It is 2011 with the mega Cricketing event just about to begin. Memories run down to the 1992 World Cup which marked the beginning of Cricket entering into my bloods (I guess many of our generation’s). In fact we can easily remember the events of our life in the context of the world cups thereafter. Just thought to pen down some of such memoirs.
1992:
Here memories are few but not vague especially of the Indian matches. The India-Oz encounter was a heart break with India losing by 1 run with the helpless faces of Raju and Srinath imprinted on our mind. Why the hell they couldn’t run 3 runs ? That match brought into limelight an always smiling Indian cricketer, Jadeja whose running catch of Border was a treat to watch. The only happy memory of India in the world cup was beating the eventual winners Pakistan. For Indian fans that time may be even now, it meant winning a world cup. The hopping of Javed Miandad was also a much talked about funny event.
1996:
This coincided with normal school days where the passion for cricket was at its peak. There was nothing else to discuss. Not a single ball was to be missed. If there was no electricity, we turned on the radio and glued ourselves to the monotonous voices of the on AIR commentators. As this was played in the subcontinent, India had great chances. Sachin led the way brilliantly. The matches were intriguing in spite of some losses in the league stages. Prabhakar opting to spin was a shameful incident for Indian cricket. The Quarter final against Pakistan was much more than its hype. There were tensions, prayers, abuses. It was as if we were in war. And war it was, the Sohail-Prasad episode, the Jadeja burst on Waqar. The victory was a moment to savor. As usual, the next day papers used to be filled with stories of heart failures because of such tension-filled matches.
Sri Lanka definitely was the surprise of the tournament and deserved to win it, but India didn’t deserve to lose the way it did in semis. I remember we were hearing the commentary on radio and were so thrilled when Sachin was leading India to a good chase, when suddenly it all vanished to nil. I saw the actual video clips of the wickets much later, but hearing the commentary I could imagine how badly the ball must have turned leaving Jadeja and Manjrekar with wry smiles. Each wicket was like a stab in our hearts with our curses going to Azhar for choosing to bowl. The defeat was inevitable, but the match was stopped due to interruptions by passionate Bengalis at Eden. And for India the image of this World Cup remained a crying Kambli with a helpless Kumble.
1999:
The shorter India’s stays in the World Cup, less are the memories. But yeah this one is not the shortest, the shortest lies ahead. This one was again towards the better ones with 2 matches spoiling the whole party. The loss against Zimbabwe acted like a thorn with India needing to win all matches in the Super Six stage. And the first opponent they met was Oz. Chasing 280 odd, when the Indian score read 13-4 it was all over for India at the world cup. The victory against Pak was just a consolation. India had the team to make it a memorable one. Its victories against Sri Lanka, England were marvelous. But this World Cup was to be remembered for the loss against Zimbabwe. The villains list constituted Robin Singh, Prasad and mostly Agarkar for his innumerable extras. Prasad till then hadn’t learnt how to face a ball as 3 wickets fell in an over to hand India one of the biggest nightmares.
2003:
This one was fabulous, though not to begin with. We began with a struggling win against Holland I guess and then succumbed to the Aussies pressure bundling for 125. It seemed we were heading for repeated story of disappointment. But then the Indian team, under extreme pressure and expectations, took us for a roller coaster ride winning all but the final. It was first year at IIT Roorkee and the atmosphere that used to be in the TV room was just enthralling. The cheers, the slogans, the tense moments. The match against Pakistan was again the masterpiece with so much twists and turns. It was indeed a special innings from Sachin.
It might be my good luck or bad luck that I didn’t watch a single ball of the Finals as I was on train. Again Radio was the option and we were glued to that. But couldn’t do it for long, because as Oz were batting the only thing to be heard was “BSNL Chauka” or “BSNL Chakka”. J We prayed and prayed for rain, but it wasn’t to be. The writing was on the wall and India had lost the Finals. 😦
2007:
The shortest of all for India in our era. Before getting the feel of the World Cup, it was over. The most disappointing one in our time. The stretched World Cup lost its meaning. The Indian team looked as usual so strong on paper. It was hard to believe that they packed their bags in the first week itself. Bangladesh became an irritating word, though it was totally India’s blunder. This time even there wasn’t the consolation of defeating Pak, though Pak had forecasted the fate of their neighbor and joined them in exit. Hence the super-eight match which was supposed to be between India and Pak turned out to be between Bangladesh and Ireland. With India and Pak gone, the cup lost its charm and the money. 🙂
2011:
Perhaps the first time in our era that India is the out and out favorite given the subcontinent conditions, the batting strength, the list of match-winners and the yearning desire of Sachin to win a world cup. But in cricket the only thing certain is uncertainty. Hence we should just keep our fingers crossed and hope that the team plays up to the potential and bears the load of expectations under the calmness of Dhoni. And thankfully, the IPL is scheduled after the World Cup. 🙂
PS: This is an old post written on the eve of 2011 Cricket World Cup
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