SUCCESS! INDIAN CRICKET AND ECONOMY

INDIA’S decisive triumph in the recent Test match in Nagpur is being hailed as a tribute to an outstanding and focused cricket team.

But it is more than that.

The victory by an inning and 132 runs did not only represent success for spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja but for an overall polished team.

Indeed, the victory is symbolic of a host nation that is driven to succeed and to become a developed country in this generation.

The empathic Test victory inside three days surprised even captain Rohit Sharma but was well deserved for a team that is properly led and works hard.

“We want to play the cricket we are playing,” Sharma said.

While he praised champion spinners Ashwin, Jadega and Axer Patel, he acknowledged that “our fast bowlers are also good.”

Cricket experts point to India’s ability to reinvent itself and to maximise each pitch condition.

“We obviously play to our team’s strengths,” Sharma said.

Famed writer C.L.R. James said in his epic 1963 book Beyond a Boundary: “What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?”

India’s cricket renaissance comes in the midst of historic economic growth and resounding self-belief in the land.

The economy is expected to expand by 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal year, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and is “heading toward a bright future.”

International economic agencies describe India’s economy as the fastest-growing in the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has improved the condition of life in his country, lifting at least 415 million out of poverty, creating more jobs, boosting several sectors.

Modi has been working on rural development through the provision of various opportunities and the allocation of social welfare benefits.

The Prime Minister is transforming India into an international powerhouse, with the head of a leading technology company saying that the country “is on the cusp of huge change.”

The manufacturing sector is an engine of growth, and is set to expand by 25 per cent.

Currently holding the presidency of the G20 nations, India is determined to be “a bridge between east and west, north and south,” according to Modi.

He has told his country to settle for nothing less than to “dominate the world.”

Clearly, the Test cricket team has listened and is energised by the Prime Minister’s dynamic leadership and resolve to become a global force.

For his part, captain Sharma said: “You need to have application.”

He stressed that “no matter how talented or naturally gifted you are, there’s is no substitute for hard work…”

He was doubtlessly speaking about cricket – and national development.