The HAPPIEST day of OUR lives

It was chaos,excitement,screams all around as I stood still like a stone . I was so numb standing on Church street .I could just see people shouting "bharat maata ki jai" ,"India India" .The crowds were going berserk ,fireworks everwhere ,roads choked . It was no ordinary day . It was no new year day because this much crowd was too much for that day also .It seemed a carnival ,an independence day but it was something I never had seen before . I was not able to conceive what was happning til a child bumped into me and I started recalling things .

10 hours ago on 2nd of April who was to know that tonight is gonna be a very very good good night in their lives as I saw the PESIT auditorium brimming with people as never before . It was the WORLD CUP FINAL between India and Sri Lanka or what facebook and other social networking sites were calling RAMAYANA 2 .Zaheer's cracker of a spell to begin with and Mahela played one of the best innings in a world cup final ,calm and composed and scoring at a rate that defied faith . Some late fireworks by Sri Lankan bowlers set the target to India as 275 a score almost out of reach for an opposition given it was a final of WORLD CUP (a pressure cooker situation) even if you have Sachin and Sehwag in your ranks but as fast as i wrote these names with this pace only the two were back in pavilion with India reeling at 31/2 .Billions of people in shock and disbelief as the match went on , but cricket is a game of unfathomed uncertainties .Gambhir and Kohli played the knocks of their careers steadying India to safety when Dhoni did a blunder but what an awesome blunder it was : a game changer, a history recreator !!!!! . I salute MSD ,what comittment ,perservance and temperament .It was just unbelievable calmness under pressure. To be really frank I am not a great fan of Dhoni's class of batting but that least bothers Dhoni or someone else and if you win like this you are in a class of our own. The great bowling wizard Murali failed miserabley in his final game but it was one of those very few off colour days. It was weary bowling, the body aching and the fizz long since gone from the champagne . My farewell to the greatest bowler of the game .OH ! boy oh! boy ! what scenes !! at the WANKHADE pitch after the historical and exquisite six by Dhoni bringing up the win .Tears of joy flowed like anything .I had promised not to cry if India lose this one but i couldn’t hold back my tears .Swirling my shirt in celebration . It was as crazy as crazy can ever get . Salute to each and every member of team including coach Gary and support staff .

At Wankhade there was one name enchanting "Sachin" . The "GOD" who had served so well for 21 years got what he most deserved .The childish smile on his face,the humblness in his voice,that uncanny look, the passion in his eyes and what not . It is just not cricket at that time .There is more to it . Words dry up here .

Celebrations all around and i was in as state of delirium, a vertigo and once again someone pushed me and I realised I was on MG road . Was I dreaming or was it real ?? I dont know but i wanted that night to go on for ever . Never ever will i find so many happy people around .Two days after the win ,I still cant believe . We have got this WORLD CUP in our teens , we can cherish this for ever . It is just more than a feeling . I wanna carry it for ever .

Akhil Bhat : When i dreamt a dream , it remained a dream

when i stopped ,i realised it .

P.S : This is dedicated to all countrymen because cricket is just not a game here .It permeates life here as the monsoon rain seeps into the soil.

Epic Clash !!!

Individuals dont win,teams do ...that is what sums up the enormously hyped cricket match between India and Pakistan .I have been seeing matches for almost 15 years now but this match was something special. At 12:30 p.m every day it is supposed to be a traffic free road ,but what i witnessed on Wednesday left me bewildered ; roads full of traffic and that too every one going from office,college, school towards home....It just seemed one way traffic and the discussion was nothing else but about the big battle . Ind vs Pak is always special for it is more than a game . It is adrenaline rush,emotions attached to billions of Indians and Pakistanis . As always both teams played with full zeal and passion and didnt disappoint any cricket lover. The match was marked with the poor display of fielding from pakistan ,superb batting by Sachin (though i didnt find it that superb except for 2 cover drives .I am writing superb just for Sachin fans otherwise they wont spare me ),a great spell of lethal fast bowling from Wahab Riaz , amazing line and length of indian pace trio, bhajji and yuvi and at last mature and sensible batting by Raina .In the end India emerged victorious yet again against Pakistan in aWorld Cup game .A big Pakistan population tasted disappointment but millions and billions of Indian people saw hope , a dream ....A hope to win the world cup yet again , dream of adream Saturday . Hope we realise the dream .....Go INDIA go !!!!

One thing for all Sachin fans (I am one ) . 'Just dont support Indian team because Sachin is playing , support Sachin because he is playin for team india ' (this i am writing because of my experience over the last 15 years and having witnessed enough scenes of depleting spectators once Sachin gets out ) .Sachin wont be happy seeing you people do this, such is his love for cricket and INDIA . " How can you respect your GOD without respecting the RELIGION ????"

P.S : SACHIN is the greatest ever batsman to have played this game and watching his batting is the best scene on a cricket field .

New WORLD CUP era begins !! :)

I am a crazy cricket fan . Having followed this game from the age of 4 or 5 , actually an age hard to remember also , and i am writing an article on cricket at the age of 21 .May sound strange but sometimes you have to wait and wait for the right moment . Hit the iron when it is hot. And the moment has arrived and I am writing my first article on cricket which will be followed by many hopefully.

India playing australia .....hmmmm does that ring a bell ?? and yes it does even if it doesnt . We as a country have grown up watching cricket and whoever has had even the weakest of interests in this game would remember the thrashing the Indian team (actually the "TEAM INDIA" as they were being called after Sourav Ganguly took over the captaincy and produced a match winning combination from a bunch of young ,talented but directionless cricketers) got at the hands of Kangaroos at Johannesburg on 23 march 2003 . The game still fresh in our minds as India took on Australia today on 24th march 2011 exactly 8 years after that shock defeat which left millions and billions Indian supporters shattered wherein Kangaroos shock and awe Indians , little did we know that History was up there in the making . The toss was won by a different team but the team batting first was the same or was it ?? No gilly,hayden, mcgrath !! To be really frank beating this Australian side would have been a cake walk for Indians had there been a descent bowling attack for India . Indian bowling attack looked like a car on one wheel (Zaheer impact for sure , harbhajan hardly making a difference and part timers ). India did a decent job bowling first up with Ashwin and Zaheer as usual at his best .THE part timer Yuvi ...oh is he really a part timer ?? our strike bowler harbhajan .....did he really strike some matches back...i dont remember every one did a gud job restricting Aussies to a score of 260 which was not that small as it seems . What really stole the show in that first innings of match was the batting class of Ricky Ponting who didnt know that this would be his last world cup game . Boy what a classic knock and that too in a big match like this , full credit as if he had kept this one for India and his farewell (He had last scored a century on valentines day the previous year ....long wait ah ) , full credit to 'Punter' .

What was coming up was even much more treat to our eyes. India began steady with Sachin and Sehwag in great nick but Australia stuck some crucial blows at regular intervals and it was left to two men to do something special for the Indian team . Cometh the moment Cometh 'Yuvi' . Yuvi has been special for India ever since he made his innings debut . He scored 84 against the same opposition way back as a 19 year boy in 1999 knockout trophy. He was at his witty best and the man who stole the show and for me he played a gem of an innings.It wasnt easy and it aint easy for any person playing his 2nd world cup match and going out their (70 needed to win from 12 overs) and playing in such a pressure cooker situation as siddhu says . Raina the man cool as a cucumber rotated the strike ,faced short balls played his skin out and did what really mattered "AN END to AUSSIE domination in WORLD CUP " . Team India prevailed in the battle of Nerves and its India more importantly it is INDIA vs PAKISTAN in semifinals .Things cant grow better and bigger than this .

Dhoni's comment in the presentation was a treat to listen , you need not care about oppositions if you are giving more than 100 % effort on the field . I need to salute the PUNTER for his courageous innings , Sachins humility , Zaheers big heart and more importantly allround yuvi for making this dream possible . Raina for his temperament and maturity with which he played .

Thank you Indian team for at least giving this world cup a new dimension beating Kangaroos.Now we can have a new WORLD champion . No matter who it is but still my heart says " INDIA INDIA " .Come ON INDIA dikha do duniya ko hila do !!!