A fantastic end to a campaign that started a bit unconvincingly for India. In the end everything came out right when it mattered like the stunts and fight scenes in a Jackie Chan movie. The bogies which initially looked all over the place eventually got lined up behind the engine, and the team built the momentum of an unstoppable locomotive as the tournament grew older. At the crescendo, the Indian team looked like true world champions shaving off 275 under lights with the purposefulness of someone who already decided his destiny and wouldn’t accept anything else.
The Indian batting lineup has reached a stage wherein an occasional failure of the 'God' is actually allowed. If the 'God' trips, there is ample manpower in the team to pick him up and the scoreboard too. How good a feeling is that ? Batting first, India averaged a solid 306 runs in this World Cup, keeping true to it reputation of being a monster batting team.
Has this World Cup washed away all of India’s past sins? The horror of 2007? The decapitation at the hands of Ponting and company in 2003? The dramatic slide in the semifinals of 1996? Perhaps not. Some scars will remain, but at the same time the Indian team of 2011 has shown signs of having the capability for an extended reign over the World Cup. Perhaps nobody can emulate Australia’s feat of 3 successive world cup wins, but if there is any team which seems to have the horsepower to come close to doing something as crazy, it is indeed the one which lifted the Cup 3 days ago.
In perspective, the tournament – among its usual suspects for the crown - had the usual choker, a sore loser from across the border, a defender whose two left feet never really helped it launch, a silent finalist and a gracious loser, and an inspired winner who lived to the hype. There were a few awesome upsets too, adding spice to the stew. However, had all this been condensed into 3 weeks, it would have been a smashing tournament. The 43 days allotted to the tournament made it drag. The gaps between the thrills were just too wide.
Striking moments from this world cup will remain in memory for a real long time. Triple figures #47 and #48 for the God; Ross Taylor’s barbaric assault on Pakistan; the imperious flattening of England by Kevin O-Brien’s hammers; the discovery of Imran Tahir; the two dramatic collapses of touted champions South Africa – first against England and then against New Zealand when it really mattered; the 2.5 meter rule for the Hawk-eye system; Peterson’s last over assault to take South Africa past India; Ireland’s resolve; Yuvraj’s string of MOM performances; Ponting’s masterful century against India after a drought of 13 months; Strauss’s awesome counter-punch innings in the tie against India; Kamran Akmal’s disloyalty to the ball behind the stumps; Nathan McCullum’s catch of the decade that wasn’t; the supersonic duo of Shaun Tait and Brett Lee getting treated with utter disdain by an unknown Hiral Patel; Zaheer’s just-in-time breakthrough’s when India needed them; Dhoni’s golden sixer; and one too many to note.
The World Cup is often taken as a tipping point for many a career. The question of Sachin’s retirement post World Cup 2011 must be the most asked question in the history of the world. Sachin aside (we always keep him aside and away from everyone else don’t we), we did see some prominent announcements during the world cup. Three batting stalwarts and prominent captains announced their disconnection from some element of the sport after the 2011 World Cup. Graeme Smith gave up on captaining the South African ODI side. Ponting gave up captaincy as whole and Sangakkara followed suit. Daniel Vettori gave up on T20’s. Among non-captains, Muralidharan, the Bradman of bowling, took his final bow as did the eccentric yet eminently watchable Shoaib Akhtar. Adbul Razzaq, the renovated all-rounder announced earlier that he would be going off the radar after this World Cup. Chaminda Vaas, someone who has been around since Sachin was in diapers, is mulling over retirement. Among the second ranks, Shaun Tait gave up on ODI’s. If it matters, John Davison the Canadian blizzard – once the owner of the fastest century in world cups – will not be seen playing any more too. A few noteworthy players had kept the 2011 world cup as the tentative milestone for retirement, Mahela Jayawardena being one. All in all, quite a stir in the pot.
Harsha Bhogale raises a just question in one of his tweets: “ I have always wondered how bollywood starlets get to watch a cricket match at short notice while serious cricket fans cannot” Seriously, are the Priety Zinta’s, the Shilpa Shetty’s, the sob-soap stars more deserving cricket fans than I am?
The Wankhede Stadium has a capacity of 33,000, of which only 4,000 seats were sold at the ticket house. 29,000 tickets were allocated/awarded to organizations, corporate houses, VIP’s and so on. This is absolutely, absolutely, pathetic. Perhaps cricketing Gods like Sachin Tendulkar should address this by taking a stand on it, (if they care, that is). A ‘God’ should be available to everyone, not just the elite. Peter Roebuck wrote in one of his columns, “It is a truth often repeated that locals follow not cricket but cricketers…”. Absolutely true.
Confession: I have a fear (which I suspect I share with many others), that I have the capacity to jinx the entire Indian cricket team. This World Cup was a test of my resolution to not put a jinx on the team, and I am happy to say I did well. I did not watch India bat, (with the exception of the final 35 runs between Yuvraj and Dhoni in the final moments of the Final). Basically I voluntarily missed watching India score 2436 of its aggregate of 2471 runs in this tournament...and my sacrifice paid off :)
