Monday, March 21, 2011

25th June, 24th September, can it happen on 2nd April?


Memories of the past are not memories of facts, but memories of your imaging of the facts- Philip Roth.

Indian cricket has blessed us with many such images in the past. The balcony of Lord’s on June 25th, 1983 saw Kapil Dev lifting the prudential cup- a proof of a transition from underdogs to champions! They did it when the least was expected from them. But it was hunger to win that made the difference. Indian fans noticed this which in turn started believing in them.

None would have dreamt that India would even qualify after they were reeling at 17 for five against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. Kapil Dev’s resilient knock of 175 ensured that India’s return ticket to India was kept on hold. Only the blessed ones were able to see this gem of an innings live. For fans like me, sadly, only images tell the whole story. 
A picture that tells the story


Similarly, Mohinder Amarnath’s wickets, Balwinder Sandhu’s banana ball to dismiss Gordon Greenidge and not to forget Dev’s marathon to take the catch to dismiss Sir Viv Richards are etched in our memory. The heart of every cricket fan was filled with pride and honour and experienced an adrenaline rush.
THE moment!


The Celebrations


Cut to, September 24th, 2007.  The Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg witnessed a scintillating display of top class Twenty20 cricket. Indian team showed stunning regularity as comeback experts in the tournament. Almost every game that India played swayed between the two oppositions before settling down with the men in blue. Yuvraj Singh thrashing the ball on all parts of the ground off Broad’s bowling, Gambhir’s innings of 75 in the finals, and Joginder Sharma’s bowling in the death overs have all been worth remembering. But the most important moment when every Indian fan had a heart in their mouth was Sreesanth’s catch at fine leg to dismiss Misbah-Ul-Haq. That moment announced us as champions of the newest format of the game!       It transformed the perception of T20 cricket in India.


As I write this, the World Cup 2011 approaches the business end of the tournament. India registered a good victory over West Indies last night. And after many permutations, the group tables showed India would be playing against Australia in the quarter finals at Ahmedabad. Quite a few moments could be picked from this journey too.

Yuvraj Singh became an epitome to make perfect all round comebacks. His batting is as elegant as earlier and his bowling helped India to win matches. As someone who cherishes such memories, I want India to perform well against the Aussies in the quarters and the subsequent oppositions in the semis as well as the finals and flood us with many such moments to talk.

Wankhede stadium, with a complete makeover looks better than ever before. And Mahendra Singh Dhoni lifting the trophy here would only be an additional feather in the cap. My eyes are eager for such moments; not only would they make us proud but restore the belief in every Indian that it is sheer determination that would help in achieving a goal.

Therefore, my only request to the Indian team- Go Get It!   




Pictures © Getty Images