Hitting a six of the 2nd ball of the penultimate over of the World cup finals was how Dhoni steered the Men in Blue to Victory. And what a victory it was! We Won the World Cup!..... that was how each and everyone of us across the country greeted each other. People roared with approval, ecstasy, relief and sheer joy! What a night it was.
At the beginning it looked like things have gone wrong. The Lankans won the toss and elected to Bat. Then I heard Sreesanth was picked as a part of the team, replacing the injured Nehra. My heart sank. I wondered, did my favourite captain make a drastic mistake?. Why not Ashwin?... asked my friends (and so did the whole nation). Even Pathan would have been a better choice my heart said. But then hearing Sourav Ganguly backing up Dhoni, I consoled myself. Maybe Dhoni was right to have a third seamer. When Zaheer bowled a great first spell my heart lifted.... and then Sree screwed it up. It looked as if Dhoni realised his mistake. He strategically split the spells of Sree between the fall of wickets and ultimately called on Sachin and Virat to fill in the shortfall (leading to one of my friends joking that Raina and sehwag would come in after that). Mahela proved to be the class of player that he is known for, played a wonderful innings for the Lankans. It was an ominous sign, a century by a player in the world cup finals has never been in the losing side, the team batting first has won 60% of the time, Lankans scored better on a head to head over India, it was Muthiah Murlitharan's last World cup and the Lankans made a strong score of 275 hitting even Zahir in the last few overs.
I believed that GOD (Sachin) will be our saviour and that both he and Sehwag would give us a good start. My heart sank when Sehwag was out second ball to the fearful Malinga. Sachin looked confident and I again I believed that he would win it for us. And then the dreadful happened. He made his usual mistake of playing an away delivery, and the ball taking an outside edge was lapped away eagerly by the Lankan captain. The Lankans almost did a victory lap led by Malinga. I gave up and even walked away from the TV at home. Not for long fortunately. I wanted our team to fight it out. It was not the loss, my heart argued. It is how we fight that is important. So back I was, willing the team to play its best. I am sure every Indian prayed yesterday night. Gambhir's strokes and Virat's confidence, raised my hopes. When Virat left and Dhoni come in instead of Yuvi, strangely, I was relieved. I had a feeling that Dhoni was determined to make amends and he can play a captain's knock. And then, I argued to myself, even if he fails, atleast Yuvi would know that it rests on its shoulders. The way Yuvi has shouldered his responsibility, I felt he will not let us down. We still had Raina after that.
And what a match it turned out to be. Dhoni proved to be a phenomenal leader, his ability to soak in the pressure, maintain composure and stay till the very end, proved his mettle as India's best captain ever.
We won the Cup! I was proud of the team when Yuvi announced that they did for Sachin. Yes, the Great Master deserved this. He has been consistent over the last 21 years. But what made me feel proud was that this team did it on the shoulders of Gautam, Virat, Raina, Zaheer , Yuvi and Dhoni all of whom contributed at critical junctures. The shoulders of Raina and Virat as they picked up Sachin are the ones on whom the nation would expect that the team's prestige carries on. If I had carried a doubt asking the question, after Sachin, who next, the team proved me wrong. We have many talents. With India winning the world cup, the frenzy and interest in the game would increase. The pressure would increase multifold but so would talents. Let us hope cricket does not go the hockey way and we retain this magic in the years to come.
The feeling of happiness is great. What more could one ask for. If strangers can hug themselves after this and have a mutual feeling of love, one realises the importance of sports and arts in maintaining peace within and between nations. We need more champions across all fields. With Team India fulfilling the dream of the nation, one starts believing in one's hopes again. Maybe we will yet see a non corrupt political party leading the country. Dream on. Congratulations Team India and MSD.
The Final Countdown
The world cup cricket final is just a few minutes away. There is a deep sense of unity amongst all as India as a nation almost wills its team to win the World cup. I remember the time when we won the World Cup 1983, it was unbelievable. We did not think our boys had the capability to win. It was considered a fluke to even have reached the finals. But the euphoria that set in after we won was incredible. Since then the expectations on the team has been high. In today's time, the money, fame and pressure is compounded multiple fold. Inspite of the same, we expect our team to win. I am one amongst the many who not only wishes that the team win, but also that Sachin hits his 100th ton. HE alone has been a source of joy for us and I think winning the world cup would be a fitting tribute to this Great Master. All the best Team INDIA, You have the backing of the country as a whole. You can and shall win the World Cup. Cheers
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