Records are meant to be broken in sports or life; what we need is to learn to be grounded
New Zealand bowler Ajaz Patel on Saturday achieved the rarest of rare feats in international cricket as he clinched all 10 wickets in first innings of the second Test match against India at the Wankhede Stadium. With that, he joins England's Jim Laker and former Indian captain Anil Kumble to dismiss 10 opposition players in an innings. Though his 10-wicket haul could not ensure Kiwis the victory, the mumbai-born left-armer Ajaz, whose parents emigrated to New Zealand in 1996, won many hearts as he pulled off this miracle of a record. With this resounding victory, India not only registers a comprehensive series win by 1-0, it also dethrones New Zealand from the ICC Test rankings and claims the top spot. However, whatever the outcome at the end of the day might be, the match would be known for Patel’s perfect 10 at his long-lost hometown.
There have been enough instances in the history of team sports when one player proved enough for the opposition team. Rohit Sharma, for example, scored a massive 264 runs against Sri Lanka in November 2014. In return, the Lankans were all-out for 251 runs before the end of the 44th over. The ‘hitman’ Sharma scored 13-odd runs more than Sri Lanka’s team total. Sharma’s 264 remains the highest individual score in ODIs to date. Major Dhyan Chand, the first superstar of Indian hockey who led the country to many victories and was considered a magician of the game, was the key protagonist as India won three consecutive Olympic hockey gold medals — Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932, and Berlin 1936. Diego Maradona, who is often hailed as a one-man army in the world of football, led Argentina to the FIFA World Cup title in 1986. The quarter-finals against England saw him beat five English players to score a goal. This was voted as the goal of the century in 2002. There are many honourable mentions who have achieved feats like these players have in various sports. While victory may not always be the most satisfying milestone, to give everything a person has got surely is. A takeaway from these events is to learn to be grounded in life. Records, no matter how unbreakable they might seem, are not invincible in any sport. Jim Laker wouldn't have thought that another 10-wicket haul will happen again, but Anil Kumble did it in 1999, followed by Ajaz Patel.