man of the Series with three critical back-to-back knocks in pressure matches- my favourite moment was his celebration after hitting the winning runs in the virtual quarter final vs West Indies.

Abhishek Sharma- came into the tournament as the World No.1 T20 batsman… Had three ducks to start the World Cup and was under pressure to get dropped. Repaid the belief the think tank had on him by scoring a 20 ball 50 in the final and gave India the start they needed to surge ahead!

Ishan Kishan- story of another player who grabbed his opportunity with both hands. Was not in the running till just before the World Cup- kudos to the selectors, especially Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh for rewarding his performances in the SMAT and getting him into the team- and also for dropping a big name like Shubman Gill to get more dynamism at the top of the order. My favourite Ishan moment was the start he provided vs Pakistan on a tricky pitch– getting 77 in a team score of 88 at ten an over when 150 was more than a winning score. Plus his awesome fielding in the final- not easy for a wicket keeper to do out-fielding- he was everywhere!

Suryakumar Yadav- had an average World Cup and maybe nearing the end of his T20 India career. But, led well in general. Played a crucial innings in the first match vs US to get India to a respectable 160+ when they seemed down and out. The moment he lifted the World Cup will forever be etched in every Indian fan’s memory.

Tilak Verma- Was flexible and made the most up and down the order- depending on the team need. Took the winning catch in the final. That six over gully off Archer in the semifinal- some shot!

Hardik Pandya- the player who balances the team. Comes in and plays the cameo to help finish the batting innings on a high, then opens the bowling to help save Bumrah’s over for the death…. Can also bowl through the middle and is a gun fielder. He was the key ingredient who helped India play 8 batsmen and 5 bowlers to keep going hard as a batting unit.

Shivam Dube- the finisher, the spin killer and the one who ‘theoritically’ balanced the team with the bowling assurance. Played a few crucial cameos- has the uncanny ability to always do well in crunch matches.

Axar Patel- Bowled with precision- gave us an over or two during the power play. Took a couple of blinders in the semifinal vs England- the first catch was Kapil-esque to remove Brook and the other was a relay near the rope to remove Will Jacks– difficult to choose which one was better!

Varun Chakravarthy- came into the World Cup as the No.1 T20 bowler in the world and had a good round robin. Lost his sting a bit towards the end- needs to stay calm when put under the gun.

Arshdeep Singh- was steady at the start and the death- his Hinglish videos were also hilarious- showed the great team spirit.

Boom Boom Bumrah- my joint man of the series! His slower balls and yorkers in the finals…. Just his aura- with 45 needed in three overs in the semifinals, the English still decided to play him out- as he was Bumrah!

The bench- Rinku Singh coming back to join the team after his father’s death and ever present with his gun fielding… Washington Sundar giving the team balance when the opponent is leftie heavy…. Kuldeep Yadav- would have walked into any other T20 team but not easy to get a look in for Team India… Mohammed Siraj- had a super match vs USA and always cheered on the playing 11.

A word now for Gautam Gambhir and his thinktank- Ryan ten Doeschate, Morne Morkel, Sitanshu Kotak, T Dilip… They did a super job of making the team result focused vs milestone focused… Giving a role for every player and instilling the aggression… I see shades of Ponting’s Australia when I see this Indian team recently in white ball world cup formats- the consistency is uncanny… I would love this dominance to spread to the test matches also- but that’s for another day.

Kudos to Team India for another World Cup win. Bleed Blue!

Citius, Altius, Fortius

A reflection on India’s performance in the Olympic Games and how we can be faster, higher and stronger in the future.

The seven hues of the Indian rainbow in these Olympic games!

It was a very different Olympics this time- a year late due to the pandemic, no crowd, and really no one knew what to expect. There was an air of expectation from the Indian fans though- with this being the biggest contingent, India has ever sent, for an Olympics.

It started on a good note for India. Mirabai Chanu got a silver on Day 1 in weightlifting. She tried hard for the gold but her Chinese opponent was just too good. Mirabai was spontaneous and promptly declared that she wanted to have a Pizza to celebrate her success!

The next few days were quite a big disappointment- much was expected but the shooters especially flattered to deceive. But the likes of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker are young and their time will surely come. The archers fought well with a few good wins (especially the husband & wife duo of Deepika and Atanu) but couldn’t hit the Bull’s Eye when it mattered the most. The badminton contingent was in the mix too but there was heartbreak for the Men’s doubles pair (Satwik- Chirag) who got knocked out in the group stages in spite of good wins.

The spotlight was now on the boxing arena. Mary Kom lost a close one where she fought till the end. The unexpected good news came from Lovlina who defied all odds to give us a bronze, a first medal from the state of Assam. It was refreshing to see her being aggressive in the semis too against her much stronger Turkish opponent Surmeneli, who would go on to win gold. Lovlina is young and will surely improve more- exciting for Paris in three years’ time.

Then it was up to badminton and Sindhu. She kept her composure to best Yamaguchi in the quarters but fell short to Tai in the semis. She however, remained calm and gave us the win vs He Bingjiao of China in the bronze medal playoff, thus becoming just the second Indian to get individual medals in back to back Olympics (after Sushil Kumar in Wrestling).

The biggest improvement was in the field of Hockey. The Men’s team has been doing well for a while and they rebounded from a 1-7 loss to Australia in the Group stages to finish second in the group. A comfortable knockout win vs GBR got them a semi-final vs Belgium. In spite of a valiant effort, they fell short to lose 2-5 (a very flattering score indeed for Belgium as it was 2-2 till the 49th minute). In the bronze playoff, they were behind 1-3 to Germany and seemed down and out but made an incredible comeback to take a 5-3 lead. Germany hit one back and got a penalty corner with just six seconds left. The nation heaved a sigh of relief as Sreejesh made the most important save of his life to give India a first hockey medal in 41 years!

The girls were no less. Beaten back and blue in their first three matches, the eves beat Ireland and South Africa in their last two matches to squeak through to the knockouts. No one gave them a glimmer of hope but against all odds, they upset the mighty Australians in the quarters. They fought on in the semis (losing 1-2 to Argentina) and the bronze playoff (losing 3-4 to GBR). The most heart-breaking moment for us Indian fans was seeing the distraught girls after giving it their all vs GBR. They may have lost, but they won our hearts. The men’s and women’s teams ensured that the national sports was again in the limelight after ages.

Wrestling was another sports which has historically been a strong point for Indians. There was a good haul this time too. Ravi Dahiya fought hard and got a silver. His turnaround win in the semis from 2-9 down was just amazing. He was mature and calm and seemed more disappointed that he missed the gold, than he was happy to win the silver.

Bajrang was another strong contender and much was expected from him. He lost in the semis but came back like a true champion to win the bronze medal pay-off. The big heartbreak was Deepak Punia who had a lead till the very end in the bronze playoff but surrendered it to lose to his San Marino rival.

There were a few good performances in other sports- we did well in Equestrian and Fouaad Mirza reached the final- a first as an Indian in any Olympics. Bhavani Devi won a match for India in fencing for the first time ever. Avinash Sable ran a great steeplechase and just missed making it to the finals. The Men’s Relay team (4*400 m) broke the Asian record and Kamalpreet Kaur got a credible sixth position in the Women’s Discus Throw event.

Aditi Ashok was another underdog who was rewriting the record book in Golf. The world no.200 was in the top two for almost the entire four days and gave a tough fight to the eventual winner, world no.1 Nelly Korda. With her mom as her caddie, Aditi putted with composure and kept herself in the medal position. It was disappointing to see her finish fourth, after giving such a tough fight, as she ended one shot off the medal position.

The last medal hope was Neeraj Chopra, on the penultimate day in the men’s javelin competition. Neeraj was up against the heavy favourite, Vetter, from Germany. The 23 year-old made a dream start with his first throw and bettered it in his second- where he started celebrating just after throwing even before seeing where the javelin had landed. Such was his confidence! As Vetter fizzled out, Neeraj was getting closer to making history. As India held its breath and the rounds progressed, it was becoming clear that Neeraj had done enough with his second throw to get the gold. It was a historic moment- a first medal for independent India in athletics, a first individual gold since Beijing 2008 (Abhinav Bindra). It felt so good to see the tri-colour go up and to sing the national anthem during the medal ceremony.

So, seven medals in all including one gold medal- this was India’s best-ever haul in the Olympics (top 50 globally). Was this a success, or a failure? I would say we did well, but given the true potential, the best is surely yet to come. There are miles to go before we sleep. A few reflections on what can move us from good to great-

  1. We need to invest more as a nation in sports. More resources and infrastructure will make us future ready. Look at China, where they were 30 years back and look at them now. They will probably top the table this time, ahead of even USA.
  2. The other sports beyond cricket also need to be backed and given limelight. It was refreshing to see the country celebrate Neeraj Chopra’s win and forget the test match vs England for a while.
  3. The Indian sports bodies have already started investing more in certain fields like Shooting. But how can we give more exposure to our athletes and make them mentally strong? In Shooting and Archery, ties are decided by one point and our sportsperson buckle under the pressure.
  4. There is potential- they need to be groomed in the right manner. The smaller centres like North East are giving us medals. How can we harness the potential?
  5. The first three medals this time were all by girls. The only two medals in 2016 were by girls. How do we create an equal society where we give same opportunities to the female gender? Many parts of the country still follow a patriarchal set-up.
  6. How can we change the overall mindset? Where parents encourage kids to take up sports as a career option instead of blindly joining the corporate rat race after school?

So, it is time to celebrate the wins but equally let us not rest on our laurels. Let us plan for the next twenty years now so that we can dream about a top 10 position by then. So that we can see the tri-colour go up again and again… and get to sing the national anthem together many times…

Jai Hind!