Sports is all about passion. While the passion in some sportsmen is evident through their spirited anger, there are others who put themselves on the edge to lead their teams to a victory. Despite debilitating injuries, they conquer their pain with their passion.
An instance of this was evident in the virtual quarter-final last night between India and Australia in the ongoing ICC World T20. Yuvraj Singh, known for his indomitable spirit, had scored 5 runs with India reeling at 54-3, when he hopped on the back foot to face a short-pitched delivery.
The Punjabi batsman, playing on his home turf, crumpled his left ankle to an extreme which barely allowed him to run between the wickets for the remainder of his innings. His will power trouncing his enfeebling ankle, the left-hander contributed 21 crucial runs to the team. And in the end, it was worth it!
Here are 5 such instances which show that in a game of cricket, passion is always victorious.
Anil Kumble (India vs West Indies – 2002)
When it came to Anil Kumble’s mettle, the opponent was always intimidated. This dates back to 2002 in Adelaide when the Indian leg spinner was hit on the face by a bouncer coming from Mervyn Dillon. While he grimaced in pain and spat blood, the runs continued to come for the next 20 minutes.
The next day, he came out with a bandaged head and jaw to bowl 14 consecutive overs and took the prized scalp of Brian Lara. However, later the medical diagnosis ascertained that his jaw was fractured. Against his will, he could not be a part of the remainder of the series and had to return home for a surgery. The test was a draw.
Stuart Broad (India vs England – 2014)
The England fast bowler was subjected to a nasty facial injury in which he suffered an excruciatingly painful broken nose from Varun Aaron’s delivery. However, he persistently resumed his batting in the 5th test match of the series in which he took three wickets and scored an impressive 37 off 21 balls in the first innings by England.
England clinched the match by an innings and 244 runs. The incident wreaked havoc on the bowler’s mental health, after which he had to consult a psychologist. Till date, as sourced from his interviews, the player is yet to overcome the mental scars of the accident.
Graeme Smith (South Africa vs Australia – 2009)
The South African captain earned respect of the entire cricketing fraternity during the 2009 match vs Australia, which won him the title “bravest man in cricket”. During the final test in Sydney, Aussies put up a total of 394 on the board after the first innings. Smith hammered a 30 to begin the innings but was critically injured when the barreling Mitchell Johnson bowled a thunderbolt his way.
In the second innings, when things looked difficult for South Africa, Smith walked out at no. 11 with a plaster on his broken hand and faced 17 balls until finally Johnson got him out. The Kangaroos won the match but the Proteas skipper won the hearts.
Malcolm Marshall (West Indies vs England – 1984)
Marshall suffered a partially broken arm against England in the Headingley Test of 1984. Despite the critical nature of his arm, he came out to bat valiantly at no.11 to enable a century for teammate Larry Gomes. With injured Marshall’s support, Gomes scored a century. Also, in the second innings, Marshall bowled and took a whopping 7 wickets to help his country record an 8 wicket win over the Three Lions.
Wahab Riaz (Pakistan vs Sri Lanka – 2015)
One of the most recent examples of on-field bravery is by Pakistani pacer Wahab Riaz. The Pakistani spearhead played with his arm almost broken in the second of the three-match series against Sri Lanka in 2015. His injury was an aftermath of the delivery from Dushmantha Chameera, in which he was struck on the glove and suffered a hairline fracture.
However, this had nothing to do with him bowling nine overs head strong, only to surrender later on when the pain got unbearable and he had to be taken off the field. Pakistan went on to win the match.
After all, where one’s willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great!
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