“A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance..... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again”
Yes I will take help of the same words which were spoken 60 years ago when India got its independence!!! Yes this has been one of those rare occasions in history when we have stepped from the old (era dominated by Sachin, Saurav and Rahul) to the new (Era which promises a lot with Dhoni, Yuvi, RP, Irfan, Rohit). The Cricketing soul of this nation was suppressed since 1983 and yes it has now found a new utterance. 24th September 2007 is a day when we end a period of ill fortune and I am sure Indian Cricket will discover itself again!!!!
I must confess, I began the tournament with a mild sense of cynicism, which was due to my reservations about Twenty20 as a form of cricket. Growing up watching cricket, I understood that Cricket, especially batting, is a combination of 3 Ts viz. Talent, Temperament and Technique. The shorter the game gets, the balance shifts from Temperament and technique towards Talent. While some amount of Temperament and techniques is required in One Day Format, T20 Cricket is a showcase of talent. And to add to it… it is fast, exciting and is more often than not competitive. This format is one of those things which act as a dessert when you consider the big picture of Cricket.
The finalist in the tournament were unarguably the teams full of natural talent and hence it shouldn’t have been a surprise. I heard a lot of people not giving both India and Pakistan any chance to reach the final. But my theory explains it all!!! To be honest one could hardly choose between the two arch rivals. I personally thought that Pakistan was the best team among the 12 teams on board and it would be only fair to say that they lost the cup not due to talent and lack of ability but unfortunately they couldn’t play that “fearless Cricket” for the last 20 overs of the tournament, which was the hallmark of the two finalist of the tournament. I wont emphasis on the final which, I must confess was tough on the nerves and the hearts of the millions but I will concentrate on the big picture.
The big picture that emerged from the tournament was what I call as “Fearless Cricket Theory”. The young teams of India and Pakistan exhibited some of the most amazing fearless Cricket that I have seen for 24 years now. They say experience dilutes a person. Well I am sure they are right. These new guys did not know, and thank god they did not know, things that can go wrong. The examples of this can be seen in Rohit Sharma’s Debut knock of 50 in the semis and that 1st over aggression from Yusuf Pathan in the final. Yes in case of Rohit Sharma it clicked and in case of Yusuf it didn’t. But these guys played this fearless cricket thoughout.
Pakistan must consider itself unlucky to have not won the tournament. Their bowling of Asif, Tanveer, Gul, Afridi was a treat to watch. It was their batting that had let them down more than once in the tournament and I guess that’s the reason they paid the price.
India on the other hand, build momentum gradually as they went into the tournament. The inspiration came from Yuvraj as he hit 6 Sixes of the 19th Over of Chris Broad as Indians defeated the experienced England. Rohit Sharma then proved in the next match against South Africa that, this team does not rely on one individual and all of them can chip in as Indians defeated the South African and cleared their road to the semis. They faced their toughest opponent in Australia in the semis. Here the most striking thing about the India Performance was the clear headedness. Indians Cautiously started with their innings only to hide their cards in the final few overs where even the mighty Australians had no answer to the talent of Dhoni and Yuvraj.
However the test of character was the finals where one must admit that, toss played a crucial role. One is asking for a bit too much if one expects the Run chase in the final of a tournament against the arch rivals to be easy. One had to play “fearless cricket” in that final session of cricket and only Mishab, Tanveer and Imran Nazir could play it from Pakistan and it was all over for them.
This vistory proves that a lot has changed in Indian cricket in the last two decades when we last won the world cup. The fact is that the social geography of the game has changed dramatically: the 1983 winning eleven had four players from Delhi, two from Mumbai, two from Bangalore, one from Chennai. It was the quintessential big city team, mostly comprising of upper-middle class men. The 2007 team, by contrast, is very much a Tier 2 and 3 town team, unburdened by metropolitan consciousness. The winning eleven against Pakistan had only one player from Delhi, one from Mumbai and just one from Bangalore. The rest were from towns like Rae Bareli, Rohtak and Kochi, places with no cricketing history. Many of them come from lower middle class families, having lived in one and two room tenements for much of their lives. A majority of them defy the stereotype. This makes the win all the more INDIAN
Well one hopes these moments shall no longer be rare in Indian Cricket
Here is Vikas Gupta Signing off from city of head quarters of International Cricket Council, Dubai.
Yes I will take help of the same words which were spoken 60 years ago when India got its independence!!! Yes this has been one of those rare occasions in history when we have stepped from the old (era dominated by Sachin, Saurav and Rahul) to the new (Era which promises a lot with Dhoni, Yuvi, RP, Irfan, Rohit). The Cricketing soul of this nation was suppressed since 1983 and yes it has now found a new utterance. 24th September 2007 is a day when we end a period of ill fortune and I am sure Indian Cricket will discover itself again!!!!
I must confess, I began the tournament with a mild sense of cynicism, which was due to my reservations about Twenty20 as a form of cricket. Growing up watching cricket, I understood that Cricket, especially batting, is a combination of 3 Ts viz. Talent, Temperament and Technique. The shorter the game gets, the balance shifts from Temperament and technique towards Talent. While some amount of Temperament and techniques is required in One Day Format, T20 Cricket is a showcase of talent. And to add to it… it is fast, exciting and is more often than not competitive. This format is one of those things which act as a dessert when you consider the big picture of Cricket.
The finalist in the tournament were unarguably the teams full of natural talent and hence it shouldn’t have been a surprise. I heard a lot of people not giving both India and Pakistan any chance to reach the final. But my theory explains it all!!! To be honest one could hardly choose between the two arch rivals. I personally thought that Pakistan was the best team among the 12 teams on board and it would be only fair to say that they lost the cup not due to talent and lack of ability but unfortunately they couldn’t play that “fearless Cricket” for the last 20 overs of the tournament, which was the hallmark of the two finalist of the tournament. I wont emphasis on the final which, I must confess was tough on the nerves and the hearts of the millions but I will concentrate on the big picture.
The big picture that emerged from the tournament was what I call as “Fearless Cricket Theory”. The young teams of India and Pakistan exhibited some of the most amazing fearless Cricket that I have seen for 24 years now. They say experience dilutes a person. Well I am sure they are right. These new guys did not know, and thank god they did not know, things that can go wrong. The examples of this can be seen in Rohit Sharma’s Debut knock of 50 in the semis and that 1st over aggression from Yusuf Pathan in the final. Yes in case of Rohit Sharma it clicked and in case of Yusuf it didn’t. But these guys played this fearless cricket thoughout.
Pakistan must consider itself unlucky to have not won the tournament. Their bowling of Asif, Tanveer, Gul, Afridi was a treat to watch. It was their batting that had let them down more than once in the tournament and I guess that’s the reason they paid the price.
India on the other hand, build momentum gradually as they went into the tournament. The inspiration came from Yuvraj as he hit 6 Sixes of the 19th Over of Chris Broad as Indians defeated the experienced England. Rohit Sharma then proved in the next match against South Africa that, this team does not rely on one individual and all of them can chip in as Indians defeated the South African and cleared their road to the semis. They faced their toughest opponent in Australia in the semis. Here the most striking thing about the India Performance was the clear headedness. Indians Cautiously started with their innings only to hide their cards in the final few overs where even the mighty Australians had no answer to the talent of Dhoni and Yuvraj.
However the test of character was the finals where one must admit that, toss played a crucial role. One is asking for a bit too much if one expects the Run chase in the final of a tournament against the arch rivals to be easy. One had to play “fearless cricket” in that final session of cricket and only Mishab, Tanveer and Imran Nazir could play it from Pakistan and it was all over for them.
This vistory proves that a lot has changed in Indian cricket in the last two decades when we last won the world cup. The fact is that the social geography of the game has changed dramatically: the 1983 winning eleven had four players from Delhi, two from Mumbai, two from Bangalore, one from Chennai. It was the quintessential big city team, mostly comprising of upper-middle class men. The 2007 team, by contrast, is very much a Tier 2 and 3 town team, unburdened by metropolitan consciousness. The winning eleven against Pakistan had only one player from Delhi, one from Mumbai and just one from Bangalore. The rest were from towns like Rae Bareli, Rohtak and Kochi, places with no cricketing history. Many of them come from lower middle class families, having lived in one and two room tenements for much of their lives. A majority of them defy the stereotype. This makes the win all the more INDIAN
Well one hopes these moments shall no longer be rare in Indian Cricket
Here is Vikas Gupta Signing off from city of head quarters of International Cricket Council, Dubai.
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