World Cup 2011: Reliving the Dream

23 August, 1987- this was the day I was born. Ever since that day, the only thing that made me emotional or sentimental was cricket. I grew up watching this sport and the 1996 world cup was something that made me realize what this beautiful game is all about. And on 2^nd April, 2011, Saturday, after 23 years, 7 months and 10 days; I lived my dream of being a part of India’s successful World Cup campaign.

I watched India crashing out in the super six stages in England, 1999. I felt the pain when we were completely outplayed by a dominant Australian side in 2003 final under a resurgent captain, Sourav Ganguly. And nothing in life was more tragic than the 2007 world cup which everybody knows.

World Cup 2007: A bitterly disappointing experience

The country could not bear the shock of 2007 repeat, the team knew that and today, I am proud to say that the team has not let us down.

When I reached the age of 10 and realized that to lead a successful life, you need to have a career, the first thing that came to my mind was to be a cricketer. Cricket is something that I always have felt inside me. But there were more than a thing against me.

The first was my place of my birth. I am from Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, one of those rare states in India that do not have a Ranji team because of the unavailability of a world class cricket stadium. Then it was my family, who always kept the studies first and then sports and explained how difficult it is to become a cricketer from a middle class family in India. I wished that at that time, I had the courage and willpower to go against my family or I would not have been writing this article today. And whenever I see Virat Kohli on the field, a guy a year younger to me; the feeling that I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE arouses. I am very sure that there are many boys like me today who have it in them to challenge some of the members of the current 11 but they are not there.

Every match I watched, the feeling never went. Every match was new, the intensity was new, the expectations were new. A seven match series against England or Australia never looked boring and tiresome. The hope of every Indian when Sachin walks into the field, even after he has played over 400 ODIs and 150 tests, is one- a century from him.

People say a lot about cricket in India- it is more than religion and it is way ahead of all the sports. To be very honest, they are not exaggerating. Cricket is much more than religion here. The way cricket binds the people here, I have not seen anything like that. The crowd expects a lot from the Men in Blue, not because they follow cricketers madly and consider them Gods, but because they know that team India has that talent in them that is required to lift the world cup. And if they are slightly weaker in some departments (bowling and fielding), the crowd support is always there to lift them up. Indian support is virtually omnipresent.

Indians were awesome on the field in the World Cup final, ok for the 25 overs if not the whole Sri Lankan innings. I do not remember the last time Indians fielded this well, with so much intensity. It was heartening to see them diving and flying around, fully backed up by the crowd. Even a 38 year old Sachin was diving on the boundary to save 2 runs. Priceless.

Still, Sri Lanka piled up 274, a score that looked very unlikely in the start and a big enough score for the chasing side in a high pressure game- pressure of a world cup final in front of home crowd. And it became worse when the two high profile players went in first 10 overs. The Indian fans started to fear the worse and I was no different.

Then came two Delhi stalwarts, Gambhir and Kohli and started batting sensibly. Every run was cheered and Sri Lankans were feeling the heat. Their otherwise good fielding started to falter and even the spin maestro could not threaten this young pair. The islanders again got a glimmer of hope when Kohli was dismissed by Dilshan by a superb catch off his own bowling and match was evenly poised. And then came the moment.

The Indian skipper, M S Dhoni was in the middle. He came ahead of Yuvraj Singh, the man who had an unforgettable tournament and was a bit of a surprise to everyone- the commentators, the spectators and I think to the little man on crease too- Gambhir. The reason was, technically, that he wanted to keep the right-left combination going on. But, somewhere in between, there was one more reason- a point to prove. He needed to prove to the team, the fans, the country, the 1 billion people and most importantly, to himself. He said this in the post match presentation ceremony too.

I have been always a big fan of Dhoni except one occasion- when during IPL, he termed the win against Kings XI Punjab at Dharamshala, emotional. I think he went a little too far. IPL is more of a business and less cricket. What hurt me more was that a month later, when we crashed out of T20 world cup after three successive defeats, he was defending himself. That was very unlike Dhoni. He is always been a great ambassador of sports, who speaks less and let his performance do the talking.

The shot that won us the Cup: The moment that brought joy to one billion people

But that day, when he came out, you could sense he was up to something. The intent was there and he knew he needed to play a part here. He started cautiously, used his feet well against spinners and did not let them settle. Slowly, as I was concentrating on the team India’s score, a quiet Dhoni had reached the 50 mark. And at that moment, I felt tears in my eyes.

I was never an emotional man when it comes to my life, except cricket. I had not cried when my grandfather died, when I failed in my graduation exam, when I was on the verge of breaking up with my girlfriend; emotions and tears were not natural for me. The last time I cried was 8 years back because my cricket team captain did not find me worthy enough to play at number 4, a position that I loved and had played there for my school since I started. I know this is ridiculous and does not fit anywhere in the context but that was it.

And then I cried that day. Well, not exactly cried but the eyes were moist when Dhoni reached 50. It was not new to him but his reaction said it all. He did not even realize that he has reached a landmark. He was focused and aiming for that magic figure- 275. He wanted to do this for the nation, the crowd which has given everything to him- the undying support wherever he has played. The patriotism in him has taken over him. That Dhoni summed up everything for me, for every Indian. Proud of you MS.

On the team's shoulders is lifted aloft a giant of cricket

“Sachin Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders”

Virat Kohli

The campaign is over but the dream is not. The celebration will go on for a long time. The best part is that the majority of these players will be around for the next World Cup too in Australia and New Zealand, barring the God of Cricket-Sachin Tendulkar, but you never know; he might play till then.

There was only one thing missing from Sachin’s CV- the ultimate prize of playing cricket and he got that yesterday. The tears in his eyes after the match said it all- it meant everything to him. The man with 30000 international runs and a spotless career, you cannot argue but agree that he deserved that.

I lived my dream on Saturday, April 2^nd, 2011 and this will, unarguably, be the happiest day of my life. I could not have asked for more. Thank you, TEAM INDIA.