So, do you like cricket like me? Well, I love cricket. But I pay attention to cricket only when India is winning.

Now, let us think that India is playing an important cricket match. It is the finals. We lost the toss and we are to bat second. Now the other team has done their batting and we are to chase a huge target of 305 runs.

Our openers made a good partnership and are chasing well. Rain does not always seem to like cricket. So, having applied D/L method and being under pressure, we lost many wickets in a short period of time.

Now there is only one wicket left. It is the last batsman. On the runner side, there is our 'god of cricket' Sachin Tendulkar.

We got to score 14 runs from 6 balls in order to win the match. And who is batting to face the ball?

Because you too like cricket (if you are reading till here, you might as well know cricket or otherwise you are wasting your time figuring what's going on ;), let us assume you are batting and facing the final over of the match.

Because you came as the 11th batsman, it is most probable that you are a good bowler rather than a good batsman.

So, let's face it. We have to score 14 runs out of 6 balls! You are on the batting. Sachin is on the running side.

Can you handle it? Feeling tensed?  Are you afraid that you would lose your wicket? Do not want to lose the important game for India?  You haven't faced fast bowling in your career much?

But, the sad truth is that - you have got to face the game. There is no other way.

Either you gotta play or you lose your wicket and India loses the match!

Decide what you want to do. After a bit of hesitation and talking with Sachin, you come back to the batting. You look at the fielding coverage.

‘Are you capable of facing this tense situation? No, you can not do it’ says the negative voice in your head.

But you come up with a stronger belief ‘Yes, it is possible’.

It's time to take some courage. You inhale air deeply. You watch the bowler running to you.

He is near. He is running directly at you. It seems like he is coming like a juggernaut to crush you down.

The ball leaves his hands.

You watch the ball. You have no clue where it is going. But you still have to guard your wicket otherwise you will be on your way to pavilion (and of course, Sachin too as it the last wicket).

YOU STAYED THERE. Though awkwardly, you managed to defend the ball. The ball gets through the fielders and you grabbed a quick single as if you are running for your life.

There is a tremendous applause from the crowd for your effort.

Now, who is on the batting side?

SACHIN!

(Well, there are many people who say that Sachin did not have a good track record in crucial matches. But I think we should be easy on him. He is also human like us (though when he is in form, we all know that he is the ‘god of Cricket’!) and won many matches to India almost single-handedly.)

Of course, Sachin hit 4-6-4 in the remaining balls and India won!

What a big win for India! If you had not stayed there and faced the ball and instead got OUT, we could have lost the match!

What Could It Mean?

In your life, you may have to face many situations like this. There may be times that you may feel totally helpless; that you feel some help is at hand yet you do not receive that help.

The point is not to run away here. STAY, STAND AND DEFEND the problems with your best. Give your best.

When we do our turn in solving our problems, there are people who will complete the remaining job and do their turn. This could be God in many cases. But we still gotta play our side. Sometimes all it takes is - JUST STAY THERE and things will work out.

Most people put the blame on others when they are not able to achieve their goals. They expect a lot of help from the outside whereas they do little or in many cases even nothing!

Then when the help does not come at the time as they wanted, they lack zeal and quit!

What about you? Are you on the ‘defending’ side or on the ‘blaming’ side?

Nuren Nuren likes writing, teaching, people, nature and many kinds of creative work such as photography, design, studying articles related to astronomy and science. He is positive, dedicated, open-minded and always looking for a way to learn something new. One of Nuren's favorite quotes is "How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints" (by C. S. Lewis). Read More >>