How Much Do You Want It?

(Cover Image: ESPN CricInfo)

Yesterday, Australia won the ICC CWC 2023 for the 6th time, beating India in the Final. What I will talk about is not regarding the match, but what Mitchell Stark (One of the premium fast bowlers in the Australian team) said in the mid-inning interview.

He said, "It is not going to be an easy chase. At the end of the day, it depends on how much you want it". I loved how he phrased it. Australians have always been fighters. They come to compete. This statement shows their hunger to win.

India was an undefeated team coming into the final. All their bowlers and batsmen have been brilliant throughout the tournament. But did Australia care? No. They weren't timid in their approach. They were fearless. They went for the kill. None of them had doubts about whether they would win or not. They just knew. That is the level of belief we all need to build in life. Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly.

During the final phase of the game, I heard an Indian commentator saying "I think it is fair to say that India was beaten by the conditions and nothing else". This is another common mindset that we see among people. Blaming and worrying about the things that we have no control over is never a good approach. The Indian captain said during the toss, that he was going to bat anyway if he had won the toss. So, they got what they wanted.

The only way we can improve at something is by admitting our flaws. Yes, the conditions helped. But you have to admit that you were outplayed. You have to take the responsibility. Then only you will see where you can improve.

Australia planned and executed almost a perfect game. The field settings they set, the strategies they had for each batsman, their ground fielding, and their executions were perfect. Bringing in Maxwell in the final over of the powerplay turned out to be a genius move.

But that was not an accident. They have planned every bit of that wicket of Rohit Sharma. They knew Rohit would go after Maxwell. He did hit a six and a four before the dismissal. Props to Maxwell for tossing the ball up. Rohit couldn't resist. He was on 47 and wanted to just keep going. Travis Head was placed right at the edge of the 30-yard circle. He was not there to stop singles. He was placed there specifically for this miss-hit. Rohit fell for it.

It was a good pitch to bat on. There were no seam movements. The pitch was on the slower side. Australia utilized it perfectly. Both of the teams realized that it was not a 400 pitch. They had to revise their plans. Australia just did it better.

There is no doubt that India has the strongest team out of all the teams. The bowling and batting effort throughout the tournament was brilliant. But did they do their homework? Did they win the small battles on the field?

After Smith got out and Marnus came in, I thought India missed a trick by not attacking him right away. Marnus almost played a test match role holding his end up while Travis played his natural game at the other end. If India had got Marnus out cheaply, it would've been a much different game. How much do you want it?

Coming back to my original point, we all can adopt this mindset into our lives. If you want something bad enough, you will get it. You have to be obsessed. You have to work for it. You have to build plans for it and execute them on the day. Be so good that no external factors can stop you from achieving your goals.

Congratulations to Pat Cummins and the Aussie team. Hard luck for India. Let's keep improving 🤘