ATTITUDE DETERMINES THE ALTITUDE

“Attitude determines the Altitude”

By

J. L. Gupta

On June 25, 1983, Kapil Dev and his devils played at Lord’s. Against the West Indies. It was the final of the Prudential  World Cup, 1983. Batting first, the Indians were out  in 54.4 overs for 183 runs. However, the Indian team made a determined effort  and put up a good fight. It played to win and scalped all the W.I wickets in 52 overs for a meager 140 runs. Thus, India had won the Prudential CUP.

Three years later, in 1986, India again won at the Lord’s. The credit for this victory was mainly due to the ‘Lord of Lords’ – Dilip Vengsarkar for his unbeaten 126. It may be mentioned that a century at Lords’ has eluded the celebrities like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar but Vengsarkar has three under his belt. Thus, the epithet.

More than two decades later, in July, 2014, M.S. Dhoni and his men were again at the Lord’s playing the second 5 day Test against the English. Everything was fine. The hosts had the natural advantage of a supportive home crowd and the ground conditions. But Indians fought as a team. Played good cricket. In the first innings, Ajinkya Rahane scored a century which took India to a respectable total of 295 runs from a precarious situation. Then the bowlers bowled well. The fast bowlers bounced, seamed and swung the ball purposefully. In the first innings, the wiry B. Kumar got 6 wickets for 82 runs. In the 2^nd innings Ishant Sharma took seven wickets for 74 runs. All the players contributed their bit. Provided Entertainment to the crowd. The batsmen wielded the willow well. Murli Vijay’s 95 runs were a valuable contribution. Jadeja  scored 68 runs off 57 balls. B. kumar also chipped in with 52 runs. Each player played his part well. At the end, England fell short of an attainable target  of 318 by 95 runs.

M. S. and his mates had the right attitude. They had set their goal. They were intent upon winning. Played as a team.  Fought Valiantly. Gave the game all that they had. At the end, they won. Physically, the English players may seem tall. But on this day, the Indians exhibited confidence and courage. They won and proved taller.