After the trauma of being ousted in the first round of the last world cup in the Carribean, the fight for the game’s ultimate glory, reached the Indian sub-continent this year and India started their campaign in style against co-hosts Bangladesh. Following a near loss and a loss, India made it to the knock out phase to meet old foes Australia that really set the tone for the rest of the tournament. India raised the level of the game just when it mattered and beat the Aussies without great difficulty. The prince (not of Kolkata) rose to the occasion and that celebration just after hitting the winning runs will, long be remembered for the intensity and the fact that how much it meant for each of them to win the cup. Next in line was probably the biggest match in probably the last six world cups that I could remember. India Vs Pakistan in a World Cup Semi-Final. It just could not get any bigger than that.
The match lived up to its expectations and India after losing their way in the middle, came back strongly to beat the men in green. Sri Lanka on the other half of the draw had a comparatively easier campaign and defeated England and New Zealand quite comfortably in the quarters and the semis, respectively.
The final was a real humdinger with India starting strongly and then losing the plot towards the end of the Sri Lankan innings. The Lankans led by an absolutely stunning performance from the out-of-form, Mahela Jayawardane, notched up 91 runs in the last ten overs to post 274 in their 50 overs. It was a very good effort and India had to really play out of their skin to not only defeat Sri Lanka but also history as no team had chased 274 successfully in a world cup final and no team had won it as a host country. India started its innings on a bad note with both Sehwag and Sachin falling cheaply but the young guns rose to the occasion. Gautam Gambhir first partnered with Virat Kohli and then the Skipper, who came in at No 4 ahead of Yuvraj and played an absolute blinder . He made 91 of just 79 balls that not only sealed India’s victory but also pipped Gambhir’s 97 for the Man of the Match award. M.S.Dhoni led by example giving an exemplary display of batting under immense pressure to etch his name along with some all time great captains like Kapil Dev, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan and Ricky Ponting.
That picture of the Indian team with the World Cup of 2011 will remain etched in my mind for ever. It has given India’s “Next Gen” a chance to experience the euphoria and ecstasy when the team scales the summit. This has also given the greatest cricketer of India the one thing that was missing from his long list of achievements, the winning medal of the Cricket World Cup
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