New Zealand need to believe in themselves
Losing is never fun and every cricketer reacts and copes in his different way. Some like to let go and move on. Others withdraw into themselves and reflect alone. For me as a player or a coach, defeat just leaves a cold empty feeling which sometime takes a while to come to terms with.
I vividly remember the loss against Pakistan in the 2005 Test in Bengaluru which allowed them to draw the series. It took us all about three days to get over that one. We didn’t go out and as someone remarked, it looked like someone close to all of us had passed away!
It’s best not to read the papers or watch the T.V. And if you are touring, stay away from the internet and don’t let your curiosity — to see if you are being roasted at home — get the better of you. You almost certainly will be!
Whatever your reaction to failure, your ability to still believe in yourself however is tantamount. To strengthen your resolve, sort things out and go again are necessary to survive in any professional sport.
Like life, pro sport always has its ups and downs but to possess the belief that whatever happens you will get there in the long run is critical.
If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? I hope each individual in the Kiwi team is thinking along those lines. Any improvement between their two Tests versus India, has to start with the mind.
Yes, Ashwin and Ojha were formidable but unless you are thinking positively about how you are going to counter them both mentally and technically then you are starting on the back foot. The questions that should arise when faced by tough bowling are simple ones: - what are my best scoring boundary
options? Where do I get a one? What balls do I need to defend?
Above all, though, you have to reach a stage where mentally as well as with your stroke play in attack and defence, you can dominate them. Not the other way around by letting them dominate you. Can this be achieved by New Zealand in the time for Bengaluru? I hope so because the Kiwi batting lineup is far more capable than what it showed in the first Test.
For India, the first Test ticked all the boxes. Pujara came through as an absolute natural replacement for Rahul. Maybe they even look alike. Virat slots straight in for Laxman, with some smart close in catching too. M.S. steadied the ship with savvy captaincy. It was not only the bowling of Ashwin but his batsman- ship too that was vital. Never underestimate runs from number 8 and below in Tests. It is staggering to think that Ojha and Ashwin have taken 60 wickets together in only four Tests. Equate that in batting terms? In my mind, it is like two rookie openers reeling off four double-hundred partnerships in their first four Tests.
It’s an amazing statistic. To cap it off, India had Veeru actually diving at first slip. It was, however, something far away from the Test that also caught my eye ! An interview with Harbhajan in the latest editon of Alison’s Tea Break on Cricinfo.
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