May the Best Team Win

I have just returned from a bar where I watched a nailbiting cricket performance. I am now sitting in my Mumbai apartment reflecting upon a moral that today's wonderful match has reminded me of. Much to my disappointment as a Punjab supporter, Chennai ended up in the final against the unbeatable Rajasthan Royals. Like most people who have been watching this crazy game of DLF IPL 20-20, I had imagined that it would be a flammable Royals against the Kings on June 1st. Yuvraj Singh, the Punjab Kings' captain, screwed up royally and his formidable team fell like a house of cards before the under-appreciated Chennai Super Kings. The Singh fell to the Super Kings--and why not? While the Super Singh from Jharkhand was doing his bit of 'chintan' before the big game, the Punjab King was caught leaping with the PYTs at a posh Bombay night club before his ruinal semi-final match. Yuvraj's fall was a testimony to the classic Panchatantra tale of the hare and tortoise. The men in yellow won the semis much to everyone's surprise--and disappointment for the bookies.

Today's match was hailed as the Royal's day out, but Chennai Super Kings put up a tough match. The team at one point held an unshakeable position. But as it happens in the game of cricket, Raina dropped a major catch that would have altered the course of the game. The most dangerous man in blue, Pathan, was dropped just when he was settling in. Pathan got luckier when another fumble led to a missed catch. The Super Kings in yellow clearly lost their logic when they misjudged two opportunities for 'run-outs' .

A team that screws up not once but so many times does not ultimately deserve to win, no matter how good the fight they put up. The Royals, on the other hand, played with the discpline to win. They were consistent and they followed their captian's game plan and strategy. During the last over, the batsman Tanvir did not get emotional to hit a big one. He followed a safe route to get the singles and doubles that would take the team to a tricky target. And then in the final over, Balaji gave away blunderous wide balls. The Royals could not have asked for more.

What really captured my heart was Dhoni's response. The captian was an image of equanimity. His smile at the loss of the tournament was incredibly beautiful. He had no malice. He played his best and then in an absolutely endearing act, he circled his men together and reconfirmed his faith in the lost team. Yes, the men in yellow made mistakes, but the leader is with them.

I would much rather place my country in the hands of a captain like Dhoni than the 'Singh is King'. Dhoni represents the values that we as a nation take pride in--tolerance and humility.