The Miracle Afghan

So, India won the U-19 Cricket World Cup and has been on the news. But a couple of days back, by a serendipitous occasion, I ended up watching the match between Australia and Afghanistan for the 3rd place at the same tournament. Afghanistan! In the semi-finals was enough cause for surprise. However, they had already slumped to 92–5 with 30 overs already docked on the scoreboard. I thought the match was done and pocketed by Australia and felt pity at the drubbing that the spirited Afghans would receive from the other end. However, as I hastened to applaud the Afghans for having made the effort to reach the Semis, the bloke on the screen, a certain Mr. Ijaz Ahmadzai, rocked back and twirled on his feet to an off-spinner and sent it fine leg for a boundary in a jiffy. It was a daring shot, but so well executed that I would not be surprised if I had mistaken him for an experienced cricketer playing his 100th match on a turf that he loved a lot.

And, that hooked me to what he had to offer. I thought the battle would be fun and last a few overs. But what transpired over the next hour or so, was the most daring counter-attack in Cricket that I had witnessed in the recent years. With wickets falling at the other end due to reckless and irresponsible shots played by his team-mates, Mr. Ahmadzai held his ground and launched into the Australian attack with impeccable stroke-play. The Australian bowling attack did not know what had hit them and had no clue how to get him out. He was just in absolute control. Mr. Ahmadzai racked up an amazing 81 out of 79 balls peppered with 5 boundaries and 5 sixers to take Afghanistan to a very respectable 201 in 49 overs. I thought they wouldn’t last till the 35th over, and here he had taken them to something far more than what the dugout had imagined. And when he walked back to the pavilion, a standing ovation showed that he had inspired them all. Whether the Afghans won the match or not, it was an effort to be reckoned. He had my respect.

There is something about a good underdog story, isn’t it? That inspires us and makes us believe in ourselves, even when the odds are stacked up. Well, it got me thinking and I realized why we love an underdog performing so well against the odds is because he broke the limitations that were set on him. Sure, he could have packed up with wickets falling at the other end, it was anyway just a 3rd place playoff and he was up against a ruthless Australian attack. Yet, in face of all these odds, in face of all these limitations, the young lad decided that he was going to make a determined effort to transcend the limitations, both his internal and the external ones as well.

I’ve been experimenting with breaking certain personal limitations of my own, and it actually has been an exciting adventure! There are certain self-imposed personal limitations, where we think “this is the way I am” or “This is how the world is” or “I can only do this much”. But to go beyond what we think is possible for us, and to really stretch one’s own personal boundaries to a stretching point, has been thrilling to no end. To really push the physical, emotional and mental boundaries of myself, and to go a little more beyond those limits, is a whole effort that can demand a lot. Of course, there is no audience cheering you on, and no inspirational background music, and you are really doing it for no one but yourself and hence many a time, the temptation arises to just give up the effort and fall back to old patterns and limits. But that very point is the hardest test of all, and if you can really get past this mental block, the reaching of a certain benchmark of breaking your limitations is more fulfilling than anything you’ll ever know. It brings with it, a certain sense of freedom within you. Its like, if I can do this, then I can do more! And you can always move into new territory, without any fear. There no more half-steps in fear. You’ll be a full stride. This is what breaking your limitations can do.

A limitation that you want to break need not be something dramatic. It can be as small as “I will not look at my phone as soon as I wake up” or “I will meditate every day for 20 minutes” or “I will not be mean to my employees” or “I will do 5 more push-ups than I usually do at the gym” or “I will resist the temptation to overthink” etc. Yeah, the idea is that you don’t go kill yourself, but start small and the more limitations you transcend, the more freedom arises within you, and the more you are inspired to do, the more aware you become of where you stand. It’s a journey worth undertaking.

In this endeavour, again, as I have told many times before, Yoga has been my enabling partner. It has helped me keep pushing at what I think is possible and then one day, I’m doing the impossible. If you really desire to contribute significantly to the world with your existence, it has become very clear to me that there is no dramatic magic potion to help you do that. And if you want to do something significant in the world, it is also not that you have to go out and break things and change the world. A significant change is brought about, when you can do more than what you thought you were capable of. Even with the simplest of things. Then suddenly people look at you as though you did something super-human. It’s a slow and silent effort, the one that doesn’t raise dust, or blow trumpets or make speeches. Its so subtle, yet the most significant and beautiful things in our lives are subtle. Subtle is very under-rated in our lives, and how foolish was I to ignore the subtle, the power of subtle.

Mr. Ahmadzai crafted those 81 runs with a daring display of breaking his limitation, but it was not all guns and glory. It was a display of the power of subtleness. He ran hard between the wickets, kept strike, put the bad balls away and before you realize it, he’s blown you over. He pushed at what he though was possible and went a few more strides beyond it. The Australians were flummoxed and couldn’t come to terms with what to do. They were just rehashing their old patterns. None of them endeavoured to push a little more, like Mr. Ahmadzai was doing. They played out a formula and very narrowly scraped through at the end, while the Afghans played their hearts out even when they bowled to defend the low total. I’m sure the Afghans will be a daring force to reckon with in the world of Cricket, come a few years. And though the Afghans didn’t win the match, Mr. Ahmadzai lives on in my mind.

He won the day.