2nd April 2011, the one of the most memorable moment in my life, INDIA has won the cricket world cup. I just want to make sure that it is written down somewhere, the feeling is incredible!!!!! I have splashed my Facebook wall with status, liked every status about the victory, tweeted about it and yet I am full of energy!!! I might as well write this down for the next generation!
For 23 years of my life I have heard about the 1983 world cup victory, how Kapil Dev lead his team to victory beating the mighty West Indies. But I could never experience how they felt, when they narrated Kapil dev’s 175 which helped them to get into finals or India defending just 183 in finals or Kapil dev running backwards to take viv Richards catch in the finals or Mohinder Amaranth taking crucial 3 wickets. Every time I see someone narrating the story, their eyes sparkled and the energy level was phenomenal. I knew they have experienced something special!
Many years later India won the T20 world cup in 2007, first of its kind, it was special, a new generation was born. A race of people who defied the traditional Indian approach! Yet, people wrote that off saying “Indians got lucky!” “it is just T20 cup!”. Huge question mark was raised “Can India win the 50 over world cup?” The record and statistics weren’t the totally good:
1996 – humiliating defeat in WC semi’s
1999 – Out in Super 6
2003 – A brilliant run stopped by Aussies, I still remember the finals it was before my chemistry exam. I skipped entire “organic chemistry” portion to watch India take on Australians. By the end of first innings my spirits were beaten to death, yet the my heart hoped for a miracle to happen. I even cheered when there was a ten minutes rain stoppage! Once again a humiliating defeat, rubbing salt to the wound, the agony!
2007 – A world cup every Indian fan would like to forget! The embarrassment!
2011 – A magnificent performance by TEAM INDIA! WORLD CHAMPHIONS!!
Why 2011 special? Frankly this is the first time I have seen so many mass campaign for cheering INDIA. It might be because of the social networking (FACEBOOK/TWITTER) factor, every Indian fans made sure that they were united behind the team. This I believe didn’t happen before, yes you had campaigns, but those didn’t have the impact. The Facebook updates, tweets every possible way to convey, it wasn’t just 11 people fighting for India but 1.2 billion! In Wankhede Stadium, it was clear when the crowd started singing “Vande Mataram” to inspire the team, to let them know they weren’t playing alone. “Bleed Blue” campaign was a tremendous idea, it made sure that every Indian supporter was “BLEEDING BLUE”!!
Another specialty was this Indian Team had self-belief and more importantly the people/fans believed this team could do the magic! It was never one man’s performance, it was purely team effort, which was really amazing to see and made people to believe more and more in them! Plus this team has a beautiful chemistry, there was no cold war between seniors and juniors, players backing each other! When you watch them in the field you can feel their passion and love for the game.This is India’s dream Team!
When Dhoni hit that last six, I was screaming on top of my head, the wait, the agony, the pain, the passion, the love for the game, the faith in the players, everything came true!! Running on the road screaming on top of the voice, with so much energy running through the body, I was sure anything on my way would have been smashed apart!! I am sure every Indian team supporter would agree on it! It was the night when 1.2 billions hearts were beating in unison! Emotional break down was not only to the players but also for fans!! These victory moments will always remain close to heart and will be watched a million times and yet the feeling will never vanish!!!
When the time comes, I’ll tell the next generation about the story, when 1.2 billions hearts cheered and prayed together, the story of INDIA’s 2011 WORLD CUP VICTORY! Tell them about THE SACHIN, Dhoni, Yuvi, Bhajji, Zak and Raina’s…. Men who painted the world BLUE! And I am sure to have Goosebumps and sparkly in my eye, when I tell them about the epic win!! Yes, I was alive when India won the world cup in 2011!
Image courtesy: google,cricinfo
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For 23 years of my life I have heard about the 1983 world cup victory, how Kapil Dev lead his team to victory beating the mighty West Indies. But I could never experience how they felt, when they narrated Kapil dev’s 175 which helped them to get into finals or India defending just 183 in finals or Kapil dev running backwards to take viv Richards catch in the finals or Mohinder Amaranth taking crucial 3 wickets. Every time I see someone narrating the story, their eyes sparkled and the energy level was phenomenal. I knew they have experienced something special!
Many years later India won the T20 world cup in 2007, first of its kind, it was special, a new generation was born. A race of people who defied the traditional Indian approach! Yet, people wrote that off saying “Indians got lucky!” “it is just T20 cup!”. Huge question mark was raised “Can India win the 50 over world cup?” The record and statistics weren’t the totally good:
1996 – humiliating defeat in WC semi’s
1999 – Out in Super 6
2003 – A brilliant run stopped by Aussies, I still remember the finals it was before my chemistry exam. I skipped entire “organic chemistry” portion to watch India take on Australians. By the end of first innings my spirits were beaten to death, yet the my heart hoped for a miracle to happen. I even cheered when there was a ten minutes rain stoppage! Once again a humiliating defeat, rubbing salt to the wound, the agony!
2007 – A world cup every Indian fan would like to forget! The embarrassment!
2011 – A magnificent performance by TEAM INDIA! WORLD CHAMPHIONS!!
Why 2011 special? Frankly this is the first time I have seen so many mass campaign for cheering INDIA. It might be because of the social networking (FACEBOOK/TWITTER) factor, every Indian fans made sure that they were united behind the team. This I believe didn’t happen before, yes you had campaigns, but those didn’t have the impact. The Facebook updates, tweets every possible way to convey, it wasn’t just 11 people fighting for India but 1.2 billion! In Wankhede Stadium, it was clear when the crowd started singing “Vande Mataram” to inspire the team, to let them know they weren’t playing alone. “Bleed Blue” campaign was a tremendous idea, it made sure that every Indian supporter was “BLEEDING BLUE”!!
Another specialty was this Indian Team had self-belief and more importantly the people/fans believed this team could do the magic! It was never one man’s performance, it was purely team effort, which was really amazing to see and made people to believe more and more in them! Plus this team has a beautiful chemistry, there was no cold war between seniors and juniors, players backing each other! When you watch them in the field you can feel their passion and love for the game.This is India’s dream Team!
When Dhoni hit that last six, I was screaming on top of my head, the wait, the agony, the pain, the passion, the love for the game, the faith in the players, everything came true!! Running on the road screaming on top of the voice, with so much energy running through the body, I was sure anything on my way would have been smashed apart!! I am sure every Indian team supporter would agree on it! It was the night when 1.2 billions hearts were beating in unison! Emotional break down was not only to the players but also for fans!! These victory moments will always remain close to heart and will be watched a million times and yet the feeling will never vanish!!!
When the time comes, I’ll tell the next generation about the story, when 1.2 billions hearts cheered and prayed together, the story of INDIA’s 2011 WORLD CUP VICTORY! Tell them about THE SACHIN, Dhoni, Yuvi, Bhajji, Zak and Raina’s…. Men who painted the world BLUE! And I am sure to have Goosebumps and sparkly in my eye, when I tell them about the epic win!! Yes, I was alive when India won the world cup in 2011!
Image courtesy: google,cricinfo
