Why India Won the 2011 Cricket World Cup?

Introduction: My heart beats with pride as I type these words that recapture one of the sweetest moments in the history of Indian sports: 2nd Cricket World Cup Victory! The victory has come after a long time, a span of 28 years after the one won by Kapil Dev’s Devils in 1983. While we all watched and enjoyed as a nation our tigers conquer the world cricketing stage, we would be wiser if we can catch up the winning spirit of our cricketing heroes and learn some lessons of success from the team effort that has brought the World Cup home.

Self Belief: One of the qualities that stood out among the Indian players was their self belief. It was their self belief that they were playing to win the World Cup for their country and for their cricketing hero, Sachin Tendulkar that gave them advantage over the rest of the teams. When they went on the ground they went there not only to win the particular match but to win the World Cup. You could see the self belief in the manner the Indian player walked, head high and square shoulders. You may be a student pursuing a particular course, a business entrepreneur venturing into the market, a writer writing a book; it is your self belief that would decide the outcome. Friends, “According to your self-belief it is done unto you.”

Planning: The Indian captain speaking on the strategy post victory said that they had been planning from the last one and half year for the World Cup Tournament. They had planned that how they would reserve their best force for the important matches. They decided to play players on rotational basis for this reason so that despite the hectic cricketing schedule they could preserve the player’s strength and fitness level when they wanted it the most. That’s called planning. Friends, it is the same with professional, student or business life. If you fail to plan you are planning your failure. You have a goal to reach, to complete the course successfully, to capture the market, to get the promotion but do you have plan how to reach there?

Team effort: Was the Indian Team the best of the teams that participated in the World Cup? Were they perfect in all the departments? No, far from it, there were some glaring weaknesses like the bowling and fielding. But what happened? India won, because of the team effort. The batsmen complemented for the weakness of the bowlers in many matches and when the batsmen failed bowlers like Zaheer, Ashwin, Munaf and others rose to the occasion to deliver. So we see that it was team effort. You alone may not amount to much but when you combine what you have with your team it becomes enough to do the job. That is true in every field of life. At the work place when all are doing their part the outcome is the organization would rise higher in no time and the result is the benefit of all. Friends, build a team of people who understand you, encourage you and complement for your weakness. Build a team of people who understand your aspirations and dreams, who talk and motivate you to take action.

Ability to handle pressures: This Indian team displayed remarkable ability to handle pressure. In the last match, when the key batsmen Sachin and Sehwag went out cheaply, the middle order did not crumble under pressure. Dhoni, Gambhir, Kohli kept their cool and used the pressure to bring out the best out from them. It happened in many matches, in some matches where the score was less the bowlers like Zaheer kept their cool and brought out their best. Friends, in life there are people who break under pressure and others who break records under pressure. Which side do we belong to, decides our success or failure.

Putting in the extra effort: “Winners give their cent percent and then some more.” If you saw 38 years old Sachin diving on the boundary line to save runs for the team, if you saw Yuvraj battling and sweating out in the middle to take India home, if you saw the disciplined line and length that Zaheer maintained as he bowled you were seeing Indian players giving their extra effort in every department of the game. There are three types of people in this world, people who wonder what happened, they are wonderers. The next type of people are people who watch what happened, they are watcher. Then the third type are the people who make things happen, they are the Doers. There are many who dream of being successful, rich, healthy and happy but few who are willing to pay the price for it and give in the extra effort. Friends, the Indian team was a team who despite of their glaring weaknesses were ready to give it their all when the occasion arose. What about you and me? Are we ready to put in the extra 110% percent at our studies, work, business and play?

Conclusion: Friends, there could be more lessons to glean from the game and lives of our World Champions. I have listed a few to remind us that success is not a matter of luck; it is a matter of efforts. As we revel in the victory of our Indian Team let us not forget the above lessons that the team has left behind for every one of us to glean and learn from. May we all win in the game of Life!

Joy be all yours
Sohan.