Sunday, April 3, 2011

We Are the Champions, My Friends....

For the part of the world that was once colonised by the British, cricket is a bloody big thing. Particularly in India where it is often referred to as 'second religion'. And what not? Cricket in India achieves what probably no amount of cultural events, speeches by politicians etc. can - it unifies the country. The pains of living in a country struggling to raise it's infrastructure to the level required to sustain its 1.2 billion people, a country with corruption seeping out of its pores, a country where the hard working tax payers' money is routinely laundered in some or the other scam, a country which is relentlessly exploited by some (in power) to further their own gains - all cease to exist. Winning the world cup was the objective of not only those 11 men on the field, but also of the 1.2 billion people who were praying their hearts out. It gave them something to cheer about and look forward to. And that's why it bloody mattered. So thank you MSD. You need to be applauded. I really really like MSD. For one, he's a fellow East Indian. Secondly, because of his ice cool demeanour. That man refuses to crack under pressure. He absorbs it like a sponge. What he did yesterday required balls - to go and bat ahead of an in-form batsman who usually bats at that spot. But it was also a masterstroke - it ensured a left hand-right hand combination, and if he got out there was still an in-form batsman to carry things forward. And thank you Gary Kirsten. You've given us what no one else could for the past 28 years. The other man who needs to be thanked for what the Indian team is today is Sourav Ganguly. He sowed the seeds of self-belief and a fighting spirit in a team that was historically perceived to be meek and a push-over. To a great extent, MSD is reaping the rewards of what Sourav started. The celebrations after our victory were insane. Throngs of people were out on the streets wearing India jerseys, with their faces painted with the Indian tri-color and waving Indian flags. Hell, I didn't know there were so many Indian flags in the city!! And now that we've brought the cup home, the word 'feeling blue' has suddenly got a new meaning. Until 2015...

6 comments:

Ru. said...

been reading and re-reading every bit about the blue-blooded bash and your piece is no less than a masterpiece. May be because you are one of those very few who is not still raving about Sachin and you feel what I feel...MSD is the coolest captain, and I wish I had his calmness!!!!
Congratulations to us...we are the champs indeed!!! :) :)

Tamanna said...

Yooooohooooooooooo!!! :D :D :D M.S.D! The Man!

Moonshine said...

Woohooooooooooooooooooo!!!! We Won, We Won, We Won!!!!! I am sure we will have a celebratory lunch / ice cream at work, sponsored of course!!! :)

Scarlett said...

@melee - Masterpiece, huh? Thank you so much for the compliment...that was totally unexpected!!

I quite like Sachin but this win was b/c of MSD. Congratulations to you too!!

@Tamanna - Once upon a time home boy :)

@Moonshine - We have celebratory biryani at work. That we have paid for. Biryani....ughhhhh.

Kalyan Karmakar said...

I seemed to have missed this post. Possibly the only post World Cup post that mentioned Ganguly. Now wonder you are my favourite blogger :)

Scarlett said...

@The Knife - And you are mine! :)