Alright I’m still getting closer to believing that India has won the Cricket World Cup 2011. We won it on 2nd April 2011 and I am only still writing about it today. The feeling is taking sometime to sink in.
However, the one thing that I am sure of is I’m going to be able to tell my kids, and very proudly (mind you) that their Papa was in the stadium where India recorded a victory and became World Champions after 28 years; where a thoroughly deserving Sachin Tendulkar with 22 years of solid Cricket behind him was carried on his teammates’ shoulders right in front and most players acknowledged that they wanted to win the Cup for him; where a bold Captain MS Dhoni, not eschewed by his lack of runs in his recent run, was gutsy enough to come early on when needed perhaps against all odds, played an innings of his life and hit one of the massive sixes to announce the Win, a Captain’s innings truly; where Gautam Gambhir who scores consistently but never seems to be around on the pitch, plays another of his match-winning knocks, one of the finest Indian players in all formats of the game truly; where a non-Indian coach Gary Kirsten, a South African, was given as much respect as the greatest player on earth deserved and who was carried on World Cup winning team’s shoulders deserving every bit of the respect; where a playerYuvraj Singh who is one of the most stylish looking left handed batsmen, just sometime before the World Cup was about to quit Cricket, ‘roared’ in the middle of the pitch when the winning runs were hit and he became the Man of the Tournament, a supremely deserving reward for him; where a boy called Virat Kohli, supposedly the future Indian Captain in my books, stays at the pitch when required, against all odds in a World Cup final match.
Yes. My kids are going to have to listen to me, for not once but time and again.
I would also add that each Indian player cried, some like babies, like the way you’ll do. They didn’t know what and how it happened, but supposedly only knew that they deserved that win and had won. We (Indians) however did believe that India deserved that win, each one of us at the stadium with millions watching on TV and some estimated billion Indian fans, always did.
In the first half of the match, Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene scored one of the finest centuries under pressure. Zaheer Khan who led the Indian bowling attack right through the Cup, started his bowling with three maiden overs. Harbhajan Singh did well andPaaji also bowled a couple of overs. Whether batting or bowling, whatever Sachin does, India stops paying attention to anything else. That’s the aura of the legend. India fielded brilliantly especially Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, and nearly all were diving and were doing anything that they could, to ensure India did it’s best. Virendra Sehwag took one of the excellent catches for India’s first wicket.
While I finish my chapter on the grand final that I watched, where I cheered, jumped, sang, shared Hi5s in and outside the stadium with probably 500 unknown people, hugged many unknown Indians who came my way, I’d want to add on to my experience of the India vs Australia match, which I saw at the stadium. And the next match against Pakistan, which I watched with my friends. All experiences were scintillating where the result was what dad always wanted to hear – “India win”. We did wait very long…..
I thank the Indian Cricket Team for bringing this kind of pleasure. A special thanks to MS Dhoni under whose captaincy, India has won everything there could ever be. Whether he has the ‘midas touch’ or he performs or anything that I don’t care about, he commands respect and he has delivered. As an Indian, in Cricket, I am proud to say that we have started to believe that “We Can Win”. We have won…..
And lastly, since 1992 since when I believe I was glued to Cricket, thanks to Sachin Tendulkar, whose innings I would have never missed since then – whether having watched the complete match or his innings only, or the highlights (and seriously I do mean, I haven’t missed any of the legend’s batting by far that I can recollect), all of us wanted that this World Cup was his. Thanks for bringing 20 odd years of pleasurable Cricket, especially some classy batting for us.
And for all I hear my kids, while everyone in the family was watching the match, with everyone you’ll were shouting: “shot”, “six”, “four”. It didn’t matter whether you’ll understood it, but the delight by itself was fulfilling. Well, that’s what everyone in our family says….. ask anyone, you’ll thoroughly enjoyed the matches that your father saw – the Cup that we won…..
There’s much more to say, but some other time.
