Disclaimer:This post was published when I was 14 years old. I think this post reflects what a 'chamathu' kutti papa I was :p. I mean, this is one of the posts that really shows what an innocent child I was, so please bear with some of the language used. :p
Well, I don’t know what to say. WE ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS! It took some time for it to sink in, when it did, it was an amazing and elated feeling. No words to describe that feeling. When M S Dhoni hit the winning runs, as the ball soared up into the air into the stands, a 1.2 billion hearts soared with it and they continue to be up in the air long after the ball landed in the stands to register a win. After he hit the winning runs, he paused as if he had not realized what he had just done – he had just done a 1.2 billion people so proud. Only when he saw Yuvraj Singh sprint from the non-striker’s end to embrace him did he begin the celebrations. When the ball landed in the stands, down the players’ cheeks went tears of happiness, out came the emotions on the support staffs’ faces and up went the crackers as a symbol of the emotions of a 1.2 billion people. CHAK DE INDIA!
Yuvraj Singh, the man of the tournament. No surprises there. Before the tournament, he was woefully out of form and it clearly was the worst phase of his career. But, as the saying “Cometh the hour, Cometh the champion” goes, Yuvraj rose to the occasion magnificently in the World Cup. He scored over 300 runs and picked up 15 wickets in the entire tournament. Before the World Cup, he would not put value to his wicket; he had put on weight and would not field at his usual position at backward point. But in the World Cup, he batted with great maturity and wanted to put value to his wicket, went back to fielding at backward point and always made sure to be the captain’s go to man whenever a wicket was required. Hats off to his father Yograj Singh, his guruji and all the people who helped him in his rough phase.
This World Cup victory was not all about Yuvraj Singh; every member of that 15 man squad had a contribution to it. We gave everything to it and we totally deserve this victory. It was sheer teamwork.
There is one unsung hero : Coach of the team, Gary Kirsten, the man who worked behind the scenes. Four years ago, the Indian cricket team was in absolute turmoil. Early exit from the World Cup 2007 and the demoralising presence of Greg Chappell in the dressing room had left the team in absolute tatters. Gary Kirsten started work as so...on as... he was appointed the coach of the team during this horrible phase. Kirsten resurrected the team from shatters, brought self-belief back into the team and got them together as a team. Four years ago, no-one believed that the team would come out like this. Gary Kirsten, a soft-spoken man from South Africa, has spoken volumes for the team. It is sad that he is ending his tenure as a coach after the World Cup, he has done so much for the boys, but it understandable because he has a young family back home in SA. Coaching is not an easy job, you have to travel with the team 24 x 7. Hats off to you Gary! What a way to sign off as a coach!
This World Cup was probably Sachin Tendulkar’s last World Cup. And what a swansong it was. Sachin has equaled Javed Miandad’s record for participating in 6 World Cups, all this time he yearned for one thing: a World Cup. It has finally happened now. It is a dream come true for him to lift the World Cup in front of his home crowd in Mumbai. He has now got practically every cricketing record throughout his glittering career, except the one which is waiting for him : a 100thton in International Cricket. Lets not put too much pressure on him to get it, when he does, we will all celebrate. I want him to get it when the team goes to England this year, in the match at the Lords’ Cricket Ground, the home of Cricket. But, lets hope for the best. This World Cup has elevated Sachin to a higher position. Hats off to the team for making this happen to the greatest batsman this decade has seen. Virat Kohli got it absolutely right when he said that Sachin has carried the burden of the country for a long time and it is now time for them to carry him. It was a very emotional moment for all Indians when Sachin Tendulkar was carried around the Wankhede.This World Cup for you, Sachin! For all the things you did for India, Indian Cricket and World Cricket.
M S Dhoni, the captain with the Midas touch. It is true in a way. We became the “Kings of the three worlds” under his captaincy – we got the no. 1 ranking in the ICC rankings for Test teams, we won the World T20 2007 and we won the World Cup 2011, going up to the no. 1 ranking in the ICC rankings for ODI teams in the process. Chennai Super Kings won the IPL and the Champions’ League under his captaincy. There is something very special about that man. The World T20 2007 was the first assignment for M S Dhoni as a captain. We went on to win that tournament, and everyone knew at that time that he was something special, because not everyone succeeds so well on such a big stage, that too in their very first stint with the job. Not for nothing he is called Captain Cool. The way he batted yesterday when the team was under pressure and many more occasions suggests us. Many were surprised when he came up the batting order yesterday, but I was not. His coming at no. 5 and not at no. 6 made a lot of cricketing sense (to form a left-hand & right-hand combination at the crease, to make the fielding captain think and because off-spinners were bowling at that time) and there was one more thing which I liked about him coming up the order; he took the responsibility, as a leader, to come to the aid of the team when it was in trouble. If we can see, there is a perfect blend of young and senior players in the team. Dhoni manages them very well without applying too much of pressure. He is pretty instinctive with his decisions and takes a lot of gambles, but when his instincts don’t prove right, he accepts his mistakes and that a great quality to have. He inspires his team-mates with his activities.All these are the marks of a good leader. M S Dhoni – the true spirit of leadership.
Imran Khan, the 1992 World Cup winning captain, made a very good point about pressure. He said that pressure matches during the knock-out stages during the tournament helped India handle the pressure during the finals. We faced Australia and Pakistan in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals respectively, and facing these two teams during the knock-out stages of such a big tournament involves quite a bit of pressure and we handled it pretty well. Certainly, the experience of tackling that pressure, helped us with the pressure in the finals when the chips were down, after our bowlers were given a pasting in the last five overs at the hands of Jayawardena, Nuwan Kulasekara and Perera and after we lost Sachin and Sehwag early to Slinga Malinga. The way Gambhir, Kohli and Dhoni batted under pressure was superb. They held their nerve and batted sensibly, they bisected the field, they ran hard between the wickets and did not allow the spinners – Murali and Randiv – to settle. When the dew came on, it became all the more difficult for the bowlers. Gambhir batted beautifully, but had himself to blame for getting out, that was not the shot to play that ball, nevertheless, it was a brilliant and a crucial knock. Dhoni lead from the front and inspired his players. Yuvraj Singh finished it well along with Dhoni.
On June 25th 1983, Kapil Dev lifted the trophy for everyone present at the Lords’ Cricket Ground to see. 28 years later, on April 2nd 2011, the same feat was emulated by M S Dhoni & co. To me, both the wins were special, not just yesterday’s. When we won the World Cup in 1983, no-one expected India to win, and we did. That beautiful summer of 1983 changed the course of World Cricket and Indian Cricket. Kapil Dev led a young team to World Cup victory, he made them believe that they could win the tournament and told them to make a fight out of it. They beat West Indies in the finals – West Indies, in those days was the best team in World Cricket. They fought it out against the best players and won. That was a memorable moment. When we won the World Cup in 2011, we went into the tournament as favourites for the trophy and we lived up to that billing. The fact that this win means so much for the country, makes it so special. This could well be a beginning of a new era in cricket. Kapil Dev’s running catch to get Viv Richards out off Madan Lal’s bowling in the 1983 final is as special as Dhoni’s six off Nuwan Kulasekara to win the 2011 final.
As for Sri Lanka, well-played. It is not easy to come to a World Cup final and they came. They should be proud of their performance in this World Cup. It just was not their day yesterday. Murali could not end his career on a high with a win, but he has done great things for Sri Lankan Cricket and for World Cricket. Unlike Sachin, he had already had a World Cup before, in 1996. Nevertheless, Murali too is a legend of the game. Murali was injured and tired yesterday, that is why he could not get as much zip as he normally gets. My second case for the “Cometh the hour, Cometh the champion” quote: Mahela Jayawardena. Before yesterday, the Sri Lankan middle order was a matter of debate among experts and a matter of concern amongst Sri Lankan fans. True, there was indeed a problem with the middle order, and amongst that discussion Jayawardena’s name was also mentioned since he had not scored many runs since the first game against Canada. But, yesterday, when Sri Lanka were in trouble, he rose to the occasion magnificently and scored one of the finest ODI hundreds I have ever seen. He was there till the end of the innings, shepherding Nuwan Kulasekara and Perera – lets not forget the role of the 2 of them in Sri Lanka’s total yesterday. Unfortunately, Jayawardena’s innings could not turn out to be a match-winning one.
In this World Cup, we have seen some incredible cricket and have had some great moments when we were proud to be cricket fans. The tournament was a huge success. Ireland’s win over England, the centuries made by many players and of course, as an Indian, India winning the World Cup, would stick with me for life. To me, this tournament showed the supremacy of Asia, not only in terms of viewer ship, but in the terms of the Cricket played as well. I was very proud that two Asian teams made it to the finals. The 1970s and the early 1980s witnessed the first chapter of Cricket supremacy: The West Indies and the late 1990s and the early 2000s witnessed the second chapter of Cricket supremacy: Australia. This could be the beginning of the third chapter: Asia. To me, the performances of two teams in this tournament were something which came entirely out of the blue: New Zealand and Pakistan. Both of these teams, before the World Cup, had serious off-field issues which were impacting on the field and both of them were not expected to make it to the World Cup semi-finals and they did. It has been great fun for 6 weeks.
1975 and 1979: West Indies under the captaincy of the Clive Lloyd
1983: India under the captaincy of Kapil Dev
1987: Australia under the captaincy of Allan Border
1992: Pakistan under the captaincy of Imran Khan
1996: Sri Lanka under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga
1999, 2003 & 2007 : Australia. 1999, under the captaincy of Steve Waugh. 2003 and 2007 under the captaincy of Ricky Ponting
2011: India under the captaincy of M S Dhoni
Krishnamachari Srikkanth has had the unique distinction of being a part of a World Cup winning team in 1983 and being the chairman of selectors of the World Cup winning team of 2011. I will remember World Cup 2011 forever. The final of the World Cup 2011 was a great game of cricket and it befitted a World Cup final. The better team won. It was a combination of teamwork and skill to get Team India through. As Imran Khan said, the winning has been happening for quite a while now, in the build up to the tournament. 2nd April 2011 will be in the hearts of Indian Cricket fans for a long time.
