A Hopeless Cricket Romantic

It was on 23rd March 2007, the only day which I regret badly and will be regretting for my entire life, that a Dilhara Fernando delivery went through the gates of Tendulkar, and a cuss word emerged out of my mouth for the first and last time for Tendulkar. (God! Did I hate Fernando after that!) There was way too much raw emotion involved. There was my group of friends together and everyone wanted the terrific trio of Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly out of the team for their bad performances. I had joined them as well. It was then I realized that I loved this game of cricket more than any single player. I wanted our team to win, with or without Sachin. After all, it is THE world cup!

Moving exactly four years back on 23rd March, 2003 (pray that India don't play their quarter-final on 23rd March this year!), I kept asking that question to myself and to everyone around me - why the hell did Tendulkar play that premeditated shot to Mcgrath, when he could have seen him off and then taken on the weaker bowling of Symonds and co? I never got that answer. If Tendulkar had stayed on in that match or if Ganguly had been proactive batting first, probably cricket would have had a different meaning in my life. I was 16 years old then. It left a scar on many a hoping hearts from my generation, though it healed faster as we had many other new things to look forward to back then. But the disappointment of getting so close yet so far from the World cup trophy remains till date!

I feel, this world cup is not just about erasing those sad memories, but it is more about completing the process started by V.V.S.Laxman and Rahul Dravid (the stalwarts of Indian cricket and idols to my generation) on another date in the month of March itself i.e. on the 14th of March, 2001, when they showed the cricket universe that India had indeed arrived. That was, by a long way, the greatest day in Indian cricket, when every bowling tactic applied by Steve Waugh had come to naught and the duo remained unbeaten making 376 in a single day. Even the 2007 World T20 championship crowning day cannot match the significance of that series-turning day, which I feel is the primary reason why we are today hopeful about winning a world cup. From that day, Indian cricket ceased to be a one-man army and Sachin got the required cushion of pressure-relievers! If there is one moment which can actually surpass the happiness of that day, it can only be on 2nd April. 2011.

The Killer Instinct
It is also about staying true to the I-don't-give-a-damn attitude generated by Ganguly from the start of that 2001 series, when he kept Waugh waiting for the toss or when he flung his shirt off after that Natwest victory in 2002. We felt those emotions making our adrenaline rush like never before. Didn't we? Yet I feel, it is this killer-instinct which India lacks today. The photo of a rudely smiling Ricky Ponting kissing his wife with the world cup in hand in the Times of India on 24th March, 2003 is still as fresh as if it happened yesterday. Few teams have won a big event without the brashness or the no-mercy attitude. Remember Maradona in 1986, Rafael Nadal over the last few years, Australia over last three cricket world cups or for that matter as recently as the Dutch team in 2010, when they almost took the FIFA world cup from Spain playing dirty football.

And what we did was, we played tamely against Netherlands and Ireland and failed to send the message. Also, we wanted Sreesanth dropped for his attitude problems. I wish Dhoni gave more games to Sreesanth, giving him confidence and letting him run his mouth off. He is a far better bowler when he is pumped. I don't care, if even Sachin shows the temperament of a Ponting and smashes a television in the dressing room, when he gets out. If the Indian team gets branded as loudmouths and wins the world cup, it will be okay with me and I don't think anyone from India will have any problem either. So, pump up the volume, soak in the fever and let the MCs and BCs flow with full effect!

Me, You and the Cup
If I put my life in perspective with respect to what happened on the cricket field all these years, I cannot imagine my life without that Adelaide, Perth or Johannesburg victories. I can only remember the significant events in my personal life according to the cricket series India have played. I have known no other time-line. Whenever people look the list of holidays in a year, they think about the important things they have to do on those days. They think about going out and make a plan for their enjoyment or celebrate any festival. I have no other thought than which match is going to be held that day and will I be able to watch it.

Going further, I can even say (and it may sound stupid) that I had imagined my future four years back only till 2nd April, 2011. And I stay true to my words even today. I don't care what happens on 3rd April! I don't care if I have a future or the Indian team has a future. I have known no other game than cricket all my life. I have played no other game. I don't feel the goose-bumps when Man U clash with Liverpool or Brazil with Argentina in football. I ignore hockey. I am sick of F-1 being a monotonous sport. Yes, I do have an interest in tennis, but it is with regards to only two persons- Nadal and Federer. But cricket? It is opium for me! As much as pursuing my dream does, cricket gives me a HIGH in the same way! I am incapacitated to do any work when Sehwag and Tendulkar go berserk anywhere in the world. I feel a strange amount of loss if I don't get to watch even an Indian loss.

An interesting fact is, whenever I have betted on India winning, I have lost badly. Whenever I bet logically on cricket, I win that bet. But with India, it is just too much of heart involved. So nowadays, I have stopped betting on India so that profit and loss do not come in picture itself, when Indian team is in equation. And it is not just about me anymore. It is about history of Indian cricket for the last ten years. More than that, it is about the common man on the street, who no matter how hopeless the situation is, prays for an Indian win. One cricket writer had said, "How I wish the number of prayers win matches than the number of runs!" Just today evening, when I was having a cup of tea at a tea-stall, the assistant of the stall-owner kept arguing with the owner on how India is better placed to win the cup given their strong batting line-up and his faith in the top three. But, the owner was reluctant to agree after seeing the bowling of Nehra and co washing away Tendulkar's century just past Saturday. I feel that it is the Indian team's obligation now, to prove that assistant right, to prove my hope right and to fulfill what the collective consciousness has been demanding over the years.

Is it Really About Tendulkar?
So, where does all this place the notion of winning the cup for Tendulkar? Is it only about Tendulkar or is it also about a whole generation, who have known no other HERO than Tendulkar? In his book "All That You Can't Leave Behind", Soumya Bhattacharya writes - "It strikes me that there is a whole generation of Indian cricket fans who are, say, in their mid- or late-twenties, recall no Indian cricket other than that dominated by Tendulkar. They will, once he goes, realize the strangeness of not having him there. They will have to deal with the awful vacuum. And they shall speak to future generations of what it was like to have him around."

I am one of those of millions of fans who have lived and felt the pain every single time India has failed to win the World cup for Sachin or otherwise (just in case you don't understand what otherwise means, it means for the country). Ok! Let me clarify this straight. What does 'winning the world cup for Sachin' mean exactly? Maybe, just maybe, there is no greater patriot than Sachin in India, if you discard the understanding that patriotism is only about sacrificing your life on the battlefield. His often-cliched statement after a nervous 90 breakdown goes like this - "As long as the team wins, I am happy with my 90s." (Come on! Who on earth is happy getting out in the 90s?) What does this statement mean? It simply means Tendulkar is either really humble or not human. He desperately wants to cap his international career with his long cherished dream. Now, what's wrong with that? Even being a Tendulkar diehard, I don't care if he reaches his landmark of 100 centuries till the final or not! Even if he gets out on zero in every innings henceforth and India wins the cup, I'll be more than happy.

The Current Scenario
Having said that, I am sick of people criticizing Nehra and Dhoni, for the other day against South Africa. Dhoni is a gambler. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes not. It doesn't mean we should publicly start a hate-campaign against Nehra. Have faith! They have been our cricketing investments over the years. If he is in that team of 11, he has the best job in India recruited through the most cunning process of selection. My gut feeling says Nehra will come good in the remaining matches. He has to!

My mind is already wandering to the Wankhede on 2nd April with Sachin playing that exquisite cover drive to Brett Lee (most probably!) to get off the mark. Ah! How many times I must have relished that drive? Still, I cannot have enough of it. I am a dreamer and an optimist! Yesterday, one of my friends said to me - You are building castles in the air! My reply is - Yes, indeed. I am building castles in the air. If at all there is time to build those, it is now. It is time to dream. If at all the dream is not fulfilled on 2nd April or crushed even before that, I will at least have the satisfaction of having supported my team with all my heart till the end. No cynicism or pessimism...only HOPE, the greatest of all emotions, coz' as Andy said to Red in The Shawshank Redemption, "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies!"