India - Empire of Cricket.. One year of being Champions

2nd April 2011, the day that was..

The cup that mattered had come home again after 15 years. Many of us who had witnessed the Eden fiasco, lived with the nightmare since 1996 fearing the worst. ‘ What if again..?’ was the common notion among even the greatest of optimists to follow the game. Since the advent of IPL it was no longer a hidden fact that BCCI pretty much called the shots at ICC. In spite of being the number one Test team at that time, there was still the underlying urge to prove a bit more.

In Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the nation had found a leader to follow. Robust in calamity, yet calm in victory. The cynics though laughed that his epitaph was to be written soon. What followed for near two months from the 19th of February and culminated at the Wankhade on the 2nd of April 2011 was the most significant event in history of independent India. This is because of the sheer magnanimity of the occasion which sensationalized the lives of every Indian in all corners of the world. Most thought that the thrashing of Australia was a sweet redemption but for us whose hearts sank in Eden in 1996, nothing was more pleasing than Lanka being made to eat humble pie. The footage of Dhoni’s huge hit for six and the subsequent carefree swagger will be played replayed and relived by generations of Indians to come. A magic spell was cast on a nation in frenzy.

Yes, 1983 was special. But it was more of a bonus. Almost unknowingly had Kapil’s devils transformed the course of a nation’s history just trying to emerge from the shadows of its past. 2011 was supreme just because of the sheer anticipation. The tragic endings of 1996 and 2003, the traumatic wait of 28 years and after all the promises that ended in puffs of dusts, it was now or never. The tension, the great expectation living up to its billing and the unequal joy that it brought,snowballed the feeling of victory into almost an after war relief felt by a nation. The emotional, realist as well as the suave Indian did bleed blue and when 45,000 people in the crowd sang Vande Mataram in unison even the cynics felt the goosebumps. Passion repressed for years came forth unleashed, on and off the field.

The corruption in the government, the scams and sporadic terror strikes had dampened the feeling that India as a nation was at the cusp of being the next super power. The World Cup triumph propelled a million dreams forward. A generation could look up to a bunch of Indians irrespective of their regional, communal and class divides. The Munaf Patels, Rainas, Pathans showed that the urban dominance was ending. The small town boys were ready to emerge as successful global citizens and stand upright in front of the metro breed. Modern India had emerged strongly united and most importantly beyond the 5 big states. The youth icon and the face of leadership in India was a boy from Jharkhand. They had lived their dreams and stunned a world fighting their way up from the remotest of places. Sachin Tendulkar‘s ambition was fulfilled at last. He looked like a boy in a candy store with unbound glee and pure satisfaction. India had grown in those twenty two years with him. Having stood the test of time and faced fare share of turbulence, the icing on the cake was the World Cup. Folklore had it for long, but now there was evidence – Dreams do come true.

The BCCI could now affirm that not only monetarily but in true cricketing sense India was the World Cricket Empire. For all those cribbing about cricket unfairly grabbing the limelight, had there writings against the wall. Cricket was, is and will remain the single most unifying factor in diverse India post Gandhi. Beyond the realms of all possible boundaries existing in this magnificent land, for once a hundred billion hearts beat in unison. After 64 years of independence, a day had dawned on us when the victorious rhapsodies and chants of the entire country resonated and reverberated through the Karakorum in the north to Himalayas in the far east, rann of kutch in the west to Andaman in the south. 120 crore Indians were cramped for room on top of Mount Everest. Yes we had arrived. We are the World Champions!