There’s only one problem with Test Match cricket which is that the world is getting faster. Can we watch for 5 days ? Can we watch the little nuances in there that might come half an hour after lunch on the third day ? Or has the world moved on and we watch the highlights ? 

How many of us watch the highlights ? There’s only one problem watching the highlights. Matches are won by what doesn’t happen in the highlights. The highlights show the glamorous shots. The highlights show all the big things that happen but matches are won by people doing the small things more often. You never see the small things in the highlights. 

The highlights are great to watch because skill is wonderful to see. A Kohli cover drive ! Do you ever feel tired of seeing a Kohli cover drive or a Tendulkar’s backfoot push or a Laxman shot ? They said about Azhar and Laxman. Both boys of this city. That bowling to them was like throwing a ball in the revolving door. You never knew which way it’s gonna come out the same ball. You can see that as often as you want. And yet the reason they’re able to play those shots is because their defense was so solid that they blocked the ball that was to get them out that never makes the highlights. 

So when you watch the highlights, enjoy the highlights. But just remember, you don’t win matches of what you see in the highlights.

An excerpt from Harsha Bhogle's talk at Manthan Hyderabad. About matches being won by what you don't see in the highlights