In Australia we went full strength and we still got thrashed . That defeat hurt more. Do you have any clue how much that 8-0 hurts? The wounds are so deep that it will take years for them to heal.

The realization that the finest decade of Indian cricket was finally over and the uncertainty of what the new generation had to offer.

The two greats quit – only the lone man standing.

Then we beat NZ at home, lost to England 2-1 where our batting let us down more than the bowlers. And yet there were the bright sparks in Cheteshwar Pujara and Ojha and then Kohli-Dhoni in the last test. If you saw Pujara’s innings in Mumbai 2012 you knew it then that the guy was going to create history in the future.

Revenge against England who were an exceptional side would have to wait – the wounds had got deeper with that defeat with further salt added to them.

Then came Aus with a much depleted side without their greats Hussey and Ponting. The 4-0 still haunted us and with the defeat at the hands of England at home – few of us were fancying big wins against Australia.

Nevertheless the selectors took some tough calls – they had already dropped Zak during the Eng tour, then they dropped Gambhir at the start of the Aus tour, then Sehwag and Bhajji after the first two tests.

The all new-look Indian team took field and what a performance they put up. I could not blog in months for reasons pretty known to you all – but I was relishing every damn wicket and runs scored. Sadly I could not catch much of the action live thanks to my working hours and what was worse was that some of India’s stellar performances came on a SUNDAY – when the whole world rested in front of their TV sets to watch the action live – while me stuck in the Middle East (that awakens to a whole new work week) was glued at my work desk and logged into Cricbuzz online commentary to follow the action. I HATED IT!

Dhoni’s 224 on day 3 (Sunday) in the first test that set the tone for the series – I had not seen such awesome hitting in test cricket in a long time – it reminded me of the time I had woken up early to watch Nathan Astle thrash England and then in a matter of weeks Gilchrist slam-bang the SA in the summer of 2002.

Vijay and Pujara’s twin tons on day 2 (Sunday) of the 2nd test – the epic partnership by those two beat the total runs scored by Aus in the entire match.

The only session when an Indian pacer dominated the batsmen in the series where spinners were making the batsmen dance around – Bhuvi’s 3 wickets in the last session to give India a sniff of victory on Day 4 after day 1 was washed out. You would be lying to me if you tell me that Steve Smith wicket did not give you immense joy!

And lastly it had to be a SUNDAY where it all ended. Jadeja’s fifer and then Cheteshwar Pujara’s 82 (92) on what was deemed to be a horror of a pitch for batting chasing the target of 155 – target similar to that in the 2001 Chennai test.

Needless to say I missed the final moments of all victories thanks to me being at work – it was good to follow it online or on twitter but it was not the same as watching it live and I’m miserable that I missed most of the good moments.

There were many many reasons to celebrate – especially the batting which had been letting us down of late. Every batsman from 1-7 had a contribution to every game – Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Dhoni all got hundreds, Jadeja played a sweet cameo in the last test ensuring that we had it comfortable in the final chase. Sachin was out of sorts but his 81 in the first test did help Kohli-Dhoni en-cash on the platform built.

Ashwin was excellent with his 28 wickets, ably supported by Ojha, Bhuvi hardly put a foot wrong but Jadeja stole the show – brought in for his batting and as an “optional – good to have bowler” – he was the real find of this series with 24 wickets! Barring Ishant and Bhajji all bowlers played their parts well.

There were so many moments to treasure – such as the time when Pujara and Kohli were batting together. Did you salivate at the prospect of seeing them bat for long hours for years together? There is class on one side and sheer arrogance on the other – the calm and the storm going hand-in-hand. It was by far the best sight that gave us a glimpse of how lovely the future of Indian batting looks in the years to come. I’m no longer going to hunt for glimpses of Sachin-Dravid or Dravid-VVS in them – the series has made me realize that I need to get over the beautiful past – those memories will be hidden in a safe corner of my mind and I must make space for the new memories these batsmen will offer. I must move on to rejoice and enjoy this generation for what they are.

And then there was Dhawan’s debut – the only innings I watched at home from ball one and he left me mesmerized with his audacious off-side stroke play; hesitant initially but once he got into the groove he rarely made us miss the man he had replaced – the one who had earned the reputation of turning a game at his will. Dhawan played a blinder and to pull it off on a debut , you have to take your hats off to the bloke. He may well struggle in SA/NZ/Aus/Eng – I really don’t care right now – we must let him have his moment and enjoy it!

The first test match I saw at a stadium was in Mumbai 1993 – when we thrashed England and completed a 3-0 win. 20 years down the line, I’m still trying to fathom what happened today and over the last one month. I’m still soaking in the feeling of what it feels like to win 4-0, and while I’m doing so – all I can do is watch this moment a million times – of Clarke getting out to that peach of a delivery from Jadeja – the series and the moment that defined this lad’s entry into test cricket.

This is a new team – they are going to fail , probably badly when they are tested abroad. I don’t care about that today and I don’t want to think about it. We thrashed Australia – and I mean literally thrashed them; we did not let them dominate any test. We did not let them get ahead in a single test and we never gave them a feeling that they had lost a test they could have won. Barring day 2 of the last test – not a single day belonged to Australia.

It speaks volumes of the effort this young team in transition has put in. Give them some credit, let them celebrate and let them enjoy, let them drown in the champagne and let them party hard – Today !

I suggest you do too!

Ranchi is not Mumbai, or Kolkatta or Delhi – it is not even the largest city in its own state Jharkhand. It is a small town – and is steadily experiencing growth since the last decade when Jharkhand became a separate state and Ranchi the capital.

MSD’s story is what dreams are made of. His rise from rags to riches, the hardships undertaken, the life led. His story is an inspiration to every child in his town, every father wants his son to be a MSD and his success proves to them that theirs is not wishful thinking anymore.

Ranchi today hosted its first international match in what is a state-of-the-art stadium. It is an occasion for the local junta and MSD to be proud about. To prove their love and loyalty to the kid they saw grow up and take charge of their favourite team in their favourite sport; they turned up in huge numbers to support the team and him.

They wanted to see their team win and they wanted to see their local hero bat.

They, like you and me, also love to watch Kohli, Yuvi, Rahane, Raina bat, but they would want to watch their local boy bat more. And there is nothing wrong in wanting that bit!

When I watched cricket in college I wanted to see my best friend bat more than the rest of the team despite knowing they were as good or better than him. When Ajit Agarkar made his debut – I wanted to see him bowl and bat at Wankhede because he was from my building and it was of great pride to us that our local boy had made it to the big stage. Whenever I went to Wankhede I wanted to see Sachin bat a lot more than the rest – because he was Mumbai’s favourite son – Aamcha Marathi Mulga.

In the next generation even though Kohli and Pujara will be my favourites, when I go to Wankhede I will root for the local boys Rohit and Rahane whenever they play there.

There is a certain charm in supporting your local boys – of seeing them do well at the big stage against the big guys. There is a great sense of belonging and a personal connection that one feels seeing folks from your locality, or city or state make it big.

You cannot apply logic and rationale to this love. To understand it you need to be at the ground and wait for the roar when the local hero walks in. The roar at Wankhede whenever Sachin walked in was deafening – you were travelling in the bus or train and passing by Wankhede and you could guess who has walked in when you heard that sound.

Whenever I recollect those moments and I’m lucky that I have witnessed quite a lot of these moment, it gives me goose bumps.

Of the umpteen folks that come to the ground, I always land up watching the dads and moms who come along with their little kids. Seeing their local hero bat gives them the hopes of the possibilities that exist for their kids – that there is nothing wrong in dreaming that one day it might be their kid walking out to this ovation in his home ground,

And in all this selfishness if you choose to call it so – there is not a single person out there who wishes to see their home boy bat at the cost of a win for their side. There is none!

Today there was a crowd of 40000 that came out in full support – first to cheer their team to a win and then to cheer their boy. The first is always a special – like your first love, you first crush, your first match, your first car, your first home. It is always special and today was Ranchi’s first ever – an international match and the chance to  see their boy bat in flesh and blood. I still recollect every moment of my first match when I caught my cricket heroes in flesh and blood! SO IT WAS BLOODY DAMN SPECIAL FOR RANCHI AND MSD!

MSD is not the one to hog limelight. He did not put the team’s cause at stake, he did not put the chase in any kind of trouble, he did not tamper with the batting order despite top order woes in earlier matches. He did not do anything that would hamper an Indian win. And with only 12 runs left, and India comfortably home – he came out to hit the winning runs not to steal the show but to say a small thank you for all the love showered on him by his hometown folks.

So if you don’t understand why Dhoni came out to hit the winning runs today – you don’t understand this sport, you don’t understand the fans, you don’t understand pride, you don’t understand hope and you definitely don’t understand love!

Listen to the lyrics penned down by Sahir Ludhianvi and you will realise Sachin’s cricketing life has been in perfect sync with every line in that song

For those who don’t understand Hindi – I’ve attempted to translate the meaning of this song

Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya
Har fikr ko dhuein mein udata chala gaya

I continued my journey hand-in-hand with life and kept warding off every worry I faced

Barbadiyon ka afsoz manana fizool tha
Barbadiyon ka jashn manata chala gaya

It was futile to lament over the ruins and so I decided to celebrate those ruins

Jo mil gaya usi ko muqaddar samajh liya
Jo kho gaya main usko bhulata chala gaya

I accepted as my fate whatever life had to offer and I never looked back at things I had lost

Gham aur khushi mein fark na mehsoos ho jahaan Main dil ko us makaam pe lata chala gaya

I have attempted to reach a point in my life where one experiences no difference between sorrow and joy

A chapter closed today – an era ended – a part of life now lost in the past.

Only the memories remain – a multitude of them.

The batting has been a huge let down – go through the stats and you will realise that in those 10 matches and 20 innings we batted for more than 100 overs only in 3 innings. Which means we did not last more than 3 sessions of batting on 17 occasions and to me that has been a disturbing fact.

Yes bowlers win you matches, we are a rubbish bowling side but given the batting talent the least you expect is that your side will bat 4-5 sessions to give the team a chance to draw the match if not win. We have failed at this miserably.

It’s a tough period for us fans and it is not going to change for another 3-4 years. So we need to take the little moments that will be offered and treasure them for as long as we can.

Today Kohli and Dhoni gave us that moment – India was tottering at 71-4 against England’s 330 in the first innings yesterday and given how our batting has played out – a collapse was just a matter of time. And that collapse did not come in until the last hour today – I felt a bit gutted seeing the score at the end of the day but I thought I needed to reflect on the ‘fight”. Isn’t that what I wanted from my team?

Kohli and Dhoni batted for 90.1 overs for their 202 runs – I’m going to cheer that today.

Yes we collapsed in the last hour – Dhoni went for a needless run, we may well trail Eng tomorrow and Eng may bat us out of the game , our batsmen may fail to save the match and the scoreline may read 3-1. Win,draw or loss in this match – changes will need to be done to the team sooner than later but that discussion is for another day, another post.

But all that matters to me today is that 2 guys put their hands up and showed this team what they had forgotten – resilience, patience, grit and a fight.

Tomorrow I’m going to wake up with a little bit of relief with the realization that this team is getting its memory back. Dada, Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Kumble,Srinath, Sehwag,GG  spoilt us in the 2000s with innumerable instances of grit, determination and miracle wins/draws.

Those will take time to repeat with this team – but at least I take solace in the fact that they have taken the first step to “Fight” and not let the opposition have it easy.

Cherish that thought for now!

Here is what Matt has to say:

And maybe that’s why we cricket bloggers help each other out, because we are selfish and know that if we promote someone, they will promote us possibly down the road and maybe Andrew Miller will see it and then PAYDIRT. 

Or not. Actually, I don’t think that it is true at all. I think maybe cricket just attracts funny and interesting and smart and kind people who like to read about and write about and follow a silly old anachronism of a bat and ball sport. That’s all. And when someone like Freddie Wilde posts something we like about Sachin Tendulkar, we simply want others to see it so they can like it too.

While Devanshu adds on with his experience on twitter:

Twitter is where this blog gets its traffic from. It’s where I formulate my ideas. It’s where I’m challenged and encouraged. And it’s where my people live. And I’m convinced that’s how it is for the cricket blogging community.

They echo the exact sentiments of every cricket blogger who started his/her blog. I had taken a break from 2006-09 from the online world and I missed out on the period where most excellent blogs erupted onto the scene. Over the last 2 years since I’ve got back, I’ve enjoyed reading a lot more than writing on cricket. I always struggle on time to put in the kind of effort that I see folks around the world put into their blogs and I admire and appreciate them.

Twitter is a fantastic forum, despite some of the nonsense that goes on it especially when cricket outrages run riot. I landed up meeting a few people over the last year. My fear of befriending online folks and meeting them in real life has lessened a bit after meeting these few folks. I would not have discovered so many wonderful writers if it weren’t for twitter. Twitter taught me to keep my biases about the writer aside and I learnt to appreciate or dislike the post for its content alone.

Twitter is my first source for cricketing news – be it live updates, scores, pre-match analysis and post-match analysis. I hardly follow any famous ‘celebs’ but the “common man/woman” on my TL offers me insights that sometimes even a Dravid can’t – and there in lies the beauty of this forum. It is also a reason for most of us bloggers who hit a writing block to churn out and activate our passive blogs – like I just did today.  I’m at the end of my 3 week long hectic vacation and had not updated the blog in months – see what Devanshu and Matt just helped me do

Over the last 2 years I’ve spent on this blogging and twitter forum – I’ve concluded that non-journalists turn out far better insightful and incisive pieces on cricket and cricketers than the current crop of journalists – we started a platform with the objective in mind to get out such hidden writers and I’m very hopeful we will someday give it a serious turn.

 P.S: Thanks for the mention Devanshu – pleasantly surprised and the smile has not yet gone from the face:-)

2 years later along with Kaif guided India to one of her best ODI tournament wins after she was in a hopeless situation having lost all her best bats and tottering at 143/5 chasing 325 in the Natwest Finals.

5 years later he thrashed Broad for 6 sixes in an over.

He hit 70 in 30 balls in the semis Vs Aus! One of the main architects of India’s T20 WC win.

3.5 years later overcoming loss of form, injuries and failures he came back strongly to anchor India’s finest triumph. India’s man of the tournament , that gritty knock in the QF Vs Aus and then standing beside Dhoni as India took the World Cup in Mumbai, on the night of 2 Apr 2011.

…………

And then we learnt that Yuvraj was battling cancer. I don’t know how this news impacted you all but I was in a bit of shock. I have witnessed the gravity of the disease from close quarters. I have lost my cousin brother all of 25 to blood cancer –   he lost the battle after 1.5 years. He was my favourite among my cousins. I was 21 then and it took me a long time to accept him not being around anymore. I’m not strong enough to narrate what his parents and my family went through during those years.

Yuvraj played the World Cup with CANCER, and then was away for a year fighting the disease. He is only 30 years today.

I always had a grouse against Yuvi for he could not translate his ODI/T20 success into tests – he frustrated me real bad.

But tomorrow when he takes guard, I don’t care if gets out for a duck and is never able to reach his peak in cricket again – to me he is beyond all failures. Cricket is merely a game, Yuvi has fought the battle against death and come out victorious. He is already a tremendous source of inspiration – His fight back has paved the hope for many – and no matter what he does from tomorrow on the field he will remain a hero forever!

GO YUVI…..

That Silken Touch – Those wrists!

Beauty in cricket is in abundance – but you stood out

The sole bearer of melody in today’s hammer and tongs cricketing world

The ultimate hypnotist – you kept us in your trance forever

The magician – the spells you cast over us

The marvel of nature we were blessed with

VVS – words fail me when it comes to you.  They really do.

You weren’t my childhood or teenage hero, nor my childhood  idol; you were my secret crush – forget me, you were cricket’s finest romance.

Your love affair with the game – yes that’s what it always was – just pure romance; I cannot think of any other word to describe your 16 year trysts with the game.

Watching you bat was akin to falling in love over and over again

Each match was a new rendezvous with the same girlfriend and you would woo her anew every single time – whether you made 20 -50-100-200 it just did not matter. Every run was crafted with such grace that there are not enough words in the dictionary to describe what we saw.

After watching you bat I would often say in Marathi “Majhya dolyanche parne fitun gele” 

You were among the core 5 members who defined and built Indian cricket’s finest decade, but you were the one reason we believed we could win – win from improbable situations. How many times did you imbibe that belief in us? Kolkatta & Chennai ’01, Mumbai ’04, Mohali ’10, Colombo ’10, Durban ’10, Adelaide ’03, Perth ’08 – and then many more matches where you stood ably beside the trio resulting in many wins for India.

And yet there was no VVS cult – there were distinct set of fans in the Dravid, Tendulkar and Dada factions but there was never a VVS sect of fans.

The fandom, the love, the craziness somehow seemed a bit incomplete when it came to you.

When Dravid called it quits this March, I wanted to see you play this season at home; atleast until Australia visited and then call it a day. I was definitely not prepared  for the announcement you gave on Saturday. “With immediate effect” probably the only words I heard in that press conference and they stayed with me for a long time – 5 days since the announcement and I’ve not come to terms with not seeing your name on the scoreboard tomorrow.

People called for your head last year and I did not see the reason; the emotional me felt you would last this year and call it a day on home soil in your own romantic fashion. Maybe that last century at your favourite ground – that last perfect goodbye to your loved one.

But you didn’t wait – for reasons known best to you – you said Goodbye and it did not feel right. Break-ups are rarely amicable, yours was going to be tough to handle.

I’m not the best writer around – there are plenty who have written some beautiful prose about you while I struggle to express how much you will be missed, or more importantly I wonder if I and many more are left with a guilt of not taking our fandom for you to completion.

As I struggled to pen down my thoughts, I came across this wonderful song and I can’t thank @cluelessvictory enough for sharing this song yesterday. It probably sums up the feeling of incompleteness I feel with you gone forever from this game.

I will always wonder if your love story was left incomplete and if only…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dil keh raha use maqammal kar bhi aao, Wo jo adhoori si yaad baaki hai

The heart says go complete – that memory which  still remains incomplete

 Dil keh raha use mayassar kar bhi aao, Wo jo dabi si aanch baaki hai

The heart says, go get it – that one suppressed spark that is still left

 Dil keh raha hai use musalsal kar bhi aao, Wo jo ruki si chaah baaki hai

The heart says, go make it come true, that love which has been stuck for so long…

I knew from the time that world cup finals were announced that I was going to be there to witness the finals irrespective of who would play in the finals.  As we were boarding the Mumbai flight from Dubai on 31st night, I told my husband  ”It’s the World Cup finals, my team is playing, it is at my favourite place Wankhede in my favourite city Mumbai; if we win this I think I’m okay to die“.

When MSD hit that six, Wankhede went into a frenzy – we were lucky to witness it. The stadium did not stop singing Vande Mataram , firecrackers did not stop bursting, and when the team carried Sachin on their shoulders – the whole stadium – the 33000 of them did not stop shouting “Sacchinnn Sacchinnn Saccchiiinnn” for long.

India was in a state of never before experienced euphoria – so was Silicon Valley, London, Toronto, Sydney, Dubai, New York. My friend ZenRooster shared this awesome video he shot at his workplace in USA

Click here to view the embedded video.

Worldwide MS Dhoni’s 6 brought the broadest smile to the faces of 1.2 Bn Indians that you will ever see.

I’m attempting to relive those memories through video clippings we took on our Nokia E71 and my facebook statuses and notes and some tweets.

2 Apr, 2011 – History was made, history was witnessed. Revisit it through my eyes.

 The Start of the World Cup

None of my friends except ZenRooster and NM believed that we would win the world cup from day 1 of the tournament. I had a gut feel we would make it this time – it just seemed so right.

First match Vs Bangladesh – Feb 19 

Go India – feeling nervous – so need to get this one right to wipe out the ghosts of 2007

When MSD lost the toss:

Dear MSD you do realize that someday you need to call it right You are sending the probability principles for a real toss.

After the India-England Tie

Cannot help but think that Eng seemed to have done worse than India – if you can’t be inspired and win after that stunning knock from your captain ; I dunno what can inspire you folks! Yes officially declare that am a huge Strauss fan – still cannot get over that knock! What an innings! Made me forget Sachin got a 100 too – speaks volumes of the impact Strauss’ knock had!

On the famous Ireland win over England

If you missed Ireland’s win today against the big Eng boys chasing 328 after being 111/5 and did not see Kevin O’ Brien’s 113 off 62 balls – you should go cry . What a freaking awesome match and what an in innings!!! 2 marvelous knocks in 2 days – am bowled over. Not gonna recover for a long time )

My two cents on those two knocks here

Loss to SA in the league

Sachin Tendulkar looks determined to win the cup – the rest 10 equally determined to mess it up! Forget Nehra – first someone explain to me the loss of 9 wickets for 29 runs in the last 10 overs! That for me ruined the match.

On India’s batting collapses during league matches

Dear Team India, I defend you everytime saying that you have a SPINE, but looks like you have developed a SLIP DISC problem and those lower vertebrae need some fixing ASAP!

When speculating the knock-out stage competitors

Revenge of #1996 or Revenge of #2003; India tell me what #youprefer ? #cwc2011

On Australia’s loss to Pakistan in Group A league stage

Life has come a full circle for Aus in the WC. Lost to #Pak in 1999 in the league & have ended their winning streak at the hands of #Pak

The Best match of the tournament: India-Australia Quarter Final Ahmedabad

On the eve of the match

Notes to Self: 1. Do not hype up tomorrow’s match. 2. Be calm in Office, on Facebook and on Twitter. 3. Do not deride people (especially ecstatic neighbors) who will scoff at the Men in Blue 4. Count to 10 before hurling abuses at anyone 5. Remember you love your work equally now – try to focus for those 9 hours in office so that you can get home in time for the 2nd innings.

I had acidity bouts in the morning, I could feel my stomach churning. So to calm the nerves I penned this short note.

Dear Team India,

Hope you all slept well and told the following to yourselves: 
MSD: must win toss, must bat first 
SRT : Need to score 90 today and on Wednesday – 100th 100 will be reserved for my homeground Mumbai. Owe them one 
ZAK: Must take revenge for #2003 thrashing 
HSP: Must resort to turbanator 2001 avatar 
YUVI: Need to win Man of the Series, for that need to ensure we hold the trophy on 2Apr 
VIRU:Need to fix that average of 22 Vs Aus today – am due for runs – need to deliver before Pup and Punter today 
Middle order : Must last 300 balls 
Bowlers : Must defend 14 runs off last over 
Entire Team: Need to reverse defeat trend against Aus in WC since 1992. Today 
Today is the day – go seal it!!!!

End of Aus innings:

Dear Team India just because Ponting did a #2003 repeat you are not obliged to return the favor.

India’s mini collapse  - Gambhir’s run outs/Kohli/ Dhoni out

WTF TEAM INDIA – You making me look like a complete idiot:-( For the first time in 5 weeks I’m losing hope – Kohli you getting out off a full toss and you Gauti for that mind-numbing idiotic display are responsible for it!

Cannot find the God damn hammer when I need it – NEED TO HAMMER GAMBHIR!!! NOWWWWW

Towards the end

Ok confession – I have absolutely admired Bret Lee since his debut – have you seen the way he has fielded today and that injury brought a tear to my eye!

Yuvraj I take back all my words:-) Raina Thank you!!!! GAUTI you you …damn you!!!! and GOD – Mumbai Awaits you!!!!!

South Africa’s loss to NZ in the quarters

I Choke You Choke We All Choke - SA get that as your tagline – it is freaking apt!!!

Before beginning of semis

2 out of 3 predictions true: Ind-Pak semifinal, WI/NZ upset. Come on Eng get me that 100%. Go on!

On SL making it to the finals:

OMG 50% boredom guaranteed on Saturday! Sigh dear Team India can you ensure that it does not amount to 100%

Mar 30: Pak Vs India – Semi Final, Mohali

Eve of the match

Dear Indian Media – please stop the circus around tomorrow’s match. You will really achieve the impossible – kill my interest in the game altogether!

In the morning 

What is wrong with me today – still no nerves ! Had a bit of acidity bout in the morning and I was glad that I was getting tensed but nothing after that – I’m terribly calm today and focussing fine at work!

When Younis Khan- Misbah were going strong during Pak chase

Dear Team India, am dying a slow death. Please find the Harry Potter amongst you who can get me the Elixir of Life!

Dear Team India doesn’t the thought of inflicting a SL-Pak WC final at Mumbai on your fans make you shudder? Motivation enough, right get going now!

When we won

WANKHEDE HERE WE COME….. And by we I don’t mean Team India Alone! Tryst with Destiny Beckons!

On the eve of the WC final

If you are going to play the cynic tomorrow – please refrain from commenting on my status or posting on my wall! I don’t need the negativity – you can keep all of it!

Checklist for tomorrow: Tickets, Tricolor Dupatta, 2 Large India Flags, The Indian Team Jersey! Next 18 hours – only restlessness!!!!

On the morning of April 2 before we headed out to the stadium

THIS IS IT…..You and I – Believe! GO INDIA!!!!

At the Stadium

The teams enter before the national anthem

Click here to view the embedded video.

The national anthem captured by @abhishekumar

Click here to view the embedded video.

Team India takes ground

Click here to view the embedded video.

These cheers were heard non-stop for the entire duration of the match

Click here to view the embedded video.

AFTER WE WON

Interviews

Click here to view the embedded video.

Victory Laps

Young guns carry Sachin on their shoulders

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

We stalled the great West Indies Machine in 1983 and ended The Australian Era in 2011 at the WC. Now does it put our achievement in perspective?

Viv Richards will be such a happy man – no longer reruns of his catch held by Kapil Dev- Now only Dhoni’s 6:-)

Status message from my friend SK: “For all regional biased parties of maharashtra – match in mumbai, delhi batsmen scoring there, captain from ranchi,bowler a muslim, dedicating it to a marathi manoos and carrying him on their shoulders ! get a freaking clue ”

To my best buddy who had written to me: Good luck seeing Sanga lift the cup, I replied after the win:

My belief won, your cynicism lost – go choke on it

And more importantly what I felt at 22:49 IST 2 Apr,2011

Today I witnessed History but more importantly I witnessed what belief and faith can achieve. The memory will last a lifetime! THANK YOU TEAM INDIA!!!

And finally, to summarize those memories of 6 weeks: here is the note I wrote for all my friends who tolerated my constant updates on Facebook. A friend left me a message the moment India lifted the cup - her words will stayed with me for long.

India has won the world cup and you – my crazy wonderful friends are posting on my wall/commenting on my status like I had something to do with the victory:-) So thank you for tolerating my madness, for loving it, for missing my match updates and status, for eagerly waiting for my post on my experience yesterday. I will write – I have to.

The Indian Team may not even know I exist – but you all have made me feel like Sachin must be feeling right now. World cup win after 21 years of playing – me eagerly waiting for a WC win after 19 years of watching the game:-)

The Indian Team made it special – and you all made it doubly special for me! So thank you all and thank you Facebook – I wouldn’t have cherished and loved this moment if it wasn’t for you folks – all of you – the eternal optimists and the irritating cynics.

I cannot end this note without sharing a wonderful message I saw first when I logged onto Facebook after returning from the match – the euphoria around me was mind-boggling and nothing had sunk in. I read this message from a lady I’ve known for a very short time and whom I admire immensely. Thank you VS – I’ve never received such a lovely message praising my cricket fandom – this will be going in my cricket collection. This little note of yours will stay in memory forever to go along with India’s World Cup win yesterday.

“Minal, I dedicate this win to you! To your passion, to your perseverence, to your fulltoos faith, to your sleepless nights, to your deep breathing, to your no-cynics please warning, to your undiluted love for cricket! Congratulations and give us all the gloss of the magic if you manage to break away from Wankhede!”

The brilliant Devanshu of Deep Backward Point and an Editorial Member at The Sight Screen contributed to the brilliant music for the podcast – read about it on his blog

The tribute features two of my favourite writers – and even more when it comes to writing about Dravid: Sriram & Siddhartha.

There is the budding writer (I often keep dictionary.com open when I’m reading his posts) Rohit who is also on the editorial board of The Sight Screen shares a memory that blew my mind off. I will envy him for life now.

Then there is superb Samir Chopra from Eye-on-Cricket and the hilarious, super intelligent Jarrod Kimber from Cricket With Balls.

There is Nicole with whom I had bonded on twitter mainly thanks to her killer DP of Rahul Dravid

There is Dilip  – also an editorial member at The Sight Screen. He is a huge Dravid fan and an ardent Aussie supporter – 2 reasons enough to converse with him for hours.

And lastly, yours truly is also one of the lucky folks to have been part of this. I may sound like a nervous kid, but I’m forgiven  - given that I was asked to speak about Dravid when I’m still not over his retirement

If you are a Dravid fan this is a must listen, even if you are not I suggest you still listen and get to know how much he is admired, respected and loved .

Go LISTEN

I write rarely, because I cannot get beyond a few lines. But then sometimes, a rare incident occurs and I try to pen down a little more than a few lines.

Food exploration and photography is a passion for me. MDW (my dear wifey) goes absolutely crazy when we go to restaurants and I stop her just before she is about to have her first bite – to capture the dish that has just arrived.

Indian families usually have a set pattern of food during a week. There will be a few vegetables, maybe fish, chicken, meat on a few days, biryani, just soup and salads for the health freaks. Oh yes, on weekends or on days we are tired, we will order or eat out and try something really fancy and exotic. But there is usually this one dish, which we will not do away with no matter what. After a long tiring day, after a trip abroad (rather even on a trip abroad), when we are unwell, when staying abroad reminds us of our folks back home and on many such innumerable occasions this simple, humble dish comes to mind and the mere sight of it leaves us with a smile on our face and divine content to our hungry souls – “The Daal-Rice”.

That is exactly what Rahul Sharad Dravid was to Indian Cricket – the simple, humble, unassuming, always around, the quintessential, the go-to “dish” of Indian Cricket.

I could perhaps compare other players to some other dishes – Laxman the delicious biryani, Sehwag the spicy Indian curry (doesn’t go down well with everyone), Sachin the important bread (chapaati, roti) – but that isn’t the point here. I am sure others will come up with much better comparisons.

The Daal-Rice is an inseparable constituent of an Indian diet. It is one of the simplest dishes to conjure, some very basic ingredients, is ready in a matter of minutes, can be had by itself, anytime of the day, anywhere. Very few hate this dish. Most would die to have it. Oh and there are varieties to it – the daal tadka-rice, the daal-makhani rice, the maharashtrian “varan-bhaat”, the “rassam-rice” and so many more.

This is what Dravid was/is as an individual and to Indian cricket. His simplicity reflected in every action of his – on and off field. His calm demeanor made it hard for anyone to hate him. When the team was “ill” he did his job. When other dishes were preferred, he stood aside calmly and waited for him to be called on.

They wanted him for “starters” (to open) and he was around, they wanted him as main course (no.3) and he came to the rescue, oh and times they wanted him as a side dish (a wicketkeeper) and there he was.  The “Daal-Rice” of Indian cricket was always around.

And miss him we did. The number of times we said “Oh where is Dravid?’, “Oh who will get us out of this mess? – do we even have a count of that.

Present him with the toughest of situations and we would come up trumps. No one appreciates the Daal-Rice till you really need it and crave for it. And just like when an Indian tours a foreign country, his craving for this dish grows, so was our need for Dravid on foreign tours.  I am no genius at statistics but his away record stands tall across various other “dishes”.

His impeccable square cuts, the flicks to midwicket, the textbook correct cover drives, the small nudges and solid blocks were his variants of the Daal-Rice.

I have been one of the few exceptions to not like “Daal-Rice” (I mean the real dish). But now that the “Daal-Rice” will not be on the Indian cricket menu anymore, I realize what I have missed. Perhaps I will start having Daal-Rice; perhaps I will now admire it rather than hate it.

But one thing for sure, the “moving on” of “Daal-Rice” has left me in mourning – Don’t ask me for how long. Perhaps a part of me will always be. When I see a bat, a cricket ball, a cricket field I will mourn; and yet smile, because someone, even as he left made me fall in love with this game all over again.

Sir Rahul Dravid you showed me what true love is. Thank you.