hidden image

Batting for God!

Robert Clements Robert Clements
03 Nov 2025

Was watching the interview of Jemima Rodrigues, who, with an unbeaten 127 runs against the mighty Australians, steered the Indian women's cricket team into the World Cup final. There she stood, tears coursing down her tired face, and instead of boasting about her shots or her timing, she kept repeating that all glory belonged to God. She even quoted scripture as she spoke.

It was refreshing.

In a world where success often leads to arrogance, here was a young woman who remembered who really swung the bat. Yes, she was the one at the crease, but she knew there was another Power guiding her timing, steadying her nerves, and placing her shots.

When asked about her preparation, she spoke of faith, of prayer, and of being still and keeping calm because she believed God was in control.

What a lesson for all our achievers, politicians, and corporate captains!

Imagine if our leaders, after a successful election or project, were to say, "I thank God for His grace," instead of, "It was my strategy, my brilliance, my vision." Humility disarms pride, and gratitude opens the door to greater achievements. But arrogance? That slams it shut.

Humility is not weakness. It is strength under control. It is knowing that even though you have talent, the spark that lights it came from above.

Many a mighty leader has fallen not because of an opponent, but because of his own swollen head.

The moment you start thinking you are god, as our leaders think they are, your countdown begins.

Just look around. Our cities are filled with the faces of men and women who think they are the ones who built the nation. Their pictures glare at us from billboards, brochures, and banners, as if their smile can solve every pothole problem.

If only they realised that beauty and fame fade faster than print on those posters. What remains is character, and that character grows only when we recognise who the true Giver is.

Jemima showed us what it means to be grounded while being lifted high. She taught us that you can hit a century and still bend your knee. That it is possible to be confident without being conceited. Her joy was not the joy of achievement alone, but the joy of being used by God for something bigger than herself.

So, next time you clap for a hero or a leader, listen to what they say after the applause. If all you hear is "I did it," then wait. The fall will come. But if you hear, "He helped me," then you know that person will keep rising.

Kudos to a young cricketer who batted for God. May more of us learn to play our innings the same way: with courage, with grace, and with gratitude. Because when you play for Him, you never get out ...

Recent Posts

The battle over cattle is no longer merely about faith or food. It is about whether farmers can survive, whether livestock retains economic value and whether symbolism can coexist with the hard realit
apicture A. J. Philip
08 Jun 2026
The real national emergency is not religion or identity but the betrayal of India's youth. While governments chase votes through division and spectacle, millions of young Indians confront unemployment
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
08 Jun 2026
At the Red Fort, Amit Shah transformed a so-called cultural gathering into a declaration of intent: tribal identity belongs within the Hindu fold. For two crore Adivasi Christians, the rally signalled
apicture John Dayal
08 Jun 2026
The controversy surrounding ILBS goes beyond one tragic death. It raises concerns about the VIP culture, commercialisation, unequal access and institutional accountability in a public healthcare syste
apicture Joseph Maliakan
08 Jun 2026
The 1851 novel by one of the best English novelists of all time, Charles Dickens, levelling a poignant critique of industrialisation and utilitarianism in England, attempted to present the dehumanisin
apicture Julian S Das
08 Jun 2026
The sun rises But does not touch us first. Roosters in the non-Dalit yards Crow before we are allowed To open our doors.
apicture Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla
08 Jun 2026
Marco Rubio had a tough time in India trying to respond to questions about Donald Trump's "hellholes" remark regarding India and China. Did Rubio describe the statement as "stupid," or was he referrin
apicture Thomas Menamparampil
08 Jun 2026
The white-bearded village chief and his bald-headed deputy stood at the edge of the village where nobody would overhear them. They had chosen the spot carefully because of Pegasus, the invisible flyin
apicture Robert Clements
08 Jun 2026
It is not surprising that India has been lukewarm to Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical on Artificial Intelligence. The Pope has warned that Artificial Intelligence threatens to normalise an "anti-human vision
apicture John Dayal
01 Jun 2026
What began as a "special revision" of electoral rolls has evolved into something far more unsettling: a test of who truly belongs in the Republic. By upholding the Election Commission's powers while o
apicture A. J. Philip
01 Jun 2026