Hi! Friends, Hope you are all healthy and fine. Today’s wellness blog titled T20WC2024 – Happiness coupled with Inspiration is about the happiness we experienced after Team India won the T20 World Cup & the inspiration we can take from some of the performances in the global event. After the high-scoring run fest of IPL came the T20 World Cup where at times 120 was also a winning score which was witnessed during the India Vs Pak encounter, SA vs Nepal counter, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh encounter & many more matches. These low-scoring encounters allowed bowlers to have their say in the tournament which was non-existent during the IPL. This is needed for the connoisseur of the game, an even contest between the bat and the ball which this World Cup provided to the fullest.
Let’s first talk about happiness. If you are a Cricket Fan then a Global ICC event especially the World Cup turns out to be a festival. Catching the match updates on your mobile, discussing the matches with your friends & colleagues, that task of finishing your work on time so that you can go home & watch Team India’s match Live on TV. Well, this is so much fun and once the tournament ends it seems like a “Major Missing” for the next few days. Also, the happiness we Indians experienced after Team India won the T20 World Cup was out of this world. People were dancing on the streets, waving Indian Flags forgetting all their daily worries and struggles. It was like a party atmosphere all over the country. When can you experience such things otherwise? In India, it happens only when our Team Wins the World Cup and I am fortunate enough to have experienced the victory celebrations not once, not twice but thrice.
Not let’s come to the inspiration part because being a health & wellness blogger inspiration is an essential element of my Blogs. Many moments in the recently concluded T20 World Cup can serve as an inspiration. Given below are the top 5 magical moments –
India Beating Pakistan – Looking at the current Pakistan Team it might not look very inspirational but given the expectations & a brilliant fightback by Team India’s Bowlers restricting Pakistan to mere 113 and winning the match by 6 runs was a perfect inspirational moment. At one stage Pakistan was cruising towards the target with the Win predictor also showing a 90% Chance for Pakistan to win the match. But Team India refused to give up and kept a stranglehold on Pakistan. Even though they were not taking many wickets they were frustrating the Pakistanis by not allowing them to get quick runs. In the end, scoreboard pressure took its toll, and Pakistan lost the match that they would have easily won.
India’s bowling performance can be an inspiration for many to not give up and keep trying even though it may feel that you are not doing much. As Indian Bowlers kept hitting the right spots, you too keep doing the right things and the opportunity will come knocking. Grab it in the same way as Indian bowlers did by knocking down Pakistani batters after frustrating them and winning the game for Team India.
The Afghans – I have written an entire Blog over this but once again bringing up the topic of warriors from Afghanistan. Not many would have given them the chance of progressing to the Super8s but Afghanistan surprised everyone by qualifying for the Semi-Final of the World Cup. They defeated New Zealand, Australia, and Bangladesh and announced their arrival on the big stage. The performance & character shown by the entire team was amazing. Be it Gurbaz & Zadran’s batting, or Rashid Khan & Farooqi’s bowling, Afghanistan was relentless throughout the tournament. Initially considered as minnows the rise of Afghanistan cricket despite the current situation in the country is truly inspirational. The Afghanistan Cricket team is a classic example of not giving up even in the toughest of situations & to continue fighting by believing in your abilities. The Semi-Final was not the perfect end for them but I am sure they will learn from the debacle & fight back stronger and harder.
The Silent Warriors from South Africa – Before the tournament most of the Semi Final predictions were for IND, AUS, WI & ENG / PAK. Not many including me gave the chance to Proteas to qualify for the Semis. But Proteas proved everyone wrong by playing some consistent Cricket throughout the World Cup. There was nothing special about the Proteas in the first round but they kept winning matches. After starting their Campaign on a winning note against the 2014 T20 World Champs Sri Lanka, South Africa struggled in their next two outings against the Netherlands & the minnows Nepal and won both games by close margins. They beat the Netherlands by 4 Wickets with just 7 Balls to spare & won against Nepal by just 1 Run.
For me, they played their best cricket against England when they defeated the defending champions by 7 Runs. After that, they beat the host West Indies and topped the group with 3 wins. Even though they were not playing their best cricket they were focusing on getting the basics right which was helping them perfectly. After that came the Semis where they destroyed the mercurial Afghanistan team by dismissing them for just 56 runs & winning the Game by 9 wickets. Having lost 7 World Cup Finals this victory against Afghanistan turned out to be more special for the proteas.
On came the Final & the Proteas once again silently were showing their class. Chasing 177 in Final South Africa was in the driver’s seat needing 26 of 24 balls courtesy of Klaasen’s 27 Balls 57 classic. But when Klaasen was dismissed by Pandya South Africa once again choked against quality India bowling and lost the match by 7 Runs. Even though they lost in the Final the overall tournament was good for South Africa in the sense that they qualified for the Final after finally breaking the Semi Final Jinx. The South African team was never at their best but they believed in their abilities and kept on persisting & almost Won the World Cup. The life lesson here is to believe in your abilities and stay in contention and slowly you will recover your mojo as the Proteas did at the ending stages of the Tournament and almost pulled off a miracle at Barbados.
Rohit Sharma’s Team India – Team India’s campaign in this year’s T20 World Cup was focused all around Rohit Sharma. The wounds of the 2023 World Cup were not healed & to make matters worse the captaincy of Mumbai Indians was robbed from Rohit Sharma and handed over to Hardik Pandya. During all this turmoil there were talks of resting Rohit & Virat for the mega event & giving a chance to youngsters. But BCCI General Secretary Jay Shah had already announced that Rohit Sharma will be India’s Captain for the T20 World Cup 2024 in February. This gave some relief to Rohit Sharma and Team India supporters. Eventually, the team was announced & Team India left for the Caribbean to fulfill the dream of 1.44 billion Indians.
Rohit stamped his authority on the Team right from the first game where he scored 52 runs off 37 balls against Ireland. On the field, Rohit seemed to be in control of things & was managing the likes of Bumrah, Arshdeep & Pandya along with the three left-arm spinners perfectly.
After topping the Group Stage, Rohit & Team India consolidated their authority by convincingly beating Afghanistan, Bangladesh & Australia in the Super8s. Also, Rohit Sharma’s innings of 92 of 41 Balls against the Aussies was the innings of the World Cup for me and the innings made Team India more confident going into the Semis. Rohit Sharma followed it up with another masterclass against England where he smashed 57 of just 39 Balls. Also way Rohit Sharma handled his bowlers during the England chase was the epitome of a leader who has everything under his control. After that came the Big Final. Unfortunately, Rohit failed with the Bat in the final but once again his captaincy was top-class. Even when it was looking like the match had gone from India’s hands, Rohit Sharma was calm & composed and had full trust in his bowlers who also did not disappoint and helped India win the World Cup.
Recreate your own Story – Last but not least is the Man of the World Cup, none other than Jasprit Bumrah. He had a dream World Cup and was at the Top of his game throughout the tournament. Bumrah took 15 Wickets in the World Cup at an amazing Economy of just 4.17 reminding of the great Marshall, Garner, Holding & Ambrose from the Caribbean Islands who have graced the game. Bumrah’s performance is a perfect inspiration for those to give their best when they are in the top form or flow. There comes a time in life when you know that you are giving your best in your Career. This is when you should upscale your startup to the next level, create some masterpiece, or perform like a champion at your Job. If you do this you will surely be the man of the Series of the World Cup of your life.
To end this pretty long blog, just two small incidents I would like to mention. The first one was the unreal catch of Surya Kumar Yadav under extreme pressure and the moment I will remember for a while when Rahul Dravid showed his emotions when he had his hands finally on the World Cup after a long long wait. SKY i.e. Suryakumar’s catch is that small act of brilliance that you can do as and when life presents you with a chance that will be remembered by many for years to come. And Dravid’s emotion is that of a disciplined & hardworking student who failed to get a prestigious degree during his college days but fulfilled his dream by mentoring his students to get that degree.
So this was all about the recently concluded T20WC 2024 – Happiness coupled with inspiration. The happy memories that we experienced after Team India won the World Cup & the life lessons or inspiration we can take from the various instances that unfolded at the mega event.