Gautam Gambhir was one of the stars of the chase (Photo courtesy: Google Images)

What a night! A night to beat all other nights hollow! A night when the Men in Blue took centre-stage, with a performance none can find flaws in. It was incredible to see a team which was faltering during the World Cup, gain momentum and produce a less than a perfect performance, but still good enough to stun Australia in the quarterfinal, a doddering performance to stamp out Pakistan in the semifinal and come back strongly to reduce Sri Lankan grit to dust in the finals.

The night was incredibly perfect, as the calm, cool and collected captain MS Dhoni received the Man of the Match award and the flamboyant Yuvraj Singh the Man of the Series prize, but I could not help but feel sorry for the man of the moment Gautam Gambhir for not getting a share of the recognition with Dhoni. After all, his innings is what made the huge task look so surmountable in the first place.

And to think that like millions of fans, my quaking heart reduced me to a morose, depressed fan through the day. While my head insisted I overcome my sense of loss and prepare to sing paens to Sri Lanka, looking up each time to see Mahela Jayawardhane hit a four, reducing Indian bowling and fielding to naught. The heart triumphed and I decided to leave office to grieve in private, heart sinking to my knees, darkness enveloping me as Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar fell, even as Lasith Malinga rose to demonic proportions and I prepared for the inevitable.

When I reached home an hour later, Gambhir was still batting and all I could hope for was a decent loss, bracing myself for the crumbling middle-order, which we have all been witness to. Much later, he was still at the crease, raising his bat to acknowledge his fifty. While my heart recovered a little, the head kept saying `Don’t be silly, the target is still a long way off’.

But Gambhir’s 50 and the calm demeanour made my heart believe, maybe there is a miracle waiting to happen here and like a numb, defeated soldier I got up to pray my hardest in years, to beg God to give this incredible team a win. I believed throughout that it truly deserved it and I could possibly not be so wrong.

Though Team India was not performing to potential, it had still managed to tumble its way into the final, triumphing over Australia (when I thought team India was still finding its footing and it seemed too early to face Australia, after all an early knockout a very `real’ possibility) and quelling Pakistan’s rising strength in a thrilling semifinal. On the contray, Sri Lanka had an easy run up to the final, a no result thanks to rain against Australia, beating the West Indies in the quarter finals and then quelling New Zealand a team certainly not worthy of a semifinal place.

Gambhir’s steady and responsible partnership with Virat Kohli pumped my heart back to life, my voice rising in decibels as I cheered him, praying for them to keep going, as the target diminished at an agonizing slow pace of only a run or two off a ball. But what the heck, Gambhir and Kohli knew and the Indian fans knew that it was not a time to hit the big fours…not yet anyways.

And then Kohli fell, to a incredible return catch by Tillekeratne Dilshan and as I watched Dilshan pump himself, my distressed heart nose-dived again. With just 114 on board, the challenge seemed huge. But I am glad Gambhir did not think so and went on stoically. At this point it was a respite to see Mr. Calm himself walk in, instead of the not so bratty now Yuvraj, whose knocks would have lifted the innings but could have also plummeted hopes further.

A miracle still seemed a long way off, as millions of fans sympathised with the captain, as he tried hard to keep the sweat off his eyes, frequenting removing the helmet and adjusting, as he steeled himself to a long innings, which had evaded him through the entire run of the World Cup. I fell in love with the man twice, first when he lay sprawled on the ground, as his physio helped him stretch and release the pain and pressure, only to resume. The second time was when on the last ball, he focused on the ball, his bulging eyes not blinking once, as he hit a massive six to finish off the Sri Lankan challenge. While Yuvraj screamed, the captain simply tucked his bat under his left arm and looked to remove the stumps.

For a second, it seemed so unreal and I switched to victory mode, only when Yuvraj hugged Sachin like a kid and Harbhajan Singh’s tears rolled down, to be soon joined by mine, as an incredible World Cup season ended for me too. A month and a half of making sense of a World Cup, came to an end for me, which has been boring in most parts, only a few games worthy of a World Cup performance, most featuring team India .

With the final against Sri Lanka just two days away, the team itself may have quickly shifted its focus to calming its nerves and preparing for that massive game against Sri Lanka. But it appeared as if all India, unconcerned yet about the preparations for the final, was in a celebratory mood.

Each of us lost no time in picking our favourite freeze frames from the match. And those who had questioned skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s wisdom in choosing left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra over spin bowler R Ashwin quickly overcome such thoughts and joined the bandwagon of praise for his assured captaincy.

There was one frame that etched itself on my mind and I have to thank Shahid Afridi and Zaheer Khan – and their smiles – for that. Afridi chipped Zaheer Khan to mid-wicket and the ball dropped just short of the fielder there and managed just a single. As Afridi complete the run, he must have exchanged notes with Zaheer and they both broke into a smile. It was a lovely sight.

Of course, there were as many such scenes during the game – be it Harbhajan Singh exulting after bowling Umar Akmal or Sachin Tendulkar after taking a catch to dismiss Wahab Riaz or Mahendra Singh Dhoni uncharacteristically rushing to congratulate Harbhajan Singh on his claiming a wicket or Munaf Patel being hugged by Suresh Raina and Virender Sehwag.

Come to think of it, we loved the amazing spirit with which the teams played the match. Despite the unprecedented hype and hoopla that preceded the game, there was not a hint of acrimony on the field that some expected in the high-voltage clash. This was highlighted when Ashish Nehra did not claim a catch after fling himself forward at deep mid-wicket.

Our hearts also reached out when Afridi showed grace at the post-match presentations and poignantly when he unhesitatingly said “I want to say sorry to the people of Pakistan.” He knew India was the superior team and he knew that his team had to do something out of the ordinary to beat India in Mohali – and the closest that it went to that was Wahab Riaz’s incisive bowling.

Quite inevitably, as sonn as the cricket ball found safety in Virat Kohli’s hands to signal the completion of the match, India erupted in joy. The ultra-rich and the poor were all bound by a common thread that delighfully spelt victory. A diverse nation was united by emotions like relief and satisfaction, delight and, above all, national pride.

Cell phones across the country were buzzing, with calls and text messages dominaing the air waves; News TV channels forgot how they had raised questions about this team’s ability when it tied with England and lost to South Africa and tirelessy talking through the night about India’s victory over Pakistan and its after-effects. FM stations joined the festivities, too.

Thursday’s newspapers were expectedly euphoric, with cricket and ‘cricket diplomacy’ taking up most of the frontpage space. “After this… the Cup’s a Bonus” said one headline, reflecting the thoughts of most fans. A dispassionate observer may be forgiven if he thought that India had already won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, except of course for some exceptional reminders.

Yet, I would like you to pause for a moment and think: Does it need only a victory on the field of sport for India to feel proud of itself? Should we not seek such success in many other walks of life? Should we depend on cricket alone – and less frequently, other sport – to raise the morale of our nation and our self-esteem? Should we invest all our emotions in cricket?

I remember speaking with a wonderful ad-man Piyush Pandey some weeks ago and he pointed out that we are not competing so visibly against anyone in other areas and hence cricket causes such mass sentiments. Our film stars are not up against their contemporaries from Hollywood.  And when composer AR Rahman wins an Oscar or two, we do break out in some celebrations.

To be sure, cricket has fuelled an aggression in India but we desperately need such success in other streams of life too.The sooner our nation finds them the better it will be for us as we ride the bullish emotion and get ready to take on the world. Until that happens, we have much to thank the Indian cricket team for.

To me, Wednesday night was not just about the emotional outpouring of a cricket-crazy nation. It was about this wonderful country’s eagerness to be bound as one; it is about its diverse peoples collective desire to encourage success. The question is: who or what else is ready to capture the imagination of vast majority of the 1.2 billion people and make their hearts swell with pride.

(This piece has been written for Hindi newspaper Prabhat Khabar)

The Indian Mahendra Singh Dhoni has baffled a few with his persistent backing of leg-spinner Piyush Chawla despite the young man leaking runs by the dozen in the games against England and Ireland and not being so economical either against the Netherlands. He has also stood up in defence of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who has two wickets from four games.

Undoubtedly, he would endear himself to everyone if he offers such backing to each of his players. But as the leader of the group Dhoni may have chosen to use the stick with some like the two spinners who have got to bowl in the last three games and the carrot with others like S Sreesanth. And perhaps hunger as a bait for R Ashwin.

He says he is not bothered by the criticism but in the same breath reveals how criticism gets to him. “Frankly, I am not bothered by what others say. When I select a team, I try to look at it as how honest I am. Piyush needed a game more than Ashwin because of the kind of applause he has received from you people,” he told the media on the eve of the game against South Africa.

At the end of the match against Netherlands, I waited to see if any of my colleagues would ask a direct question about Harbhajan Singh’s inability to breach the defences of batsmen from Ireland and the Netherlands. Truth to tell, there was one question about Yuvraj Singh doing a better job than the spinners and Dhoni’s response was fascinating.

“Whatever happens, you cannot drop the spinners and say we will play extra batsmen. I thought over a period of time, our spinners have bowled well,” he said. Interestingly, he did not stop there but went on to talk about how it was important for the bowling unit to hunt in packs rather than put the onus on one bowler.

“The opposition is happy to just block Harbhajan Singh out and make it tough for him to get wickets. We cannot have silly point and short leg that are needed for him. I don’t want to have a forward short-leg in the group stage because I don’t want a player to get injured,” he said. “If the batsmen have a go at him, he can get wickets. If he is bowling well, they are going after Yuvraj and that is probably why he is getting wickets. You have hunt in packs and that is what is important.”

I wanted to ask a more direct question on Harbhajan Singh and when my turn came, I asked Dhoni if he was happy with the intensity and aggression that the off-spinner showed on the field in the World Cup. The captain preferred to ignore the bit about intensity and chose to speak about Harbhajan Singh’s aggression – or the lack of it.

“I think he reacts to aggressive cricket in a different way. If the opposition is not playing aggressive cricket, maybe he also lays down and doesn’t play that type of aggressive cricket (expected of him,” Dhoni said. “It won’t be the case as soon as you are playing some of the bigger sides who will look to go after him. I think as the tournament heats up, you will see a different Harbhajan Singh. May be a strong side or better opposition, you will see the best of Harbhajan Singh coming up.”

Whether we agree with his argument or not, we must grant it to the Indian captain that he has backed the two spinners so well. It is now up to them – for their own sake, and for the sake of their skipper and the Indian team itself – to deliver the goods rather than be seen to be using World Cup matches to fine-tune their skills.

As it heads into its contest with a familiar opposition, South Africa, we must also hope that the Indian batting unit will be able to give more authentic performances. The West Indies in the last league game and then the knockout await the team in the business end of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. It is time to show what we believe are the team’s true colours.

If it was Ireland in Bangalore on Sunday, it was the Netherlands that caused creased foreheads in the Indian camp at the Ferozshah Kotla here today. It was up to Yuvraj Singh (51 not out, balls, fours) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to share an unbeaten 52-run stand and steer India home with 13.3 overs to spare.

After a frenetic start in which Virender Sehwag (39, 26 balls, five fours, two sixes) and Sachin Tendulkar (27, 22 balls, six fours) scored at 9.2 runs an over, India lost its way. The openers gifted their wickets to left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar while Yusuf Pathan, promoted to No. 3 to give him some time in the middle, offered a return catch after a brief flourish.

With the medium-paced Peter Borren hitting an excellent length unlike his new ball bowlers, Gautam Gambhir (28), who survived a run out chance when he had made just three runs, and Virat Kohli (12) did not last long.

For all that, it will be the Indian bowling that merits more discussion. The attack, especially Harbajan Singh and Piyush Chawla, brought themselves under the scanner as the Netherlands set the home team a190-run target. Neither Harbhajan nor leg-spinner Chawla could claim to be proud of his overall effort, beaten by the sluggish track and determined batsmen.

To be sure, Harbhajan’s bowling will come in for more scrutiny, given his failure to claim wickets in successive matches against Ireland and the Netherlands. He seems to have found a comfort level with restrictive bowling but the team will need its most experienced bowler to find his aggression sooner than later.

To be fair to Chawla, there was one great moment when he got a googly to snake past Scwarczyski’s jabbing blade and hit the wicket. He also picked up a second wicket in his final spell but had to sheepishly hide his face behind an arm when Alexei Kervezee managed to pull a rank long hop powerfully but straight to Harbhajan Singh near the mid-wicket boundary.

Zaheer Khan finished with the best figures for India with three for 20 while Nehra appeared to find his rhythm in bowling a full length. The fifth bowler’s combination of Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan played their part adequately enough, leaving the Indian thinktank to scratch its collective head in search of an answer to the specialist spin bowling conundrum facing it.

Though Mahendra Singh Dhoni said at the toss that Chawla was preferred to Ashwin because he needed more practice, it is a good wager that the leg-spinner played this game only because Munaf Patel reported unwell and because there was an overwhelming desire within the team an the team management to avoid a sameness to the attack.

As he walked into the dressing room for the supper break, Chawla said the two sixes hit by Peter Borren off his last two deliveries spoilt his figures. It was an indication of the defensive thinking that India’s key spinners have embraced. In fact, Yuvraj Singh appeared to have more confidence in his left-arm spin, varying his pace and trajectory unlike the specialists.

Ostensibly, the two teams had different agendas: India wanted an easy win while the Netherlands simply wanted to put India on the backfoot. In the end, the Dutch managed their objective as India huffed and puffed to take little more than the two points from the win. As it heads towards its final league games against South Africa and the West Indies, India left itself with work to do.

This  audio podcast comes courtesy ICC.

The ill-advised have been saying that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is on trial and the team’s performance here will determine his future as helmsman. Of course, he did not seem to be his usual self in the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies but that should not take away from the fact that he has been one of the most remarkable Indian captains.

For all that, the selectors must give the skipper the squad that he deserves. While the wise men may empower him with the best XI nearly always, I am not sure they spend any time thinking about the kind of reserves who should be making up the rest of the squad. For when you speak of balance, it is not just about finding the right combination in the playing XI but also in the kind of reserves available.

We will get a good idea when we look at what happened in Zimbabwe where India had to play Naman Ojha as an opening batsman in its final game of the triseries because Murali Vijay was so out of depth in the earlier games. Now, Naman Ojha was chosen more as second wicket-keeper than a reserve specialist opener. The team management had to perforce include him in the XI because it has no option once it decided to leave Vijay to warm the benches.

I am hoping that India does not face a similar situation in the Asia Cup. If you are wondering why, you just have to look at the 11 that India is likely to field in the first game: Sehwag, Gambhir, Kohli, Rohit, Raina, Dhoni, Jadeja, Harbhajan, Praveen, Zaheer and Nehra. The four who may sit out are Tiwary, Dinda, Ojha and Ashwin.

Does it make sense to have just one specialist batsman and three bowlers, including two spinners, among the reserves? Tamil Nadu off-spinner R Ashwin did play well on debut in India’s last match in the Zimbabwe triseries but the selectors did not really need include him in the squad for Sri Lanka. It is not as if he is going to push Harbhajan Singh for a place in the XI.

So, instead of arming the captain with better options, the selectors may have only hamstrung him a fair bit.

There is one more thought that the recent selections have sparked in my mind: It is time to stop pretending that IPL should be seen as a stepping stone to the Indian one-day international team. A series of lusty blows or a few good overs in IPL games should not be misconstrued as ability to do well in the longer version of the game as well.  Even if cricket is simply a contest between bat and ball, each format calls upon different temperaments and that is something that the selectors must keep in mind when picking Indian teams.

You will hear a cacophony if the team does not live up to expectations – and as a nation, even if we do not usually excel in everything we do, we expect the cricketers to deliver only victories and not fall short. And at that time, with the whole focus on Dhoni and not the selectors, everyone will display a herd mentality and bay for blood. The good thing is: This time around, the cacophony will be drowned by the magical notes flowing from the football carnival in the rainbow nation.

Two close contests in the T20 format and two successive defeats for Team India at the start of its tour of New Zealand. Yet, unlike many others, I don’t believe the team’s morale will have taken a body blow as it heads into the five match one-day international series against the Black Caps.

Of course, India’s strokeplayers – up against a steady and resilient bowling attack, led by the crafty Daniel Vettori – let the team down in both games. If they learnt any lessons from the seven-wicket loss in Christchurch, it was not in great evidence in Wellington on Friday.

Then again, there are positives that the team can take into the one-day series. The most important thing is that Team India has had a good look at the Black Caps – something that had not happened since September 2005 when the sides played the final of a trination event in Harare. The ICC World T20 in 2007 clash was the only meeting since then.

Virender Sehwag got off to flying starts in both games while Suresh Raina, in the first game, and Yuvraj Singh on Friday picked up half-centuries that will instill confidence in the ranks. Admittedly, the batsmen will have to do a great deal better in the five ODIs if they are to sustain the development of Team India as a competitive unit.

India’s experienced bowlers, paceman Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh how found a rhythm that augurs well for the side but yes, there is work to be done as far Zaheer’s bowling partners are concerned. Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan came up a bit short of expectations in the T20s and will have to adapt sooner than later.

There has been a marked reluctance to use Virender Sehwag as a support off-spinner to Harbhajan Singh. I believed that he would have bowled as well as Harbhajan Singh and the rookie left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. I wonder why Dhoni has kept Sehwag’s bowling under the wraps.

Here’s how the team stacked up in the two T20 games.

Gautam Gambhir: His twin failures should help him learn to wait to assess bounce and movement before playing his strokes. There is no doubt that he has it in him to succeed in the ODIs.

Virender Sehwag: Will need to stretch his good starts into long innings and not gift his wicket away. It is clear that the Black Caps are bowling to a plan, feeding off his strengths.

Suresh Raina: After playing a mature hand in the opening game when he made an unbeaten half-century, the left-hander made things difficult for his team by throwing his wicket in the second match. Will have to be consistent in his approach and performance.

Yuvraj Singh: Has appeared to win a battle with New Zealand captain and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori when he struck him for two sixes in Wellington after being dismissed second ball in the first match. Can be a big factor in the ODIs.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Has yet to find his timing with the bat, though he made an unbeaten 28 in Wellington. As someone who has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to the situation, he was unable to provide the thrust in the second game.

Rohit Sharma: Will have only himself to blame for losing his place in the XI for the second game after playing an ambitious stroke in Christchurch

Ravindra Jadeja: Did his bit with the bat in the second game when he replaced Rohit Sharma in the XI and was more than a handy left-arm spin bowler as he helped Harbhajan Singh bring India back into the game. Sadly for him, he will return home.

Yusuf Pathan: Despite being foxed by Daniel Vettori in the second T20 contest, he will remain an important finisher in the ODIs but he will have to find the balance between unbridled attack and defence

Irfan Pathan: His inability to generate noticeable swing with the new ball in the second T20 game will be a matter of concern, even if he claimed two wickets off successive balls to infuse life into India’s campaign and make the match exciting.

Harbhajan Singh: Few will believe that the off-spinner is coming off an injury that kept him out of the one-day series in Sri Lanka. He has shown mastery over his craft, tying the Black Caps’ batsmen down in both games. And can be a huge factor in the ODIs.

Zaheer Khan: Has shown that he is an eager and thinking leader of the bowling back and a willingness to give up the honour of bowling the first over to Irfan Pathan in a bit to ensure that the fellow left-arm swing bowler could find his rhthym.

Ishant Sharma: Had a memorable start, picking up Jesse Ryder’s wicket with his first delivery in New Zealand but has done little justice to his talent after his appeal for leg before wicket off the next ball – against Martin Guptill – was turned down in Christchurch. He will have to hit the right length to be effective in New Zealand.

He was instantly recognised and, of course, the newlyweds wanted to have a photograph taken with him. Kumble agreed gamely. We won’t know but years from now, the couple might point him out in the photo and tell their kids, “That’s Kumble, he beat the invincible Aussies at the WACA, where no team had won in almost a decade.”Kumble can surely claim a fair share of the glory. The triumph was a tribute to his indomitable spirit; the historic win made many (some still grudgingly) attribute leadership qualities to a man often respected only for his dour resolve. It’s possible the Indians could lose the Adelaide Test. But even as this report is being written, on the first day of the Test, it can be declared: Kumble is just the man the Indian team needed at the helm. The unassuming Bangalorean has reinvented himself—and with it remapped the heights this India XI can scale.

But the unwavering attention can also be a bit of a bother, for it leaves little time for other pursuits. For instance, Kumble rues the fact that on this tour he’s had little time to wield the camera. “You know, the sunset over the Swan river in Perth can be majestic,” he smiles. “I wish I had the time to capture it on film.” But then, as they say, the best images are those preserved in memory. And there will be plenty for Kumble to pick from the current Oz tour once he hangs up his boots.

And to think this man was nearly relegated to the ranks of those “possible captains” (M.L. Jaisimha was a prime example), recognised as capable leaders but who never got to lead the Indian team. Indeed, Kumble’s captaincy was decreed more by chance than design. First, Rahul Dravid quit the post, saying that an Indian skipper has only so much shelf life. Then Sachin Tendulkar indicated he did not want a job he had renounced in 2000. There was also M.S. Dhoni—India’s ODI captain—but the selectors deemed the charismatic posterboy too callow to take charge of a team comprising three ex-skippers.

The selectors were in a quandary—only to be delighted when Kumble put his hand up out of the blue. “Three days before I was named captain, I had no idea about it. I was just answering a reporter’s query on whether I’d be available to lead the Test squad in the Pakistan series,” he recalls modestly. The man of the moment was popularly perceived then as a stopgap captain, a bridge between two generations before the baton was to be passed on to men like Dhoni.

But the efficacy of his stalking flippers and his astuteness as skipper means he could well be retained at the helm till 2008-end. Kumble became the first captain in nearly three decades to notch a series victory over Pakistan at home. Then came the tour Down Under. The first Test was lost, ditto the second game in Sydney, all the more worse for bad blood spilt on and off the field and acrimony in the national presses. Even the tour seemed in jeopardy.

Less stoic individuals would have caved in. But the man they call the Silent Assassin rallied the team behind a beleaguered Harbhajan. Kumble impressed with his grace and dignity in Sydney. There wasn’t the clatter of rancour towards the opposition, but a calm firmness that rang out loud all over Australia. “There was only one team that played cricket in the true spirit,” he said, referring to the final day when in its desperation to win a record-equalling 16th Test, Australia claimed catches that were neither nicked nor taken cleanly. He further said the gentlemen’s agreement with Ponting would be reviewed. Kumble had his way, decisions on debatable close-in catches would now be the umpires’ call rather than accepting the fielder’s word.

Diplomacy of even the cricketing kind demands a deft sense of timing. So, after his team had made its point, Kumble demonstrated his statesmanship by stepping back and letting the BCCI fight the race battle. He confined himself to inspiring the team to focus on cricket, helping craft a stunning victory in Perth.

Communication is Kumble’s key. His understudy Dhoni offered an insight: “What he has stressed is that there should be lots of communication between us. If somebody hasn’t been picked for the side, you have to go there and convey it to him. There shouldn’t be any gap between the player and the captain. He has been very clear about what he expects from the players.” It is this clear expression of expectation that has endeared Kumble the captain to his players, the more bolstered for being India’s greatest match-winning bowler.

Not only has he allayed worries about his being a bowling captain (who tend to over- or under-bowl themselves), he has harnessed to his leadership the same clarity of thought and studied instinct honed over years in the bowling business. Thus his decision to bring Sourav Ganguly on against Pakistan in Delhi and Sehwag in the Perth Test. About the last, he said, “I wanted two spinners and Viru’s off-spin was a better option than Sachin’s leg-spin. There was a left-hander (Gilchrist) at the crease and Viru was a natural choice.” Sehwag promptly bagged the wickets of the dangerous Gilchrist and Brett Lee.

The top job in Indian cricket involves unrelenting pressure and stress. It has undone many. Not Kumble, though. He didn’t allow Sydney nor the selection of the ODI team to become distractions, dismissing suggestions that Ganguly’s exclusion from the ODI squad could spell trouble for his squad in the Adelaide Test. “There are no distractions. I see them as challenges. I am sure there are people in the team who are disappointed for not being picked. But they have played enough cricket to understand that the Adelaide match is crucial, not just for them but for Indian cricket. I have explained the situation and they are professional enough to give their best. I expect nothing else from them.”

A couple of years ago, Kumble joined the likes of world billiards champ Geet Sethi and ex-cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar in talking to corporate honchos at a workshop in Delhi. He spoke about resilience, and its critical role in life. When he retires, Jumbo can also talk about how to lead, or, as Australians would say, “to be as game as Ned Kelly”.