Attitude Triumphs Over Skill And Experience

Hello Friends,

Wishing all of you a happy and prosperous new year. Hope this year turns out to be a safe and healthy one for all. Recently concluded test series between India and South Africa has again exhibited an instance of attitude triumphing over skill and experience. Long before the series started Indian team has been backed big time to register their first ever series win in South African soil this time around. Considering South African team is going through rebuilding process for quite some time now after the consecutive retirements of the senior members of the team, nobody gave them a chance to compete with the best red ball outfit in the world. Loss in first test match and subsequent sudden retirement from test cricket of yet another senior pro Quinton de Kock made it even tougher for the home side. But as the age old saying goes when the going gets tough the tougher gets going, the young bunch of guys stood upto the challenge like never before and scripted one of the best series victory in their cricket history. Though this young bunch deserves every bit of credit for this victory, not to forget the role of captain Dean Elgar and coaching staff headed by Mark Boucher especially when South African cricket has gone through a huge turmoil in recent times.

As far as the Indian team is concerned one away series loss should not wipe away whatever success they have achieved over the years. But definitely corrective measures need to be taken specially to address the consistent batting collapses. Even after solid efforts from the pace attack Indian team could not capitalize on the series lead gained after the first test match due to minimal contribution from the batting unit. On the other hand the Proteas knew their limitation and strategized accordingly. Their inexperienced batting unit played the situations really well and came back with flying colors. Their bowling attack did exceptionally well led by Rabada. At the end we have to accept that the opponent were better than us during the crunch moments and that reflected in the final scoreline. Let us now have a quick look on the top instances of inspiring leadership.

A leader on a mission

Dean Elgar

Leading a young team which has not tasted victory against top teams can be tricky at times. The captain not only has to ensure that the team performs well in all the three facets of the game on field but also stays in a better shape mentally to face tough opponents. Dean Elgar did that to perfection. Being selected as the leader of  the red ball setup Elgar did not have the privilege of a star- studded team. Instead he had to take the responsibility of rebuilding this team which was affected by consecutive retirements of their senior players in the recent past. At the same time being the most experienced batter in the team he also had to play the role of that mentor to the young ones. Certainly not easy. But Elgar has been instrumental so far mainly in a tough series like this. He has been that batting mainstay of the team well supported by Bavuma, Petersen, Van der Dussen in different situations. Keeping this young team motivated and focused despite all the outside chatters would not have been easy. But that's where a leader shows his character and must say Elgar has been fabulous, at times even better than his Indian counterpart. The South African fans would expect this to be just the beginning of a successful era under the able leadership of Elgar.

Torchbearer of the next generation

A tough series like this comes not only with plenty of challenges but also with the opportunity of testing your skills by performing against the best in the business. Those who grab that opportunity go on to achieve greater success. Keegan Petersen is one such star in making who can easily be marked as the find of the series for the Proteas. With a handful of international experience he was up for the challenge of batting at the crucial number three position against the top team in the world. Kind of maturity he has shown in this series is something worth mentioning. He has been extremely calm in crunch situations while facing the likes of Bumrah, Shami, Siraj. Despite not getting any big hundreds his Player of the series performance tells how crucial his contribution has been in deciding the fate of the series. He has been applauded by the greats of the game for his attitude while performing in tough conditions like these. He is a perfect example for all the young batters on how to conquer the battleground while remaining calm and focusing on your strength. Though it's too early to comment, but he looks someone who has that potential and skills to serve his country for a longer period.

Image Credit 

flickr.com/Dave Morton

Greatthinker2310, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (Cover image)

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/south-african-flag-flag-africa-1333189/ (Cover image)

Cover Image Design : Balakumar