11 men, one Cup.

On 2^nd April history was made. Every Indian knows what am talking about, that’s right, this was the day President Obama declared as World Autism Day. No, am kidding of course. April 2^nd will be forever remembered as the day India finally won the world cup for the second time. It’s been a long time coming and we finally managed to beat the other 10 real contenders and win the coveted prize.

The world cup was won in extraordinary fashion. In fact, even the start was rather ominous with the toss having to be done twice because both Dhoni and the match referee didn’t hear whether Sangakkara had called Heads or Tails. This of course was good for Sangakkara because the coin didn’t land as per his original call which was, ‘Thorax’.

Sri Lanka batted first on a wicket that is so low scoring that even great batting sides manage to make an average of 260 runs even with Sreesanth bowling all 50 overs. Talking of Sreesanth, his dream came true. He finally got to play for Sri Lanka in a world cup final!

Sri Lanka began slowly, scoring at a pace that made the evolution of humankind look pretty fast in comparison. On the other hand India fielded surprisingly well. They were quick, agile and when they dived they didn’t jump over the ball as was standard practice a little while ago. Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh in particular did all their best to prevent as many runs as they could to make up for Sreesanth’s bowling.

However cometh the hour cometh the man and Mahela Jayawardena stepped up and scored a century. It was a wonderful innings under pressure that was totally unappreciated by one billion people. Eventually, Sri Lanka wound up making 274 runs which was respectable considering their incredibly slow start.

If the Sri Lankan start was bad then the start of the Indian innings was downright disastrous. Lasith Malinga got Sehwag LBWed right in the second ball of the innings. But to be fair Sehwag showed as much footwork as Abhishek Bacchchan does in an item number. But hope was only lost when Sachin got out for 18. With Sachin getting out India had not only lost a wicket but also lost an extra 82 runs.

But just then Gautam Gambhir and Virat ‘thebrat’ Kohli came good and put up a fine partnership that steadied the game, which is also read as doing with two men what Sachin would have done alone. When Kohli finally got out, Dhoni promoted himself up the order and came out to bat. Gambhir restraining his natural urge to get run out played a wonderful 97 before getting clean bowled. He will always be remembered as the man who led us to brink of victory but who didn’t win match of the match because he couldn’t complete his Hundred.

Dhoni played a captain’s knock in the match that mattered most. He lead from the front, with determination, motivated by the fear of what would happen to his friends and family if they lost. And then came that magic moment which will be remembered for years to come. With 5 runs needed to win the match Dhoni whacked the ball for a six and everyone started crying. To see a burly, chest-haired man like Yuvraj Singh crying was as odd as seeing Shahid Afridi’s large hearted praise of India. It just didn’t seem right.  

After the match Sachin was carried around the stadium by Yusuf Pathan, which was also his biggest contribution on the day of the final. In the post match interviews the standard answer to everything that was asked to the Indian Cricketers was, “We did it for Sachin.”

Q1. How does it feel to win the World Cup?

A: We did it for Sachin.

Q2.  What was the strategy to beat Sri Lanka?

A: We did it for Sachin.

Q3. Congratulations! We hear your child was born yesterday.

A: We did it for Sachin.

Much celebration ensued around the country. People got one more chance to get rid of those surplus Diwali firecrackers. The roads were filled with rejoicing fans. Slogans were yelled (De Ghuma Ke, Sachinnnnn-Sachinnnnnn and Revital, Jeeyo Jee Bhar Ke.) In fact for that one moment in time the country came as one, celebrating the fact that we won’t have to listen to anymore stories from Kapil Dev about what happened in 1983. With the majority of the country’s population below the age of thirty, this world cup will be the one that a nation will tell their kids about. And hopefully Sreesanth will be dropped from those re-tellings. 

India Has Agriculture But Still Can't Field.

Somehow the Indian Cricket Team and Good Fielding do not fit in the same sentence. Except probably that one.

The Indian Cricket Team has never ever been known as a good fielding unit. That's because when it comes to fielding they are like pigeons, not the most agile and with a lot of droppings.

The importance of fielding probably came to light when cricket turned toward the one day format. The reduced time implied reduced runs and we all know what that meant, thats right: Unhappy batsmen. No seriously, it meant better fielding. Never before had fielding looked so exciting as in the 1992 world cup when jonty Rhodes scampered across from point and flew through the air and ran out Inzamam Ul Haq. That's not saying much because EVERYBODY ran out Inzamam ul haq. However that one moment in cricketing history will forever be remembered for the agility and presence of mind shown by Jonty and the brilliant imitation of a running sack of potatoes by Haq.

In more recent days, the difference between excellent sides(Australia) and very good ones(India, Pakistan and My Gulli Cricket Team) has come to be fielding. At the end of the day or 5 days or 3 hours, fielding saves runs, puts pressure on the batting side and is the only way bowlers get away with bad deliveries.

Seeing the Indian cricket team in the field gets really embarrassing at times. Our fielders often drop the simplest of catches, fumble with the ball for long stretches of time(48 hours) before throwing it back.  And we aren’t very good at throwing either. We have poor throwing actions, weak arms and the accuracy of a weather report.

That's why Indian cricketers use a very primitive technique to get opposition players run out. Its called Miscommunication. They simply wait until the opposition has this sort of conversation.

Batsman: RUN!

Non-Striker: OK!

(goes half-way down the pitch and for some reason cant make it back in the 48 hours it takes the Indian fielders to run him out)

Non-striker: Why the hell did you say run?

Batsman: I didn’t say run. I said Ranthambore. You must have misheard me.

Arguably one of the best fielders to emerge from India in recent times has been you guessed it: Ramesh Powar.  No seriously, it’s Yuvraj Singh. But even he’s not in shape nowadays, unless your idea of fitness involves looking like a hot air balloon. Fitness has been the bane of many an Indian cricketer past and present. Even the best batsman in the world, Sachin Tendulkar looks chubby even after a good day in the gym. And it’s not just the “No-Paunch-bulging-out” fitness that the team lacks in, its also the general fitness that makes for competent athletes that’s missing. That's why Indian fielders dont race after a boundary-headed ball. They waddle behind it like ducks.

And you will never see a really stunning catch coming from the Indian Cricket Team. You’ll rarely see an Indian fielder fly through the air and snatch a streaking ball straight from the sky. By throwing himself at the ball the Indian fielder risks getting his clothes dirty, getting injured or worse, looking really stupid when he misses the ball completely. The only thing he stands to gain is a wicket and a mention in the “(Insert Brand Name Here) moment of day” on the post match show, which nobody watches.

But what defines Indian fielding is the proverbial fumbling. Every match offers the same spectacle. The ball is skimming over a lush turf at a crisp pace, the Indian fielder readies himself to receive it by dipping his fingers in car lubricant. He bends to scoop the ball up but alas it goes through his fingers like a ghost. He then scampers back to retrieve it. He spends half hour in collecting a ball that’s now rather stationary and then somehow manages to throw it a few kilometres wide of the wicketkeeper. India has the rare ability of converting a single into two and very often three runs, now if only they could do this while batting.