We are the Cricket World Cup Champions!

2nd April, 2011 will be cherished and be mesmerized in the memories of all Indian Cricket fans forever. What a day it has been! India wins the ICC World Cup 2011. It made every Indian proud about their team.

Cricket is not just a sport, it is a "religion" in India and with India being the World Cricket Champions, it's even a bigger "religion" to rule the hearts of a billion population. One will find all kind of cricket fans in India. Fans who give up all their routine work for catching up with a cricket match, fans who pray for their team day and night and fans who ready to do anything to to see their favorite team to victory.

So, what have we learnt through this ICC World Cup, 2011 which India won this year. Many things:

• The Team Spirit: The best team is the one in which the players understand the importance of team spirit. It is not individuals who can win the World Cup, but it has to be the entire team. So, when a particular player is doing badly, the team mates try and calm the nerves of that player by talking to him and reminding him that he is playing for the country. This teaches us that we should be calm under pressure situation. There would be occasions when one would get a chance to perform on a big stage and to do his best, it would be great if one maintains his composure and be mentally stable. When one is playing as a part of a team, it is "we" that should matter rather than "me".
• "It does not matter how deep the ocean is, because it not the depth of the ocean that is important but it is the motion of the ocean that is important.": These were remarkable words which the legendary Sunil Gavaskar said on the broadcasting media just before the match, seeing that some players are injured and will not be able to play the most important match for the country. This teaches us that it does not matter if you don't have a few resources, but it is more important to have the right determination, strategy and direction to succeed. It is very important how you channelize your energy in giving a direction for the journey of achieving something.
• The failure of the big "guns": There are times when the most trusted players don't perform. The two India opening batsmen: the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Shewag got out without performing in the World Cup Finals, but India still managed to win. This one teaches us that we should never give up the fight. The match is not lost till the last ball is bowled or the last wicket has fallen or the last run is scored. So, it is important to keep fighting right till the end and that will help you to win.
• The only way to succeed in life is hard work: No matter how talented you are, what matters in the end is the hard work and the effort which you put in to succeed. Each and every player had worked hard to win this World Cup and the win would only inspire us to work even harder in whatever we do.
• Taking a tough path, means you are more likely to rip a better reward in the end: India played knock out matches against two best teams: Australia and Pakistan to get into the World cup finals. This was a tougher path than the path for the Sri Lankan team, who were the runner-up of the World Cup Finals of World Cup 2011. Sri Lanka had to beat England and New Zealand teams to reach the Finals. Both these teams were not as good as Australia and Pakistan teams at that time. The most important learning here is that one who reaches phenomenal heights is the one who has gone through a tough competition, so do not shy away from get into a fierce competition. 
• Get your strategies right: It is very important to have strategies to go about doing a particular work. But what is even more important is that one should have "plan B", if things don't work out as planned. Beginning the journey of achieving something without planning or spending time on strategy would be a definite way to welcome a failure.
• Self-belief is the most important thing in life: One can win only of he thinks he can. If one doubts his own abilities to succeed, then he is not going succeed, no matter how much effort he puts in. So, believe in yourself and the God of Success will bestow the "gift of success" on you.  

 Congrats team India. Well done! We are all proud of you.