Just think of it as a stupid ball and hit it where you want, says mind coach Ian Faria
The scoreboard read 191-3. India needed just 38 runs off 44 balls to lift the World Cup for the very first time. The finish line was in touching distance of Mithali Raj’s troops. However, it was just not meant to be.
As I watched in disbelief, the way in which India crumbled at the final hurdle, along with a billion others, I was left speechless, and numb.
It was the second time in two months I had to endure such heartbreak. But this loss was far worse than the thrashing at the hands of Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Of course, I applauded the Indian women for the grit, determination, and integrity with which they played throughout the tournament, but to lose in such a manner was quite unbearable.
I demanded answers. How could we have lost after performing so well and reaching so close?
After a couple of days of trying to figure out where it all went wrong and why the Indian women succumbed under pressure, I spoke to mind coach Ian Faria.
Ian Faria, a highly qualified trainer, leadership coach, and mind coach revealed the reason as to why the Indian cricket team, both men and women lost their respective finals in two months.
“They were in their reptilian brain and were not functioning at their peak. They were not using muscle memory and were trying the flight/fight/freeze mode in which case one is not thinking but actually just surviving and wanting to escape or kill. The killing wasn’t happening, so they went out and lost it,” said Ian in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda.
Confused? Well, so was I.
Ian went on to explain in detail as to how the brain functions in such high-pressure situations and what must be done in order to ensure one doesn’t succumb to pressure.
“The Reptilian Brain is the lowest brain and the oldest and most primitive brain. If we are under any stress or pressure or anything of the sort, we go into what we call the fight, flight, fright, freeze mode,” Ian explained.
Remember Hardik Pandya’s innings in the final of the Champions Trophy? Of course you do. The manner in which he decimated each and every Pakistani bowler when India were down and out was a sight to behold. He was single handedly taking the game away from Pakistan. However, he was in what is called the “fight mode”
Also Read: Hardik Pandya - The man who gave a billion people hope after all was lost
“Fight mode is when they hit out and smash a lot of sixes, but they are not at their best. That is because they are not at their peak. They are in a little bit of a frenzy and not their sharpest”
Just when we began to get our hopes up again about India defeating Pakistan, Pandya was dismissed in perhaps the most infuriating manner. Ravindra Jadeja, who was on strike, had a “brain fade” and was the reason for Pandya’s run-out at such a crucial juncture in the match. It seems like he was in the “fright mode” with the situation getting the better of him.
A similar situation was seen in the Women’s World Cup final as well when Shikha Pandey was run-out with just over 10 runs left to win.
“Fright mode is when they can’t do much. What happens here is you see cricketers blocking the ball a lot, getting stuck at the crease, not able to run, or get the other batsman run out.”
Now, back to the Women’s World Cup final. Why did the collapse occur? Beginning from Veda Krishnamurthy’s wicket, why did seven Indian batters lose their wicket in such quick succession?
“Flight mode is when we want to run away so we either hit out or get out and we see a lot of wickets falling in a silly manner at that time. Players get caught at the boundary or they get stumped. They get overdone with the fear of the situation and get out easily.”
Going back to India's Champions Trophy campaign, it was not all rosy for the Men in Blue in the dressing room. With the Anil Kumble - Virat Kohli saga rocking the cricketing world, Ian felt that another reason for India's poor performance in the final was due to the atmosphere in the dressing room.
Faria revealed that a poor performance on the field is not only because of what occurs on the field, but it has a lot to do with what happens behind the scenes. A bad dressing room atmosphere will never yield good results.
What a cricketer must do to be successful
The Indian cricket team are unstoppable on home soil. Out of the 13 Tests played over the past one year, Virat Kohli’s men lost only one against Australia. The opposition were finding it extremely hard to break down the Indian side and were crumbling.
So, what made India so hard to beat at home?
“What cricketers must be doing is getting to their pre-frontal cortex which is their smartest and more aware brain. That is the most developed brain, which is also known as the primate or monkey brain. In that mode, it is linked to what is called the basal ganglia – collection of brain cells – which is what creates a habit, which is muscle memory,” Faria said.
Home conditions had become a habit for the Indian cricket team and been imbibed into their muscle memory, which is what probably made them so successful.
Collecting muscle memory in cricket, or in any sport for that matter, becomes extremely important in order to be successful at what you are doing.
A batsman is able to play a ball coming at him at, say, 150 km/h out of habit, and because of the muscle memory he has collected. If he goes back to the fight/ flight/ freeze mode, that is when he is not able to play such a fast paced delivery and he gets bowled.
If you throw a fast moving object at a cricketer, he will catch it and probably throw it back at you. But if you throw it at anyone else, they will duck because of their reflexes.
“A cricketer playing out of muscle memory is at his best because they are playing out of their subconscious, and he does not have to think because his muscles know what to do."
"If a bowler is bowling at 150 kmph, the ball would actually hit you in 0.5 seconds, so the brain comes into play only at 0.5 seconds plus, so by that time you would have been bowled. So, that’s the importance of collecting muscle memory,” explained Ian.
The success mantra
Ian has been in the space of mental coaching for a long time now and has transformed the careers of quite a few sportspersons.
One of these athletes is Karnataka's Kaunain Abbas. The 27-year-old was struggling with his form on the domestic circuit and seeking some inspiration to get him back on the right track.
Under Ian’s guidance and counselling, Abbas re-emerged as a transformed cricketer and has since been performing exceptionally well in the domestic circuit.
“Go there, have fun, play your game. Play one ball at a time, have fun, hit the ball where you want to hit it. Do not think about who the bowlers is, because if you do that, you will be under pressure. Just think of it as a stupid ball and hit it where you want it," Faria advised Abbas. That advice looks to have paid off.
Mental conditioning, mental fitness - and mental health for that matter, can do more harm than physical damage. Unfortunately, they are not taken as seriously as they should be, and a lot of sportspeople have suffered due to this.
There is an urgent need for a mental conditioning coach to be appointed to every team - whether it is cricket, football, tennis, or any other sport.