The media would tell you that there are many reasons why winning this cup was important
-- It ensured that Sachin Tendulkar was a World Champion before bowing out of the game.
-- It established that Dhoni was among the best captains that India had ever had
but none of what they say , would be important for a generation that was scarred by the 1996 World Cup Semi Final.
For my generation, although the 1992 world cup was telecast and followed, the hype machine was truly at work only during the 1996 World Cup. It was the first cup that I followed ball to ball. Enterprising folks released trump cards with cricket stats during this time as opposed to the wildly popular WWF cards. But I deviate.
Having won "that quarter final",India were the favourites to lift the trophy. Despite a loss to Sri Lanka at Kotla, for most of my friends and me... the Semi-Finals were a done deal. There was no way , India would lose twice in a single world cup , against a nation, which till some time back had been playing Tamil Nadu often to improve their cricket. So cocksure were we.. that we even spoke about what a travesty it was that we had to play the finals in Pakistan instead of India. But Sri-Lanka knocked the living day-light out of us. What hurt was not that Sri Lanka had won, but the feeling that India had not played to potential and let us down. ( I later realised that this SriLankan team was perhaps one of their best ever.. especially during the 18 months that Jayasuriya ran amock).
2011 therefore was very important. In 1999 and 2003 , India had pummeled Sri Lanka into submission but it was not the home conditions. India like conditions in 2007, and we faltered again. This final therefore was important. It could reopen the old wounds or it could heal them permanently. When the entire team was talking about doing it for Sachin.. and the other side was commenting about doing it for their country... you were worried, Worried because one persons overpowering ambition might burn the entire house down. And on cue when Tendulkar was dismissed , the memories of a famous collapse while chasing resurfaced. However Gambhir, Dhoni , Kohli and Yuvraj prevented any such mishap. While one feels for Tendulkar (for not getting his 100th century in the WC finals) it is perhaps poetic justice that a generation that was inspired to play cricket because of Tendulkar , rose to the occasion when the little master himself failed and helped heal the wounds of 1996.
-- It ensured that Sachin Tendulkar was a World Champion before bowing out of the game.
-- It established that Dhoni was among the best captains that India had ever had
but none of what they say , would be important for a generation that was scarred by the 1996 World Cup Semi Final.
For my generation, although the 1992 world cup was telecast and followed, the hype machine was truly at work only during the 1996 World Cup. It was the first cup that I followed ball to ball. Enterprising folks released trump cards with cricket stats during this time as opposed to the wildly popular WWF cards. But I deviate.
Having won "that quarter final",India were the favourites to lift the trophy. Despite a loss to Sri Lanka at Kotla, for most of my friends and me... the Semi-Finals were a done deal. There was no way , India would lose twice in a single world cup , against a nation, which till some time back had been playing Tamil Nadu often to improve their cricket. So cocksure were we.. that we even spoke about what a travesty it was that we had to play the finals in Pakistan instead of India. But Sri-Lanka knocked the living day-light out of us. What hurt was not that Sri Lanka had won, but the feeling that India had not played to potential and let us down. ( I later realised that this SriLankan team was perhaps one of their best ever.. especially during the 18 months that Jayasuriya ran amock).
2011 therefore was very important. In 1999 and 2003 , India had pummeled Sri Lanka into submission but it was not the home conditions. India like conditions in 2007, and we faltered again. This final therefore was important. It could reopen the old wounds or it could heal them permanently. When the entire team was talking about doing it for Sachin.. and the other side was commenting about doing it for their country... you were worried, Worried because one persons overpowering ambition might burn the entire house down. And on cue when Tendulkar was dismissed , the memories of a famous collapse while chasing resurfaced. However Gambhir, Dhoni , Kohli and Yuvraj prevented any such mishap. While one feels for Tendulkar (for not getting his 100th century in the WC finals) it is perhaps poetic justice that a generation that was inspired to play cricket because of Tendulkar , rose to the occasion when the little master himself failed and helped heal the wounds of 1996.
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