Team India’s World Cup victory from the perspective of a Mental Conditioning Coach.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, one lives and breathes cricket almost every-day in some form or the other. Cricket is played on little streets (referred locally as gulli cricket) , small parks, big parks (referred locally as maidans), schools and colleges (with their own teams), its purpose being a sport to relax in the evenings, a sport with friends, a sport to make new friends, a holiday sport, an everyday sport, a summer camp sport. Yes - cricket is all that and more, not only in the big cities, but all over small towns and villages. It is the sport that unites neighbourhoods, clubs, schools and cities. Played with aggression but at the same time lots of fun—it is almost like the fabric which weaves the nation together. This is my take on India's World Cup win, both from the perspective of a keen follower of the game who loves watching it and cheering every little victory, and as a sport psychologist who has observed a difference in the attitude of the Team India players over the past few years.
Congratulations to Team India which showed the world that they are champions and they definitely played like one especially when it mattered the most. They say the most resilient team wins, and Team India showed their resilience and what it takes to win the world cup. Having no easy game throughout the tournament, even with the so called minnows among the participants, inadvertently made them deal with sticky situations although they were to be blamed for being there in the first place, thus making them an even more deserving side. The winning team put on a performance in the Finals which was unforgettable and Indians all across the globe are proud of their achievement. Many a hand have gone into the shaping of the team as it stands today, right from the coach, support staff to each individual in the team.
Giving a winning performance under pressure is what made team India gain an edge over other teams. There is a fine line between winning and being the first among losers, Team India crossed this line with finesse, they played as a unit and played maturely like real champions.
First and foremost, a salute to coach Gary Kirsten—hats off to the man, himself an epitome of discipline and fitness putting to shame some of the less agile looking Team India players. He’s been known to be there on the practice field before the players come in and the last man to leave. He not only coaches but has given them hands-on practice sessions, bowling/throwing to each player umpteen number of times. His dedication to the game and the team was seen in each match that the Indians have played. This, coming from a man who is in this job for the first time. Being in complete control of his emotions was something that was witnessed in all games when he was shown in the dressing room. The man has shown Indians that they can be the best team in the world and has helped them realize their dream. This World Cup win is a well deserved tribute to him and what he meant to the team was blatantly obvious when he was seen to be the only one carried on the team’s shoulders besides Sachin Tendulkar after winning the World Cup.
Mahi or MS, as he is fondly referred to by all his team mates and the world—what a captain he has turned out to be for India, not only in one day format but in all formats of the game. He has been the backbone of the team, and has faced many a criticism at times for some of the choices he has made, but at most times they have worked to his benefit. Fortune favours the brave as they say. Holding the reins of the team with firmness and at the same time being a complete gentleman must take some talent. He has accepted responsibility whenever something did not go their way and has always been candid about what needs to be done to correct it. All this has shaped him to be the icon of leadership as he is today and an inspiration to all young aspirants, be it in the field of sports or any other.
Sachin Tendulkar - no words can describe this man and his pure passion for the game and his nation. Always the first for practice, supporting, encouraging, advising, humouring and just being there for each of his team-mates, has made the man so special in the lives of Team India, from the youngest to even the more experienced players. His passion for the game can be seen right through his 21 years of playing the game at an International level and he still does not seem to stop learning from it. That is what all great sportsmen are made of; the quest to perfection never ends. Sachin’s love for the game is evident just by how much he enjoys each milestone of his with as much passion as a young child. As mental conditioning coaches, we are often heard asking athletes,“Think of the reason why you started playing the sport?”, and usually the answer is “because I enjoyed it” or “to have fun”—well this is what Sachin Tendulkar always does and has never forgotten. You can see the commitment and passion that he brings to each game, whether he is batting or fielding. He is often seen talking to the bowlers and always talking to his batting partner as well as being a pillar of support even when the partner is an in-form batsman. Passionately admired and loved by all Indians, respected by cricketers all over the world, a great human being is what he is. Such is the magic of the man named SACHIN.
The work of Paddy Upton with the boys has been seen in each game and the difference in the side after he started to work with them is very evident. Team India has never lacked in talent and we have often heard from commentators and critics in the past few years that they are one of the best team “on paper”. What does it take for the team to go from being best “on paper” to being best “on field”? It is mental conditioning and the self-belief that each player brings to the table for each game. With him, players seem to have learnt that any game is more than just physical practice; a lot of it is indeed mental conditioning. Teaching individuals to compete within themselves while maintaining their contribution to the team as a unit has been the reward of his work.
Mental training is a critical instrument which helps an athlete to not only perform at his best, but also to cope with a loss. In a game like cricket a loss could mean either the team losing the game, or personal loss of not being able to perform in a particular game or series. Dwelling in the loss of the team or self will affect the next performance. The key to success would be to think about the loss, analyse what went wrong and how it can be rectified in the next game, and finally moving on. This aspect of the mental training is initially aided with the help of a coach and sport psychologist and once an individual reaches independence in this aspect, he will find his game improving vastly. This brings us back to some of the choices that Mahi has made as a captain (amidst criticism) to repeatedly give opportunities and breathing room for a player with low morale enough time to make that course correction. Such is the chemistry between the coaching staff and the team captain and it is extremely essential in the moulding of players who are just above average to greatness. A classic example of this is Yuvraj Singh who went from being in the doldrums not so long ago to being the Player of the Tournament in the greatest event in the cricketing world.
Adaptation is another critical aspect of mental training which prepares athletes to be able to play under all conditions. Cricket is a game played on each continent and it is crucial for the players to be able to perform at various venues all over the globe. Difference in pitches, altitude and weather are obvious differences an athlete should be prepared to face. The other major aspect of mental preparation is being prepared for different crowds. Each country is going to be supporting their home team. Here the players have to be prepared to take the booing from the crowd in their stride and the constant chatter that can lead to the risk of being distracted.
Motivation is another important part of the cricketing mindset. A player needs to be motivated to be able to perform at his best. Mike Horn, an adventurer who spoke to the Indian cricket team during the World Cup, did exactly that. He spoke nothing about cricket but about his adventures and life in general, the aim being to show them how to deal with difficulties and be prepared to face the worst. It was left to the cricketers to draw the parallels and benefit from that. This is another example of how cricket is also a mental game and motivation, wherever it comes from, is a crucial part to get the team and individual psyched to perform at their best.
Confidence, not only in self but the team, coach, support staff is very critical for optimum performance by a player. It is basically belief in self to succeed and can be achieved and enhanced by various mental training skills. Sport psychology coaches lead you through simple steps to help you achieve it, it could be something as simple as watching a confident performance from self or others in cricket. Ricky Ponting is known to have gathered encouragement from watching one of his own past performance on the eve of the Quarter Final clash and that clearly seemed to have played a hand in the century he scored in that game. Senior players like Sehwag, Gambhir and Yuvraj have all had their ups and downs while batting but that did not deter them from performing well in the subsequent matches. Recovering from a not so good game and making the next one into a great one was seen in the performance of these players.
Dealing with stress, another important aspect of cricket, and who knows it better than the Indian team playing the finals in India. Stress could be from expectations of 122 crores of Indians, the heads of nations watching the game and above all, team and self expectations which could rattle the best of cricketers. But Team India proved that they could perform at their best under stress. Being able to keep calm by means of a simple exercise such as taking a deep breath before starting to bowl, helps a bowler’s level of concentration tremendously in spite of having been hammered to the boundary in just the previous delivery. This is evident from watching top bowlers like Zaheer Khan, who always seems to have a rhythm and rhyme in the way he bowls irrespective of the chaos around him.
Setting goals enables any serious competitor to pave the road towards it and a classic example of this was Team India’s road to win the World Cup. By their own admission immediately following the World Cup win, Team India confessed to having set that goal a year ago in Sri Lanka.
Aiming for the sky but keeping their feet firmly on the ground, taking baby steps to reach their World Cup goal, being confident along the way, being ready to take constructive criticism, learning from their immediate mistakes, not crumbling under pressure, playing as a unit, treating each game as if it was the most important one and carrying their great moments from each game into the finals led the team to peak at the right time and win the most coveted of cricketing glories.
