‘Hum Hongae Kamyab Ek din, man main hai vishwas, poora hai vishwas‘
When you say India, the first three things which strike you are Politics, Films and Cricket. Here cricket is a tradition, a part of the culture, a gift of the British rule. The passion for cricket goes a long way back starting from the “gilli- danda” , the Indianised version of English Cricket. The game of the bat and ball, where the projectile motion of racing white ball surges the heart beat of a billion people is more of a ritual at every Indian household.
With the Cricket World Cup just a few weeks away the Indian crowds are gearing up to gorge the luncheon to salvage the hunger of 28 years! Every Indian wants the ICC World Cup 2011 back home. The question which arises on our minds is why will India lose the cup rather than why India will win. The power packed batting line up consisting of the unconquerable Virender Sehwag, Gautham Gambir, Suresh Raina, swashbuckling Yuvraj Singh, rocking Yusuf Pathan makes it obvious that only in the extremely pessimistic dreams things may go haywire. The spinners in Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan, Piyush Chawla and Ashwin R. are sure to pick the crucial wickets even under the pressure of expectations of the billion spectators watching the match hands folded.
Above all when the ageing GOD of cricket himself is on our side can anybody lack the confidence of winning. The man behind the bails – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, this man with the long mane, led the nation to victory at the inaugural T20 World Cup from when the world recognized our new, young and vibrant brigade of Champions, though his performance has been below average in the South African tour, but we sincerely hope he does use the energy he has saved for the best for this tournament.
At times watching Kapil Dev run those extra yards to pick the wickets of Viv Richards in the 1983 World Cup makes one astounded at the kind of passion the predecessors shared for the game. World Cup squad 2011 may have to learn a lot from that win of our nation at the Lords. The memories of Saurav Ganguly leading the team to missing the Cup to the South Africans is clearly etched in our memories, the then defending champions had a good run at the cup. The Indian team’s performance at the two nail-biting thriller OD is against South Africa, in the recently concluded tour, helped us regain confidence that we have a line up where there is a star performer in each player, like a Bhajji playing the winning runs as the wickets fall down before a crucial six or four and like Munaf who will weaken the opponent‘s willow power.
Dear Team India,
All our hearts yearn for that Cup!! Please bring it back for us!! You can do it!!
Our love and blessings are always with you!
Jai Hind!
Gayatri Shankar
