I woke up this morning and things seemed a bit different. The smell of the morning coffee, the ride to the office and work thereafter, all seemed to indicate a jovial mood and content within. India beat Australia to win the CB series down under and staying up till 4 am seem to have no effect on my day. There's something about this victory that makes me believe it is the most fulfilling of all my years of watching Cricket. I knew exactly what makes it special. We just burnt the ghosts of defeats in the finals at the hands of the Aussies and disappointments from that day of World Cup final 2003 when a fairytale journey to final had hit the Australian road block. All the Indian Cricket fans must be very happy today, as we finally say "Aussie ki Taisse".
Over the last few years, India has challenged Australia in all forms of the game more than any other nation but lot of the times we have tripped over at the final hurdle. Hence, to beat them in their own den without needing to play the 3rd final and win a trophy which would be ours forever (I mentioned in the previous post that this is the last edition of this tournament) is indeed significant. Watching the games, it felt after a long time that things were just falling into place. One victory was a perfect chase and the other was a nerve-wrecking thriller. The script had plenty of drama, sweet revenge (Harbhajan's success against Hayden and Symonds) and loads of fire (Indian pace attack was too hot for the Aussies and not the other way round). But to top it all, it had a stamp of a genius written all over it even after all these years. They say "cometh the hour, cometh the champion", Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar lambasted his critics with two worthy knocks. His hundred in the first final was an ideal knock, hundred unbeaten while chasing a stiff target. His near hundred in the second was making sure that it didn't slip this time. The fact that he did it against a champion side in the twilight of his career tells us about his determination to succeed against all odds. It also is a reminder that we enjoy this wonderful player as much as we can because the game is going to be poorer soon.
Here's a salute to the man, who has given so many people like me, a reason to forget yesterday and look forward to tomorrow.
Over the last few years, India has challenged Australia in all forms of the game more than any other nation but lot of the times we have tripped over at the final hurdle. Hence, to beat them in their own den without needing to play the 3rd final and win a trophy which would be ours forever (I mentioned in the previous post that this is the last edition of this tournament) is indeed significant. Watching the games, it felt after a long time that things were just falling into place. One victory was a perfect chase and the other was a nerve-wrecking thriller. The script had plenty of drama, sweet revenge (Harbhajan's success against Hayden and Symonds) and loads of fire (Indian pace attack was too hot for the Aussies and not the other way round). But to top it all, it had a stamp of a genius written all over it even after all these years. They say "cometh the hour, cometh the champion", Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar lambasted his critics with two worthy knocks. His hundred in the first final was an ideal knock, hundred unbeaten while chasing a stiff target. His near hundred in the second was making sure that it didn't slip this time. The fact that he did it against a champion side in the twilight of his career tells us about his determination to succeed against all odds. It also is a reminder that we enjoy this wonderful player as much as we can because the game is going to be poorer soon.
Here's a salute to the man, who has given so many people like me, a reason to forget yesterday and look forward to tomorrow.
