Cape Town Test: India’s mental game is strong but they need the skills to back it up too

In 2004, a group of people were asked to lift their finger a thousand times in their minds, with an instrument checking that they were not exerting any muscle force. At the end of the process, they could lift more with their fingers than those who had not done the mental exercise.

Seems astounding doesn’t it. But those who have played sport tend do this almost subconsciously. We know this as image training.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and almost all the other greats have done it. Virat Kohli and this Indian team does it as well. You talk about how the opposition is going to come at you and then you plan for it – first in the nets, then you do some shadow practice and finally you play them in the mind. Over and over again until you are absolutely sure of how you would handle anything they could throw at you.

Mental masterclass

The Indian team that will take on South Africa in the first Test at Cape Town from January 5 has been doling out a mental masterclass to all those who will listen. It has convinced some veteran cricket writers that “there is something different about this Indian team”.

In the past, some mighty Indian players have toured South Africa but in their minds they often bore the weight of past defeats: defeats that seemed to bog them down; defeats that seemed to plant doubts in their mind; defeats that were a permanent chink in their armour.

It wasn’t surprising. Almost everyone remembers negative things more strongly and in more detail than victories or triumphs. As a result, those units were rarely able to play their best cricket… for a consistent period… away from home.

And that is precisely why everyone thinks Virat Kohli has a chance.

He not only has the skills but he also brings a very strong mental game to the wicket. He believes in himself and his methods and so far, they have got him nothing but success. So much success that the rest of the Indian team has also taken a leaf out of the skipper’s book. This is a unit that believes is staying positive no matter what and when the going gets tough, this attitude really helps.

In coach Ravi Shastri, Kohli and Co have found a kindred soul. He likes to talk big and he likes to dream big. His talk has always been about wanting to win abroad and about becoming the best team ever — not just the best Indian team. In his own way, he has contributed to the change.

Just a few days back, India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar spoke about Shastri’s impact in an interview.

“It began under Ravi’s leadership. His influence on the batsmen’s mindsets has been very good. He has taken the fear of failure out of everybody. Players are willing to take risks, to come out of their comfort zone. Players are also taking responsibility, which is a great thing for a team which wants to leave a legacy behind.

“Our first aim, when we began in August 2014, was to restore the belief of the players in their ability and have a very relaxed, friendly atmosphere in the dressing room, and then work towards building a strong bond between us [support staff] and the players.”

Inner game approach

In psychologist speak, the mental technique employed by Shastri and Co is called the inner game approach. Sports psychology pioneer Robert Kriegel, who wrote Inner Skiing with Timothy Gallwey in 1982 gave deep insight about this method and its advantages.

“Whether a person is involved in a sport or in a business project,” Kriegel said, “improved performance comes from eliminating the fear of failure by recalling successes and remembering the feelings that accompanied them, then visualising a perfect performance and previewing victory.”

It sounds very much like the Indian team’s modus operandi. It is very logical and Kriegel has explained it further.

“For beginner and intermediate athletes, it’s a matter of gaining control of fundamental skills,” he said. “After a person masters the skills, then he can work on gaining confidence, but he needs to have the right performance information first.”

Essentially, it comes down to this. Even if you have a superb mental game, you still need to have the skills to back it up. India, for now, believe they have the skills to not only survive in South Africa but to win as well. However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

No matter what the Indian team thinks up, at the end of the day, they will be judged by the results they produce. Indeed, they will hope that between the skills they need to execute and their mental approach, a winning balance will be found and maintained.

That, however, is easier said than done. But it still means that either which way the moment of truth is upon us. Given how Newlands has been shaping up, it may not take long for the answer to be revealed.