Australia is a big team in world cricket. It has got the status of champion. It has achieved this status on the basis of its strong performance. Cricket fans around the world have seen the strength of this team in all three formats of Test, ODI and T20 from time to time. But now the times have changed.

Now the performance of this team does not have that strength. Now the thinking of this team is also not the same as it used to be earlier. It can also be said that now many other small and big teams of the world enter the field with the sole intention of winning.

We are not saying this just on the basis that the Australian team has been eliminated from the T20 World Cup. We are saying this on the basis that if the Afghanistan team shakes Australia twice within 6-7 months, then there is something seriously wrong somewhere. Now the Australian team also makes mistakes not just occasionally but often.

Now the Australian team also relies on the performance of other teams instead of its own performance. Now the 'X factor' that used to be with the Australian team is no longer there.

Australia was also stuck in World Cup 2023

It should not be forgotten that Afghanistan's team almost defeated Australia in the 2023 World Cup. It was some 'charismatic power' that Glenn Maxwell had that day that he scored a double century despite being unfit. Otherwise, the misfortune that happened to Australia on 23 June 2024 could have happened on 7 November 2023. When Australia lost 7 wickets for just 91 runs while chasing a target of 292 runs against Afghanistan.

At that time it seemed that it was a bad day for Australia. But within 6-7 months, bad days came again and this time that bad day did not bring victory by relying on luck but brought defeat. Defeat by 21 runs against Afghanistan.

India also defeated Australia

Just a few hours after the defeat against Afghanistan on June 23, India gave the same fate to the Kangaroos. India defeated Australia by 24 runs. There are very few occasions when Australia has to face such continuous defeats. The big thing is that in both the matches, the opponents defeated the Australian team in a very convincing manner.

In the T20 format, a defeat of 21 runs against Afghanistan and 24 runs against India is called convincing.

Now let's go back to the 2023 World Cup. India and Australia were competing in the final. The Indian team's batting did not work. The Indian team was able to score only 240 runs. The Australian team also faltered while chasing the target of 241 runs. They lost three wickets for 47 runs. David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith were out. But then Travis Head settled down.

Travis Head played a big innings of 137 runs. Australia won the final on the basis of the performance of the sole Travis Head.

Now talk about 24th June. Australia had a target of 206 runs. Once again Travis Head took charge of one front. As long as Travis Head was on the crease, the Indian camp was not at peace. Everyone knew how a batsman can turn the tables in the 20 over format. But this time Travis Head could not 'finish' the match. When Travis Head was out, Australia needed more than 50 runs in 21 balls to win. After this, the other batsmen did not take long to surrender.

This is a lesson for every team in the world

The thing is very clear- be it any sport or any team in the world. The rules of the game are very simple. To perform well in a team game, the whole team has to work hard. The whole team has to show strength. To get used to winning, the whole team has to stand shoulder to shoulder. You can win one or two matches on the basis of 'individual brilliance' or the ability of a single player but not the entire tournament.

In any tournament or series, there is a Player of the Tournament or Player of the Series, but a Man of the Match is also required. Travis Head cannot perform every time, God cannot bless Glen Maxwell every time, the Kangaroos cannot have good luck every time. Or you can say it this way that the opposing team cannot have bad luck every time.

Take the example of IPL 2024- Sunrisers Hyderabad team, which scored record-breaking scores like 277, 287 in a 20-over match, did not win the title. Royal Challengers Bangalore, which played the playoffs relying on net run rate in the last match, also did not win the title. Rajasthan Royals, who won continuously in the beginning, also did not get the trophy. The trophy was won by the team that performed well from the first match to the last match i.e. Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR's team had amazing 'consistency' throughout the tournament. This is a warning bell for Australia. You can win some big tournaments without showing 'consistency' but not every time.

Abraham Lincoln has a very famous quote - You can fool some people all the time. You can fool all the people some of the time. But you cannot fool all the people all the time. Apply the same thing to winning tournaments with luck. You can win against some teams with luck. You can win some big tournaments with luck. But you cannot win all the tournaments with luck.