Editorial - The Island
In Mumbai on Saturday, we saw good cricket. The World Cup final 2011 ended with India emerging victorious and Sri Lanka becoming runners-up. However, the overall winner, in our opinion, was cricket. Sri Lankan cricket lovers who wanted the much coveted cup brought home like in 1996 were disappointed but consolation came in the form of a good fight put up by Sanga and his boys, who, as Ravi Shastri said at Saturday's award ceremony, gave the Indians a run for their money.
In discussing what sports really aim at, one has to go beyond the objectives encapsulated in the classical Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius or Higher, Faster and Stronger. Sports also train a person in team work and psychologically condition him or her to take victory and defeat with equanimity. The greatness of a sportsperson should be judged not by the way he or she achieves victory but by the manner in which he or she concedes defeat following a gruelling contest. On Saturday, Sri Lankan Skipper Kumar Sangakkara proved to the world yet another time his as well as his team mates' sportsmanship. He graciously accepted defeat and earned the respect and admiration of millions of cricket fans the world over.
With the benefit of hindsight, one may now see the lapses on the part of the Sri Lankan team, which led to its defeat, and wonder why on earth Sanga and his players could not avoid them to beat India. True, there were some instances of bad fielding and erroneous judgment. But, to be out there in the field making decisions and doing things on the spur of the moment is a completely different ball game. It is easy to be wise after the event! What needs to be done now is for Sri Lanka to learn from their mistakes and prepare themselves for future matches.
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