CWC: The Golden Crown Finally Comes Home

The whole nation bleeded blue as Dhoni,s men went past Sanga,s boys to bring the cup home second time after Kapil,s devils bravedo of 83. There is one common similarity between these two winning campaigns ,while in 83 India ended the West Indies supremacy beating them at lords in final.This time, it was Australian juggernaut that was put to rest in the quarters.

We Are The Champs

Indians were bit scratchy in the group stages but with resilience & determination peaked by the time the knockout stages commenced. It was this never say die attitude that got them through the quarters, semis & finally brought them to the epic final at Mumbai. Dhoni lived up to his reputation of taking gambles, bringing on Sreesanth for the big final, playing the match after 42 days.

Sanga won the toss & had no hesitation in choosing to bat on the wicket which was hard, dry & had variable bounce in it. Zaheer Khan bowled an incredible first five overs of his quota giving away only six runs while picking the wicket of Tharanga, brilliantly caught by Sehwag who held on to the catch diving to his right.

Jayawardene came in & immediately began to find his feet. He played a gem of an innings monstering 88 ball 103. His innings had blend of agression as well as oodles of pragmatism. Lankans took full advantage of their batting powerplay hammering 63 runs in the last five overs. Even Zaheer Khan who has been India,s best bowler in powerplay felt the heat, giving away 17 & 18 runs in the final two overs.

At half time it looked as if the target of 275 was enough to take the cup to Colombo. The history too was with the Lankans, as the side which had any player scoring hundred in the final always went on to win it. Moreover never before the target in excess of 250 had been chased in a World cup final.

Lasith Malinga,the deadly slinger gave two setbacks to India right at the start dismissing Sehwag in the very first over & then taking out Tendulkar with a gentle outswinger to break millions heart. But then as they say cometh the hour cometh the man. The two young guns from India, Gambhir & Virat Kohli rose to ocassion, absorbed the pressure to put on 83 runs for 3rd wicket. Kohli though was unfortunate to be caught brilliantly by Dilshan of his own bowling but nevertheless played a good hand.

Kohli,s departure brought in captain cool Dhoni ,who promoted himself up the order which was a brave move.Dhoni was agressive right from the outset & in the end played a captain,s innings hammering 91 of just 79 deliveries. Gambhir too played a wonderful hand making 97, tantanisingly fell short of a well deserved hundred in a world cup final.

Dhoni finished the game with a poweful six over long on to bring a million cheers.It was an emotional moment for every player especially for Sachin as his dream had been fulfilled. It was a perfect gift to the little maestro as Virat Kohli said after the match “He’s carried the burden of our nation for 21 years, It was time to carry him on our shoulders today.”