The last World Cup Cricket final we watched was in 1983.
That was when, mouth agape and a heady excitement coursing through our veins, we saw on a 20-inch Black & White TV a toothy Kapil Dev and his boys lifting the huge, gleaming cup at Lord’s, champagne gushing out of the bottle in Kapil’s hands and the lads bringing a rare glory back to India.
Those were the spring years of our life, not the current waning winter years when all our leaves have fallen to the ground.
In the years since, we’ve either been too busy or too dizzy and not had much time for cricket or much else (it’s highly unlikely we’ll be around to watch another World Cup Finals).
While we were in our Rip van Winkle phase vis-a-vis cricket, the Indian cricket team too has never put its best foot forward in the years since.
And the Cup has always eluded them after 1983.
Fast forward 28 years. India has now entered the finals to be played tomorrow April 2 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
And a nation holds its collective breath!
Neither Favorites Nor Underdogs
Notwithstanding the bibulous babble of the idiots, India is not the favorite tomorrow in the match against Sri Lanka.
Neither is India the underdog.
Having watched most of the matches this 2011 World Cup, we’d say both finalists Sri Lanka and India are evenly matched.
India has a strong batting lineup in Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and M.S. Dhoni but our boys are also capable of suffering from the sudden death syndrome, where most of them get out for just a few dozen runs. Remember the disaster against South Africa?
Our fielding has been none too impressive either. With exceptions like Suresh Raina, most of our boys waddle like fat pigs after a big meal on the ground.
Our bowling too has not had fire though the last match was a bit of a pleasant surprise.
No Pushover
Sri Lanka is not going to be a pushover tomorrow.
Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Sri Lanka has powerful strikers of the ball in Upul Taranga, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara. All of them have proved their mettle in the 2011 World Cup.
The Sri Lankans are agile on the field.
And our Southern neighbors’ bowling, both in spin and pace, is not found wanting either.
After all, Muttiah Muralitharan, who may or may not bowl tomorrow depending on his injury, is a spin legend who is the highest wicket taker in both tests and one-day internationals.
Play Your Best, Boys
India has the psychological advantage of the crowd support but that’s not going to be enough.
Only if our boys play their best cricket tomorrow, 2011 could, well, witness a replay of 1983.
Any missteps with the bat, ball or on the field will produce nothing but agony to a billion plus Indian fans who will be watching the match from different corners of the world.
That’s one Action Replay all Indian fans, whether they are in America like us, or like SI blog readers spread out in the Middle East, Australia, Canada, England, India, New Zealand or elsewhere, would love to watch again and again and again.
Mera Bharat Mahaan.
God, Let it be 1983 All Over Again added by SearchIndia.com on
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We are not even sleeping tonight. Just got a huge TV and all our friends are at our place. Hope our efforts won’t go in vain.
Btw you don’t have to say “(it’s highly unlikely we’ll be around to watch another World Cup Finals)”. Not cool.
We don’t think you guys are that old and with that appetite of yours, you will probably watch Sachin’s son playing in the world cup finals. :D..
In ‘Aag’ review you had written “Though we were too young to realize it then, Sholay was a work of art.”
I believe if you were anywhere near your twenties, you would have figured out how good Sholay was.
Or did you mean another world cup finals with India fighting for the trophy?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You Write: you will probably watch Sachin’s son playing in the world cup finals.
From your lips to Allah’s ears. 😛
2. You write: In ‘Aag’ review you had written “Though we were too young to realize it then, Sholay was a work of art.”
My, my, we can’t believe we wrote that. Or maybe, it was the night shift coolie! 😉
3. We’ll definitely not see another World Cup final. It’s foreordained!
CUP NAMAKKUDHAAN!. Objection overruled. Khallas.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Back when we were young, we used to say Zeenat Aman NAMAKKUDHAAN. 😉
Very well said SI. I strongly feel SriLanka are the better balanced side of the lot no matter what experts would say. But I guess the toss will mostly decide the result of the match. I hope Dhoni wins the toss for a second consecutive time and opts to bat. Even then, our batsmen have to click as a unit and score a huge total and our bowlers need to defend it.
All said and done, the toss could be the key factor in this match. Let’s hope Dhoni wins it.
By the way, you mentioned:”The last World Cup Cricket final we watched was in 1983.” Hope that you get the same result again. I woke up in the morning imaging Dhoni and team lifting the World Cup, hope those thoughts become reality.
Whatever happens, let the best team win. But please let the best team be India. Jai Hind.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yes, hopefully Mera Bharat Mahaan will lift the cup.
A prayer from SI??
SearchIndia.com Responds:
God, merely of the figurative kind.
As the DK (Not DMK but DK) followers used to say of God, adi seruppalae!
Hey, did you notice that the 1983 and 2011 calendars are both one and the same? Hope India does it again! Go India, Go…!!!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You Write: did you notice that the 1983 and 2011 calendars are both one and the same
Wah Einstein, wah! 😉
would this be a crowning glory which is long enduring for the god of cricket or one more golden feather in the cap for the spin-messiah from srilanka? hopefully, we’ll get to know it within 8 hrs. Now,id love to see the post ” India avenges the killing of Tamils in Srilanka” hopefully at the end of match. Go India Go.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You Write: India avenges the killing of Tamils in Srilanka
As we’ve said often in the past, they were NOT our Tamils.
The LTTE monsters, who killed our leader Rajiv Gandhi, were not our Tamils. Our beloved Tamils are from Tamil Nadu.
hey i just thought of using it as a catchphrase . yes of course,they are the real monsters and they deserved what they got. go india go!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Another Maiden Over from Zaheer Khan. 😛
First boundary of match – Sreesanth is the villain. 🙁
wow confusion starting from the toss hope it doesnt leave us like the Eden garden fiasco in 1996. Hope mumbai crowd restrain themselves from throwing bottles and other stuffs unlike the unruly crowd in calcutta which stalled the match with its bad behaviour
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You Write: Hope mumbai crowd restrain themselves from throwing bottles and other stuffs unlike the unruly crowd
Whatever is thrown at the fielders, the same object should be shoved up the backside of the offender. 🙁
why play sreesanth instead of aswin? will he be the lucky charm for india just like nehra did last time
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You Write: will he be the lucky charm for india just like nehra did last time
Hope so but not optimistic.
The Good Luck fairy has been eluding Sreesanth.