Howzzat - 2

I start from where I had stopped on my last blog “Howzzat” about my IPL experience of watching the game live at the stadium. (You can click on hyperlinks to read my previous blog)

Finally the IPL 5 frenzy came to an end last night with SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders thwarting Chennai Super Kings chances of making it thrice in a row for the top spot. This was the maiden victory for KKR in the five years of playing for the IPL trophy.‪Though there have been numerous rumours of match fixing, the match was worthy of being a grand Final. There were twists and turns of a typical Bollywood thriller with the match going down to the wire. The tension and pressure was evident on everyone’s faces during the dying overs of the match.

‪I was up till well past midnight watching the live presentation ceremony. There were a few things which I really liked and thought of sharing the same with you.

‪Just a couple of overs left in the match, the video zoomed in on SRK’s  daughter clinging to him, there was too much pressure of the match which was evident on the little girl’s face. Harsha Bhogle, who was doing the commentary at the time, he said that no matter what the result, it is just a game after all. She would definitely remember this night and would share it with her kids when she grows up.

‪How true! After all, this is just a cricket match with only two possible results – either victory or a loss. Life will continue to go on irrespective of the result. The levels of commitment are phenomenally high and passion to win brings out the very best of the player.

‪MSD was cool as a cucumber even in the face of a defeat. They had come heart-breakingly close to within sniffing distance from victory. He taught us...even if you loose, loose gracefully. He really tried his level best to do everything possible to win. He had won quite a few close nail biters on previous nights. However, the opponent were a better playing team on that night and they deserved to win. Once the match is over, its over. Get ready for the next match!

Similiarly in life, we do come across situations where everything seems to be going our way but then doesn't. Live each day as it comes and take your failures in your stride. If yesterday wasn't good, it doesnt mean your tomorrow would be bad. We need to try and give our 100% in our efforts to achieve success.

‪At the prize distribution, the winning team was awarded the prize money cheque of 10 Crore. Such was the excitement in the team to be able to win this so unpredictable format of the game that this huge sum of money actually seemed inconsequential. There is nothing sweeter than the taste of victory.

The feeling of victory is pure adreline rush in the body which money can't replace. You should have seen the body language of the winning team. They were beaming with joy and excitement. I am sure a lot of you reading wouldn't agree because even the players get a lot of money for playing those matches. Infact they get 'auctioned' at the start of the season.

‪SRK came for a post match interview where he said that he was a successful film star and he had made this team to teach the young people how to win. The fact that it took him 5 years to do that taught him something more. He talked about "Patience & Resilience”. Those to me are very powerful words. It does make a difference if your team owner is a successful man but the team still has to perform on the field to make it really count. His presence does boost the morale of the guys. You got to stick to your beliefs when things aren't going right and make the hard decisions and carry on...only then can you be successful. Life is full of possibilities but after something happens it is in hindsight that we realise what went behind the scenes. Any team could have won the match but still only one team does...that team is the Champion.

‪When it was the winning captain Gautam Gambhir’s turn for the interview, he said the first 2 words which came to his mind were “Mission Accomplished”. The in-form captain was modest enough to admit that the captain is as good as team and not that the team was as good as the captain. He emphasised that the team was bigger than any individual player and it was the joint effort of the team to win the cup this season.

I simply loved the passion with which he spoke about how they had come together as a team and everyone performed at the right time for this fantastic victory. He sure looks ready for leading the country in the Test Matches.

Do share your feelings about this and remember to post your comments below. Would be looking forward to them...

Thanks for taking out time to read this! :)

‪P.S – I had got my talking clock (click on link if you haven’t read the story yet) to office today, my colleague Vinay fixed the issue of changing the display of temp from degress F to degress C in just 5 minutes, something I took over 2 years to do.

‪Moral of the story: Sometimes when you get stuck while doing something, don’t hesitate to go to your friends / relatives / elders for suggestions.