​It’s not only the skills of a player but the mindset that matters a lot for success.
Indian test cricket captain Virat Kohli proved it again in the fourth test match against the English today. 

I could not watch him playing live in this test. I was keenly following the scorecard and commentary on the web. I wrote about sports and sports stars only on very few occasions. It’s usually when linked to leadership and execution skills of a person. The inspiration I had today was good enough to write again.

When we started on Day 4, me and many of my friends felt like this test is heading towards a draw but Virat had a different plan in his mind. None of us ever felt India can manage to lead by a big margin and put the opposition under pressure when their first innings score was massive. They won the toss and at the drivers seat on first two days of the match to plan it well on their favor.

I am thinking about the mindset of the two captains and more about the English skipper. Had he ever felt more secure after putting four hundred runs on board and thought like it’s good enough to prevent a loss? While preventing a loss was his game plan, our skipper was busy planning how to win even when it means to drag it till the end of the match on day 5.

Earlier he said I don’t play match by match but session by session. He proved himself correct one more time again today. What a splendid performance! The English captain too admitted the fact in our last encounter. He said the only difference and decisive factor for the match results was Virat’s batting.

This positive spirit of ‘never lose hope and maintain the right attitude’ that he instilled in all the team members paid him good dividends at the end of each match. It helped the team always keep high on morale.

Success can’t be far away when attitude of a player is “play to win”. He proved all his critiques wrong through his master class and sheer performance. While many are of an opinion he is too young and rough on the field to led a team because of his attitude I feel otherwise.

He is young at heart but tough at making the right decision at the right time like an well experienced adult.
Test match unlike shorter form of the game tests more the resilience of the players and their fighting spirit. This could be the reason why many sports enthusiasts feel this is the real cricket that tests your mind, fitness, skills and toughness.

The test cricket was considered to be a very boring game of cricket during my school days but not so anymore. It is now part of management lessons at universities.

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