It's been a year... A year since Dhoni hit that magnificent
six above the bowler's head to take India to the spot of - WORLD CHAMPIONS. For
the one game that Indians follow so passionately, We definitely deserved this
feeling.
We still remember what We were doing that night, where We
saw the game, who were with us, what We did etc. A few serious ones can recall
the special moments of the game.
The Toss and the 'Re-toss' (Crowd had been too loud, at the
re-toss Sanga won and elected to bat)
The first 3 overs of Zak maidens (The leading wicket-taker
of the tournament was at his best)
Absolute madness in the final overs of Zak (Wait, what
happened to Zak?!)
Mahela's ton - (This was a heart breaker. Stats said that no
team with a centurion had lost in a WC final. But as eternal optimists, We
believed We were still going to win)
275 to win (The last few overs had been super expensive)
Viru's wicket on the 2nd ball of the Indian innings (India
were 0/1, not the start we anticipated)
Gambhir's glorious strokes (beauty)
Sachin's wicket. India 31/2 - (He wasn't going to make the
scene romantic and steal the thunder by scoring his 100th 100 in the World Cup
Final on his home ground).
MSD promotes himself in the batting order (Raising a zillion
questions and doubts)
Gauti out at 97 (The leading run-scorer for India in the
Final game)
MSD and Yuvi increase the tempo (MSD makes his first 50 of
the tournament, and goes on to make a match-winning 91* with brilliant shots)
MSD's final six and the twirl of the bat and the gaze that
followed the trail of the ball (to be YouTubed and talked about for years)
Yuvi on his knees in tears, Dhoni's hug to Sachin, Kirsten's euphoric hand gesture after the win, Sachin's parade around Wankhede, the Cup in Dhoni and then Sachin's hands - It was all Special and still is.
We frantic fans were blogging, reading, interviewing,
partying and basically just celebrating the Win! We still remember the win, and
won't forget it for a while. Even though We always believed We could achieve it, We said the win was 'unbelievable'.
The year that followed hasn't been the best on field. But our expectations had risen so high, that
it was always going to be difficult. We were no.1 in Tests and no.2 in ODI's
and had just won the World Cup. Like Dileep Premachandran wrote a few days
after the win "How do you top a World Cup win?" http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/510391.html. But even the forgettable England and Australian tours had
shining moments of Dravid's persistence and Kohli's stability. Even in the
darkest times We've looked at the brighter side. This faith was given justice on
the night of 02.04.2011 when our biggest dream was brought to reality by the
Men in Blue.
We will continue to support and believe. Last year, same time We were hyper emotional, super ecstatic and euphoric. A year later, We have calmed down, but the feeling is still the same.
I was, am and shall always remain a part of "We"
