Exhilaration beyond Imagination. Euphoria above words. Absolute and pure joy that every Indian felt after MS Dhoni hit that six high over long-on has been a part of everybody’s dream, every prayer and every wish. It’s hard to give this a cricketing perspective when emotions are so intrinsically involved.
I was 4 years old when Kapil Dev lifted the coveted cup over his head on Lord’s balcony and was yet to be 6 when Gavaskar lifted the World Series trophy in Melbourne and Ravi Shastri famously drove his Audi A4 after being crowned ‘Champion of Champions’. But these memories are more hearsay, or read about and seen in videos over the years for I was too small to remember the actual times. The Reliance World Cup in 1987 has some of my earliest ‘live’ cricketing memories. We had gone to watch the India v New Zealand match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur and I have certain vivid memories of that really noteworthy match for Chetan Sharma took a hat-trick (first of those in World Cups) and Sunil Gavaskar scored a century (his only in One day Internationals). One other thing probably happened that day. I was hooked on to the thrill of sports! In the context of the World Cup, I remember Graham Gooch sweeping Maninder Singh and thus India’s hopes out of the tournament, but I think the word ‘disappointment’ was not yet coined in my mind.
Putting things to time perspective, Miandad’s last ball six had happened in 1986, our first video cassette player/recorder arrived home in 1987-88 and thus re-runs and highlights of some memorable matches started to appear in VHS. Also in that perspective, in 1989, a certain Sachin Tendulkar of all but 16 years age was readying himself to face the impetuous fast bowling of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. It was Waqar’s first match as well and that he was the coach of the Pakistan team at this 2011 World Cup talks about how time has gone by.
1992 World Cup thus was like the first imprint on a freshly prepared cement yet to dry. It had revolutionized everything about cricket to a certain degree. It was the first one with colored clothing, first with a white ball, two for the matter as there were two balls used per innings then. Like every kid on the block, me and my brother were rather vehement and were busy keeping photos of our heroes and sticking posters and cut-outs to the walls of the rooms or wardrobe doors, refrigerator and even the TV unit. If I had Kapil Dev and Ian Botham, he had Imran Khan and Mark Waugh. If I had David Gower, he had Mohammed Azharuddin. The tournament logo was drawn and redrawn on our wooden bats, painted in white with utmost diligence and matched up with our friends as to whose was better.
The matches are remembered like yesterday and Tendulkar’s fifty against Pakistan at Sydney Cricket Ground feels no farther than his double hundred against South Africa. Kiran More’s altercation with Miandad or Srinath ruffling the latter’s stumps and the elation on the win is still ready to be replayed like a hologram. Also the fact that India won only one match other than against Pakistan, that too against Zimbabwe, lost to Australians by one run, deprived of a win against England for the rain are still crystal clear. The pain too is still fresh.
This pain-ecstasy relationship with cricket lived on and has formed an eternal part of the journey of this fan. I can recollect countless such experiences from the Hero Cup to the Titan Cup, Sahara Cup to Sharjah and revel in the glory or look at it in gloom depending on the circumstances. Every win was received with screams, shouts, jump bringing the roof down and every loss with gloom and silence. And every time a World Cup came by, it was glittered with hope and was washed away with tears. If 1996 was bittersweet with Tendulkar’s performances juxtaposed with the way it ended at the Eden Gardens, the 1999 was left with a certain embarrassment that the Indian team was just not good enough. The most exciting memory till date is therefore the 2003 World Cup. It all started in dark with a forgettable tour of New Zealand and the tournament began with a demeaning loss to Australia, but as the tournament progressed and reached its hallmark when India played Pakistan at the Centurion. It revived hope and belief but the anticipation was halted in its tracks by Zaheer Khan’s first over in the final against Australia and wiped clean by Ponting’s hundred as the game advanced.
In the West Indies in 2007 the excitement did not build enough to be pained and the nightmare lasted barely a fortnight. Greg Chappell’s cursed shadow was lifted (and as we saw in 2011 it engulfed his home team Australia when he became their national selector!). As Gary Kirsten was made India’s third consecutive foreign coach, the captaincy too was split with Dhoni leading the limited overs team and Kumble the unlimited one. This foundation polished the fortunes of Indian cricket as test matches were won on foreign soils; India started to win matches without Tendulkar’s over dependence and expectations sore. Dhoni took over the test captaincy and never lost a series, India won matches from seemingly downbeat positions and as the World Cup arrived, the hope reached its peak.
The battle bruised me started to wonder and prepare for the disappointment to follow but the hope within did not want to die. As India tied a match with England and then lost to South Africa, but still qualified for a quarter final with Australia, it became clear…if India could upstage the Australians there, the confidence will carry them over the line. The belief and the involvement has been epic, the memories to cherish. The belief ran to such high levels that when Tendulkar got out in the final, an occasion usually treated with dropping of shoulder and closed eyes to accept the reality, the same eyes glaringly open looked for the next man in. If India had made a place on their batting strength here is the test. The word came out and I said: positive. So when Tendulkar was lifted up by his team mates and rallied around, the starry eyed fan looked in awe as a dream was fulfilled. No more screams, no more jumping over the roofs…a calm cool smile. We did it.
Thank you Team India for a bucket of happiness.
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