The inspiration

The current strange and testing times are demanding a lot of citizens right round the world Ive learned that rules applying to athletes prospering at sport are also helpful in living lifeWith the Coronavirus pandemic biting hard citizens of all countries are being asked to displaymdashamong other attributesmdashpatience determination and a bit of initiative These are qualities essential to playing Test cricket at a high level To highlight the point Ive chosen two particularly influential inningsThe first one is a Sachin Tendulkar masterpiece in Chennai in 1998 His brilliant second innings 155 won the Test for India but it wouldnt have happened without the initiative displayed by Tendulkar in the lead up to the seriesTendulkar asked tall former Indian allrounder Ravi Shastri how he should cope with champion Australian legspinner Shane Warne if he went round the wicket to bowl into the rough Shastris reply was tinged with common sense Because of my long reach he replied I had a defensive antidote to Warne bowling in the rough but you dont he continued Youll have to devise an attacking option to combat Warne bowling in the footmarksFollowing that sound advice Tendulkar spent time at the MRF netsmdashwhere he deliberately scuffed an area outside leg stumpmdashfacing the wrist spin of former Indian leggie Laxman SivaramakrishnanBattle against WarneFast forward to the fourth day of a tightlycontested match where India is in trouble Tendulkar having been dismissed cheaply by Warne in the first innings strides to the crease with his team two down and only 44 runs in front The ball is spinning sharply and Warne boosted by a fourwicket haul in the first innings is confidentAustralias Ian Redpath tackles a bouncer from West Indies pacer Michael Holding at Sydney during the 197576 series Pic Getty ImagesTendulkar struggles to assert any authority early on and Warne sensing his opponent is vulnerable opts to come round the wicketIts rare that a Test match is so finely balanced on the fourth day with the champion of each team also doing battle At that moment the result was on the lineTendulkars determination and initiative were rewarded when he put his wellthought out plan into operation He immediately attacked deliveries pitching in the footmarks and after a series of electrifying shots reached and cleared the boundary Warne reluctantly went back over the wicket Tendulkar had won the battle and India would go on to win the TestThe other innings highlights patience and determination and was played by Australian opener Ian Redpath at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1976 It was late January a steaming hot day with temperatures in excess of 38C and Redpath was charged with the job of subduing the West Indies pace attackRedpath is around 184cms and around 70 kilos so he didnt have any excess weight to shed out in the middle of this steaming cauldron His teammates joked that it was easy for him to handle the West Indies bouncers because all he had to do was turn side on and they had virtually no target to hitAvoiding bouncersOn this occasion Redpath swayed ducked and bobbed his head to avoid the bouncers and patiently picked off any loose deliveries as he defied the West Indies pace men for all but the last half hours play He scored a century and when he was finally dismissed in the shadow of stumps he was redfaced and exhausted but hed done his jobAustralia was eventually dismissed for a challenging 351 When Redpath scored a follow up 70 in the second innings the target was too distant even for a strong West Indies batting lineup that included Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards as Australia duly completed the victoryRedpath claimed the manofthematch award but more importantly won the respect of his teammates for his patience and determination in trying circumstances Combine Tendulkars initiative and determination with Redpaths patient courage and you have some of the qualities required to survive this devastating pandemicCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news