Cricket is not just a game but is considered as a religion in our country. Hosting World Cup '11 was the most prestigious moment for all us. Not even common wealth games have became popular to such an extent. In India, people are engaged in watching every single match of Team India, without caring about a single thing. They use to watch with family, friends, in streets, shops, sports club or anywhere, anytime. Around 67.7 million people watched the world cup finals whereas 67.3 million people watched the India-Pakistan world cup semifinal. No doubt, India is crazy for cricket.
After winning the maiden World Cup in '83, it became a need not only for the team but also for all of us to become the world champion again and make the World cup victory count to a couple. '83 world cup holds the largest part of memory cells in our mind. The final raised the specter of an Indian humiliation in the hands of the Goliaths of world cricket, the West Indies. Even though India had beaten West Indies in the group stage, the wise and knowledgeable of the game predicted a comprehensive win for the Indies. Batting first, India were bundled out for 183 in the face of the hostile West Indian pace attack. However, when it came to their turn, the West Indian batsmen collapsed and ultimately fell short of the target by 43 runs. The Indian spirit was epitomized by an astonishing catch by Kapil Dev who sprinted back 20 yards to latch onto the skier from the marauding blade of the great Viv Richards. As the news filtered through to the fans back home, it led to unprecedented scenes of jubilation throughout Delhi and Calcutta and the rest of the country.
Clinching the coveted title from West Indies in its home ground under the leadership of Kapil Dev, exploiting non-favourable conditions was one of the greatest achievements ever.
Winning the World Cup '11, was also a tough task. The world cricket has changed a lot since '83. CWC '11 was completely different from that of '83. In today's cricket world, conditions also fail to change the destiny of a match. Now the game is not only about facing a ball with a speed of 150 kmph but also swallowing the bitter saliva when we realize that the ball has been fielded in the point region with a reaction time of nearly .06 sec. And the condition of a bowler is also pitiable, when he fails to decide that, "which type of ball should I deliver to the batsman so that he may not convert it to a bigger one again"? Cricket is a game of patience, wait for the right ball to hit otherwise you are gone, luck factor also matters but not always. Earlier, a target of 230-240 was estimated a good one, under certain conditions of pitch, dew and the like but now a days the estimation criteria level has increased. Even a total of 320-330 can be easily chased.
India's path to the world cup final was not at all easy. Firstly, it was Australia, world's no. 1 team and then it was Pakistan, the team who reached semifinals without having its main players in the squad. Dhoni's form was out of the game before the final and also there was a confusion, who is going to play at the 7th place, Raina or Pathan? Dhoni as a skipper was doing all the things marvellously but with his performance he was a bit tremulous. Nevertheless, he showed that he's not only the responsible captain but also a great player who can change the fate of match with his magical and unexpected performance.
In a nut shell, it was good to become the world champion again, for the second time. It doesn't matter when, where and with whom you played but the thing that matters is, you played to your level best indulging all your strength, blood and sweat in the game. Its not the size of the dog in the fight but its the size of the fight in the dog that counts. And then you come to know that you are the world champion, really a great 100 billion feeling.
Proud to be an Indian.
Congrats to all... :-)
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