There are some days on which history is made. They create an impact
enough to grip the World by storm. To name, just a few, the day the
first person went into space, the day a country won its independence,
the day nuclear weapons were tested or a day when a tsunami disturbed a
nation. People talk about such days for years, if not for decades.
April 2 2011 was one such day. Especially for Indian cricket. Talking about that, let me rewind a bit here.
In the summer of 2001, the Australian Cricket team toured India for a three test match series. An Australian team clearly at the height of it playing prowess, having just won the Cricket World Cup in 1999 in England. India was on home soil. Still was going to be tough.
Me and my childhood friend Akash, like any normal school going child in India have grown up playing this game.And this game only. Being then in 6th grade, that is in 2001, we just watched any match just for the match, not too familiar with the technical aspects. We used to play on cement pitches, without leg sides and plastic chair for wickets taken from a security guard which was his sole means of relaxation. And include connection run-outs.
India lost the first test comprehensively despite then also national hero Sachin Tendulkar’s best efforts. We both were beyond disappointed.
Come the second test in Calcutta, or Kolkata (now). Australia batting first, put up a huge total which put immense pressure on the famed Indian batting line up. India collapsed for a low score and Australia’s then captain Steve Waugh rightly enforced the follow on. Whether this was right for India or Australia was not yet known, but both of us were terribly upset. We had no expectations at all.
And suddenly, out of the blue, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S Laxman were playing fluently. Their full range of class,style and grace was on display. That was expected. What no one expected was the history that was created.Dravid hit a superb 150. Laxman recorded a highest ever score by an Indian against Australia ever. A stunning 281.India went past the Aussie total and then further set a superb lead. Ganguly’s decision of declaring late paid off to salvage a draw. India went one step further however, to secure a victory thanks to a hat trick by Harbhajan Singh.From 1 test down, India went on to win the series with another brilliant win in the third test at Chennai.
History had been created. Faith was established. And Indian cricket had been resurrected from the torrid times it had gone through including all the ball tampering and match fixing controversies. Many people, we both included, agreed that this was the glorious period for India,where India would begin its dominance again.
Come 2 years later, the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup held in South Africa,Zimbabwe and Kenya. We had matured a little in cricketing terms, we were in 8th grade. We understood how the game works, more about the pitches and stuff. They used to project all of Team India’s matches on large screens in our colony’s club. Any match day, you would find us both there with unfailing regularity. Fueled by Pepsi, both the regular and the special World Cup edition blue Pepsi (which was a disaster), we cheered Team India on as they dominated the tournament losing only to Australia in the group stage. Every run,wicket,catch, going as far as bunking an Arts test in school next day to watch India play Kenya the previous night.
And then, the final..where India took on Australia. Ponting played a captains knock demolishing India,helped by some wayward Indian bowling. Tendulkar went early, and then apart from Sehwag and Dravid, no one could make an impact as Indian’s were bundled out and Aussies won their second successive World Cup final. But there was nothing to be ashamed of as India played like lions, including Sachin being named as Player of the Tournament.
8 years since, we are now older, and understand much more about cricket. We watched as India crashed out of the 2007 World Cup,watched as India became the number one test team in the world.We watched as Tendulkar became the first batsman in ODI’s to crack a double century..yes a double ton, no kidding!!.. and finally,
The moment we had been waiting 8 years for, we finally saw India win the ICC Cricket World Cup beating Sri Lanka in the final at Mumbai. Both of us, in different campuses a 1000 miles apart.. the moment Dhoni hit the final shot, memories of the cricketing past we had together rushed past. I would not be honest if I did not say that I missed him terribly at that moment. Finally, his dream, my dream, or rather our dream, or rather the dream of every Indian across the planet had been fulfilled.
And what a deserving win it was too. Chasing a record total in a World Cup final, with the expectations of a billion and more weighing on you is not easy at all, to say the very least. Total credit to Gambhir who played a gem of a knock, Virat Kohli who looked rock solid, and the captain himself, M.S Dhoni, who clicked when it mattered the most, promoting himself ahead of Yuvraj, and seeing India through till the end. And brilliant captaincy too while India was fielding.
And then, a moment to cherish for ages. Huge, priceless emotional moment as he rushed to greet Dhoni after the win, the smile of a schoolchild on his face, as his dream was finally realized .
Cricket is a religion in India and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the only God.
I broke down, as every true Indian cricket fan would have done, seeing him savour the one thing that had eluded him- A World Cup victory.
Memories of his innings came rushing past, and I am sure Akash would also have broken down. The greatest gentleman the game of gentlemen has ever seen, he gave the world a moment to cherish. As he has been graciously doing for 22 years.
Bled from the nose in his international debut. A duck in his first ODI innings. Showed grit and determination in his first tour Down Under,scoring his second test century on bouncy pitches. Scored maximum runs for India,or for that matter any team, in the 1996 World Cup. Carried the team on his own against Australia in Sharjah 1998, scoring two of the best of his centuries. Wrongly accused of ball tampering in the tour of South Africa.Had a lean patch as captain of the team. Lost his father during the 1999 World Cup.Blazed runs in superb style and temperament in the 2003 World Cup. Had superb form in test cricket. Broke all the records possible and is still hungry to play for the nation. 22 years.He has seen them all come, he has seen them all go. From Klusener to Lara to Gilchrist to Mcgrath , you name it, he has seen them all. But he still remains standing.
Virat Kohli put it best, "Sachin has carried the burden of a nation for 22 years, it is now time we carry him."
India created history in many ways and this World Cup victory was much needed for many reasons. It will also be remembered as one of the greatest World Cup wins.
As children growing up and fed on cricket, this was and will remain the greatest moment, not just for us both,but also each and every Indian. As for us, an already strong bond of friendship was just strengthened further by cricket.
We were emotional, every Indian was emotional. The team, specially Yuvraj,Sehwag,Harbhajan and Zaheer who were present in the 2003 World Cup final and lost, were in tears. Tears of joy. They had worked hard for a long time. They had shown consistency, determination and great athletic ability to achieve this. Actors,dignitaries,politicians were emotional too. It was, if anything, the most important moment in Indian Cricket history.
From 1983 MCC- Lords to 2011 MCC-Mumbai, from Eden Gardens, Kolkota-2001, to The Wankhede, Mumbai-2011,
In 10 years, Indian cricket has grown to dominate.
And now, they are the deserving Champions of the World.
Why, even God was in tears of joy …
April 2 2011 was one such day. Especially for Indian cricket. Talking about that, let me rewind a bit here.
In the summer of 2001, the Australian Cricket team toured India for a three test match series. An Australian team clearly at the height of it playing prowess, having just won the Cricket World Cup in 1999 in England. India was on home soil. Still was going to be tough.
Me and my childhood friend Akash, like any normal school going child in India have grown up playing this game.And this game only. Being then in 6th grade, that is in 2001, we just watched any match just for the match, not too familiar with the technical aspects. We used to play on cement pitches, without leg sides and plastic chair for wickets taken from a security guard which was his sole means of relaxation. And include connection run-outs.
India lost the first test comprehensively despite then also national hero Sachin Tendulkar’s best efforts. We both were beyond disappointed.
Come the second test in Calcutta, or Kolkata (now). Australia batting first, put up a huge total which put immense pressure on the famed Indian batting line up. India collapsed for a low score and Australia’s then captain Steve Waugh rightly enforced the follow on. Whether this was right for India or Australia was not yet known, but both of us were terribly upset. We had no expectations at all.
And suddenly, out of the blue, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S Laxman were playing fluently. Their full range of class,style and grace was on display. That was expected. What no one expected was the history that was created.Dravid hit a superb 150. Laxman recorded a highest ever score by an Indian against Australia ever. A stunning 281.India went past the Aussie total and then further set a superb lead. Ganguly’s decision of declaring late paid off to salvage a draw. India went one step further however, to secure a victory thanks to a hat trick by Harbhajan Singh.From 1 test down, India went on to win the series with another brilliant win in the third test at Chennai.
History had been created. Faith was established. And Indian cricket had been resurrected from the torrid times it had gone through including all the ball tampering and match fixing controversies. Many people, we both included, agreed that this was the glorious period for India,where India would begin its dominance again.
Come 2 years later, the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup held in South Africa,Zimbabwe and Kenya. We had matured a little in cricketing terms, we were in 8th grade. We understood how the game works, more about the pitches and stuff. They used to project all of Team India’s matches on large screens in our colony’s club. Any match day, you would find us both there with unfailing regularity. Fueled by Pepsi, both the regular and the special World Cup edition blue Pepsi (which was a disaster), we cheered Team India on as they dominated the tournament losing only to Australia in the group stage. Every run,wicket,catch, going as far as bunking an Arts test in school next day to watch India play Kenya the previous night.
And then, the final..where India took on Australia. Ponting played a captains knock demolishing India,helped by some wayward Indian bowling. Tendulkar went early, and then apart from Sehwag and Dravid, no one could make an impact as Indian’s were bundled out and Aussies won their second successive World Cup final. But there was nothing to be ashamed of as India played like lions, including Sachin being named as Player of the Tournament.
8 years since, we are now older, and understand much more about cricket. We watched as India crashed out of the 2007 World Cup,watched as India became the number one test team in the world.We watched as Tendulkar became the first batsman in ODI’s to crack a double century..yes a double ton, no kidding!!.. and finally,
The moment we had been waiting 8 years for, we finally saw India win the ICC Cricket World Cup beating Sri Lanka in the final at Mumbai. Both of us, in different campuses a 1000 miles apart.. the moment Dhoni hit the final shot, memories of the cricketing past we had together rushed past. I would not be honest if I did not say that I missed him terribly at that moment. Finally, his dream, my dream, or rather our dream, or rather the dream of every Indian across the planet had been fulfilled.
And what a deserving win it was too. Chasing a record total in a World Cup final, with the expectations of a billion and more weighing on you is not easy at all, to say the very least. Total credit to Gambhir who played a gem of a knock, Virat Kohli who looked rock solid, and the captain himself, M.S Dhoni, who clicked when it mattered the most, promoting himself ahead of Yuvraj, and seeing India through till the end. And brilliant captaincy too while India was fielding.
And then, a moment to cherish for ages. Huge, priceless emotional moment as he rushed to greet Dhoni after the win, the smile of a schoolchild on his face, as his dream was finally realized .
Cricket is a religion in India and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the only God.
I broke down, as every true Indian cricket fan would have done, seeing him savour the one thing that had eluded him- A World Cup victory.
Memories of his innings came rushing past, and I am sure Akash would also have broken down. The greatest gentleman the game of gentlemen has ever seen, he gave the world a moment to cherish. As he has been graciously doing for 22 years.
Bled from the nose in his international debut. A duck in his first ODI innings. Showed grit and determination in his first tour Down Under,scoring his second test century on bouncy pitches. Scored maximum runs for India,or for that matter any team, in the 1996 World Cup. Carried the team on his own against Australia in Sharjah 1998, scoring two of the best of his centuries. Wrongly accused of ball tampering in the tour of South Africa.Had a lean patch as captain of the team. Lost his father during the 1999 World Cup.Blazed runs in superb style and temperament in the 2003 World Cup. Had superb form in test cricket. Broke all the records possible and is still hungry to play for the nation. 22 years.He has seen them all come, he has seen them all go. From Klusener to Lara to Gilchrist to Mcgrath , you name it, he has seen them all. But he still remains standing.
Virat Kohli put it best, "Sachin has carried the burden of a nation for 22 years, it is now time we carry him."
India created history in many ways and this World Cup victory was much needed for many reasons. It will also be remembered as one of the greatest World Cup wins.
As children growing up and fed on cricket, this was and will remain the greatest moment, not just for us both,but also each and every Indian. As for us, an already strong bond of friendship was just strengthened further by cricket.
We were emotional, every Indian was emotional. The team, specially Yuvraj,Sehwag,Harbhajan and Zaheer who were present in the 2003 World Cup final and lost, were in tears. Tears of joy. They had worked hard for a long time. They had shown consistency, determination and great athletic ability to achieve this. Actors,dignitaries,politicians were emotional too. It was, if anything, the most important moment in Indian Cricket history.
From 1983 MCC- Lords to 2011 MCC-Mumbai, from Eden Gardens, Kolkota-2001, to The Wankhede, Mumbai-2011,
In 10 years, Indian cricket has grown to dominate.
And now, they are the deserving Champions of the World.
Why, even God was in tears of joy …
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