Team first, but personal milestones matter too

Virat Kohli celebrates his half-century during the first ODI against NZ in Auckland recently. Pic/AFP

India's facile win over New Zealand in the first ODI has set the right tempo for the ODI series. Having won the T20I series comfortably, it does appear that the Indian team will add the ODI series win to their cap as well. It certainly looks that way at the time of writing this piece, where the Indian seamers have restricted the Kiwis to just a dozen runs with two wickets down in seven overs.

Yes, there does seem a bit of moisture under the surface with the pitch having been covered for the earlier two days and the skies overcast, it won't be easy to bat. By the time the Indians come to bat the pitch should ease a bit. Still batting won't be easy, so it's important that the middle and late order Kiwi batting is kept in check.

Fans of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would want a decent chase on the cards as that will allow them to see more of their favourite players. There's Shubman Gill too, who has looked assured and composed in the first game. It was a tough call for the skipper and the man who followed him, Shreyas Iyer, as to how to pace their innings as Virat Kohli was batting at a stratospheric level at the other end. He had raced past his 50 and with the target being reduced due to stoppage of play during the innings, his chances of getting to another hundred were getting tighter and tighter. What does the batter at the other end do in such a situation? That would have been the dilemma for Gill and Iyer as with every run they took the difference between the hundred and the target was getting narrower and narrower.

Greenidge's brilliance in '84

It takes me back to the Test match in 1984 at Lord's when David Gower, the England captain asked the West Indies to chase 341 runs on the last day of the game. Gordon Greenidge got off to a smashing start and got a magnificent double century to take the West Indies home comfortably. Larry Gomes and he had a big partnership that snuffed out any hopes that England may have had. Towards the end they needed a dozen or so runs to win the game with plenty of overs left to be bowled. Greenidge had got his double century and Gomes was eight runs away from his century. I happened to be in the West Indies change room at that stage and it was interesting to listen to the speculation going on there. It was mainly about whether Gomes should be allowed to get a century or the win should come, irrespective of a personal landmark. Remember, there was no pressure of time or overs left. Greenidge had got not just a century, but a double century and there were a dozen or so runs required to win with lots of batting still to come. Gomes was eight runs away from a century. But what happened next? Greenidge hit three boundaries and finished the game with Gomes stranded at his score of 92.

Make no mistake, the team always comes first, but it's also a game where the players should look after each other which makes the team spirit strong and helps the team to surmount tough situations as everybody joins in the effort to do so. If it's not going against the team's interest while chasing personal landmarks, then there should be no issues whatsoever even though the outside world may have different opinions about it.

Remember the tense feeling in the change room when Rahul Dravid declared the Indian innings with Sachin Tendulkar six runs shy off a double century in a Test against Pakistan in Pakistan. There's never been a sliver of doubt about both these truly extraordinary cricketers' commitment and dedication to the team's cause, but after that declaration there was a sense of unease in the change room albeit for a day or two. India won the match comfortably with time to spare. There was also Imran Khan's declaration when Javed Miandad was on 280 not out against India in 1983. Javed has still not forgotten it especially as Pakistan went on to beat India by an innings and with some time left.

So could Dravid and Imran have delayed the declarations to allow for personal achievements of fellow teammates. In hindsight it's easy to say, ‘yes they could have', but what if the opposition had rallied and barely saved the match? Then the knives would have been out for them and sharpened too.

Love for individual records

Indians have always been fond of records and so there's always a debate about the rights and wrongs of going for it. One thing for sure that 99% of those who say they don't play for records are actually incapable talent and temperament wise of setting any and so it's easy for them to
say so.

Kohli got out in the 70s. Gill and Iyer were thus spared any blowback if the winning runs had been hit with Kohli unbeaten in the 90s. Yes, it's a team game, but it's also good for the team if one of its members, especially a star player, gets to a personal milestone without affecting the team's chances of winning.

There is not a single Indian cricket fan who does not want Kohli to get to 100 international centuries. We are all cheering for him to get there and so, if there's an occasion where some other teammate sacrifices his runs to allow him the chance to get there, the glory will not be just Kohli's but for all Indian cricket fans too.

Professional Management Group