If you are a cricket follower, the recently concluded India Australia test series should/will be in your top cricketing moments of all time. It's certainly on my list.  I don't think even movies have such perfect scripts these days. There was humility, imbalance, anger, hard work, and then eventual success. Just like the well-built machinery that BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) is, businesses can take out a lot from this series. Let's take a look at the top 5 business lessons from the India Australia test series. 

With all the pundits writing off India once Virat Kohli departed after the 1st test, the onus was on Ajinkya Rahane to take the team forward. He has done so in flying colors and deserves all the accolades. Now after listening to all the support staff interviews, it's pretty clear that this series was not won by Rahane or Kohli alone. There was a conscious decision to groom the team culture in such a way for them to eventually reach here. If the key values of your company are imbibed into the team, there is no need for cult leaders to lead the team all the time. Showing the right direction should be enough for the team themselves to reach success. 

Though there is no need for micro-managing leaders, the leader should be able to direct the team on course. For India, Rahane did it perfectly, handling injuries after injuries aplomb, whereas Tim Paine, the Australian captain, let the pressure get the better of him. I had been a fan of Paine much before his eye injury and then eventual return and the ascend to the Australian captaincy. Having seen him navigate the tough Ashes series and the last Indian series as well, it was uncharacteristic to see him under so much pressure. Thinking about it, the reason seems to be that Australia was expected to win this series handsomely. Especially after the 36 all our debacle of the first test. With each passing test and each passing day, the more India fought, the more the pressure of winning got to Paine. The ghosts of Headingley and Ben Stokes must have haunted him hard. And when the captain loses his cool, the team follows suit and it was his drop catches and the missed stumping that eventually decided the fate of the series. 

With Pant, Gill, and other young batting talents showing the bright future of Indian cricket, it was of course the old guard Pujara who according to me decided the series. After the 1st and 2nd tests, there were talks about how Pujara's low strike rate was pulling the team down. But, boy in the 3rd and 4th test, wasn't each dot ball played by him, worth more than sixers and fours. On the final day of the 4th test, with more than 13 different bruises in the body, still not playing any rash shot, Pujara was the monk who became a warrior. It was the unwavering faith in himself and conviction that this is how he is going to play that separated the boys from the men. Here is where the team culture is again important. Once the end goal is clear, the culture should allow each individual to thrive in his/her own way playing to their strengths. That’s when you will discover your own swashbuckling Pant and ever reliable Pujaras. 

India rotated close to 10 different bowlers in this series. Most of that was due to Injuries to key players. But it indeed turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The Indian bowlers were fresh in each test match and that resulted in India picking up 20 wickets in all but one innings. On the contrary, though the quartet of Starc, Hazelwood, Cummins and Lyon are world beaters, playing all 4 test matches, took a toll on their abilities. It specially affected Starc who was their tail enders destroyer and Lyon who was unfortunately had his worst series of all time. No matter how good you are, you and your time should certainly not over cook and burn. A half baked dish is always easier to adjust than a burnt dish. 

On the finally day of the 3rd test, when Hanuma Vihari, pulled up his hamstring, the entire series was in balance. One wicket there and there was injured Ashwin, Jadeja and then two tailenders who are probably faster in returning to Pavillion by the time you keep your noodles in the stove. Right next over, Pujara is out. I myself was convinced that the match is a foregone conclusion. But probably again, the Injury that made both Vihari and Ashwin less nimble made them focus on the basics. And focus they did.They played 256 deliveries in total. That's 42 overs, almost the length of an ODI. They did not achieve that by just mindlessly wanting to play 50 overs. As Ashwin was heard on the mic, they breaked down the time and planned mini goals like playing 10 balls at a time, Ash facing lyon all the time and Vihari facing fast bowlers and by the end of the game, they were so deep that they did not even celebrate the draw. This is where we should learn Resilience and patience as one of the important virtues that is needed in our current environment. In the social media era where people are looking for instant fame and instant success, it’s so romantic to see people with old school values succeed as well. 

That's it for this blog, hopefully I will have a few blogs for the English series as well. Can't wait for it to start. Happy reading...